- A series of posts about our family's Revolutionary War soldiers -
250 Years; 1776 - 2026
Our Family was there, from the Beginning
Johann Jonas Wolf
27 Dec 1739, Lebanon, Pennsylvania - 21 Sep 1787, Abbottstown, York, Pennsylvania
Son of Johan Jacob Wolf & Anna Barbara Orth
Husband of Appollonia Dick
My 5th great grandfather
Second Lieutenant in the 5th Company, 6th Battalion of the York Co. Militia, PA;
which later became the 8th Company, 7th Battalion of the York Co. Militia, PA
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Johann Jonas Wolf, born in Pennsylvania, was the youngest child of Johan Jacob and Anna Barbara (Orth) Wolf. He married Appollonia (Dick) Wolf. Appollonia had been born at sea when her parents emigrated from Germany to America.[i] The couple lived in York County, Pennsylvania.[ii]
Johann Jonas Wolf was a Second Lieutenant during the American Revolutionary War.[iii], [iv] At that time Adams County was still a part of York County. Although news was slow to arrive in this remote area the people were in support of the steps towards separation from the British Empire. As early as 1760 discontent was openly spoken of at public meetings. In April 1775 they raised money to send to the people of Boston. On 1 July 1775 the first company of soldiers marched from Pennsylvania to Boston. Companies and regiments of soldiers were formed. In 1777 Congress fled from Philadelphia to safety in Lancaster. After a brief stay they fled again. This time they settled in York where they remained for nine months. In 1778 the number of men from York County in the militia was 4,621.[v]
In 1778 Johann Jonas Wolf was in the Fifth Company, Sixth Battalion, with Peter Ickes as his Captain and John Mullin as the First Lieutenant. Jonas was the Second Lieutenant.[vi] In 1779 he was in the Seventh Battalion, Eighth Company. Peter Ickes was still his Captain. Now Jonas was the First Lieutenant.[vii],[viii] In 1781 – 82 he was,
“…in a detachment of the York County Militia under command of Captain John Wampler, in actual service guarding prisoners of war at Camp Security in York County, D 7, 1781 – F 7, 1782.”[ix]
Camp Security was a Prisoner of War Camp, just east of the City of York. It housed over one thousand British and Canadian prisoners of war between the summer of 1781 and the spring of 1783. Many of these were from the surrender of General John Burgoyne to General Gates at Saratoga, New York, on October 18, 1777.
The site of the Revolutionary prison camp was north of the York and East Prospect Road in the Northeastern part of Windsor Township. For three – fourths of a century it had been owned by Jacob Holtzinger. The prison, ‘pen’ as it had been called, was built in the form of a circle. Posts, fifteen feet in length, were erected in close proximity, so that the entire prison resembled an Indian fort; within the enclosures prisoners built huts. The County Militia guarded the camp for several years until the fall of 1782, when a congressional regiment was sent to guard the prisoners in York, Lancaster and Berks Counties.[x]
During the American Revolutionary War the Germans in Pennsylvania were strong supporters of the war. Men like Johann Jonas Wolf fought to repel the British troops. Many more families helped the fighting men by providing horses, wagons and food. The Pennsylvania counties were the most prosperous agricultural areas at that time. Even the non-combatant Mennonites never denied requests for provisions. Lancaster, York, Berks and Northampton Counties led the way in supplying the fighting troops.[xi]
In 1778 Johann Jonas Wolf was the over seer of the poor for Berwick Township.[xii]
Miller and Pencak describe the average farm in late Colonial Pennsylvania. The average farm was 125 acres.
There were seven head of cattle, three or four horses, eight pigs, ten sheep, some chickens, and a hive or two of bees. Fifty-three acres were under plow, in hay meadows, or in orchards. Another twenty acres were pastureland. Three acres were devoted to the house, barns, springhouse, and corncribs, while the remainder was woodlot, providing lumber, fuel, and foraging for cattle and pigs. The family, often with the assistance of a slave, servant, tenant family, or hired help, harvested 300 bushels of grains, dressed 450 pounds of pork and beef, made cheese, butter, beer, and grew vegetables, fruit, flax, and tobacco every year.[xiii]
Miller and Pencak continue to describe the average farm’s products and its purchases.
