The General Wolfe Connection

In this appendix, attached to the second edition of The Wolfes of Forenaghts (1885; 1893), Lieut.-Col. R. T. Wolfe considers whether the British general James Wolfe, who was killed at Quebec during the Seven Years’ War, was related to the Wolfe/Woulfe families of Ireland. Speculation has long focused on Capt. George Wolfe, who was in Limerick city during the siege of 1651 and may have fled to England. R. T. Wolfe’s book considers a Wolfe family that likely is unrelated to the Woulfes of Limerick.

Appendix No. 1

MAJOR-GENERAL JAMES WOLFE. There are, perhaps, few of our illustrious characters, if any, born within the last two centuries respecting whose ancestry is little known, than is that of the hero of Quebec; every effort would seem to have been made within the last century to discover definitely from what source he was derived. That he was of Irish origin seems indisputable, but of his immediate ancestry there is but one attempt at record, and that would seem to be contained in MSS, written by the Reverend James White, a priest of the Church of Rome, probably before 1765, in which year he was still living. Ferrar, who was a Limerick man, published his first edition of his history of Limerick in 1765, and a second in 1787. Mr. Maurice Lenihen, of Limerick, also published a work in 1860, entitled “Limerick: its History and Antiquities,” &c. Both made use of the materials in the White MSS. in the preparation of their respective works. At p. 55 of Ferrar’s edition of 1787 occurs the following: “On the capitulation of the city of Limerick in October, 1651, to the Parliamentary General Ireton, twenty of the most distinguished of its defenders were excepted from pardon, and reserved for execution. Amongst these were two brothers, George and Francis Wolfe: the former a military officer, the latter a Franciscan friar, who was hanged.” And at page 350 of the same edition, he further states: “Captain George Wolfe, of the city of Limerick, was proscribed by General Ireton [see page 55] for his attachment to the Royal cause. He fled to the North of England, where he settled, and his grandson, General Edward Wolfe, was appointed colonel of the 8th Foot in the year 1745. He transmitted his virtues to his son, Major-General James Wolfe, whose memory will be ever dear to his country, and whose name will be immortalized in history.”

Lenihen, in his “History and Antiquities,” &c., of Limerick, only gives of Captain George Woulfe [at p. 758, Appendix I., under the headings: “Eminent Natives of Limerick,” “Naval and Military Heroes”] the following: “Woulfe, Captain George, grandfather of General James Wolfe.” There is thus a discrepancy between Ferrar and Lenihen; one makes Captain George Woulfe great-grandfather, the other, only grandfather of the famous general. Unfortunately, a letter addressed to Mr. Maurice Lenihen, who holds the White MSS. in possession, requesting information as to what the latter really did say on the subject, failed to elicit any reply. If Mr. Lenihen has quoted correctly, it is impossible that Captain George Woulfe could have been General James’s ancestor, as the time intervening between him and General James Wolfe renders it out of the question that he could be any other, if an ancestor at all, than a great-grandfather.

Mr. Robert Wright, in his biography of Major-Gen. James Wolfe, page 2, says: “In 1613 a sheriff named George Woulfe, together with his colleague and the mayor, were deposed for refusing the oath of supremacy. This George Woulfe is said to have been the grandfather of his namesake, the proscribed captain, of whom we shall speak presently.” In a footnote, he writes; “See article by ‘J. R.,’ of Cork, who gives the late Lord Chief Baron Wolfe as his authority for the cosanguinity in Notes and Queries, vol. V. [1852], p. 280. The Chief Baron Lord Kilwarden, and the Reverend Charles Wolfe, author of the poem on the ‘Burial of Sir John Moore,’ have distinguished the stock that remains in Ireland.” It is perhaps difficult to decide with certainty, with reference to this footnote, whether the Lord Chief Baron Wolfe mentioned as the authority for the cosanguinity, was Chief Baron Stephen Woulfe or Chief Baron Arthur Wolfe, Lord Kilwarden.

