William Beckett Wolfe

William Beckett Wolfe was born in Sussex County, Delaware on September 2, 1795. He was the fifth child of William and Mary Futcher Wolfe.

According to census data, family records and letters, he was an iron merchant, business owner (Hoops, Wolfe, & Bacon) , and an American explorer.

In 1853, William B Wolfe joined Captain John Williams Gunnison on an expedition to survey a railroad route that would pass through the Rockies.

On October 26, 1853, the Gunnison party took a side trip to explore the area around Sevier Lake, Utah. There a group of Pahvant Indians, seeking revenge for the murder of their chief, attacked and killed eight members of the survey team. Killed were Captain John W. Gunnison, Richard H. Kern (William's Brother-in-law, topographer and artist), F. Creufeldt (botanist), William Potter, (a Mormon guide), Private Caulfield, Private Liptoote, Private Mehreens, and John Bellows (camp roustabout)

William was one of only four members of the team that survived. He wrote a letter home describing Richard Kern's death in the Massacre that is contained with the 'Kern Papers' in Yale University's archives (Collection Call Number: WA MSS S-2395)

The Gunnison Massacre Site is significant in its ties to the history of American exploration, railroad construction, and Indian-white relations in the West. The site of the massacre was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.

William married twice. His first wife was Rebecca Dobbins Wolfe. Together they had the following children:

• William Wolfe (b 1821)
• Frances Wayne Wolfe ( b. 1823) died at the age of 6
• Joseph Hopper Wolfe ( b. 1826) Rebecca died when her youngest child was 5 months old in 1826 at the age of 29.

William's second wife was Mary ( Maria) Kern Wolfe. Together they had the following children:

• Infant Wolfe (b. 12/1829- d. 12/1829)
• Mary Eleanor (b. 1830) married Samuel Richard Dubs
• John Kern Wolfe ( b. 1832)
• George Wolfe, MD ( b. 1836)
• Franklin Wolfe, Esq. (b 1838)
• Infant Wolfe ( b. 5/1840 - d. 5/1840)
• Emily Wolfe (b. 1841)
• Fanny Wolfe (b. 1845)

William died in 1867 at the age of 71. His remains were buried at Woodlands Cemetery in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.