Maud Fowler Wolfe  

1 Andrew Jackson Wolfe married Nancy Jane Barton. They had:

• 2 EDGAR BARTON WOLFE
• 3 ROBERT FREDERICK WOLFE
• 4 IDA MAY WOLFE
• 5 CHARLES BERTRAM WOLFE
• 6 KATHERINE REBECCA WOLFE
• 7 HARRY PRESTON WOLFE

Generation 2

6 HARRY PRESTON WOLFE, Sr. born 26 Apr. 1872 in Cumberland, Guernsey, Ohio died of kidney disease 10 Jan. 1946, Burial Green Lawn Cemetery Columbus, Franklin County, Ohio

married 8 Dec. 1895 in Columbus, Franklin, Ohio, MAUD FOWLER born 14 Oct. 1871 Columbus, Franklin, Ohio , died 21 Sep. 1941 Columbus, Franklin, Ohio daughter of John Morrow Fowler, a Columbus dentis & Mary Earhart Fowler She was

Harry attended public schools in Zanesville, Muskingum Co., and Corning, Perry Co., graduating from Corning High School in 1890. At the age of 10 he earned his first money selling newspapers. At age 15 he became the Corning village lamplighter. Every night Harry lit the lamps; every morning he extinguished them; on Saturdays he cleaned the globes.

In 1890 Harry joined his brother, Robert, at H. C. Godman in Columbus. After work the brothers operated a side business: Harry made shoes and Robert sold them. Before long, with $500 capital in borrowed money, they quit Godman and set up the Wolfe Brothers Shoe Co. in a rented room on Spring St. Their two other brothers, Charles & Edgar, were early partners, but later left to form their own shoe company. By 1894 Robert & Harry had bought power machinery, and a year later they incorporated, with Robert president and Harry treasurer.

In the Columbus, Ohio, City Directory for 1891/2, Harry P. Wolfe was listed as a shoemaker. He lived at 798 Mt. Vernon Ave. with his parents.

In less than a decade, Wolfe Brothers Shoe Co. grew to employ 800 people. From manufacturing shoes, the brothers integrated vertically to retailing, forming a chain of shoe stores called Wolfe Wear-U-Well, which survived until the late 1950s. Harry was general manager and treasurer, in which capacities he continued to serve during the remainder of his life.

Using profits from the shoe business, the brothers next moved into newspaper publishing. In 1902, with his brother Robert, Harry purchased the “Ohio State Journal.” In addition to being co-publisher, he became vice-president in 1927, continuing in that capacity until his death. In 1904 when the brothers purchased the “Columbus Evening Dispatch,” Harry became vice-president. At his elder brother’s death, Harry succeeded to the position of president and publisher, and held that position until his own death.



From 1917 to 1919 Harry was the director of sales in the War Savings Thrift Stamp Campaign. Under his leadership, Ohio led all states in per capita sales and was the first state to dispose of the full quota assigned by the Secretary of the Treasury. From 1913 to 1921,

Harry was a member of the Board of Directors of the Fourth District Federal Reserve Bank in Cleveland. In addition to these activities, Harry became controlling stockholder and director of Ohio’s first bank holding company, BancOhio Corp., in 1929.

With his three sons and his nephew Edgar T. Wolfe, each of whom had an equal voice in conducting the family’s manufacturing, banking and newspaper enterprises, Harry began operating radio station WBNS [Wolfe Banking Newspapers & Shoes] in 1931. From 1934 until his death the five Wolfes jointly operated Agricultural Lands, Inc., a firm controlling 5,536 acres of choice farm land in Madison & Clark Counties, Ohio.

Former Summer Cottager Dies at Columbus, Ohio

Harry P. Wolfe, publisher of the C olumbus Dispatch and vice president of the Ohio Journal, died at Columbus, Ohio Thursday of a complication of diseases, aggravated by flu believed to have been contracted New Year's Eve.

His age was 73

Born in Cumberland he beca,e a leader in manufacturing, publishing, financial and real estate enterprises.

Mr. Wolfe went to Columbus in 1890, and with his brother Robert F., soon organized the buisness which grew into the Wolfe Wear-U-Well Shoe Corporation.

