Scott County, VA - John Nicholas Wold Biography Submitted by WolfeX7@aol.com ************************************************************************ USGENWEB ARCHIVES NOTICE: These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by any other organization or persons. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material, must obtain the written consent of the contributor, or the legal representative of the submitter, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. http://www.usgwarchives.net ************************************************************************ Descendants of John Nicholas Wolf and Maria Elizabeth Bressler 1. John Nicholas1 Wolf, born in probably Rhine Valley, GERMANY, son of (---) Wolfe. He married Maria Elizabeth Bressler, born in probably Rhi= ne Valley, GERMANY. Notes for John Nicholas Wolf WOLFE of Scott County, Virginia, and Vermilion County, Illinois Several members of the Wolfe family of Berkeley County, (West) Virginia, moved to the area along the border of Virginia and Tennessee, living in Scott and Washington Counties, Virginia, and Sullivan and Hawkins (now Hancock) Counties, Tennessee. During these years Germany was again preparing for a great change. Descendant in America would only hear stories of the troubles in their homeland. They were safe in America and far from the reach of Napoleon. REBELLION At this point, Austria wanted to strike back against France and regain some of its lost territories. In Spain and in Germany, the rebellion against Napoleon's rule was to be the concern not only of the state and the dynasty but of the whole nation. The patriotic German elements wanted to join Austria in a war to throw off the yoke of Napoleon. But the German princes who had benefited from Napoleon's reorganization of Germany did not dare leave his side and the German people were not yet ready for a general revolt. The Austrian armies, without Russian support, were weak. In the end, they only succeeded in stirring up a hornet's nest and Napoleon marginally defeated the Austrians. Napoleon gained more territory for France and decided to unite more closely the northern provinces of Germany. He then, in 1810, annexed the northwest districts of Germany to= France and simultaneously reached the zenith of his power. When he married Marie Louise, the daughter of the Emperor Francis, he brought his dynasty within the inner circle of ancient ruling families of Europe. A change came over the scene with Napoleon's Russian campaign in 1812. In this, the French army was almost totally destroyed. Though Germany was still anxious to shake off Napoleon's rule, there was still no single directing will, since the country was in part governed by princes who were vassals of France and in part occupied by French garrisons. In the north- they hated the French. In the south- it was no big deal. But for the first time, the educated classes in Germany began to realize the importance of a national state in the common life of a people. Only when the Russians were ready to pursue Napoleon into France did the German princes have to make up their minds. At Russian prodding, Frederick William III declared war against Napoleon. The sudden spurt of Prussian enthusiasm was the signal for a general uprising in Germany against Napoleon. The fighting went back and forth before Napoleon was defeated in the battle of Leipzig in October 16-19, 1813. The French army had to retreat over the Rhine and were pursued by the allies. by the end of March 1814, the allies took Paris, France, by the first treaty of Paris, was forced to abandon all conquests made since 1792. Now the pie was being divided again by the allies. This time, Prussia was given large land holdings on both sides of the Rhine (including Alsace-Lorraine) but was denied a corridor to its other land holdings. Prussia also received the Swedish province of Pomerania. In compensation for the lands given back to Austria, Bavaria was given Wu*rzburg and the Palatinate lands on the left bank of the Rhine together with the south German districts of Ansbach and Bayreuth. After the settlement, there remained in Germany 39 different states, 4 of which were the free cities of Hamburg, Bremen, Lu*beck, and Frankfurt. The rest had monarchial constitutions. These states formed a union called the Deutscher Bund on June 8, 1815. In the years following, there was movement to centralize the German government but it was resisted by the powerful and sovereignly independent middle states mentioned above. Those rulers were reluctant to give up their power to any central body. The consequence was that very little authority was given over to the new union. A new Austrian