Jacob H. Neff

Jacob Hart Neff ( born October 13, 1830 in Strasburg, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, † March 26 1909 in San Francisco County, California ) was an American politician. Between 1899 and 1903 he was Deputy Governor of the State of California.

Career

Shortly after his birth, Jacob Hart's parents moved with him to Iowa, where he later completed an apprenticeship as a blacksmith. Since August 1850 he was a resident of California, where he was primarily engaged in mining in Placer County. In the meantime, he was also involved in plans for a toll road and he brought along with his nephew a commodity business. Politically, he joined the Republican Party. In 1867 he was sheriff in Placer County. Between 1871 and 1876 he sat in the Senate of California. In the meantime, he was also a deputy in the California State Assembly.

Neff was elected in 1898 on the side of Henry Gage for Lieutenant Governor of California. This post he held 1899-1903. Yet he was Deputy Governor and Chairman of the State Senate. In 1896 and 1908 he participated as a delegate to the respective Republican National Conventions, to which William McKinley and later William Howard Taft was nominated as the presidential candidate. He was, among others, also president of the Mining Association of California and prison officer. Jacob Neff died on March 26, 1909 in San Francisco County.