George North Neff

Part 2

George North Neff raised his family in Wichita, Kansas from 1875 until 1889 when Oklahoma was being opened to new settlement. George and his son-in-law, Arthur A. Miller (daughter Lela's husband) waited by the border of the official opening of the Cherokee strip, until the government official started the sound of the rush. George and Arthur made a dash and successfully stalked claims in Blackwell, Kay County, Oklahoma Territory.

George's oldest son, Robert Alvin, joined him in Blackwell, setting up his own law practice. Robert went on to become a Probate Judge, newspaper owner and editor and in his later years went back to his true passion of acting. George and Mary lived in Oklahoma until 1910.

In 1910, George and Mary moved to Siloam Springs, Arkansas, where they lived until moving to Grants Pass, Oregon in 1912. Daughter, Lela Miller and family had moved to Oregon two years earlier. They wanted to be nearer to their only daughter. The final move of George and Mary Neff was in 1918, when they moved to Vallejo, Solano County, California. There George passed away at the age of 84, on December 8, 1918. He was laid to rest at the Masonic and Odd Fellows Cemetery in Vallejo. He had been a member of this organization since his early days in Kansas. Mary passed away four years later on October 9^th, 1922 and was buried with her husband.

Written by Jennifer Seitl and Beverly Lacy

Links