chancellor named Metternich was to exert the greatest influence in Germany up to 1848. The weak and passive Frederick William III was more than willing to let Metternich orchestrate the balancing act between Prussia and Austria which was necessary for the unification of Germany. It was in 1847 that a representative national assembly became a reality. A long struggle ensued to remove the French influence from the judicial and administrative systems of the Prussian provinces of western Germany. Metternich spent most of his energies putting down any revolutionary or liberal movements which were springing up around the country like wildfire. The French revolted again in 1848 This time it seems the Germans took up the cue and pressured Metternich to resign. The new Emperor Frederick William was a romanticist, however, and he envisioned the old way of a feudal estate ruled by divine inherited right. This didn't go over real big with the people in the fields. Revolution began and the people demanded representation and an end to the feudal system. In September 1858, Frederick William IV, whose mind had been growing increasingly deranged, finally became incapable of carrying on the government. The new government was headed by a regency formed by Frederick William's brother William, Prince of Prussia, which included several high profile liberals. The chancellor was Karl Anton, a prince of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen. Germany was the major producer of coal at this time. There were no effective tariffs and cheap goods were flooding the country from England and elsewhere in Europe. The working class of artisans were suffering from low wages. The system of fiefs was not completely gone. To complicate matters, Emperor Frederick William IV had ordered the merger of the Reformed Luthern Church with the Official State Church. In spite of this, Reformed Lutherans were treated as second class citizens. GERMAN EMIGRATION Apparently because of all these circumstances and the seemingly never ending wars, our forefathers decided to leave Germany and try their hand in the new world of America. It was necessary during these times to obtain a "consent to leave" form from the German government. Before these could be issued, each eligible male had to show proof of military service. The German families most likely made their way to Koblenz where they could board a Rhine River boat for the journey to the sea at Rotterdam. From there, they probably made their way to Bristol, England to transfer to a cargo ship headed for America. These ships brought cotton and tobacco to England and would dead-head back to the new "United States." In order to shave costs, these cargo ships would often put another deck into the cargo hold and sell passage cheaply to passengers who were not too particular about their accommodations. In 1845, there was a great potato blight in Ireland. Potatos were the staple food of Ireland. The ensuing famine left over one million Irishmen dead. Another one million luckier Irishmen were able to leave and go to America on these same ships. Often they would meet up with the German Emigrants en route. Altogether, 7,000 Germans were given exit visas to go to America during this time period. THE NEW WORLD ADVENTURE An ocean voyage in these years was full of peril. Unless people were very wealthy, they booked passage on a freighter. Many times, the accommodations were in "steerage" or unused holds in the bowels of the ship. There were no windows and no fresh air. Time on deck was a valuable commodity. Fresh food and water was scarce. The passengers were crammed into very tight quarters. The ships were powered by sail and a crossing could take six weeks. Many times, children were born aboard ship. Many times- people died and were buried at sea. One thing is for certain- strong and lasting relationships were made by the people who shared this experience. In spite of language differnces, Irish befriended German. When the German immigrants reached the shores of America, they were not greated by the Statue of Liberty as it did not yet exist. The Germans preferred to stay with their own people- just as at home. The area of central and western New York State was attractive to them because the landscape was similar to their homeland. The climate was a little warmer, but the rolling hills and the green forests were very familiar to them. The farmers could continue to grow grapes and raise dairy cattle as they had done in Germany. The carpenters and cabinetmakers had plenty of lumber with which to work. The Erie Canal had just been completed in 1825. Now, boats could navigate the Hudson, the Mohawk and go all the way to