John's decendancy from Richard Woulfe and the MacAuliffes...
John's branch of the family that went to the U.S...
Historical Woulfes in Australia...
My sincerest thanks to John P. Woulfe of Australia for all his support and for the incredible book - "Woulfe, a Family History." It is 2 decades worth of research on his Athea branch of our family. See the "Other Resources" page for more on his excellent work - and how you can get a copy.
John also wishes to acknowledge all those who helped him...
Pat and Josie (Woulfe) Golding of Newcastle, West Limerick who did most of the follow-up work in Ireland. Nora Woulfe of Athea and Timothy Woulfe (The school principal in Athea) for suppling letters and information to Josie on John's behalf. Those includes the letters from Maurice of Cratloe who served in the US Army in the 1860's. Also credit to Jane (Dolly) Woulfe Cooper (Attorney Branch) .
Thanks also to Ramy Brouder of Limerick who has done extensive research on the Athea Woulfes. Material marked with RB was contributed by Ramy....mw
John's ancestors are known as the "Crioch" branch of the family. Crioch is a farmland in Lower Athea.
John's research shows his Great Great Grandfather RICHARD WOULFE (b1790?) living at the family farm in Lower Athea. Richard senior married a cousin, JOHANNA WOULFE in 1820. They had a son RICHARD WOULFE JUNIOR in 1821.
Richard's son RICHARD WOULFE JUNIOR inherited the farm. Richard had at least one brother WILLIAM and a sister HANORA. John says it's likey they were twins. Hanora and William were born in 1831.
RICHARD WOULFE JUNIOR married MARY MCAULIFFE of Templeglantine in 1857.This marraige to Mary Mcauliffe ties John to the Athea Woulfes by marraige to Nell Og Woulfe, daughter of Edmond Maurice Woulfe and Nellie Brosnahan. Nell married a D. Mcauliffe and had 2 sons Con Mac and Dinnie Mac . It also ties him to Patrick Woulfe and wife Hannah McAuliffe. Patrick was the son of "Young" Maurice. Patrick and Hannah Woulfe had one son - Tom Woulfe.
Richard (b1821 lower Athea) married Mary McAuliffe of Templeglantine in 1857. They had 10 children. Richard died around 1903 and was buried in the family vault at Templeathea. Mary died in 1912 and is also buried at Templeathea.
Their first child - PATRICK died in infancy in 1858.
*Then another PATRICK, who was baptized in 1859 Lower Athea, (He is John P. Woulfe of Australia's Grandfather) Patrick had a relationship with JOHANNA HOWARD around 1875. They had 2 boys...Patrick and John. Patrick was John Woulfe of Australia's father, Paddy.See Next Generation info below.
THOMAS WOULFE, baptized in 1861
JOHANNA WOULFE, baptized in 1863
WILLIAM WOULFE, baptized in 1863
CATHERINE WOULFE, baptized in 1867 - to Saint Paul Minnesota
MARY WOULFE, baptized in 1869 - to Saint Paul Minnesota. One son, Cornelius.
MAURICE WOULFE, baptized in 1871. He married Catherine O'Sullivan of Direen. - (known as Black Kate - daughter of Patrick Sullivan and Ellen O'Sullivan of Knocknagorta) in 1891. 9 children - RICHARD, FRANK, THOMAS, WILLIAM, MARY-ELLEN, ELLEN-MARY, BRIDGETT, MAURICE, and KITTY. RB says Maurice and Catherine lived in the old farm-house till around 1908 when they moved to a new house near the road. Kitty Barret and her husband John-Joe live there now (1998). Kitty is a granddaughter of Maurice and Catherine. Catherine died at age 49 in 1920 from peritonitis. Maurice died around 1926. Both are buried at the old cemetery at Templeathea.. Note - see below for a bio on the other 8 O'Sullivan children by Ramy Brouder. Maurice would be John P Woulfe of Australia's great uncle, and Josie Golding of Limerick's grandfather. More info on their children below.
BRIDGET WOULFE, baptized 11/2/ 1872 Athea Parish Church. School in Athea. RB says she emigrated to America.
MICHAEL WOULFE, baptized in 1875 Athea Parrish Church.
One other Historical note - Richard junior lost the farm to his brother-in-law Lawrence Mcauliffe, whose descendants still live there.
PATRICK (Paddy) WILLIAM WOULFE, born in 1877 was John P. Woulfe of Australia's Father. More detailed info on Paddy below.
JOHN WOULFE - died in a trolley accident in England in 1912.
