WILLIAM De WOLF
From German Flatts, NY to Parish, NY
Contributed by Lisa Slaski
Transcribed by Joanne Murray
De Wolf, William, was born in German Flats, Herkimer county, December 1, 1820, son of John and Eunice
(Ludington) De Wolf. John De Wolf was a soldier under the first Napoleon, was with him in the
invasion of Russia, and capture of Moscow. He came to America after the downfall of Napoleon and
practiced his trade of shoemaker, and reared a family of eight children. Notwithstanding the
hardships he endured in Russia he was remarkable for his personal strength, which has not been
impaired. William went from German Flats to Frankfort and then came to Parish about forty years ago,
where for thirty years he followed farming. He then sold out and kept the Railroad House at the depot
ten years, and then retired. He married twice; first, Melissa Place, by whom he had seven children,
six now living. His secondwife was Clarissa Comstock, who died February 22, 1894. One of his sons,
M.T. De Wolf, is mayor of the city of Windom, Cottonwood county, Minn. W.H. De Wolf is in business
in Nora Springs, Iowa; J.P. De Wolf is in business at Bingham Lake, Cottonwood county, Minn.; A.L.
De Wolf is in business in Parish.
Source: "Landmarks of Oswego county, New York," edited by John C. Churchill, assisted by H. Perry Smith and W. Stanley Child.
Syracuse, N.Y.: D. Mason & Company, Publishers, 1895. Page 18.
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