| | HISTORY OF BUTLER COUNTY | 769 cont'd |
Aaron Monroe Wolf, a Butler county pioneer and prominent citizen of Bruno
township, was born in Columbiana county, Ohio, near the town of New Lisbon, June
11, 1846. He is a son of George and Lydia (Fetterhoff) Wolf. The mother was a
native of Pennsylvania, of German descent, and the father was born in Columbiana
county, Ohio. He was a son of Jacob Wolf, who was a son of Henry Wolf, a native
of Germany, who immigrated to America and settled in Virginia during Colonial
times. He was a soldier in the American army during the Revolutionary war, and
served throughout the seven years of that long and tedious struggle which ended
in independence. After the Revolutionary war, Henry Wolf with his family
traveled 300 miles northwest from their Virginia home and settled in the
wilderness of the Northwest Territory, a part of which later became the State of
Ohio, and when that State was organized and divided into counties, the Wolf
family was in Columbiana county.
When Aaron M. Wolf was nine years old, in 1855, he removed with
| 770 | HISTORY OF BUTLER
COUNTY | |
his parents to Steuben county, Indiana, and here he grew to manhood and received a good education. After attending the district school he attended an academy at Angola, and in early life was engaged in teaching, and in all he taught eight terms. During the Civil war Mr. Wolf served for two years, 1864 and 1865.
In 1870 Mr. Wolf came to Butler county, Kansas, in company with a friend from Indiana, Freeman James. After coming here each pre-empted a quarter section of land, Mr. Wolf taking the northwest quarter of section 5, Bruno township. He immediately began improving his claim. He first built a small cabin. 14x16 feet. He broke some prairie and remained on his claim until 1873, when he returned to Indiana, remaining until 1878, when he came back to his Butler county farm.
Mr. Wolf was first married in 1876 to Miss Mary Elliott, a native of Ohio. She died December 1, 1879, leaving one child. On February 23, 1883, Mr. Wolf was married to Miss Jennie Gray, a daughter of John Gray, a Butler county pioneer who emigrated from Ireland in 1869, and settled in Hancock county, Illinois, where he remained until 1879, when he came to Butler county with his family, settling in Bruno township. He was a very successful man in a financial way and accumulated considerable property. He died May 12, 1915, and his wife died January 24, 1901. They were the parents of four children, of whom Mrs. Wolf was the third in order of birth. She was born on February 22, 1862. The following children were born to Aaron Monroe and Jennie (Gray) Wolf: Tina, married A. E. Gilbert, Chillicothe, Mo.; Emerson, Bruno township: Lyell, Bruno township; E. W., Augusta, Kans.; Norman G., at home; Milton, at home; Floyd, at home, and Edna, at home.
Mr. Wolf came to Butler county with very little capital, and by his own unaided efforts, in the face of adversities which confronted the early settlers of the plains, he has raised a large family in a way that is a credit to both himself and his county, and accumulated a competence, and is today one of the substantial and prosperous citizens of his county. He struggled through the lean and uncertain years of the early days in Butler county, but was never discouraged. His ancestors were men of resolute character, before whose determination the wilderness of Ohio vanished and was succeeded by civilization and its institutions, and he emulated their example in the part that he has played in reclaiming the West. Mr. Wolf freighted between Emporia and Wichita, in 1870 and 1871, and after coming here, dug wells, cut wood, and, in fact, did anything to earn an honest dollar, and his industry and thrift of former days have been rewarded.
Mr. Wolf is a stanch Republican, and takes a keen interest in political affairs. For years he was a member of the school board, and served as director and treasurer for four terms. He has been justice of the peace since 1901 and notary public since 1905, receiving his first commission from Governor Hoch; and since that time, has been recommissioned a notary public by Governor Stubbs. He represents the
| | HISTORY OF BUTLER COUNTY | 771 |
Butler County Fire and Tornado Insurance Company, and the many details in
connection with his various responsibilities makes a very busy man of Mr. Wolf.
He is a member of the Anti Horse Thief Association, and one of Butler county's
substantial citizens.
Previous |
Main Page | Biography Index |
Next
Pages 769-771,
