George T. Wolfley
George T. Wolfley, postmaster at Radnor, has been prominent in the affairs of this section of Delaware County for many years. He was born at Radnor, Ohio. May 22, 1837, and is a son of George and Nancy (Perry) Wolfley, and a grandson of Lewis Wolfley.
Lewis Wolfley was born in Germany and after he came to America he settled in Pennsylvania, where he married Mary Tute for his second wife. George Wolfley, son of Lewis and Mary (Tute) Wolfley. was born in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, July 8, 1807, and died at Radnor, December 29, 1879. When he was three months old his parents moved to Lancaster, Ohio, where they resided until the death of the father. On May 3, 1823, George Wolfley came to Radnor, with his widowed mother, teaching several terms, having settled on a farm which was situated one and one-half miles of what is now Radnor village. The first settler on the place had been a pioneer of 1805 and he left a log cabin into which the Wolfley family moved. George Wolfley resided on that farm until 1871, when he sold out and moved into Radnor. He was a man of sterling traits of character, active in both public affairs and in the educational and religious advancement of his community. He was one of the pillars of the Methodist Episcopal Church and was as firm in his belief as were his neighbors and close friends, John Humphreys and James Kyle, in theirs, the former being a Congregationalist and the latter a Baptist. These three representative men controlled and promoted many of the industries of the neighborhood and were warm friends as long as thev lived. In his political views, George Wolfley was first a Whig and later a Republican. For twenty-five successive years he served as township clerk and he filled other offices.
George Wolfley married Nancy Perry, who was a daughter of Robert Perry. He was born in Wales and left home when a boy of 16 years with the intention of being a sailor, and came to America on a vessel in that capacity. When again on land he decided to make the United States his home, and after working at farming for four years in the State of New York, he went to Baltimore, with the intention of returning to Wales in order to bring his parents back with him. As he walked down a street in that city he was amazed to see a woman who walked with his mother's peculiar gait and when he stopped her it proved indeed to be the mother whom he had imagined to be in Wales. The meeting was an affecting one and the mother had no idea that her sailor son was in America. The Perry family, consisting of father, mother, Robert and several other children, then made their way to Delaware County, Ohio, and were the first settlers in Radnor Township, this being in 1803. In 1811, Robert Perry married Sarah Hoskins and their first child was the mother of Mr. Wolfley. She was born March 22, 1812, and died August 24, 1894. Henry and Robert Perry helped to organize the first Methodist Episcopal Church in the township, the first place of worship being a log cabin. Robert Perry was one of the first trustees of the township. He died in September, 1852, aged 66 years.
When Robert Perry found his parents in Baltimore, he learned that they had left Wales in 1802. Together they came to Ohio and reached Radnor Township in May, 1803, where Henry Perry secured 100 acres of land and he remained with his sons until the following July, two of them having accompanied him, the rest of the family having remained in Baltimore. They made the trip from that city to Radnor in a cart, and the family was reunited in November. The two sons who were left in the woods alone were Levi and Reuben and they had early learned the use of firearms. Game was plentiful and they had no difficulty in finding sufficient food and by the time the father returned they were able to show him a large part of cleared land. They had many undesirable visitors in wandering Indians, who were not always friendly, and were invariably thievish. On numerous occasions the Perry boys were forced to show their mettle but there is no record that they ever evinced any cowardice or failed to rout their enemies. They were pioneers by instinct and when they grew to manhood and the country in their neighborhood had become settled, they left home and again became pioneers, making homes for themselves in the still uncivilized regions of Indiana.
Of the seven children born to George Wolfley and wife, the survivors are four, but six passed infancy, namely: Lewis, who is a veteran of the Civil War. resides at Olathe, Kansas, having served in Company A, One Hundred and Forty-fifth Regiment, Ohio National Guard; Robert, who died in Kansas in 1896, was a member of the same regiment; George T.; Sarah, who was accidentally killed in a runaway, at the age of six years; Ebenezer. residing at Edgerton, Kansas, served in the Civil War as a member of the Second Regiment, Ohio Heavy Artillery; John M., who died in 1881, served in the Ohio National Guard; and Margaret Ellen, who married William H. Dildine, of Prospect.
George T. Wolfley attended the local schools and later spent three years at the Ohio Wesleyan University, following which he taught several terms of school. In 1867 he moved to Shelby County, Illinois, where he engaged in teaching school during the winters and farming during the summers until 1876, when he returned to Delaware County and for seven years engaged in farming in Troy Township. In the spring of 1883 he came to Radnor, where he embarked in a mercantile business and conducted a store for twenty and one-half years, on April 1, 1904, selling it to Powell & Coonfare. From 1888 to 1904, Mr. Wolfley was in the tile business under the firm name of Wolfley & Son. during which time he erected all the buildings used in the industry and carried on a large trade. From 1897 until 1904 he gave his attention to managing the mill, his son and partner. H. W Wolfley, having moved to Prospect. In 1889, Mr. Wolfley was first appointed postmaster at Radnor, by President Harrison, and held the office for four years. On January 1. 1898, he was appointed postmaster by President McKinley and he has been the incumbent ever since. He is an ardent Republican and is in close touch with political matters in this section. On various occasions he has been elected to other offices, being one of the reliable and substantial men of the community, but he has not sought political favors for himself and when he was elected justice of the peace for Radnor, he refused to serve. During his first residence in Troy Township he served as a trustee and also served one year in Radnor Township as assessor. In 1864, Mr. Wolfley enlisted in Company C, One Hundred and Forty-fifth Regiment, Ohio National Guard, and accompanied his command when it was sent to the defense of Washington.
Mr. Wolfley was married to Louisa Darst, who is a daughter of Samuel Darst, of Troy Township, Delaware County, and five of their six children reached mature years, namely: Harvey W., residing at Prospect; Jennie F., who married Thomas L. Wiggins, residing at Portales, New Mexico; Nannie B.; Cora L, who married Daniel Ritter, residing in Radnor Township, and Hattie. Mr. Wolfley and family belong to the Methodist Episcopal Church, in which he is a trustee, and has held all of the offices of a layman. He is a member of Prospect Lodge, F. & A. M., and he served four years as master of Tower Hill Lodge, No. 493, in Illinois.
From 20th Century History of Delaware County, Ohio, and Representative Citizens, Edited and compiled by James R. Lytle, Delaware, Ohio, Biographical Publishing Co., Chicago, 1908