ONE of the most distinguished merchants that
Cincinnati ever possessed, and one who largely contributed to the
commercial and industrial prosperity of the place, was of Swiss descent,
his ancestors having emigrated to America prior to the
Revolutionary War. His father, also named Peter Neff; resided at
Frankford, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, being, at that early
period, five miles from Philadelphia. Here, on the thirty-first day of
March, 1798, the subject of this sketch was born. His father dying when
Peter was quite young, the management of the estate, and the education
of the children, devolved upon the mother, who performed the duty with
unusual ability and fidelity: The sons, waiting all participation in the
property left by their father until the daughters were married, chose to
lay the foundations of their fortunes for themselves, which they did
with remarkable success.
Armed with a good English education; Peter Neff
soon found a place in Philadelphia, where he acquired the business
experience which was so valuable to him in after life. The young clerk
was soon offered a copartnership by Mr. Charles Bird, of Philadelphia,
who desired to establish a branch hardware house in Baltimore. This Mr.
Neff accepted, and soon found himself at the head of a large and
prosperous business.
In June, 1824, accompanied by his brother William,
he visited Cincinnati, then containing only a few thousand inhabitants.
This visit led to the establishment of the hardware house of Neff &
Brothers, composed of John R., William, Peter, and George W. Neff.
William and George were immediately in charge at Cincinnati, John
remaining at Philadelphia, while Peter continued at Baltimore, attending
specially to the purchase of goods. The house thus founded was the first
that imported hardware west of the Alleghanies. In 1828 Peter Neff
established a branch hardware house at Louisville, Kentucky, which was
very successful, and which, some ten years thereafter, was consolidated
with the Cincinnati establishment. In 1835 he removed to Cincinnati with
the view of residing there permanently. In November, 1848, the firm,
which in the mean time had undergone some changes, was dissolved; .Peter
Neff associating with himself his two sons, William Howard and Peter
Rudolph, under the firm name of Peter Neff & Sons. In May, 1871,
foreseeing the financial consequences of the shrinkage in values which
succeeded the inflation of the war, he retired from business, after more
than a half century of active participation in mercantile life. He had
commenced buying property on the western highlands as early as 1856. To
these possessions he retired, and there in the midst of the families of
the two sons, of whom he was the recognized patriarchal head, he spent
the remainder of his life in making improvements, and extending his
estate.
Mr. Neff was married in 1827, at Baltimore, to
Miss Isabella Lamson, a woman of rare personal charms and great strength
of character. After seventeen years of a married life of unusual beauty,
the union was broken by the death of the wife, inflicting a loss upon
Mr. Neff from which he never recovered. He, throughout his life, held
her memory in grateful and beautiful remembrance. They had four
children, only two of whom reached adult age. The latter were William
Howard Neff and Peter Rudolph Neff, previously mentioned. At the time of
Mr. Neff's death; he left the two sons, twelve grandchildren, and one
-great-grandchild.
Mr. Neff was one of the founders of Spring Grove
Cemetery, the death of his wife having led to the calling of the
meeting, which established that matchless city of the dead. He was also
one of the moving spirits in the organization of the Cincinnati Chamber
of Commerce, having signed the call for the meeting which organized the
chamber and been one of the vice-presidents of the first three boards of
officers. Although the last years of his life were free from
participation in the active business of this body, he took the most
lively interest in it to the time of his death.
When the war broke out, he was one of the most
earnest and enthusiastic. supporters of the Union. He used his time and
means freely in furthering the interests of the government.. He was
chairman of the finance committee of Hamilton County, and the immense
sums raised to save the county from draft were, in a great degree, due
to his masterly management. When, in 1862, the city was menaced by the
rebel general Kirby Smith and his forces, who were approaching through
the State of Kentucky he was one of the most indefatigable citizens in
making preparations for defense, and on no civilian did the military
authorities lean with a larger confidence.
He became a member of the Second Presbyterian
Church of Cincinnati in 1837, and for some time was president of the
board of trustees. He was largely instrumental in the establishment of
the Poplar Street Presbyterian Church. He was keenly alive to the
importance of the educational and mission enterprises of the Church, and
in him the Sabbath-school had one of the most devoted and liberal
supporters throughout his whole life. He was at one time one of the most
active friends of the movement for the colonization of the slaves,
having been one of the vice-presidents of the American Colonization
Society at the time the Hon. J. H. B. Latrobe was president. He devoted
his time and means liberally to the promotion of movements that looked
to the education of public sentiment in the cause of temperance.
Though holding no public office, and steadily
declining every thing in the shape of official political position, he
was one of the closest observers of public affairs. Few men of any age
or position kept so well posted in relation to public matters, or were
as well informed on all questions, whether of national, or local
interest. A man of large executive ability, of great sagacity, of
unswerving integrity, and of unusual intelligence, he would have honored
almost any position in the government. Very soon after the fan of
Sumter, in writing to Secretary Chase, with whom he was on familiar
terms, after saying that he had noticed particularly how he (the
secretary) was raising funds for the support of the army, he remarked
that the banks could not supply the wants of the country, and would fail
him in his greatest need ; then he added the prophetic words, "The
people will sustain the war and furnish the necessary means to do so ;
they will take the obligations of the government, and willingly thus
provide the means. The best manner of carrying this out will require
good judgment, 1)4 the principle is here, and, fairly carried out, will
meet all your wants." Whether Secretary Chase received the
suggestion of the greenback system from this remarkable letter may never
be known, but that it was the enunciation of the same idea, which
afterward became one of the great factors in the solution of the
mightiest problem of the war, there can be no doubt.
As a business man Mr. Neff was eminently
successful, not from accident; but from the exercise of distinguished
qualities. He had great faith in the future of the city of his adoption.
With the eye of a prophet he read the mighty progress which it was to
make. In the exercise of this faith, he invested largely in real estate,
built many houses, some of them being the best of their time, and in
every way showed his faith by his works. But, distinguished as he was in
other fields, it was in his home life, perhaps, that his extraordinary
qualities showed to the best advantage. The home to him, next to the
Church, was the great institution. He made it attractive. He caused his
children, whom he made his companions, to revere it. Here, amid the
benign influence of sacred associations, he reared his children and his
grandchildren to lives of usefulness and influence. He died at his home
on Mount Harrison, at four o'clock, on Sunday morning, July 20, 1879, in
the eighty-second year of his age, surrounded, by the family that he
loved so well, honored and revered by all who knew him, and most honored
and revered by those who knew him best.
