Solomon was the second son and one of five children born to Alexander Wolff. His ancestors may have come to Prussia from England, or may have been in Schönlanke for many generations. His education in the Talmud began when he was seven years old, and from age sixteen to twenty, he was a teacher in his community of both Talmud and the German language. He emigrated to England in about 1820, and became a private tutor for a Jewish family in Colchester. Then he became rabbi at Norwich. Here he came into contact with William Marsh, a stalwart of the London Society for Promoting Christianity Amongst the Jews (now known as the Church’s Ministry Among Jewish People or CMJ).

Attempting to flee Christian influences, he accepted the post of teacher and shochet at Plymouth. He taught Hebrew to the Rev. Benjamin Golding of Stonehouse church. In 1825, he converted to…