This average farm family sold about 55 bushels of wheat, 200 pounds of meat, plus flaxseed, hay, and other products and purchased cloth, shoes, hats, salt and spices, almanacs, Bibles and prayer books, hardware, tools, and more.[xiv]
Following the war, York County fell on hard times.
The winter of 1783 is known as the “hard winter,” during which everything froze, causing an entire failure of crops the following year. A contagious disease breaking out among the cattle, carried hundreds away. The people, generally, were in distressing circumstances. Collectors of taxes were unable to make their collections, … For a number of years after the war, times were hard, on account of the great depreciation of Continental money, and the waste of life and property during the long struggle.[xv]
The Wolf family belonged to the Emmanuel Reformed Church, Abbottstown.
Jonas Wolf was the ancestor of the Wolf family that took an active part in the affairs of the church for more than one hundred fifty years. Frederick Wolf, d. 1803, was a highly respected citizen of the Township, as is evidenced by an uninterrupted period of civil service covering a period of seventeen years.[xvi]
Johann Jonas Wolf died In September 1787 in Berwick Township. An inventory was made of his “Estate, Goods, Chattles, Rights and Credits”. The extensive listing included “The Dwelling Plantation, Consisting of 83 Acres and Allowances of Land, Another Plantation and tract of land Consisting of 120 acres, more or less.” Reading through the inventory gives a clear view of life in 1787, the time of his death.
A Sermon Book; Two Hymn Books; 2 Old Spelling Books, and Primer; Great – Coat; Four Coat, Jacket, Breeches and Hat; 4 pair of Trouzers [sic], & 1 pair of Leggins; 2 Shirts, and one pair of stockings; 1 pair of old boots, 1 pair of Shoes, Buckles; A watch and 3 old Shirts; A wagon; A Plough and Irons; 2 black horses; A Sorrel; A Black Mare; A Colt; A brindled Cow; A Spotted Heiffer [sic]; A brown Steer; A red Steer; A black Heiffer; 3 Heiffer Calves; 2 other Calves; 17 head of Sheep; A Wind Mill; A Waggon Cloath [sic]; A Cutting Box and Knife; The Geers [sic] and Stones of an Oil Mill; A Quantity of Wheat at 4/6 Bushels; A Quantity of Rye at 2/9 Bushels; A Quantity of Oats at 1/6 Bushels; Hay; 2 Dung forks, and hook; A hay – fork, 2 Rakes and 2 flails; 2 old casks and trough; A Quantity of Flax, unthreashed; A Quantity of Hemp, unwatered; 5 Cow Chains; A Pair of Hay – Ladders; 8 Planks; An Old Wheel – barrow; A Log – Chain; One Still – Door; A Harrow; Stretch Chains; A Sleigh; A sled; 4 Hogs; 2 Shovels; A grindstone; A pair of Hobbles; A Man Saddle, and Saddlebags; An old Saddle, and Saddlebags; A stallion chain; 2 Augers; A pair of Pincers, Chizzel [sic], Gouge, and Spike; A half – Bushel; A hand saw, and draw knife; Two pieces of Iron & a door hinge; A whip; A Cake – Iron; An old Sythe [sic] & piece of Gin Barrel; A Pot Trammel; A quilling – Wheel and Swifts; A Sythe [sic] and Craddle [sic]; 2 Spinning Wheels; A warping Bar, Wouk, and 22 spools; A weavers Loom; Reeds and Geers [sic]; 2 Gums with some Salts; A covered Straw Basket and dried apples; An old cask with some Sope [sic] and Fat; Riddles & Straw; An Old cask with some Lime; 2 Baskets and old Iron; A Bag with feathers; A pruning saw and Whip Stalk; Some Onions and old Sive [sic]; An empty Hogshead with straw cover; 2 straw baskets and some beans; A flour Barrel; An Axe and three rakes; A big Wheel, Reel and Swifts; A hair – sifter and Rope; A Dough Trough; A Side – saddle and Bridle; A pair of Steel yards; 9 Bags; A Chest and Box; A bed and Bedstead; 2 Razors 7 Strap; Table Clothes; An old Half Bushel and 7 Bread Baskets; A table; A Looking Glass; A Cupboard; Wool; Woolen Yarn; A Stone Jug; 2 little Tubs; 3 Pails; An Iron Pot; 2 pewter Basins, 4 Plates, 7 spoons & 8 Tea spoons; Tea tin, Coffee pot, Funnel, 1 Quart, 2 Pint & half pint cups; 5 Delf [sic] Plates; 10 pairs of cups & saucers, 2 tea pots, and a Sugar Pot; A glass and earthen bowl & salt Box; 1 lamp and Candlestick; A Coffee – Mill & Spice Box; 2 Bottles; 6 Knives and 10 Forks; A Kitchen Dresser; A Shelf[xvii]
