Woolf Family

An Essay By Phil Norfleet

The surname Woolf, also spelled Wolf and Wolfe, is apparently of German Palatine origin. Some of the earliest official records, pertaining to people with this surname, come from the northern part of the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, in the neighborhood of the modern town of Winchester. In the last third of the 18th century, members of this family migrated south, along the Great Philadelphia Wagon Road, into southwest Virginia, Washington County, North Carolina (now in Tennessee) and into the area which became, in 1786, Greenwood County, South Carolina (SC).

After the Revolution, Mary Woolf, daughter of Henry Woolf, married John Mayfield in Greenville County SC. In the late 1790's, this couple, along with several Mayfield and Woolf family relatives, removed to the Pitman Creek area of southern Kentucky. The Pitman Creek area became part of Pulaski County, when that county was formed in 1798.

I personally have not done any detailed research on this family. The information contained in the following family tree report is mostly based on: 1) material graciously provided to me by John King Woolf of Baton Rouge, Louisiana and 2) from the papers of Ella Mayfield Taylor of Lexington, Kentucky (now maintained by the Pulaski County Historical Society). Mrs. Taylor was a great-granddaughter of Mary Woolf Mayfield (d. 1848).

I have reviewed the Revolutionary War pay records of South Carolina (the so-called "Audited Accounts") for Woolf family members. In addition, I have selectively reviewed the 1790 and 1850 Federal Census Reports for South Carolina and Alabama, respectively. The tables, shown below, summarize my findings.

Woolf/Wolfe Family Members Who Fought in the Revolution in SC

In the years just prior to the Revolution, several members of the Woolf/Wolfe family migrated to South Carolina. Several members of this family fought in the Revolution in SC on the Whig side. The following table summarizes the Woolf Revolutionary War service information as reflected in the SC Audited Accounts (A. A.) and Stub Indices ( as follows:

Name	Audited Account Reference	Remarks
George Wolfe	A. A. 8709	Served in the SC Militia under Col. Roebuck before the fall of Charleston
Henry Wolfe	A. A. 8770	Served in the SC Militia during 1780 - 1782, under Capts. Parson and James, and Col. Roebuck.
Mathias Woolf	A. A. 8712, 2528, and 6835	Served in the German Fusiliers of Charleston in 1775 and as an express rider for the Whig forces in 1776, 1780 and 1781. In 1782 he served as a cattle drover.

Name	Dwelling #	Age	Sex	Occupation	Real Property Value	State of Birth
D. S. J. Woolf	71	30	M	Druggist	$800	LA
Susan A. C. Woolf	71	24	F	---	---	SC
James A. Woolf	71	2	M	---	---	AL
B. D. Woolf	71	3/12	M	---	---	AL
Eliza A. Woolf	71	33	F	---	---	LA

Samuel Gholson	83	25	M	Clerk	$300	AL
Martha Gholson	83	40	F	---	---	AL
Henry A. Woolf	83	23	M	Clerk	---	AL
Frances Woolf	83	22	F	---	---	AL
William H. McIlveen	83	22	M	Farmer	---	AL
William S. Wood	83	21	M	Farmer	---	AL

William King	381	57	M	Farmer	$15,000	VA
John King	381	28	M	Lawyer	$500	MS
Willis P. King	381	25	M	Farmer	---	MS
Winfield Woolf	381	28	M	Physician	---	AL
Elizabeth Woolf	381	20	F	---	---	AL
William K. Woolf	381	1	M	---	---	AL

Thomas J. Woolf	742	33	M	Farmer	$1,000	MS
Lucy A. Woolf	742	30	F	---	---	VA
Josephine Woolf	742	8	F	---	---	AL
Winfield Woolf	742	7	M	---	---	AL
Florence Woolf	742	3	F	---	---	AL
Mary Batts	742	16	F	---	---	VA
Charley Bonds	742	35	M	Overseer	---	KY
Thomas D. Williams	742	28	M	Carpenter	---	England

James B. Woolf	748	60	M	Farmer	$4,500	SC
Martha Woolf	748	45	F	---	---	KY
James Woolf	748	19	M	Clerk	---	AL
Frances Woolf	748	14	F	---	---	AL
Jane A. Woolf	748	11	F	---	---	AL
Mildred Woolf	748	7	F	---	---	AL
Martha V. Beale	748	13	F	---	---	AL

Mayfield Family Genealogy

Woolf Family

An Essay By Phil Norfleet