| |  Translation Between E. C. Neff and Murray Number Systems

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In 1886 Elizabeth Clifford Neff wrote her famous Neff "chronicle" about Jacob and Rudolph Neff. She used a lot of "literary license" in her work and some of her data has been challenged recently. This is still a valuable source for all Neff researchers. (Especially since she lived and wrote during the period we research) Her data about her peers in 1880 seems accurate (even lists where they lived in 1886); it is the ancestral history that is questionable. Her ancestral information comes from an even older book titled History of Lancaster County. That book contains a verbal account by Mrs. Magdelen Sehner who was 79 years old at that time, and probably deceased before Elizabeth wrote her own book. Mrs. Sehner seemed to think that all USA
Neff's, including her, were descendants of Dr. Francis Neff; we know that is not true. For instance, the people in the table below descend from Henry and Barbara Neff of Lancaster, PA. |
 | The table below translates Elizabeth Clifford Neff's numbering system to Rev. John Murray's numbering system in his booklet, Neff Families and Their Descendants in the 1700s and 1800s. |
E.C. Neff # Murray # Name

111, pg 103 B71, pg 8, Henry Neff
1115, pg 104 B715, pg 9, John Neff
1118, pg 105 B718, pg 9, David Neff
113, pg 107 B75, pg 9, John Neff, Sr.
1131, pg 108 B751, pg 9, John Neff, Jr.
1132, pg 109 B752, pg 9, Andrew Neff
1133, pg 110 B753, pg 9, Jacob Neff
1134, pg 111 B754, pg 9, Anna Neff Swope/Hercane
1135, pg 112 B755, pg 9, Daniel Neff
1136, pg 118 B756, pg 9, Isaac Neff
1137, pg 119 B757, pg 9, Henry Neff
2, pg 179 H1, pg 28 Rudolph Neff
21, ? H11 pg 28 Elizabeth Neff Baker
22, ? H12 pg 28 Barbara Neff Stricker
23, ? H13 pg 28 Hannah Neff Buckius
24, ? H14 pg 28 Mary Neff Worrell
25, pg 187 H15, pg 28 Peter Neff
251, ? H151, pg 28 Hannah Neff Patterson
252, pg 214 H152, pg 28 John Neff
253, pg 255 H153, pg 28 William Neff
254, ? H154, pg 28 Sarah Neff
255, pg 277 H155, pg 28 Rebecca Neff Biggs
256, ? H156, pg 28 Peter Neff
257 ? H157, pg 28 Geo. Washington Neff
258, ? H178, pg 28 Mary Amanda Neff Yardley
27, pg 309 H252, pg 28 Samuel Neff

 | I do not have all the pages of this book. I have photocopies of a few select pages. The "?" above indicate pages I am missing. (I would appreciate receiving copies of the missing pages from you if you can supply them.) |
 | Note that Elizabeth C. Neff used the same number series beginning with "2" for different families. For instance, her #27 and #25 are not brothers even though the close value of their numbers seems to indicate this type of relationship. The Murray numbering system shows clearly that these two men
are from different families and different generations, but share a common ancestor, H. |
 | A little known, but valuable Neff Genealogy resource is Rev. John Murray's booklet titled, Neff Families and Their Descendants in the 1700's and early 1800's. His booklet is a product of his years spent in Pa. archives reading wills and other ancient records. If your line ties in with one of the hundreds of families listed in it, you'll have a century of data available instantly. This booklet
is now out of print and no longer available. But updates on each line
are available and several new lines have been added. John can be
contacted at jfmurray@netnitco.net.
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