This came in this morning on the Julia Case letter on a Rootsweb Review page, thought all you Neff's would find it interesting. Copied it off for you. Zabette The earliest experiments with a tintype style process occurred in France in 1853, but it took the ingenuity of an American to bring the process to market in the United States. In 1856, Peter Neff filed a patent for the new process of direct positive photography which utilized tin plates as the receiving base. That same year he opened the very first tintype production plant in the United States located in Cincinnati, Ohio. Anxious to capture the market for this exciting new technology, Neff rushed headlong into mass production. But the breakneck speed of expansion came to a startling stop when within a few short months of opening, disaster struck. With the mortar still damp from construction, this shining gem of Cincinnati's burgeoning "high technology" enterprises was devastated by a colossal fire. The fire-fighting brigades could do little more than keep a safe distance as the flames quickly consumed the entire facility. Distraught, Neff abandoned Cincinnati and soon opened a second factory, this time in Middleton, Connecticut, nearer the rapidly expanding Eastern markets. Tintypes were the most popular means of inexpensively capturing photographic records, and the market virtually exploded with the onslaught of the Civil War in 1861. Because of their economy and durability, they quickly became the most popular means for soldiers on both sides of the line to exchange images with loved ones through the mail. For the most part, tintype photographs are quite sharp due to the fact that the metal plate captured the image directly from the lens (no negative is created with the tintype). These inexpensive photographic plates were often used to record people and events in a more casual fashion and this gives many tintypes the special charm of often capturing events in a less staged or posed fashion. As they age, tintypes frequently suffer from severe darkening and oxidation, which sometimes presents substantial difficulties in the restoration process. Yet, in most cases, the image is in sharp focus allowing very successful results. You can learn more about the history of photography, as well as the care of heirloom photographs by visiting <http://www.photorevival.com/> > The Neff line is probably the most extensively researched > non-Mayflower/royalty genealogy there is. There's even a Neff Numbering > System. My wife is descended from NeffNumber "B31". Try this out: > > http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~neff/ > > CARRIKER6@aol.com wrote: > > > > When I first started my research I had ask about the name Neff and got a lot > > of response, but at the time all I new was that My Grandmother was Sara Opal > > Neff Brunaugh, I now no that her father was James Benjamin Neff and He was > > Married to Ina Myrtle Brinker if any of these names are familiar please write > > I have come to another dead end but they are all from Pike Ill are Pike MO. > > Pat C > > > > ==== ILPIKE Mailing List ==== > > USGS Mapping Service > > http://mapping.usgs.gov/www/gnis/gnisform.html > > List Manager: Barbara Freeman at Saxbury@aol.com > >