John P.'s father, Patrick (Paddy) Woulfe was a remarkable man. John P."s book has a loving, in-depth story of Paddy's life. See the "Other Resources" page for information on John's book.
Paddy served in the British Army in the Boer War, and again in World War I, and was taken prisoner by the Germans. He married John P's mother, Gertrude Payne (b7/20/1892 Camberly, Surrey, England), in 1910 in at Our Lady of Willesden, London.4 children - Mabel, Eileen, Molly(May) , and our John P.
Paddy went to Australia in 1953 with Gertrude, following his son John who'd emigrated in June,1952. Paddy died 4/11/59 at age 82. He's buried at Preston cemetery in Heidelburg. Gertrude died 11/26/70. She is buried next to Paddy.
MABEL (MAY) WOULFE (MATHEWS) b1911 London. Married Wally Matthews 4/16/38 at Our Lady of Visitation church in Greenford. They went to Australia in 1956. Wallace died 6/11/96 at age 86 and is buried next to his father in law in Preston cemetery. Mabel in 2000 is age 90. *Wally and Harold Mathews were brothers - see below.
MARY (MOLLY) WOULFE (MATHEWS) B1920 London. Married Harold Mathews - he was Wally's younger brother. 1 son - Raymond. They moved to Australia in 1952. 1 son - Raymond. She is still with us, being cared for by Raymond.
EILEEN WOULFE (BARKER) b1922 London d6/17/91. Married Albert Barker. 3 children in England - Brian, Besme, Michael - 1 in Australia - Janet. Went to Australia in 1955. Eileen's ashes were scattered in the Indian Ocean after her death.
JOHN PATRICK WOULFE b4/11/1930 Hayes,Middlesex. John served in the British Army in the late 1940's and emigrated to Australia in 1952. Married Margery McIntyre whom he met on the voyage to Oz. Married 4/30/54 at Saint John's church, Heidleburg. No children. John and Marg live in Mansfield, Victoria. He has spent 20 years researching the Woulfes of Athea and has written a wonderful book - "Woulfe - a family history".
Above is Patrick Woulfe (Paddy) in his uniform around the turn of the century.
One more note about John P. Woulfe. His incredible research on the Woulfe family going back to the 9th century has done more to encourage me to expand this project than anything else. I can't thank him enough for his support....mw
RICHARD WOULFE b1894 d1950 Kansas City, USA Baptised Athea Parrish church. School Athea. Emigrated ca. 1916-1919. Married Nell Kearney from Moyvane, County Kerry. 5 children. Richard, Maurice,Kathleen, Eileen, Mary. Richard and Nell settled in Kansas city, Missourri. Richard died at age 56. More on the children below.
FRANK PATRICK WOULFE b1896 d1954 San Fransisco. Baptised Athea Parrish church. School Athea. Emigrated ca. 1916-1919. Settled in San Fransisco and married an American Woman named Rita ?. no children. RB says he brought his younger sisters Mary Ellen and Ellen Mary to the U.S. in 1923. He never returned to Ireland.
PATRICK WOULFE b1897 d? ?
THOMAS WOULFE b1898 d4/28/1974 (Father of Josie Golding of Limerick) Known as Tom. Baptised Athea arrish Church. School in Athea. Worked at Castlemahon where he met and married a dressmaker named CATHERINE RYAN of BallyLoughhane, Carrickberry. Emigrated to Scotland where tom's brother William lived. Tom Married Catherine in Scotland 11/29/1921 at St. Mary's church, Moyhill, Glasgow. They lived in Glasgow until 1926. 4 children born in Glasgow - Mary (Masie), William, Tommy, and Maurice. After Tom's father Richard died, Tom and Catherine returned to Lower Athea where they had another 7 children! Kitty, Josephine (Josie Golding), Patrick, Bridgett, Anna (Nancy),Richard (Dick), and Ellen Ann.
Tom worked as a foreman on the roads in Limerick, taking over the job his father Maurice had held until his death. In 1938, Tom's uncle Con Sullivan died, and Tom inherited the house in Athea Village. Con had built the house and had a thriving business in Athea. Tom and has family moved into the house and carried on the shop. With the move, Lower Athea was left without a member of his Woulfe family for the first time in 200 years.
Tom and Catherine had 2 more children - Nellie(Cornelius) and Agatha. A total of 15 children. In 1950 Tom started his own business. He bought a lorry (truck) and hired several men and went into turf production. Catherine continued to run the shop.
Sunday, April 2nd, 1974, Tom had tea and walked to church in Athea Village. He suffered a massive heart attack. RB says he'd been in poor health and had been troubled by his sister Nellie's recent death in the U.S.. He died 2 days later.
