An undated photograph of Edward Livingston Wolf from the files of Tom Brown
Ira Wolfe, son of Anna Brenizer, was born in December of 1853. Ira's father has been identified by DNA testing and court documents.
DNA matches indicate that Ira Wolfe was a descendant of Christian Wolf and Sarah Steiner. There are several DNA matches between descendants of Ira Wolfe and descendants of Christian Wolf and Sarah Steiner. In his 1853 will, Christian Wolf named 14 living children and a son who had died. We have found DNA matches with 28 descendants of 9 of those 15 children. Christian Wolf had 8 sons: three sons with his first wife Anna Marie Ludwig and five sons with his second wife Sarah Steiner. There are also DNA matches between descendants of Ira Wolfe and descendants of Elizabeth Steiner, sister of Sarah Steiner, which strongly suggests that Ira was a descendant of Sarah Steiner rather than of Christian's first wife. In addition, the DNA matches generally are weaker with descendants of Christian Wolf and his first wife than with descendants of Christian Wolf and Sarah Steiner, indicating that Ira Wolfe's father was one of the five sons of Christian Wolf and Sarah Steiner. The DNA matches are generally stronger with a descendant of their son Edward Livingston Wolf than with descendants of other children of Christian Wolf and Sarah Steiner. In addition, we have found a DNA match with a descendant of Mary Ann Bricker, who named Edward Wolf as the father of her child in court documents, cited below. Genetically it is most plausible that Edward Livingston Wolf was the father of Ira Wolfe.
1850-54 The situation, the biology, and the geography were all in place for a meeting of Edward Wolf and Anna Brenizer. Edward Wolf was unmarried and was living in the home of a merchant in Carlisle in the 1850 census. Edward's 70 year old father lived in South Middleton, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. Anna Brenizer lived in South Middleton, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania with her widowed mother. Edward Wolfe and Anna Brenizer were teenagers, differing in age by one year or less. We do not know the nature of the relationship between them, but there are several documented events during this period of their lives.
1850 On August 9, Edward Wolfe (age 17, born in Pennsylvania) lived in Carlisle Twp, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, in a household with Charles Ogilby (age 44), Rebecca Ogilby (age 40), Joseph Ogilby (age 14), William Ogilby (age 7), Ann Ogilby (age 4), Mary Ogilby (age 1), John Noble (age 35), W Augustus Fughtig (age 19), Sarah Porter (age 15), Catharine Binder (age 36), and Mary Hacket (age 17). Charles Ogilby was a merchant. John, W Augustus, and Edward were salesmen. [1]
1850 On August 27, Joanna Brenizer (age 16) and her brothers Lafayette and Washington (both age 15) lived with their widowed mother, Mary Brenizer (age 44) in South Middleton Twp, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. [2]
1850 On August 30, Edward's father Christian Wolf (age 70, born in Pennsylvania) lived in South Middleton, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, in a household with Sarah Wolf (age 58), and Ann Wolf (age 20). [3]
1853 Anna Brenizer's mother died on May 18 in Hampton, Adams County, Pennsylvania. [4]
1853 Edward Livingston Wolf reportedly moved from Cumberland County to Mercer County, Illinois, according to Edward's 1914 obituary. [5]
1853 Ira Gerald Wolfe, son of Anna Brenizer, was born on December 12 in Cumberland County. [6]
1854 The Cumberland County Quarter Session Court docket for April recorded a charge of "Commonwealth vs Edward L. Wolf - Forn & Basty [Fornication and Bastardy] April 10, 1854. True Bill. 1st May, 1854, Issue process Wm Shearer, Dist. Att'y. Same day Pros issued. - Settled". [7] Court records indicate that this case referred to a female child conceived with Mary Ann Bricker on December 11, 1852; Witnessed by Mary Ann Bricker. [PhotoCopy, Edward Wolf and Mary Ann Bricker.]
1854 Christian Wolf, father of Edward Wolf, died on September 2, in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. Christian's son Edward L. Wolf was the informant for Christian's death certificate, dated September 27 and recorded on October 8 in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, which suggests that Edward returned to Cumberland County from Illinois. [8]
1854 The Cumberland County Quarter Session Court docket for November recorded "Commonwealth vs Edward Wolf - Fornication & Bastardy (settled), 14th Nov 1854, True Bill". [9] A court document indicates that this case referred to a male child conceived with Anna M. Brenizer on March 22, 1853; Witnessed by Anna M. Brenizer. [PhotoCopy, Edward Wolf and Anna Brenizer.]
1854 On November 23, a newspaper announcement reported that "The Court of Quarter Sessions of Cumberland county, convened on Monday the 18th inst. … The following cases were tried and disposed of: Commonwealth … vs. Edward L. Wolf - True Bill. Fornication and Bastardy. - Settled before trial." [10]
Edward L. Wolf was charged in the Cumberland County court in November, 1854, following Ira's birth in December, 1853. Edward apparently had returned to Cumberland County and signed his father's death certificate by September, 1854. Another suit against Edward was settled before trial in April, 1854. The Court docket does not name the mother or child involved in either of the paternity charges, but court records name the mothers and dates of conception. Other records indicate that Ira was born on December 12, 1853, which agrees reasonably with the reported date of conception. We do not know when Anna Brenizer and Joseph Chronister were married, but in the 1860 census Joseph Chronister, carpenter (age 24), and Ann (age 25) lived in Reading Twp, Adams County, Pennsylvania with children Ira (age 6), Laura (age 3), and Willace (age 9/12). Notes about subsequent events in the lives of Edward Wolf and Anna Brenizer are in the Chronicles for each of them.
Research Notes:
1854 The dockets of the Court of Quarter Sessions recorded two paternity cases brought against Edward L Wolf for fathering children with Anna Brenizer and Anna Bricker. Descendants of both of the children have autosomal DNA matches with each other and with another descendant of Edward Wolf by an official marriage and with many descendants of Edward's siblings. In addition, Robert Wolfe and another descendant of John Wolfe (a son of Ira Wolfe) have a Y-DNA match with a male line descendant of Henry Wolf, a sibling of Edward Livingston Wolf. The DNA evidence corroborates the testimony of both of the mothers. We encourage other descendants to report DNA testing results so that other ancestral relationships can be further clarified.
[1] United States Federal Census, 1850, [AncestryImage], [AncestryRecord].
[2] United States Federal Census, 1850, [AncestryImage], [AncestryRecord].
[3] United States Federal Census, 1850, [AncestryImage], [AncestryRecord].
[4] Pennsylvania, Deaths, 1852-1854, [AncestryRecord], [AncestryImage].
[5] Chronicling America, Historic American Newspapers, Library of Congress, Rock Island Argus, January 14, 1914, page 5, column 4, [NewsChroniclingAmerica].
[6] Ohio Department of Health, Ohio, Death Certificates, [FamilySearchImage], [FamilySearchRecord].
[7] Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, Quarter Session Court Docket, FHL film 1011317, image 083, April-May, 1854-105, [FamilySearchImage], [FHLCatalog], [Cumberland Archives Contact].
[8] Pennsylvania, Deaths, 1852-1854, [AncestryRecord], [AncestryImage].
[9] Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, Quarter Session Court Docket, FHL film 1011317, image 095, November, 1854-129, [FamilySearchImage], [FHLCatalog], [Cumberland Archives Contact].
[10] Pennsylvania Newspaper Archive, American Volunteer, Carlisle, Pennsylvania, November 23, column 5, [PSU News Archive].