Genealogy is not only a fun hobby involving names and dates but a way to bring your ancestors to life. I started searching for my past when I visited the LDS library in Oakland California and found an Atlas of Athens County Ohio which had an article and picture about the Wolfe family.  I knew my mother’s maiden name was Wolfe and I excitedly called her and read off the names in the article.  It turned out to be an article about her grandparents and their children.  That did it.  I was bit by the genealogy bug and wanted to know more.

What I found out really opened my eyes because my maternal family was not what I expected.  I never really knew my grandfather and from what I heard as I grew up made me think of him as a drunk and a sad excuse for a man. That’s a harsh description I know but the stories I grew up on were of my grandparents boozing and fighting and not doing a very good job of being parents to my mom, her sister and brother.

After a little research though, I discovered my maternal ancestors were fine people and were adventurous and interesting.  My favorites are my 5x great grandparents, Christopher and Rhoda Wolfe. Christopher moved from his home in western Pennsylvania around the turn of the 19^th century to the wilds of Ohio.  The government was giving land to young men who were willing to protect Marietta from the savages.  Okay, not very politically correct, I know but that’s the way the European white people looked on Native Americans at the time.

But think of the adventure.  He moved from his home in his twenties to strike out on his own in a new untamed wilderness. He did quite well in Ohio, first meeting and marrying Rhoda Dorr and raising a large family on his thousands of acres of land. He owned the local sawmill and was quite prosperous.

Lore has it that at one time he built a new large house and hired two stonemasons to each build a fireplace at each end of the house.  He then threw a party after the house was completed and asked his guests to judge which was the best fireplace. He was reputed to be a happy, generous man.

Wolfe Cemetery sign and driveway

What really brought Christopher and Rhoda to life for me was finding their final resting places. I was travelling the back roads of southern Ohio one day with my mother, sister and aunt. After getting thoroughly lost and turning around on a country road, we saw a small sign on the side of the road which said “Wolf Cemetery”. By the sign was a gravel road which twisted up a hill side. It was raining that day but there was no way we were going to drive by without exploring!

We were able to drive about halfway up when we came upon a chain blocking us from going further.  So we trudged up the rest of the way on foot in the rain.  I can still remember the shivers that ran up my spine when we came across the gravestones for Christopher and Rhoda. The inscriptions on their gravestones say a lot about the people they were.

Graves of Christopher and Rhoda Wolf

Christopher’s:

Farewell my children and friends so dear,
I am not dead but sleeping here,
waiting in hopes of that blissful day,
when I shall arise and leave my bed of clay.

Rhoda’s:

Friends nor physician could not save,
Her mortal body from the grave,
Nor can the grave confine her here,
When Christ doth call she must appere [sic].

Finding the cemetery with Christopher and Rhoda and other relatives really helps to paint them in my mind as people and not just information. What a great way to bring your ancestors to life.

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