Tom was widely loved and a huge number of people turned out for his funeral. RB says Tom was a great conversationist and an avid reader. He is buried in the new cemetery at Holy Cross.
WILLIAM WOULFE b1900 d1968 Glasgow, Scotland. Born in the old home in Lower Athea. Baptised Athea Parrish Church. School Athea. Moved to Scotland around 1920 and married Ires ?. 9 chilren. He died after arriving in Dublin from Scotland in 1968. He is buried in Scotland.
MARY- ELLEN WOULFE b1905 d1963 San Fransisco. Baptised Athea Parrish church. School Athea. RB says Three months after her mother Catherine died, Mary, accompanied by her sister Ellen Mary, left Ireland from Queenstown, Cork,10/23/1923 and went to the U.S. She joined her brother Patrick in San Fransisco. She married John Mullins about a year later. 3 children, Beverly, June, and Shirley. Mary Ellen died 8/3/62.
ELLEN MARY WOULFE (Nellie) b5/23/05 Athea d 2/11/74 in Chicago. Baptised Athea Parrish Church. School Athea. Born in old home in Lower Athea.At age 18, accompanied her sister Mary Ellen to San Fransisco. Nellie married Thomas Culhane. 3 children - Mary lou -(Sister Marietta lives in Midland Maryland), Maurice, Tommy - both live in Chicago.
BRIDGETT WOULFE (BEA) b1907 d1985 Phoenix, AZ USA. Born in the old house Lower Athea. Last of the children to be born there. Baptised Athea Parrish church. School Athea. Married Frank Creegan in Phoenix. 2 children - Frankie Jr. and Mary Catherine.
MAURICE WOULFE b5/15/1909 d 5/15/51 lived in Kansas City. First to be born in new house. Family moved there in 1908. Baptised Athea Parrish church. School Athea. Emigrated to U.S. in ?. Married ?. 1 daughter - Eleanor.
KITTY WOULFE b1911 d8/30/91 Kansas. Baptised Athea Parrish Church. School Athea. Emigrated to U.S. ?. Married William Stack. 3 children, Mary, Virgina, Tommy. Kitty and William were killed in a traffic accident in 1991. Both are buried in Kansas.
MARY (MASIE) WOULFE (MCGEE) b5/1922 Glasgow. Lived in scotland all her life. Married John McGee in Scotland around 1947. 5 children. Mary, John, Catherine, George, and Theresa. John Mcgee died in 1995.
WILLIAM b1923 - died in infancy in Glasgow.
MAURICE b4/15/1924 Glasgow d2/11/93. Came to Athea when His father and mother returned to Ireland in 1926. He went to school in Athea and emigrated to England in the late 1940's. He lived there all his life. RB says he never married, and enjoyed his holidays back in Athea. He was brought back to Athea for burial in Holy Cross cemetery in the same plot as his mother and father.
THOMAS b1925 Glasgow d1984 Glasgow. Married Nora Costello. 5 Children - Thomas, Nora, William, James, and Phillip. Buried in Glasgow.
CATHERINE b1927 entry missing.
JOSEPHINE b1930
A little history here. Josie is a very important driving force behind Woulfe family research in Ireland. Josie went to the U.S. in the '50's and met Patrick Golding, an Irish immigrant who was serving in the National guard.
Their son Joseph Golding was born in the U.S.
They later returned to Ireland and live in Newcastle West. They purchased the house owned by John Woulfe of Australia's Uncle Joe Neville. (he's buried in the Churchtown cemetery) Josie and Pat looked after Joe's widow Mary for the rest of her life.
Pat and Josie raised a large family. Their son Joe is a civil engineer and Lives in Brighton, England. Another son Gerald is a cabbie and also lives in Brighton. Pat Junior is an engineer and works with the U.N. helping people in Africa build dependable, safe water sources. Their daughter Mary works for Apple Computers in Ireland.
BRIDGET (BRDY) b1932 no entry
ANNA (NANCY) WOULFE (BROUDER) b8/15/1934 Lower Athea. Baptised Athea Parrish Church - School Athea Village. RB says she moved with the rest of the family to Bridge house in 1938. She worked at home until 1954 when she went to England. Lived at Datohet. Married RAYMOND BROUDER of Gortnadroma, Shanagolden at St. Augustin Catholic Church Datohet 6/19/54.***This RAYMOND BROUDER is RAMY,WHO HAS BEEN SUCH A GREAT HELP. One child, born in England - MARGARET BROUDER.