Wright further states with reference to Captain George Woulfe, at page 3 and 4: “The chief delinquents were immediately executed, one of the sufferers being Friar Francis, but his more fortunate brother succeeded in making a timely escape.” And at page 4: “Captain George Woulfe some years later married and settled in the North of England, at the same time adopting the reformed faith, and erasing the ‘u’ from his name. We have no further account of the captain’s career, but the authority upon which the above details are founded assures us that Edward Wolfe, the father of the subject of this memoir, was his grandson.” And this authority he gives in a footnote to this extract as “The History of Limerick, by J. Ferrar, Limerick, 1787.” On comparing what the latter author says, and what is here extracted from Wright’s Biography, it is clear Wright has amplified what is given by Ferrar, for the latter states simply: “He fled to the North of England, where he settled, and his grandson, General Edward Wolfe,” &c. While Wright, upon this statement, says: “He some years later married, adopted the reformed faith, and erased the ‘u’ from his name.” Surely there is no justification whatever for asserting all this, which is mere assumption. In page xx. of his preface, he says: “I have been careful not to write beyond my knowledge, and the few inferences I have drawn are given as such, to be accepted or rejected at the reader’s option.” It is evident this is a case in point, for he certainly found nothing in Ferrar’s work to justify the statement that Captain George Wolfe “some years later married,” “adopted the reformed faith,” and “erased the ‘u’ from his name.”

It seems doubtful whether White was not misinformed, giving the story probably upon the authority of some member of the “Woulfe” family then in Limerick, who may have claimed relationship with James Wolfe simply because he had become famous …

Wright, in the same note in which he gives Ferrar as the authority upon which he founded what he states of Captain George Woulfe, after his escape from Limerick, refers to the connection by marriage of General Edward Wolfe’s sister to a Gouldsmith of Limerick [which relationship he certainly alludes to when he says,”James Wolfe had cousins by his father’s side, who resided in the same locality”] as a further proof of his having been derived from the “Woulfes” of that city. This certainly is not without significance, but it is equally possible to have arisen from an accidental meeting of the members of two families, situated or domiciled in widely different localities, of which there are abundant examples.

The whole account, therefore, of their descent from the Limerick family of “Woulfes,” turns upon the accuracy of the Rev. Mr. White, in the statement contained in his MSS. He was a contemporary of both General Edward Wolfe and his son, and ought to have been able to obtain, as could Ferrar also, at the time they wrote, a full account of the family history in all its details. But from the fact that so little is given on a subject that, at the time of James Wolfe’s death, must have been of great interest, it seems doubtful whether White was not misinformed, giving the story probably upon the authority of some member of the “Woulfe” family then in Limerick, who may have claimed relationship with James Wolfe simply because he had become famous: just as even now, several families of the name, bearing no apparent relationship to each other, and without a particle of proof, assert their kinship with the hero of Quebec. It does not seem natural to suppose that in 1760, about one hundred and nine years after Captain George Woulfe escaped, as is said, to the North of England, his grandson and great-grandson should be given, while that of the son, the connecting link between him and General Edward Wolfe, should have been wholly omitted. Nor is it likely, if there was any real foundation for the story, that the actual locality in which the family was settled in England should fail to have been noticed.

The article by J. R., of Cork, in Notes and Queries, if given on the authority of Chief Baron Stephen Woulfe, and not that of Lord Kilwarden, is doubtless an assertion only on the authority of Ferrar, for the original source of the information, the White MSS., do not appear to have been then known. In the edition of Burke’s Landed Gentry for the year 1879, Captain George Woulfe and his brother the friar are made to appear as members of the Clare Woulfes, and as sons of Patrick Woulfe of Corbally, whereas all accounts agree in representing them as of the Limerick family; and if Wright is correct in saying Captain George Wolfe was said to be a grandson of George Woulfe, sheriff of Limerick in 1613, it was impossible he could have been any other than a distant relative of the Clare family.

It is further worthy of remark that Ferrar, no doubt copying from White, asserts that Captain George Woulfe settled in the north of England, thus implying he remained there until his death. If this were the case, and Wright assumes correctly that he there married, it is no doubt equally correct to assume that he married an English lady, or even, if he married a countrywoman of his own, that the children of the marriage, being associated with none but English people, would have become, to a great extent, Anglicised, and that they would be looked upon as English; but the account we have of his supposed grandson, General Edward, is, that he was an Irishman, as will be shown later on. Of course it is quite possible Captain George Woulfe’s children, if he had any, may have settled in Ireland, but the balance of probabilities is that they would settle in the county in which their father was domiciled, and possibly died, or in neighbouring counties. The term “North of England” embraces a large field, indicating a considerable ignorance as to his subsequent history, and of the family generally, that the county and parish in which he had settled does not appear to have been known.