Lake Erie-the gateway to the American wilderness. The western counties of New York were just coming into existence. Indians were the primary occupants of western New York State. They were the Senecas and the tribes of the Iroquois confederation. The states of Florida and Texas had just been admitted to the Union as= the 27th and 28th states. The population of New York State was about 3 million- most of whom lived within 20 miles of Manhattan. Children of John Nicholas Wolf and Maria Elizabeth Bressler were as fo= llows: 2iJohannes2 Wolfe, born bef 1751 in probably Rhine Valley, GERMA= NY. 3iiValentine2 Wolfe, born bef 1751 in probably Rhine Valley, GER= MANY. +4iiiJohn Jacob2 Wolfe, born 1752 in Berkeley County, VA (now WV= ); died Jan 1811 in Washington County (now Scott County), VA; buried in Lane Cemetery, Gate City, Scott County, VA. He married Catherine Behrico Bahr= . +5ivCharles2 Wolfe, born 1755; died bef May 1819. He married Su= sannah Schneider. +6vMary2 Wolfe, born 1760. She married (1) Valentine Pope; (2) = Robert Easley. +7viBarbara2 Wolfe, born 1760-1770. She married (1) Adam Stokes= ; (2) Adam Stokes. +8viiGeorge , Sr.2 Wolfe, born 1765 in Berkeley County, (West) V= irginia; died 1839 in Hawkins County, TN. He married (1) Mary Bare; (2) Mary Poll= y Bare. Generation 2 4. John Jacob2 Wolfe (John Nicholas1), born 1752 in Berkeley County, VA (= now WV); died Jan 1811 in Washington County (now Scott County), VA; buried i= n Lane Cemetery, Gate City, Scott County, VA. He married in 1777 in Berkel= ey County, VA (now WV) Catherine Behrico Bahr, born 1753; died 1835 in Scott County, VA, daughter of George Peter Bar and Catherine (---). Notes for John Jacob Wolfe [Wolfe Coffey01.FTW] John Wolfe was born about 1752 and lived about 25 miles north of Winchester in Berkeley County, (West) Virginia, at the time of his marriage about 1778 to Catherine Bare. He was known as a "genteel, sober= young man," although neither he nor his wife was educated; neither could read or write. About four months after the marriage, he was present when= a murder was committed; the murderer was hanged, and although Wolfe was only a witness, he fled in 1778 to South Carolina and Georgia for over a year; he then returned and immediately took his wife and child to North Carolina. In the spring of 1788, the family moved to a farm on the south side of= the North Fork of the Holston River; they were extremely poor, but on December 6, 1790, he bought 50 acres where he then lived from John Kearns, and on November 14, 1796, 150 acres from Dennis Coudry. The land= located at the junction of the river with the Tennessee state line about four miles from Gate City. John Wolfe was a strict, hard-working, and careful farmer and he ac-cumulated a sizeable estate worth about $3,000.00 by 1806. He also peddled whiskey in the Clinch River settlements and may have traded horses in Kentucky. He also leased land to Robert Stubblefield. In 1792= his brother-in-law, Peter Bare, lived with him for about four months. After several years, Wolfe's mental condition began to deteriorate as = he became increasingly depressed about his part in the murder he had witnessed many years before. He sometimes realized when his fits of depression were coming on and would warn his family to stay away from him. However, according to Joseph Duncan, an employee, "sometimes he would immediately go to drinking and quarreling with his family and at other times he would pass over the course of a night before he would break out so very bad, during which times he and his wife would generally= talk Dutch together...and he would make all fly." He threatened his family with physical violence and made many extravagant and scandalous statements about them. His condition became worse after about 1803, when a blackmailer named Stunn came to Wolfe, falsely claiming he had killed Stunn's father; he also claimed to have a warrant for Wolfe's arrest but stated he would accept a horse as the price for not prosecuting. Stunn was arrested, but= escaped, and after this incident, Wolfe lost interest in his family and property as he became more depressed. Life in the home became increasingly difficult, so that Caty Wolfe sent her daughter Hannah to live with her aunt Mary Pope in June, 1805, and her son Adam to live with= his uncle Charles Wolfe in Tennessee. Wolfe threatened to desert his family, and after severe emotional attack, he sold his 200 acre farm to John Weaver on February. 