Wapello County IA Archives Biographies.....Neff, James William 1842 - 
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Joy Fisher http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00001.html#0000031 July 9, 2013, 10:01 am

Source: See Below
Author: S. J. Clarke, Publisher

JAMES WILLIAM NEFF.

A well developed farm on section 2, Highland township, is the home property of
James William Neff, who for a half century has been a resident of Wapello county
and has therefore witnessed much of its growth and development. He was born in
Muskingum county, Ohio, May 2, 1842, and is a son of Samuel and Harriet (Hamett)
Neff. The father was born in Winchester, Virginia, and died in Bureau county,
Illinois, about 1859, being then forty-five years of age. The mother, a native
of Muskingum county, Ohio, passed away at the home of her son James William in
1902 at the advanced age of eighty-three years. In his youthful days Samuel Neff
had accompanied his parents from the Old Dominion to Ohio and was married in
that state, after which he removed with his family to Bureau county, Illinois,
in 1848. There he secured a tract of land and carried on general agricultural
pursuits until his death. In his family were eight children: John H., now
deceased, who was a soldier of the Civil war, enlisting from Bureau county in
the Ninety-third Illinois Volunteer Infantry, with which he served for three
years and then veteranized, remaining at the front until the close of
hostilities; Francis Marion, who served throughout the war as a member of
Battery I, Second Illinois Artillery, and is now deceased; Lewis Henry, who
served throughout the war as a member of Company I, Second Illinois Artillery,
and is now living in Santa Ana, California; James William, who was the fourth in
order of birth; Catharine, the wife of J. O. Milligan of Wakefield, Nebraska;
Mrs. Lucinda Kirkpatrick and Mrs. Sarah Ross, both of whom have passed away; and
Rufus, who is living in Cody, Wyoming.

James William Neff, like others of the father's family, had that strong spirit
of patriotic devotion to country that manifested itself in military service. The
smoke from Fort Sumter's guns had scarcely cleared away when, in April, 1861, he
responded to the first call for troops to serve for three months, joining the
Twelfth Illinois Infantry. When his military duty was over Mr. Neff followed
farming on the old home place in Illinois, but later came to Iowa, making his
way to Ottumwa. He purchased an eighty acre farm of prairie land a mile south of
Hedrick, began to cultivate and develop it and thereon resided until he took up
his abode in the town. There he engaged in merchandising and in dealing in grain
for about fifteen years, the family, however, still remaining upon the farm. On
the expiration of that period he removed to his present farm of sixty acres,
three quarters of a mile southwest of Hedrick. He sold the farm upon which he
had previously resided and also another tract which he had near it, comprising
one hundred and sixty acres. His present possessions include a two hundred acre
farm a mile south of his present home. At one time he owned four farms, ail of
which he developed and improved, making them model farm properties. He also
owned the best residence in Hedrick. About eight years ago he went to Wyoming
and purchased a large tract of state land in the Big Horn basin near Cody and
there built an irrigation ditch, six miles in length, to irrigate his land, this
ditch supplying water for nine hundred and twenty acres of his tract. The ditch
was completed and the greater part of the land was placed under cultivation. He
also became identified with the improvement of Cody and there erected a brick
block, in which he now has four tenants, bringing to him a rental of one hundred
and seventy-five dollars per month. He likewise owns a fine residence in Cody.
His investments have ever been judiciously made and have brought to him
substantial returns, showing him to be a man of sound business judgment and
unfaltering enterprise.

In the fall of 1861 Mr. Neff was united in marriage to Miss Amanda Winner, who
was born in Logan county, Ohio, in 1846 and died in this county in 1902, leaving
four children: Idella, the wife of Andrew Lawson; Charles E., of Highland
township, who is married and has eight children, one being deceased; Elmer E.,
of Modesto, California, who is married and has two children; and James Brunson,
a member of the United States navy. Mr. and Mrs. Lawson have five children, and
they reside upon the home farm with the father, Mr. Lawson now acting as manager
of the place.

Mr. Neff has earned the proud American title of a self-made man. Almost a half
century ago he arrived in this county with a team, which he drove, bringing with
him his wife and baby. He built a shanty on the prairie and lived and worked the
way that others did who began life empty-handed. All that he now possesses has
been acquired through his own earnest labor and wise investments. He carefully
saved his earnings and as he did so purchased other property, which brought to
him good returns. Year by year he added to his holdings and became a large
landowner and the possessor of considerable valuable city realty. He invented
and built the first two-horse corn plow and he was ever alert to methods of
improving his farm in any way. His intelligently directed labor has been the
secret of his gratifying success, placing him today among the substantial
residents of the county. He cast his first presidential vote for Abraham Lincoln
in 1864 and has since supported the candidates at the head of the republican
ticket. His has been a well spent life and constitutes an example that others
might wisely emulate. Today, at the age of seventy-two years, he is most
comfortably situated and has no reason to feel financially anxious for the future.


Additional Comments:
Extracted from:
HISTORY OF WAPELLO COUNTY IOWA
ILLUSTRATED
VOLUME II
CHICAGO
THE S. J. CLARKE PUBLISHING COMPANY 1914


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