Believing that it is quite possible further light may be thrown upon the subject, as fresh papers are discovered or brought to light, and to facilitate any efforts that may be made towards unravelling the mystery that surrounds the antecedents of the family, I give all the information connected with the claims of relationship of persons on either side of the family [that of the Wolfes and Thompsons] that has been discovered, through correspondents, Wright’s Biography, &c., after which it is proposed to give a possible indication of the line of descent, or what might ultimately prove to form part of it.

Beginning with the father of General Edward, whose Christian name is not known, the following pedigree gives his immediate descendants, for some of which Mrs. Henrietta Wolfe’s will is an authority.

Mrs. Burcher was alive in August, 1755, and she, with her husband, which latter, according to James Wolfe, had “the appearance of civility and good breeding.,” lived in a miserable mansion in the New Forest [vide page 322 of Wright’s Biography].

Through the kindness of Mrs. B. Florence Scarlett [see Abinger, Burke’s Peerage and Baronetage] the writer is indebted for the information that her ancestor, the Rev. Robert Berkeley, D.D., of Cloyne, were first cousins of General Edward Wolfe. The authority for the latter statement is contained in the preface to a book of poems of George Monck Berkeley, by his mother, Mrs. Eliza Berkeley, daughter-in-law of the bishops, and widow of the Rev. Dr. George Berkeley. In this preface she states Bishop Berkeley’s mother was “aunt to old General Edward Wolfe, father of the famous general of that name.” As one name in the Scarlett pedigree, “Carr,” appears also in the Berkeley pedigree, and through which family it is possible the relationship with Lord Abinger may have occurred, the two are given side by side.

Another claim to relationship is the following. A Mr. Joseph White, of 2, Huntley road, Liverpool, claimed for his great-grandmother, Rebecca Wolfe, kinship with the hero of Quebec. He writes, under date 15 April 1836: “Rebecca Wolfe was daughter of John Wolfe, and his wife, Mary Walthall, daughter of Peter Walthall, of Wistaston estate, Nantwich. Her grandfather we have no data of Walter Thomas [my mother’s father], who was heir to the Wistaston estate, but was kept out of that inheritance in consequence of the malicious or accidental destruction of the marriage register of Rebecca Wolfe to James Thomas.”

As a proof of kinship, he stated in a previous letter that the family possessed a portrait and decanter, relics of James Wolfe, and of these he writes: “As we understand, James Thomas, my grandfather’s father, married Rebecca Wolfe, first cousin to General James Wolfe. The portrait and decanter were left in my mother’s possession by her eldest sister, Rebeccas Thomas, who died in 1845.” The existence of relics of James Wolfe in this family goes far to confirm the tradition of relationship; and, if correct, Rebecca’s father, John Wolfe, must have been brother of General Edward and Major Walter Wolfe. As the scene of the marriage between John Wolfe and Mary Walthall would appear to have been in Cheshire, it is not impossible, if the White MSS. give a correct account of General Wolfe’s origin, that the part Captain George Wolfe settled in may have been in or near the county of Cheshire; but there have been Wolfes in Cheshire, the descendants of “Hugo” of the manor Rode, who lived in the time of William the Conqueror [see Harleian MSS. 2119, fo. 83, British Museum Library], and the two Generals may very well have been descendants of this Cheshire family. There were also Wolfes of Hatherton in Cheshire, who may have been descendants of the “de Rode” family, of whom two, who died respectively in 1669 and 1715, bear the same Christian name as General Edward. The Edward who died in 1715 left no children, but the Edward who died in 1669 mentions in his will [Chester Probate Court] two sons and a daughter—John Edward and Elizabeth; also a brother James and his wife Margaret. The son Edward of this family was doubtless he who died in 1715. General Edward Wolfe may have been in no way connected with this Hatherton family; but if Rebecca was a first cousin of James Wolfe’s, her father and General Edward must have been brothers, and thus we would have three names—John, Edward, and James, in this Hatherton will in correspondence with the general’s family. The number of generations, however, from Rebecca downwards, hardly corresponds in date with James Wolfe’s time. Allowing thirty years for each generation, her father would appear more likely to have been his first cousin than his daughter. The following, given in pedigree form, shows all that is known of Rebecca and her descendants, &c.:—

