Frederick C. Wolfe

As printed in 1902

FREDERICK C. WOLFE.

For many years Frederick C. W'olfe has been numbered among the citizens of Knox county. He was born in Wurtemberg, Germany, on the 25th of October, 1849, a son. of Jacob and Dorothy (Hizerman) Wolfe, who were parents of five children, namely: Jacob, a railroad engineer at Dayton, Ohio; Charles, of Mattoon, Illinois, and an engineer on the Big Four Railroad; Frederick, the subject of this review; Minnie, the wife of William Reese, postmaster at Qiillicothe, Texas; and Anna, the wife of John Immel, of Vernon, Texas. In the fall of 1862 the father removed with his family to Russia, but after a short residence in that country, with a returning countryman, the family made their way back to Germany, and in the following spring, on the 12th of May, they started for Australia. The vessel on which they sailed, the Australia, landed at New York after a voyage of six weeks, and he decided to remain in America. From that city the Wolfe family came by rail to Huron county, Ohio, where a brother of Mr. Wolfe resided. On passing through Crestline he met a fellow countryman, whom he paid a short visit, and afterward joined a sister in Delaware county, Ohio. At the latter place he began work at his trade, that of butchering, and his two sons, Frederick and Jacob, were bound out for their board and clothing, while his daughter, Anna, lived in the home of a hotel man in Crestline.

Frederick C. Wolfe, of this review, remained until his fifteenth year with the gentleman with whom he had been placed, and he was then taken by his father to Greenfield, where he was apprenticed to a brickmaker, receiving eight dollars a month and his board. In the following fall, however, he was taken to Delaware, Ohio; where he was, employed in a flax mill during the succeeding winter, and in the spring he worked in a brick yard, at one dollar per day. Thus he was employed during the summer season, after which he entered a flax mill at Delaware, where he learned the weaver's trade. In Octobr, 1870, he came to Alount Vernon, as a weaver for Kelley & Welsh, who had established their flax-bagging mill here the year before. Messrs. Kelley & Welsh had both been connected, as superintendent and bookkeeper, respectively, with the mill at Delaware, where Frederick had learned his trade. The easter weavers in their mill lacked the ability to work the looms to their full capacity, and the services of Frederick were sought, his energy and expertness imbuing such a spirit of rivalry that within a few weeks the output of the looms was more than doubled and the mills placed upon a lucrative basis. In 1871 he secured a brick yard, which he conducted during the summer months, in partnership with his future father-in-law, John Welsh, while during the winter season he worked in the factory. In 1873 he rented a yard at Delaware, Ohio, where he followed brick-making during two seasons, during which period he was also engaged, in company with his brother, Jacob, in manufacturing brick in Mount Vernon. In 1875, in partnership with Benjamin Martin, he purchased a half interest in the Mount Vernon flax mill, Kelley & Welsh having failed, and this they conducted successfully for five years as a tow mill. For more than thirty years Mr. Wolfe has been the foremost brick manufacturer in the vicinity of Mount Vernon, no one in this part of the state being more extensively known in this special line of manufacture. His annual output is about one million of the best quality of building brick, and, employing some twelve men during the season, the amount of money placed in circulation through his industry is considerable. His energetic nature, strong determination, sagacity and capable management have brought to him a comfortable competence and his business methods have ever been in strict conformity with the ethics of commercial life. In 1883 he became the owner of the old homestead of his wife's family, and to this, just ten years later to a day, was added the Evans homestead, making a most desirable suburban home of one hundred and sixty-seven acres.

On March 16, 1875, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Wolfe and Miss Sarah J. Welsh. Fouir children have blessed this union, namely: Fred W., who is an employe on the Big Four Railroad and is a veteran of the Spanish-American war; Charles, who is engaged in business with his father; Arthur, who is a graduate of the high school and is now a student in the State University; and Lucretia Beall, the eldest, at home. Fred is of the third generation who has served in the famous Fourth Ohio Regiment. His great-uncle, Dr. David L. McGuigan, was its surgeon during the Mexican war, and his two uncles, William and Zephaniah Welsh, were in its ranks through the war of the Rebellion. Fred went with his regiment to Porto Rico, and as a result another member has been added to the Wolfe family in the person of a bright Porto Rico youth, named Domingo Ramo. The Democracy receives. Mr. Wolfe's hearty support and co-operation, and he is now serving his second term as the trustee of Clinton township, having been elected to that position by a handsome majority, in a strong Republican district. In his social relations he is a member of the Knights of Pythias fraternity, belonging to Timon Lodge, No. 45, and religiously he is a member of the Congregational church. He takes deep interest in everything pertaining to the welfare of his town and count), and contributes liberally to the support of all measures for the public good.

As printed in The Biographical record of Knox County, Ohio : to which is added an elaborate compendium of national biography (1902). See the original pages. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.