One of the earliest references to this grave yard is found in Roanoke County VA Deed Book F, pages 561 to 563, dated 29 May 1858. John Neff's heirs sold to Benjamin Deyerle 150 acres of land (including the GRAVEYARD CONTAINING TWO SQUARE POLES BEING RESERVED TO THE PARTIES OF THE FIRST PART) being in Roanoke Co., VA on the waters of Masons Creek for $10,174.50

This cemetery was initially surveyed in 1936 by the Works Progress Administration of Virginia [WPAV] and recorded as the "Denton-Neff Cemetery" in Document #72 of the istorical Inventory of Roanoke County, Virginia. The WPA file provided biographical information for the graves of Phebe Denton (Mar. 22, 1758 / Feb. 22, 1853 / Aged 94 yrs. 11 mo.), John Neff (consort of / Barbara Neff / Sept. 7, 1786 / Aug. 27, 1853), and Andrew Neff (Son of / John & Barbara Neff / Sept. 28, 1825 / Aug. 9, 1853). The WPA file described the cemetery as "…a two family cemetery and contains several graves. It is neither well kept or fenced."

The Roanoke Valley Historical Soc. (RVHS) surveyed the cemetery in 1986 and reported that "several stones legible in the 1930's W.P.A. survey were not legible when the historical society's volunteers copied, and other graves may have disappeared. Two stones had no legible names but one read "Aged 66 yrs. 11 mos. 26 days / Feb. 23rd 1877" page 109).

The report also listed biographical information for the graves of Phebe Denton, Andrew Neff, and John Neff. The headstone for Phebe Denton was described as "a large stone, in good condition. Presumably, information pertaining to the other graves was derived from the WPA survey document.

The cemetery is further described in "Roanoke County Grave yards Through 1920" by Roanoke Valley Historical Society - 1986 as follows: On a wooded hill behind Lakeside Amusement Park, just west of the railroad and north of Texas St. lies this much neglected burial ground, neither fenced nor mowed.

Several stones legible in the 1930s W.P.A. survey were not legible when the historical society's volunteers copied, and other graves may have disappeared. Two stones had no legible names but one read "Aged 66 yrs., 6 mo. 26 days", and the other had two legible lines: "Aged 66 yrs. 11 mos. 26 days/ Feb 23 1877"

Location: This 8 foot by 13 foot Cemetery is enclosed by a modern chain-link and wood post fence and is located on a VDOT storage area. Historic plantings include two large oak trees and periwinkle ground cover.. Site was field inspected, photographed, and grave marker inscriptions were transcribed and compared to previous documentation. Site size was determined by measuring the horizontal extent of the surrounding fence. [1998]

Neff Family Historical Soc., Inc. Jan 2015