The Walpole anecdote, as related by Lord Shelbourne, who calls General Edward Wolfe a dull Irishman, establishes the fact that he was of Irish origin. Lord S. continues to say: “As colonel in the Guards he commanded the troops in London, and saved Sir Robert Walpole’s life [as he considered] during some riots; and being all powerful, Sir Robert wished him to choose his own reward, and expected him to ask for a peerage, but the only thing Edward Wolfe wished for, after some consideration, was for permission to ride through Hyde Park, which was only then allowed [probably some one part] to royalty and great personages. Sir Robert granted it at once, but asked him if he would like anything more—a peerage, for instance; but the colonel still kept to the one and only demand for permission to ride through the park.” His determined refusal no doubt led Lord Shelbourne, whose tastes would not have lain in that direction, to call him a dull Irishman.”

I am indebted to Mrs. Scarlett for the preceding and for the following explanation of the conjunction of the names Wolfe-Murray, in the case of the Wolfe-Murrays of Cringletree, to whom it was communicated by her mother-in-law, the Hon. Mrs. P. C. Scarlett, who is a member of that family. It appears that her great-grandfather was at the siege of Quebec, serving under General James Wolfe, and was a great friend of his. On the general’s death Murray took command of the troops. Mrs. Murray, his wife, was the only lady who in those rough days accompanied her husband through the campaign, and it was by the particular request of James Wolfe that they called their eldest son “Wolfe” after him; he also desired them to christen every eldest son of the family by the same name, which has been done every since.

It may be of interest to students of the subject now under consideration to give here the several coats of arms recorded in connection with General James Wolfe, the Woulfes of Limerick and Clare, and the Wolfes of Forenaghts, Cheshire, &c.

Faulkner’s “Dublin Journal,” dated 30 April, 1771, contained the following obituary notice of Major Walter Wolfe, uncle of General James Wolfe:—”Tuesday, at his house in Great Booter lane, aged 85, Major Walter Wolfe, who served in the whole wars under victorious Marlborough, and was in every siege and battle during that period, in which he acquitted himself with singular reputation. No person was more eminently distinguished for military knowledge. Perhaps the world is not little indebted for the unparalleled actions of his nephew, the late General Wolfe, who fell before Quebec, to the instructions and advice of this gentleman. His late Majesty was graciously pleased from these considerations to make him an half-pay Major of Horse on this establishment. His whole life was one continued scene of benevolence and charity. He sought every opportunity of relieving the distressed, which makes his death a real loss to the public.”

His commission as lieutenant in Captain James Trott’s company, in the regiment commanded by the Earl of Ossory, was dated 1 January, 1701.

Mrs. Wolfe’s Ancestry, &c.

Of Mrs. Wolfe’s [Henrietta Thompson] ancestry and immediate relations I am enabled to give the following, gathered from a letter of Mr. T. B. Whitehead, under date 10 August, 1883, contained in the “Yorkshire Post” of 15th August of the same year. Also from Wright’s Biography of Major-General James Wolfe, 1864.

In the “Genealogist,” vol. 2, p. 2, is contained the following:—”The family of Tyndall of Brotherton in Yorkshire, which flourished through two centuries, and ended in Bradwardine Tyndall in 1686, whose only surviving daughter and heiress, Lucy Tyndall, was grandmother of the renowned General James Wolfe.”