RICHARD (DICK) WOULFE b7/2/1935 Lower Athea. School Athea. Went with the rest of the family to the Village in 1938. Worked at home with his father until he married PEG WOULFE of Clash, Athea and built a new house in Gortnagross, Athea. 3 children - KATTIE, THOMAS, ELLISH.
ELLEN ANNE WOULFE (ROCHE) b3/6/1937. Baptised Athea. School Athea. Last of the Woulfes to be born in Lower Athea. RB says it breaks a tradition that goes back to 1700. Ellen Anne worked in the shop in the village until she was 19 and went to the U.S.. She settled in Chicago and continued a relationship with a Athea man, Christy Roche. They returned to Athea for their wedding 1/2/65. They returned to Chicago. 4 children - Marietta, Christina, Karen, and Edward.
CORNELIUS WOULFE b4/5/1941
AGATHA WOULFE b2/5/b1945
RICHARD WOULFE b? Kansas City d1997 Kansas City. Married ?. 7 children.
MAURICE WOULFE b? Kansas City
KATHLEEN WOULFE b? Kansas City
EILEEN WOULFE b? Kansas City.
MARY WOULFE b? Kansas City
John has sent me some information on the "Erinmen" who served as mounted police officers during Australia's gold rush days in the 1860's. As you can see, our family members have been in Australia for some time. A Dillane who was married to Mary Woulfe of Limerick was transported to Ireland as a convict in 1853. He's an ancestor of Irene Dillon in Australia.
It seems the gold rush days were pretty wild and wooly, and the Victoria police needed some help keeping the miners in Line.
The gold fields in Victoria were the richest in the world between 1852 and 1900.
The Victoria Government earlier tried recruiting 50 London police - but the experiment failed because - first - they couldn't ride horses - and - they apparently couldn't handle the outdoor life and the rowdy miners.
But - the tough Royal Irish Constabulary were up to the tough task. Some were recruited directly from Ireland - others came on their own looking for gold - but - went back to their old career when the riches didn't materialize.
This period in Australia's history is of special interest to John. He has established a re-enactment group based on these tough frontier lawmen.
Here's inspector John Woulfe (on the right), and Sergeant Robert Bretherton of the Victoria Colonial Constabulary outside the Bushranger's Hall of Fame in Benalla Victoria.
Producers for the series went to John because of his knowledge and experience with the area's history - and he's the founder of the "Mansfield Colonial Re-enactment Society." Because of John's connection, the producers now had access to locations, properly costumed and knowledgeable extras, and horses.
The film is a joint venture by FILM PROJECTS Sydney NSW and Dublin-based film and television production company TELWELL PRODUCTIONS. It'll be arranged similar to Ken Burns "Civil War" series.
The title is "Besieged: the Ned Kelly Legacy"
John's home in Mansfield, Victoria, known as "Eireann Park " was used as an alternative site for the police shootings at Stringybark Creek. John's property is within a mile or two of the original site inthe Wombat Ranges of N.E. Victoria. John's group had the costumes and weapons of the period,and members had re-enacted the same story many times. A police party set out into the Wombat on the 25 October 1878, and got into a deadly gunfight with Kelly. John and friends set up a re-creation of the police camp site in the creek area of Eireann Park. It is a remote native brush section, away from the road, and untouched except for roos and wombats in the last two years.
Shooting started early in the morning on October 10th 2002.
The roles of Ned Kelly, his bother Dan, Steve Hart, and Joe Burnes were played by young professional TV actors,
The police party consisted of John's cobber Bob Bretherton (second from left) as Sergeant Kennedy, John himself (center) as the doomed Mounted Constable Lonigan. He was the first policeman shot by Ned. Two other members played the roles of constables McIntyre and Scanlon. The society also supplied the horses involved in the action.
John says Peter Fenton, the NSW TV personality playing Ned Kelly, looks magic coming through the gum trees in the early morning mist wearing the armour and shooting at the police with a .44 revolver in each hand. Here he is...
One other note. John's buddy Bob Bretherton made his own replica of the iron helmet Kelly wore. The production company was so impressed with it's accuracy, that they used it rather than a fiberglass replica which had been made for the filming.
Two weeks later, John and friends appeared at the original courtroom in Beechworth, the place of the early Kelly trials. During the trial filming, John played the police inspector and society members took their place in the courtroom in police uniforms.
The documentary is expected to be shown within the next twelve months (in 2003) in both Australia and the Irish Republic. The Irish release will have two versions, one in Anglo/ Irish, and the other in the true Irish language.