The married couple Näff-Dalp had 10 children, but Maria Dalp died after the birth of their last child. With the help of his energetic mother, Anna Schachtler, Johann Mathias lived a happy family life. His children happily returned to their father's house, even as they grew up, and soon also with their spouses and children. A collection of anecdotes from this time still gives a vivid impression of their cheerful life. After the death of their father, the siblings decided to continue meeting every year in their hometown. That is how the descendants of the eight branches met for the first Näff family reunion in 1854 (two of his sons would remain unmarried). The reunions were at first a yearly tradition, but as the growing number of relatives spread all over the world, their meeting was less regular. For the past half-century, the reunion has been organized every five years. The spelling "Naeff" was officially adopted in the 1930's.