It may here be added in reference to what has been before stated bearing upon the assertion of the actual descent of General Edward Wolfe from Captain George Wolfe of Limerick, that it is somewhere recorded that “Captain George Woulfe had a daughter, Lady Anne Wolfe, aunt to General Edward Wolfe, a maiden lady who died at Westminster 28 December, 1846,” but where this note or record exists is not known to the writer. The year of her death, if given as 1846, cannot possibly be correct—probably was a clerical error meant for 1746. Her birth, had she really been a daughter of Captain George Woulfe, would, it is thought, have occurred between about 1653 to 1660, in which case she must have lived to a extreme old age to have reached the year 1746. If she was really General Edward’s aunt it would seem odd she was never alluded to in any letters recorded in Wright.

Notwithstanding, however, the several points which I have referred to as supporting in some slight decree the origin of James Wolfe’s family as given by Ferrar, it is by no means convincing, and it is equally possible his ancestors were of an entirely different stock.

In the “Domestic State Papers,” vol. 26, p. 1653, there is reference to a petition of Jane Wolfe to Cromwell for a pension for services rendered by her late husband, Lieut.-Colonel Wolfe, who died in Ireland six months after arriving there, that is, some time in the year 1650, leaving herself with six small children. In her petition she mentions the fact that her husband sold some of his Irish property to advance the cause. This possession of property in Ireland would appear to establish the fact that Lieut.-Colonel Wolfe and his family were Irish. In the petition his Christian name does not appear, but in the Wills at Somerset House, Index No. 17, Gore Admons 146, letters of administration are taken out by Jane Wolfe 25 September, 1650, in the intestate estate of Edward Wolfe. The locality is given as Ireland, and the letters of administration to “Jane Wolfe, late in parts of Ireland.”

again, in the parish register of St. Michan’s church, Ormond Quay, appears the name of Lieutenant Edward Wolfe and Margaret, his wife, recording the burial of a daughter, Jane, on the 16th July, 1681, and the baptism of three other children—Arabella 4 April, 1676, Ann 14 December, 1676, Margaret 4 December 1677. The reappearance of the Christian names of Lieut.-Colonel Wolfe and his wife, in the name of the lieutenant and one of his daughters [Jane], the latter just about the time he would have been married and a father, seems almost convincing as to the time he would have been married and a father, seems almost convincing as to the lieut.-colonel and lieutenant being father and son. In the register Lieutenant Edward is recorded as of Lord Willoughby’s “company,” probably a mistake for “regiment.” Whether he ever obtained advancement beyond the rank of lieutenant would be impossible now to ascertain, owing to the fact of there having been two Edwards apparently at the same time in the army bearing a similar name. In the Military Entry Boo, 1674 to 1678, p. 69, in the Record Office, Fetter Lane, London, appears in list of officers gazetted to Henry Lord O’Brien’s Regiment of Foot, 24 February, 1677–8, “Captain Edward Woolf.” In the list of officers quitted or turned out of service of Ireland in List of Commissary-General’s Muster, 1689, appears “Lieut. Edward Wolfe, half-pay, per diem, 2s.” It seems, however, more natural to suppose that the latter, being on the Irish Establishment, must be the Lieutenant Edward Wolfe whose children were baptized at St. Michan’s, and who, probably having property there, may have finally settled in co. Wicklow, giving rise, if his father, to the tradition or assertion somewhere stated that General Edward Wolfe was born in that county.

Then we have as born in 1685 General Edward Wolfe, who had a son named Edward. It would seem not improbable that in these four Edwards we have four generations of soldiers of the one family—not necessarily through Lieut. Edward; it might have been through a brother. Although the interval between the baptisms of the eldest of the lieutenant’s daughters and General Edward’s birth seems long, it is by no means unusual; but it may very well be, that if he was of this family at all, he may have been the son of a “James” Wolfe, a brother of Lieutenant Edward’s, since he called his eldest son James apparently after his father, and his second Edward apparently after himself; but it is equally possible the name James may have been taken from one of Mrs. Wolfe’s relations. We also know the general had three sisters—Mrs. Burcher, Mrs. Gouldsmith, and Mrs. Langley. They correspond in number with the three daughters baptized in 1676 and 1677 in St. Michan’s church. James Wolfe visited Mrs. Burcher in 1755, and speaks of her as a “surprising old gentlewoman,” an expression that implies a healthy-looking old lady who bore her years well. Were she one of the three daughters of Lieutenant Edward she would then have been about 78 or 79 years of age. Of Mrs. Gouldsmith there is no allusion in Wright’s Biography other than that Edward Gouldsmith was “Wolfe’s father sister’s son.” Of this son there are several references in James Wolfe’s letters, first in 1742, and again in page 610 of Wright’s work, as “Captain Edward Gouldsmith,” after James Wolfe’s death. His own death is recorded as occurring in 1764, but his age at the time of his death is not given, nor can it be conjectured from any other circumstances recorded in Wright as to when he was born. We may reasonably allow him to have attained the age of 40, which would make it just possible for his mother to have been of the three daughters before alluded to. He left a will in which he mentioned his wife “Lucy Bindon.” The “Lady Anne” said to have been recorded as dying in Westminster, aunt of General Edward, might very well have been a sister of Lieutenant Edward Wolfe. It is to be regretted that in no instance is given the Christian names of the General’s sisters, thus rendering identification difficult, and until it is discovered what names they bore the theory advanced that the General [Edward] may have been a son of Lieutenant Edward’s cannot be substantiated.