In 1903 the brother entered the publishing field with the acquistion of the Ohio State Journal and two years later purchased the Columbus Dispatch. Afterward they acquired banking interests which in 1939 were consolidated under the name of BancOhio.

The WOlfe interests include radio stations WBNS and its frequency modulation afffiliate WELD. The WOlfe Farms in Madison county include 5,537 acres and are said to be the largest single farming operation east of the Mississippi.

Mr. WOlfe was a leader in the Republican party in Ohio.

Until a few years ago the Wolf family maintained a summer home on the East-side of Lake Maxinkuckee and were very well known here.
,br> Surviving are three sons: Robert H., vice president of the Dispatch Printing Company; H. Preston, assistant editor of the Dispatch and Maj. Robert R. WOlfe assistant president of BancOhio. Jan 16 1946 Citizen

married 28 Dec 1895 Columbus, Fairfield, Ohio, Maude Fowler Birth 14 OCT. 1871 Columbus, Franklin, Ohio Death 21 SEP. 1941 Columbia, Franklin, Ohio Burial Green Lawn Cemetery Columbus, Franklin County, Ohiodaughter of John Monroe Fowler and Mary H Earhart

Mrs. Harry P. Wolfe, Well Known Cottager, Dies of Heart Attack

Columbus, Ohio, Sept. 22 (Special to The Citizen).- - Nationally known for her welfare work in the day nursery field. Mrs. aude Fowler Wolfe, wife of Harry P. Wolfe, publisher of the Columbus Dispatch, Columbus, Ohio, died suddenly of a heart attack at her residence Sunday evening.

She was 69 years of age.

Funeral services will be conducted Wednesday afternoon at 2:00 o'clock in the Broad Street Presbyterian church here.

For many years the Wolfes had maintained a summer home on Lake Maxinkuckee selling the property only a few months ago, and Mrs. Wolfe is well known there.

Two of the Wolfe's sons graduated from the Culver Military Academy.

Mrs. Wolfe participated in many charitable activities, but for 30 years her principal interest lay in the developing of the day nursary. For several years she was the president of the Day Nursery Association and visited the institutions daily, supervising the health and educational program.

Children was her first interest and much of her time was devoted to them, particularly children of needy parents.

In 1935 Mrs. Wolfe was named vice-prestdent of the National Federation of Day Nurseries and directed its work in four midwestern states. She was instrumental in the formulation of a new governing policy for the Federation with is credited in being a material factor in strengthening the organization's national program.

In addition to her husband, she is survived by three sons, Robert H. H. Preston; and Richard S.; a sister, Mrs. Earl D. Gardner; two grandsons and a granddaughter. Edgar T. Wolfe, president of the Ohio State Journal, is a nephew. Culver Citizen Sep 24, 1941

The three children of Harry & Maud (Fowler) Wolfe were:

Dorothy Helen Wolfe Birth 14 Feb 1898 Death 14 Feb 1898 Burial Green Lawn Cemetery Columbus, Franklin County, Ohio
• 8 ROBERT HUSTON WOLFE, born 7 Nov. 1899
• 9 H. PRESTON BEEBE WOLFE, born 11 Aug. 1905
• 10 RICHARD STANTON WOLFE, born 27 Mar. 1907

Genration 3

8 ROBERT HUSTON WOLFE BIRTH 7 NOV 1899 Columbus, Franklin, Ohio DEATH 31 OCT 1981 Columbus, Franklin, Ohio of kidney disease. Burial Green Lawn Cemetery Columbus, Franklin County, Ohio

Upon the death of Robert’s cousin Edgar Wolfe in 1957, Robert became publisher of the “Dispatch.” Robert married four times.

