Joseph was the first son of a farmer, Anton Wolf, and was born in Mörz near Münstermaifeld then in Rhenish Prussia, not far from the river Moselle, in the Eifel region.
Joseph adalah putra sulung dari seorang petani, Anton Wolf, dan lahir di Mörz dekat Münstermaifeld kemudian di Prusia Rhenish, tak jauh dari sungai Moselle, di wilayah Eifel.