Assuming, however, that I am right in the supposition that General Edward was descended from Lieut.-Colonel Edward Wolfe, through Lieutenant Edward, the following would be their pedigree:—

It is curious that a Wolfe was connected with Westerham in Ken nearly a century before General Edward an his family resided there. Richard Woolfe of Oxted, Surrey, dying in 1646, leaves his house in Westerham to his son Richard [see wills in Somerset House, 15 Twisse 1, 1646, Surrey].

Death of Wolfe.

(From the “Army and Navy Gazette.”)

Sir,—With reference to General Anderson’s letter in your issues of the 10th inst., will you kindly allow me space to say that there can be no doubt that the officer was Lieut. Henry Browne, of the 22nd Regiment and the Louisberg Grenadiers.

Those of your readers who desire information about the circumstances of Wolfe’s death will find much to interest them in letters from Major-General Starke and Mr. Browne, of Coolarne, which appeared in “The Times” of the 25th of January and the 4th February, 1888, respectively.

The former gave the following quotation from Captain Knox’s “Journal of Campaigns,” which was published in 1769, just ten years after Quebec:—”Various accounts have been circulated of General Wolfe’s manner of dying, his last words, and the officers into whose hands he fell, and many, from a vanity of talking, claimed the honour of being his supporters after he was wounded. But the circumstances were ascertained to me by Lieutenant Browne, of the Grenadiers of Louisbert and the 22nd Regiment, who, with Mr. Henderson, a volunteer in the same company and a private man, were the three persons who carried his excellency to the rear, which an artillery officer seeing immediately flew to his assistance, and these were all that attended him in his dying moments.”

The latter gave a copy of Lieutenant Henry Browne’s letter to his father, from which I extract the following passages:—”I was the person who carried General Wolfe off the field. He was wounded as he stood within a foot of me … The general did our company the honour to lead us in person … The poor general, after I had his wounds dressed, died in my arms.” A summary of the whole of the circumstances to be found at pp. 586–587 of Wright’s Life of Wolfe.

SCOTUS.

Sir,—With reference to my former letter, will you permit me to add that the volunteer, Mr. James Henderson, who assisted Lieut. Browne of the 28th Regiment, and who was attached to his company in the regiment, was granted a commission in the 28th, about a week after the surrender of Quebec. Quebec was surrendered five days after the death of Wolfe. The 28th have “Quebec, 1759,” in their colours. In “Gleig’s British Military Commanders” the following, referring to the death of Wolfe, occurs:—”He lay there, occasionally raising his head that he might graze over the field of strife, till, feeling his eyesight begin to fail, he leaned backwards upon the soldier, 28th Regiment, who had supported him out of the line of "fire.”

T.C.D.

Dec. 14, 1892

[R. T. Wolfe, The Wolfes of Forenaghts, BlackHall, Baronrath, Co. Kildare, Tipperary, Cape of Good Hope, &c. Also the Old Wolfes of Co. Kildare and the Wolfes of Dublin, second ed. (Guildford: W. Matthews, 1885; 1893), 23–32.]

Top of the page: The Death of General Wolfe by Benjamin West, 1770.