Neef, Francis Joseph Nicholas (1770-1854). Papers, 1799-1849 | Illinois History and Lincoln Collections

This collection contains microfilm copies of the papers of Francis Joseph Nicholas Neef, disciple of Heinrich Pestalozzi, who introduced the latter's educational system to the United States in 1806 under the patronage of William Maclure, and who joined, in 1826, the New Harmony Community of Robert Owen. The papers include Neef's incoming and outgoing letters, with correspondents including Pestalozzi, Maclure, and Benjamin Tappan; essays by Neef; Maclure's 1806 agreement to finance Neef's move to the United States; and Neef's 1849 will.

In 1950, Mrs. Aline Owen Neal, of New Harmony, Ind., made the collection available to Arthur E. Bestor, Jr., who cataloged it and had it microfilmed for the Illinois Historical Survey.