His first wife was Emily Jane Culver BIRTH 4 JAN 1902 St Louis, St Louis, Missouri DEATH 8 JUNE 1981 Columbus, Franklin, Ohio. BIRTH 4 Jan 1902 DEATH 8 Jun 198 BURIAL Green Lawn Cemetery Columbus, Franklin County, Ohio Knight K. Culver & Laura M. Merriman

Robert Huston Wolfe & Emily Jane Culver had a son:

• 11 WILLIAM Culver WOLFE, born 7 Nov. 1926

married 04 May 1935 Franklin, Ohio Eugenia A. Murray (1907-) daughter of Chas B Murray & Elizabeth Caren

married 14 Sep 1951 Ottawa, Ohio, Ruth Vesper Lambert. She was born 2 Feb. 1920, died in Sep. 1969. daughter of Herman William Lambert & Laura Hughes

Robert Huston Wolfe & Ruth Vesper Lambert had a son:

• 12 MICAHEL LAMBERT WOLFE,. In 1986 Michael was “Dispatch” production manager. He has one child.

married 17 Jan 1970 Franklin county Ohio Marjori Mae Savage BIRTH 26 Apr 1921 Justus, Stark County, Ohio DEATH 8 Jan 2004 Bexley, Franklin County, Ohio BURIAL Union Lawn Cemetery Navarre, Stark County, Ohio daughter of Francis Savage & Myrtle Verne McCaskey

9 H. PRESTON BEEBE WOLFE, born 11 Aug. 1905, died 7 May 1996 of heart failure. married (1) EUGENIA SHEPPARD married

Eugenia became one of the country’s most influential fashion writers in the 1950s. Jean was born 17 July 1909.

Upon the death of his cousin Edgar Wolfe in 1957, Preston became president of the Dispatch Printing Co. He retired from this position in 1973.

Preston was an avid historian and a major benefactor of the Oliver Miller Homestead Association, Bethel Park, Pa.

Preston Wolfe '28
Princeton Alumni Weekly
Published in Oct. 9, 1996

Preston Wolfe, prominent newspaper editor and civic leader in Columbus, Ohio, died May 7, 1996, at Riverside Methodist Hospital. He divided his secondary education between Columbus Academy, Culver Military Academy, and the Hun School. He was a member of Charter Club He left college during junior year.

Preston was a cub reporter with the Washington Star, and then with the old Ohio State Journal. He became editor and president of the company in 1947 and retired in 1973. His son, John F., succeeded him.

Preston married Jean Bostwick in 1938. He is survived by her, his daughter, Nancy Lane, his son, John F., five grandchildren, and two great grandchildren.

Preston was an old fashioned newspaper executive, treating his staff as family. He was knowledgeable about public issues, and fearless abou commenting on them. He was a member of the Metropolitan Committee, a small but significant unofficial group of the city's leaders who were interested in the growth and development of Columbus. Preston was influential in promoting both an income tax to undergird the city's infrastructure and a bond issue for first-rate hospitals. Preston was a member of many civic boards, as well as on many boards of cultural and charitable institutions, including the Broad St. Presbyterian Church. The classmates at Princeton who knew Preston both in and after college admired his ability and dedication.

The Class of 1928

(2) JEAN BOSTWICK 2 Apr. 1938,

The children of Preston & Jean (Bostwick) Wolfe are:

• 13 NANCY BARTON WOLFE
• 14 JOHN FREDERICK WOLFE

20 RICHARD STANTON WOLFE, born 27 Mar. 1907, married ELIZABETH MARTIN, died while on a vacation cruise on 28 Dec. 1953.

Richard s. wolfe, 46, prominent Ohio publisher who for many years was one of the most popular members of the Lake Maxinkuckee summer colony, died dec. 28, while on holiday cruise with his family aboard the cunard liner caronia near the Dutch island curacaso off the coast of south America. - 6 jan 1954

He was an executive of BancOhio Corp. and a lover of music.

The children of Richard & Elizabeth (Martin) Wolfe are:

• 15 RICHARD MARTIN WOLFE
• 16 BRUCE FOWLER WOLFE

Generation 4

11 WILLIAM Culver WOLFE, born 7 Nov. 1926, died 16 Oct. 1973 of a blood disease. BURIAL Green Lawn Cemetery Columbus, Franklin County, Ohio, William was vice-president of the Dispatch Printing Co.

married Relna Faye Kalfs Wolfe BIRTH 15 May 1925 Waverly, Pike County, Ohio DEATH 29 Jun 2018 Bexley, Franklin County, Ohio BURIAL Green Lawn Cemetery Columbus, Franklin County, Ohio daughter of Alfred Martin Kalfs & Mary Durham Kalfs

The children of William Wolfe & Relna Faye Kalfs are:

