Wolff and Dietz

Johann Ludwig (Lewis) Wolff married Anna Catherine Deitz 21 May 1776. After her death during childbirth (1779), Lewis married Anna Marie Moser (daughter of James Moser and Sarah Binckele) circa 1789 in Stokes County.


Revolutionary War Service: In the Spring and Autumn of 1776, Lewis' commanding officers wrote that he had served as fifer three or four weeks in the Expedition against the Cherokee Indians. In September he was ordered back to Surry to join the Virginia troops and to nurse a sick family member.

In February 1778, Wolff volunteered again for duty in Salisbury, North Carolina to transport Tory and British prisoners from Salisbury prison to Martinsville in Guilford County, North Carolina. In 1780, Wolff served under Captain Joseph Phillips for three months, marching various routes through Surry & Wilkes, Burke & Lincoln [counties] in North Carolina, and then into South Carolina.

Wolff served at the Battle of King's Mountain, SC, under Cols Campbell, Cleveland, Shelby & Major J. Winston with Tennessee's OverMountain Men who defeated Fergerson's troops to turn the tide of America's fight for Independence.

Wolff's application for a pension was approved; he was granted a pension of $32.16 per annum. Wife Anna Maria was given a pension of $25.21 at his death on 8 Nov 1842. He was buried in the Lutheran Cemetery in Rural Hall, NC.

In an affidavit by Lewis Wolff on 29 Aug. 1840 in Stokes Co., NC, he stated that he had served a three-month tour of duty as a musician (fifer) in the same militia company under Capt. Henry Smith with Stokes' County's John Martin (who married Nancy Shipp).

John"Jack" Martin was born as the first child of Joseph and Ann Sandage Martin in 1756. The family was living in Louisa Co. Virginia. John settled first in Stokes Co. No. Carolina and played an important role in the Revolutionary War and in the settlement of the area.

In 1784 Martin married Nancy Shipp, daughter of Josiah Shipp (d. 1800 and Anna Cox 1724-1828). During the years 1798-1799 and again in 1811-1812 he served the County as a representative in the State General Assembly. For 30 years he also served as Magistrate of the Stokes County Court. Martin was a prominent farmer, owning nearly 8,000 acres of land, part of which was a grant from the English Crown. John and Nancy Shipp Martin had a family of 10 Children.

Why is this Martin connection relevant to the Wolff lineage?

We will soon see additional connections between the Wolff (Wolfe) family with Jonesville's alleged original namesakes, Obediah and Salethiel Martin (sons of James Martin and Elizabeth Crawford of Amherst Co., Va.), with their niece Sarah (Sally) Martin (daughter of James Martin Jr.), with the Martin family connection to Amherst, Virginia, and with the alleged illigitimate son of Thomas Jefferson, Claiborne Howard, who married Sally Martin.

Ahhhhhh ... what tangled webs we weave .......