A sprawling Irish family

Dollie—so known for her small stature—was the Scottish-born, artistically inclined, never-married daughter of a Presbyterian mother. She also served as the family’s unofficial historian and storyteller.

John Wolfe was born in Kerry and raised in Illinois and Iowa. In 1858, he set out with some friends for California, eventually establishing a pharmacy in San Rafael. His cures were widely respected.

The daughter of immigrants, Kate and her sister Margaret both became teachers, moving together from Iowa to Montana. They even married on the same day, Kate to a Waterford-born judge.

Sgt. Wolfe was a Limerick-born immigrant who joined the U.S. Army and fought Indians in the West. He is best known for his colorful and cantankerous letters home, preserved in Ireland’s national archives.

Father Patrick Woulfe learned Irish in Rome, became a priest in Kildare, and made his life’s work in West Limerick. This included a fierce nationalism during the War for Independence and respected scholarship afterward.

Jim was a native of Athea who served in the IRA during both the War for Independence and the Civil War. In 1924 he left for Canada, where he became a communist. He died fighting fascists in Spain.

Maurice was an Abbeyfeale solicitor whose British army battalion was in Dublin during the Easter Rising. He fought in the trenches, too, and during the War for Independence defended two murdered IRA men.

Dick Wolfe served as commissioner of public works under Big Bill Thompson and was a prominent figure in 1920s Chicago. An Irish immigrant, he straightened the Chicago River and was often accused of corruption.

The charismatic daughter of immigrants, Honor was raised in Illinois but later moved to Texas. There she ran a bookstore, traveled the world, and had an affair with an Irish novelist who wrote a story about her.

Nanno was the daughter of a Woulfe, and she and her sister both married Woulfes. She and her husband had at least eight children, including the well-known Fr. Patrick Woulfe and Dr. Timothy Woulfe.

Fr. Wolfe was a prominent preacher in Limerick during the Cromwellian wars and was an outspoken opponent of surrendering the city to the English. He was presented for beatification in 1915 but refused by the pope.