Many thanks to Cousin Carol for hiring a professional genealogist to sift through the Raleigh archives.

Here's Carol's research summary:



Wolff/Wolfe/Wolf Timeline

1751 : Wilhelm Adam and Maria Elizabetha immigrate from Amsterdam to PA on the Edinburg.
1751 : First Child born on trip or in PA (Frederick Lorenz).
1755-1757 : Next two sons born in York, PA (John Adam and John Lewis).
1759-1765 : Anna Elizabetha, John Daniel, Anna Katherine, and Gottlieb born in Monacacy, MD. He [Gottlieb] was baptized in the Moravian church shortly after his birth in 1765.

1769 : Family moved to Wachovia Tract near Bethania, NC, in present Forsyth County.
Frederick - 18 yrs old stays for while in MD,
John Adam - 14 y/o,
John Lewis - 12 y/o,
Anne Eilzabetha - 10 y/o,
John Daniel - 8 y/o,
Anna Katherine – 5 y/o,
Gottlieb - 4 y/o.

1773 : Wilhelm Adam (Patriarch) died. Gottlieb is 8 y/o. Not named in will.

1782 : Gottlieb (age 17) marries Christina UNK (age 17). Changes his name to Caleb before the 1790 census.

1790 : Census Stokes County, Caleb is listed with:
1 male over 16 (himself) around 25 y/o,
2 males under 16 ( Solomon and ?, born from 1783-1790),
4 females (Christina and 3 daughters, possibly Elizabeth, Susannah, and Catherine).

April 1799 : John Mcquirt sold 60 acres to Caleb Wolff for L140 on Waters of Muddy and Anderson Creek. Witmess: James Black and James Mcqurit.

1800 : Census Cabarrus County, Caleb is listed with:
1 male under 10 (one more male, born between 1790-1800?),
1 male 10-16,
1 male 16-26 + himself (35 y/o),
1 daughter under 10 ( one additional daughter),
3 daughters 10-16,
+ Wife Christina (26-45).

1802 : Elizabeth Wolf marries Isaac Garman in Cabarrus County. Bondsman is Gottlieb Wolf.
1803 : Maria Elizabetha dies, Gottlieb is 38 y/o.
1808 : Haywood County is formed from Buncome County in 1808.

1809 : Susannah Wolfe marries George Durham in Haywood County, NC. Caleb Wolfe is Bondsman.
1810 : Buncombe County Census, Caleb is listed with:
1 male 10-16,
1 male 16-26,
1 male 26-45 (himself at age 45 y/o),
2 females 10-16,
1 female 26-45 (Christina).

In the same census, a George Durrum (Durham) lives with his wife and 2? Children, 6 doors away from Isaac Garman.

1815 : Caleb gives son Solomon power of attorney to settle the estate of his brother Johan Adam in Sevier, TN.

Abt 1815 : William Wolfe marries Jane Hayes.

1816 : Christina files petition for divorce. She states they have been married 34 years with 11 children resulting. She was 50 y/o.

1817 : Caleb relocates to Barren County, KY, where he marries Sally Adams. He us listed in 1820 census there. In same census is a George Durham with family (census alphabetized).

5-7-1818 : William Wolfe bought 242 acres on Glen’s Creek from John McClatchey (attorney, polititian, assistant to NC Marshall, probably not a relative).

1819 : Catherine (descendants state that she was the daughter of Caleb Wolf), marries Enoch Cunningham in ? Buncombe County living two doors away from William in the 1820 census.

1820 : Buncombe County Census , William Wolf is listed with:
1 male 0-10,
1 male 26-45,
2 females 0-10,
1 female 15-26 (his wife Jane Hayes who he married around 1815).

Living 2 doors away is Enoch Cunningham with his wife, one son under 10 and an older female, possibly Catherine who was not granted a divorce and was left destitute.

In between, lives Thomas Foster, probably the father of Benjamin Foster who married their (William and Jane’s) daughter Caroline Elizabeth).