Appollonia (Dick) Wolf died circa 1790. On 19 August 1790 another inventory was taken, this time of Appollonia’s Estate. Many of the same items were listed. The following were some possessions unique to Appollonia (Dick) Wolf:
A Bed Case; 3 Callico [sic] Gowns; 3 lintsey [sic] Gowns and a long Gown; a Woman’s Cloke [sic]; 8 lintsey [sic] petticoats; one silk hankercheif [sic]; a pair stocking and a pair of Mitten; 2 knifes, 2 forks, 3 cups and one apron; one bowl and a candlestick; blue and white woolen yarn; 3 yards of flax linen; 14 yards of ton linen; hand sope [sic]; a feather bed and two blankets; a pair of spectacles; a pine Chest; a wallet and a little bag[xviii]
The final resting place of Johann Jonas is in Abbottstown, Pennsylvania at Emmanuel United Church of Christ.
[i] Wolfe, J. Arthur. Jonas Wolf of Berwick Township, York County, Pennsylvania: A History and Genealogy of a Colonial Ancestor and Some of His Descendants. Privately Published: 1987.
[ii] Wolf family papers and charts from Christine Ann (Klessins) Zengler, Wisconsin. Wife of great grandson of Joseph W. Wolf.
[iii] Young, Henry James. Genealogical Reports for The Historical Society of York County: Evidences of the Wolf Families of York County before the Year 1850, 1938. From York County Heritage Trust, 250 East Market Street, York, Pennsylvania. Revolutionary Records; Jonas Wolf.
[iv] Second Lieutenant Jonas Wolfe, Ancestor #A127487, National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution Research Database.
[v] 1886 History of Adams County, Pennsylvania. 1977 Reprint. Chicago: Warner, Beers and Company, 1886.
[vi] Pennsylvania Archives; Sixth Series, Volume II, page 540.
[vii] Pennsylvania archives; Sixth Series, Volume II, page 565.
[viii] Prowell, George R. History of York County, Pennsylvania. Chicago: J. H. Beers & Company, 1907. Print.
[ix] Young, Henry James. Genealogical Reports for The Historical Society of York County: Evidences of the Wolf Families of York County before the Year 1850, 1938. From York County Heritage Trust, 250 East Market Street, York, Pennsylvania. Revolutionary Records; Jonas Wolf.
[x] Wolfe, J. Arthur. Jonas Wolf of Berwick Township, York County, Pennsylvania: A History and Genealogy of a Colonial Ancestor and Some of His Descendants. Privately Published: 1987.
[xi] Kuhns, Oscar. The German and Swiss Settlements of Colonial Pennsylvania. Reprint. New York: Eaton & Mains, 1979. Original Printing, 1901.
[xii] Young, Henry James. Genealogical Reports for the Historical Society of York County, Evidences of the Wolf Families of York County before the year 1950. Volume XX. The Historical Society of York County, 1938. . Copy of book owned by York County Heritage Trust, 250 East Market Street, York, Pennsylvania.
[xiii] Miller, Randall M., and William Pencak. Pennsylvania: A History of the Commonwealth.
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: The Pennsylvania State University Press, 2002.
[xiv] Ibid.
[xv] History and Directory of the Boroughs of Gettysburg, Oxford, York springs, Berwick and East Berlin, Adams County, PA with Historical Collections.
[xvi] Eisenhart, Willis W. A History of Abbottstown. 1953.
[xvii] Estate Files for Johann Jonas Wolf and Appollona Wolf of Berwick Township, Pennsylvania; Held at the York County Archives, 150 Pleasant Acres Road, York, Pennsylvania.
[xviii] Estate Files for Johann Jonas Wolf and Appollona Wolf of Berwick Township, Pennsylvania; Held at the York County Archives, 150 Pleasant Acres Road, York, Pennsylvania.