• 17 WILLIAM Culver WOLFE, Jr., became vice-president for community relations at the “Dispatch.”
• 18 James Preston Wolfe BIRTH 1952 DEATH 1955 BURIAL Green Lawn Cemetery Columbus, Franklin County, Ohio
• 19 MARY RELNA WOLFE, married [-?-] CRALL.
• 20 SUSAN JANE WOLFE

13 NANCY BARTON WOLFE, married WILLIAM MOREHEAD LANE. They are divorced.

Nancy Barton Wolfe Lane is a community volunteer with a lifetime of exemplary service. She graduated cum laude from The Columbus School for Girls and graduated cum laude from Bryn Mawr College with an A.B. in Modern European History and a minor in French.

After graduation, she returned to Columbus and was employed by Charles E. Merrill Books, Inc. as a Latin textbook editor responsible for the production of three high school Latin textbooks and the accompanying guides for teachers. She then moved to The Columbus Dispatch where she worked as the copy editor for what was then its weekly Sunday rotogravure magazine.

After her marriage, Ms. Lane became a community volunteer and remained at home to raise her children. Concurrently she served at one time or another on the boards of the Ohioana Library, Childhood League, Green Lawn Cemetery, the Bryn Mawr College Alumnae Association, the Ohio Historical Society Foundation, and Hope College. She is currently a member of the Board of Trustees of Agric ultural Lands, of Wolfe Associates and of Wolfe Enterprises.

At ODU, Mrs. Lane was a charter and founding member of the Phoenix Society, an organization at the university that provides opportunities for ODU alumni and friends to share experiences, discover culture, and promote lifelong learning outside the classroom. Ms. Lane’s service on ODU’s Board of Trustees was instrumental in leading the university through a period of unprecedented growth and transformation. Her distinguished service, wisdom and counsel were critically important to the development of Ohio Dominican over the past decade.

The children of William & Nancy (Wolfe) Lane are:

• 21 ELIZABETH BOSTWICK LANE
• 22 MARY MOREHEAD LANE

14 JOHN FREDERICK WOLFE, married ANN ISALY.

John Frederick became publisher of the “Dispatch” in 1975. He is on the board of National City Corp., which acquired BancOhio in 1984. Upon the death of John W. Wolfe in 1994, John F. assumed leadership of the family empire which now includes the “Dispatch,” the Dispatch Printing Co., the Ohio Co. and WBNS-TV. The Wolfes also control “Ohio Magazine,” WBNS-FM and AM, an Indianapolis television station, large amounts of commercial and industrial real estate, thousands of acres of farmland in Madison & Clark counties and a family foundation that has contributed millions of dollars to the community. On the civic side, John F. has headed two noteworthy projects: Son of Heaven (a Chinese art exhibit) and AmeriFlora (a 1992 flower show). John F. Wolfe, Dispatch Printing Co. chairman and CEO and publisher of The Columbus Dispatch

He is chairman of Wolfe Associates Inc. and Wolfe Enterprises Inc., also serves as chairman of the boards of WBNS- TV Inc., the CBS affiliate in Columbus; VideoIndiana, the NBC affiliate in Indianapolis; Agric ultural Lands Inc.; and RadiOhio Inc.

A native of Columbus, Wolfe graduated from Washington and Lee University with a B.S. degree in commerce. He returned to Columbus and imediately began his career with The Dispatch Printing Co. He was named vice president of the company in 1969 and became the president in 1973, serving in that capacity until this year. In 1975, he was named publisher of The Columbus Dispatch, and, in 1994, he also was named chairman of The Dispatch Printing Co.

