Theobold Wolfe Tone

From the Book, Woulfe - A Family History

By John Woulfe, Mansfield Victoria, Australia

   The connection between Theobold Wolfe Tone and the Wolfes of Forenaught came about as follows. Tone, grandfather to Wolfe-Tone, was, so it is claimed, a confidential servant of the Wolfe family. The name of his wife is unknown, but the couple had 5 children, ( 3 sons and 2 daughters), of whom the eldest was Peter Tone, a well to do farmer. He was a "Freehold tenant," that is to say his family held lands on a perpetual lease from the Wolfe family estates, at Blackhal near Clane.   He died about 1766, and is buried in Bodenstown graveyard together with 3 of his children. Their names are not given, but are buried in the same grave. A later memorial states that his gransdon, Theobold Wolfe - Tone also lies buried there. This has never really been confirmed, but people do assemble on this spot on a yearly basis to honor the memory of the great patriot.

   Margaret Tone, (nee Lamport) mother of Wolfe -Tone was the daughter of a merchant sea-captain, who originated in the town of Drogheda. She lived for many years before her marraige in the Wolfe mansion at Blackhall, as friend and companion to Mrs. Wolfe to whom she may have been distantly related. This establishes a double relationship between the Wolfes and the Tones.  Also living at the mansion was a young man named Theobold Wolfe. He was the second cousin to the Solicitor General Arthur Wolfe. (of Forenaughts) He would later figure in Wolfe -Tone's trial. Margaret and Theobold were and later after her marraige to Peter Tone, she was to name her first born son Theobold Wolfe, as a tribute to her old friend. The Wolfe family were later to assist her in the education of young Theobold. It was this education, (far superior to that of his siblings) which assisted him in obtaining a commission in the French Revolutionary Army.