13, 1806, for considerably less that it was worth. He then took his youngest son, Jacob, and went to the Moravian settlement near Winston-Salem, North Carolina, where he apprenticed the boy to a saddler and loaned his money out at interest. On April 12, 1806, after Wolfe had gone to North Carolina, his sons He= nry and John forced John Weaver to return to them the 200 acre farm; Henry got a patent to the land in 1809. Then on September 15, 1806, they agreed to furnish their mother the house where she lived, and each year to provide her with a half acre of flax land, 50 bushels of Indian corn, 400 pounds of pork, a bushel of salt, eight bushels of wheat, hay or fodder, a half acre of cotton land, fruit, pasture, firewood, three pairs= of shoes, and $4.00 cash. About a year later, John Wolfe returned to his family on the Holston a= nd stayed with them about a year. He then lived in the home of Jacob Peters= for about two years and then bought 250 acres on Copper Creek in Russell County, Virginia. He hanged himself there in January, 1811 and his personal debts were settled and his estate sold in 1816. The Wolfe family was involved in several lawsuits concerning the pro-perty, as Caty and her younger children sought a share in the land that Henry and John Wolfe had acquired from Weaver; it was eventually divided in 1821 among all the heirs. Henry Wolfe sold his mother 137 acres of the farm on January 25, 1814, for $500.00; she sold the land on June 27, 1828; to her son-in-law, Abraham Lane, with whom she subsequently made her home until her death about 1835 in Scott County, Virginia. Notes for Catherine Behrico Bahr [Wolfe Coffey01.FTW] From McGinnis genealogy I have Birth 1755 and Death 1829, Hawkins Coun= ty, TN BARE of Hawkins County, Tennessee George Peter Bar moved from Germany to America in the Rowand from Rotterdam, landing at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on September 29, 1753, with his family after being becalmed at sea for several weeks and suffering many hardships. On November 5, 1770, Bar bought 100 acres near the head of Swan Ponds in Frederick (now Berkeley) County, (West) Virginia, from Jacob Morgan for =9C100; on March 19, 1782, he acquired from Jane Morgan an additional eight acres he was already using. On April 2, 1787, he and his wife, Catherine, sold his 108 acres to George Tabler for =9C320.2 Peter Bare, as the name was Anglicized, then moved from Swan Ponds but his later residence has not been located. The names of his children are not definitely known, but probably include the following: a. Catherine Bare, Born c1753: died c1835 in Scott County, Vir-ginia; married c1778 in Berkeley County, (West) Virginia, to John Wolfe (see p. 267). b. Peter Bare, born c1756: died 1829 in Hawkins Country, Tennes-see; he moved from Berkeley County, (West) Virginia, to Wash-ington (now Scott) County, Virginia, about 1791, and lived about three months with the Wolfe family; he then moved about 20 miles away and in August,1801, he moved to Hawkins County, Tennessee. On November 27, 1801, he Bought land on Poor Valley Creek; on August 2, 1816; he bought 90 acres in the same area; he sold two tracts to George Williams on January 4, 1823, and April 28,1824. He and his Wife Edy had the following children:4 (1) Peter Bare, born c1781; lived in Hawkins County, Tennessee, in 1850. (2) Henry Bare. (3) Michael Bare (4) George Bare. (5) Matthias Bare. (6) Nancy Bare. (7) Barbara Bare. (8) Deborah Bare. (9) Susan Bare. (10) Jacob Bare lived in Clinton County, Ohio, in 1833. (11) James Bare. REFERENCES 1Ralph Beaver Strassburger and William John Hinke, Pennsylvania German Pioneers (Norristown, Pennsylvania; Pennsylvania German Society, 1934), I, 570; the same family tradition with minor variations has persisted among descendants of at least three children of Catherine Bare Wolfe. 2Frederick County, Virginia, Deed. Bk. 14, p. 12; Berkeley County, (West) Virginia, Deed Bk. 5, P. 702, Bk. 8, pp. 38, 40. Children of John Jacob Wolfe and Catherine Behrico Bahr were as follows: 9iHenry3 Wolfe, born 14 Jan 1779. 10iiHenry3 Wolfe, born 14 Jan 1779 in Virginia; died 24 Dec 1843 in Vermilion County, Illinois. 11iiiJohn , Jr.3 Wolfe, born 27 Mar 1781 in North Carolina; died 13 Feb 1864 in Scott County, VA; buried in Wolfe Cemetery, Weber City, Scott, V A. [Wolfe Coffey01.FTW] John Wolfe Jr. owned the land that the Wolfe Cemetery is on in Yuma, Virginia. He bought the interests of his brothers and sisters in their father's estate and later acquired other lands. He was a magistrate and sheriff of Scott County. About 1805 he married Mary Polly DeVault. 12ivCatherine3 Wolfe, born 3 Oct 1782 in NC; died 12 Apr 1868 in Scott County, VA. 13vAdam3 Wolfe, born 3 Sep 1784 in NC; died 28 Sep 1862 in Grainger County, TN; buried in Wolfe Cemetery, off Hwy. 131 to Thorn Hill, Grainger County, TN. [Wolfe Coffey01.FTW] Adams and Jemina head stones are lying flat on the ground in very bad shape. 