In same census, Issac Garman is living with his wife and children, listed several pages away.

1823 : Jane Wolfe receives licence to sell “spirituous liquors” from the State of NC.

1832 : William Wolfe, et al, sold 200 acres on Gooches Branch to John Hayes, bk 16, pg 433*.

1836 : William Wolfe bought 210 acres on Beaverdam Creek from Joseph Killian ,bk 20, pg 266.

1838 : William Wolfe bought 100 acres on Beaverdam Creek from the state of NC (#3723), bk 22, p 56.

5-7-1839 : William Wolf bought 67 acres on French Broad River from Reuben Deaver, bk 22, pg 83
(Reuben Deaver was county coroner, no relation that I know of).

9-10-1839 : William Wolfe bought 100 acres Dix(Dick’s) Creek from George Hise, bk 22, p 117.
9-10-1839 : William Wolfe bought 95 acres on Newfound Creek from George Hise, bk 22, p 116.
9-10-1839 : William Wolfe bought 12 acres Dix(Dick’s) Creek from George Hise, bk 22, p 118.

1844 : Catherine Wolf dies. Enoch Cunningham remarries.

1845 : William Wolfe bought 100 acres from William Hill, bk 23, p 120, (William Hill, a surveyor, no relation known of).

1847 : William Wolfe dies by supposed suicide outside Asheville, NC. William H. Garmon who signed the bond of special administration on estate ofWilliam Wolfe was the son of Issac Garmon and Elizabeth Wolfe, daughter of Caleb Wolfe.

The Beaverdam and Glen’s Creek properties are just outside present Asheville, the other land on Gooches Creek, Dix Creek, and newfound creek are all in the present Leicester area outside Asheville. The French Broad River runs through Asheville, covering a lot of territory.

I have no idea what William did for a living, other than farm, or how he got the money to buy the land. Family legend had that he sold bootleg whisky. Given the 1823 entry of Jane Wolf selling spirituous liquors, this may have actually been the case, except that she made it legal.

I found an 1812 military record on a William Wolfe, but he was from Charleston, SC, with records tied to Raleigh.

Summary:

Given the fact that two of William Wolfe/Wolf’s male direct descendants match on a 67 marker DNA test to a descendant of Caleb Wolfe, census data placing Caleb in Buncombe County, married daughters of Caleb living within a few households of William in Buncombe County, and naming pattern similarity, I am inclined to believe that Caleb and Christina Wolf were the parents of our William Wolfe.

However, I would not want this to be printed anywhere as fact without more documentation.

Unfortunately, after much research by many people, including a professional genealogist in Raleigh with access to the NC State Archives, a thorough search of the Moravian Archives in Winston Salem, searches of land and court records in Cabarrus, Stokes, Forsyth, and Buncombe, plus many years of research by all of us, I do not know how or if we can ever find further documentation. Records for that time period are few.

In the above data, you will note that if Caleb is the father of William, his abandonment of the family would explain why our William did not name a son after his father. He did however name his children after his “would be“ sister Elizabeth, his “would be” mother Christina, and his “would be” brother Solomon. His son John Jackson could have been named after any of his uncles Johann/John Wolf. His daughter Harriet had the middle name of Christine, similar to his “would be” mother.
If Elizabeth Wolfe, wife of Issac Garman was William's sister, her son William H. who signed the special bond for the estate settlement of William Wolf, was his nephew.

If Caleb was the father of our William, this means William had seven other siblings we do not know the identity of. Caleb had 11 children, at least 3 males and 3 females, with the remainder unknown.
This would also mean that our William was named after his “would be” grandfather, Wilhelm Adam Wolff, making him of German descent. We now know from the DNA results of our Wolf/Wolfe descendants that William was not of Cherokee heritage, as we had all been led to believe.

Warm thanks again to Cousin Carol for hiring a Pro and putting together such a comprehensive timeline! - Jim