Long involved with local civic and philanthropic organizations, Wolfe currently is a trustee of the Franklin County Board of Parks and Recreation, which oversees the Columbus Clippers baseball team, and is a trustee of the COSI Building Development and Financial Resources Corp., which is implementing the Center of Science and Industry’s move to a new downtown Columbus riverfront location. He has served 12 years on the board of the Columbus Chamber of Commerce, and chaired Ameriflora 1992. Past affiliations include membership on the boards of Franklin University, Columbus Academy, Columbus School for Girls, National City Bank Corp. and BancOhio National Bank

Wolfe is an active advocate for Ohio State, serving on the National Campaign Executive Committee and as co-chair of the “Affirm Thy Friendship” Campaign. He is a member of the Ohio State University Foundation Board of Directors and a trustee of the Wexner

The children of John & Ann (Isaly) Wolfe are:

• 23 SARAH ANN WOLFE, married [-?-] PERRINI.
• 24 RITA JEAN WOLFE
• 25 KATHERINE ISALY WOLFE

15 RICHARD MARTIN WOLFE, married twice – SHEILA PUGH, his other wife unknown. Dick rose through technical and management jobs at WBNS-TV to become president in 1971. In 1978 he resigned abruptly and moved to California, where in 1986 he was vice-president of technology for SatCorp Inc.

The children of Richard & Sheila (Pugh) Wolfe are:

• 26 LUCY STANTON WOLFE, married [-?-] SCHMITZ. They live in Germany.
• 27 ELIZABETH LORING WOLFE

16 BRUCE FOWLER WOLFE, three times married – CAROL COATES (in Spokane, Wash.) and two others. Bruce left Columbus at age 13 and has lived mainly in California. A graduate of Stanford University and Hastings Law School, he was associated for several years with an environmental group that, among other things, bought desert properties to save them from development. He lived in San Francisco and practiced in nearby San Rafael.

The children of Bruce & Carol (Coates) Wolfe are:

• 28 SARAH GABEL WOLFE
• 29 ANDREW COATES WOLFE.

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History of The Columbus Dispatch
The Columbus Dispatch traces its roots to June 1871, when 10 veteran printers with $900 in capital decided that the city was ripe for an afternoon publication. The first edition of The Daily Dispatch — consisting of four pages and costing 3 cents — was printed July 1

The newspaper changed hands many times in its early years - until 1905, when brothers Harry Preston Wolfe and Robert Frederick Wolfe bought what by then was called The Columbus Evening Dispatch.

. Robert Frederick Wolfe arrived in Columbus, Ohio, in 1888 and found work as a shoemaker, eventually beginning the Wolfe Brothers Shoe Company in 1890.

In 1903 the Wolfe brothers, owners of a Columbus shoe company, had entered the publishing business two years earlier, when they purchased The Ohio State Journal. The brothers were sons of Andrew Jackson Wolfe, a Civil War veteran who made his living making shoes in southeastern Ohio.

Robert F. Wolfe was publisher of the Journal and the Dispatch until his death in 1927. Harry continued in the publishing and banking business until he died in 1946. Robert’s son, Edgar T. Wolfe, Sr., began working for the Journal in 1919 as an advertising solicitor. He later became co-publisher of both the Journal and the Dispatch. Edgar Wolfe also was a banker and civic leader who helped develop air travel at Port Columbus, promoted civic improvements, and supported the growth of hospitals. He died in 1957 at the age of 63.

John Walton Wolfe, the son of Edgar Thurston Wolfe (son of Robert Frederick Wolfe), began his career with Ohio National Bank in 1948. He became vice president and director of BancOhio Corporation in 1957. In 1975, he became chairman of the Dispatch Printing Company, parent organization of the Columbus Dispatch. Brandweek noted John Walton Wolfe's penchant for conservatism: "Long after most papers had shed their political orientations, the Dispatch still served as a mouthpiece for the Republican politics of John W. Wolfe, chairman of parent company Dispatch Publishing. After the 1986 demise of the city's other daily, the Columbus citizen-Journal, the Dispatch had one less incentive to push itself. But with Wolfe's death in 1994, the paper began a complete transformation." John Walton Wolfe died in 1994, his cousin, John F. Wolfe, was the paper's publisher, a position he still holds. Between them they controlled the Wolfe family enterprises--in print, television, radio and real estate--which were large indeed.

The Columbus Evening Dispatch became The Columbus Dispatch in 1975. Just over a decade later, the newspaper moved to the morning market, publishing its first a.m. edition January 1, 1986.

The ever-changing electronic revolution prompted The Dispatch to produce an online edition, dispatch.com, not to mention the use of digital cameras and serving as an on-line resource to schools and libraries. Even today, The Dispatch remains a privately-owned newspaper under the Wolfe family.