14viGeorge3 Wolfe, born 18 Oct 1786 in probably NC. 15viiHannah3 Wolfe, born 20 Oct 1788 in Washington County (now Scott County), VA. 16viiiJonas Johnathan3 Wolfe, born 12 Oct 1790 in Washington County (now Scott County), VA; died 26 Sep 1857 in Scott County, VA. 17ixMary3 Wolfe, born 8 Sep 1792 in Washington County (now Scott County), VA; died 1820. 18xMargaret3 Wolfe, born 8 Jul 1794 in Washington County (now Scott County), VA; died 1862 in Scott County, VA. 19xiJacob3 Wolfe, born 27 Jul 1796 in Washington County (now Scott County), VA; died 30 May 1863 in Scott County, VA. 20xiiJacob3 Wolfe, born 27 Jul 1796 in Washington County (now Scott), Virginia; died 30 May 1863 in Scott County, Virginia; buried in Wolfe Cemetery, North Dungannon #15. 5. Charles2 Wolfe (John Nicholas1), born 1755; died bef May 1819. He married in 1780 Susannah Schneider, born 1751 in Oley, Pennsylvania; died 1840. Notes for Charles Wolfe In 1792 he lived between Walker's and Henderson's lines in the area disputed between Washington County and Sullivan County, Tennessee. About 1797 he moved to Hawkins (now Hancock) County, Tennessee. On March 8, 1803, he sold his nephew Adam Wolfe, for $100.00 , 50 acres on the north side of Clinch Mountain on the south side of Copper Ridge adjoining his own land; on February 25, 1806, for $60.00 he bought 100 acres from Thomas Evans and sold it to Thomas Johnson for $150.00 on September 25, 1810. On April 10, 1811, he and his son Jacob bought 75 acres between their farms on the north side of Clinch Mountain from Samuel Nicholson; in 1811he was taxed in Hawkins County on 200 acres of land. Charles Wolfe made his will on March 17,1813, and his estate was probated in May, 1819; he left his property to his wife Susanna, who was born in Pennsylvania about 1759 and who was living in Hancock County in 1850, and to his children. On September 30, 1840, Susanna Wolfe gave her daughter Mary McGinnis; for taking care of her in her old age, the use of the 127 1/2 acres which Charles Wolfe had bought from Robert Kyle, and the 37 1/2 acres which was Charles' half of the land bought from Samuel Nicholson. Children of Charles Wolfe and Susannah Schneider were as follows: 21iJacob3 Wolfe, born abt 1782 in North Carolina; died 30 May 1863 in Tennessee. 22iiPhillip3 Wolfe, born abt 1784. 23iiiPeter3 Wolfe, born abt 1786 in Tennessee. 24ivCatherine3 Wolfe, born abt 1788. 25vElizabeth3 Wolfe, born abt 1790. 26viHannah3 Wolfe, born abt 1793 in North Carolina; died 8 Jun 1853 in Grainger County, Tennessee. 27viiMary3 Wolfe, born 15 Mar 1796 in Hancock County, TN; died 24 Mar 1864 in Hancock County, TN; buried in McGinnis Cemetery, Flat Gap, Hancock County, TN. 28viiiBarbara3 Wolfe, born abt 1797; died 10 Oct 1882. 29ixCharles3 Wolfe, born abt 1800 in Hawkins County (now Hancock), Tennessee. 30xGeorge S.3 Wolfe, born 27 Dec 1803 in Hancock County, Tennessee; died 15 May 1873 in Brays, Tennessee. 6. Mary2 Wolfe (John Nicholas1), born 1760. She married (1) in 1807 Valentine Pope; (2) aft 1830 in Sullivan County, TN Robert Easley, born 25 Nov 1754 in VA; died 1830. Notes for Mary Wolfe Mary was over fifty when she married Robert Easley and there was no children known. However, Winifred (Dixon) Easley son married Hannah Wolfe the daughter of Mary's sister Catherine (Bare) Wolfe and her husband John Wolfe. Children of Mary Wolfe and Valentine Pope were as follows: 31iHannah3 Pope, born 1780. 7. Barbara2 Wolfe (John Nicholas1), born 1760-1770. She married (1) Adam Stokes; (2) Adam Stokes. Children of Barbara Wolfe and Adam Stokes were as follows: 32iCatherine3 Stokes, born 16 Jan 1794 in Pennsylvania; died 3 Nov 1863. 8. George , Sr.2 Wolfe (John Nicholas1), born 1765 in Berkeley County, (West) Virginia; died 1839 in Hawkins County, TN. He married (1) Mary Bare, born 1770; died aft 1840; (2) abt 1790 Mary Polly Bare, born abt 1770; died abt 1840. Notes for George , Sr. Wolfe In 1796/7, he lived in Sullivan County, Tennessee, but moved to Hawkins (now Hancock) County, Tennessee, where on August 29, 1797, he bought 200 acres on the north side of Clinch Mountain from Stephen Richards for $50.00; he was taxed on that land in 1811. On May 18, 1818; he bought 40 acres adjoining his farm from Hannah Moody for $333.33; and on March 8, 1819; he bought 290 acres on the waters of Big War Creek on the south side of Copper Ridge from Thomas Johnson for $213.00. On December 30, 1828, George Wolfe gave his son Valentine 112 acres of the land bought from Johnson for $10.00; and 100 acres of the same land to his son John. He made his will on April 15, 1837, and the estate was probated in September, 1839.