Re: Wholey = Woolley / ? / Mass. & Ireland
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In reply to:
Re: Wholey = Woolley / ? / Mass. & Ireland
11/20/99
I am descended from Thomas Wholey who came from Pilsley near Mansfield, Derbyshire, England in the late 18th Century.He was a "pit sinker" (digging the vertical shaft to start a mine). His wife and family were based in Stainforth near Doncaster in Yorkshire, but "Tom" travelled the world digging holes!I was just a kid when he died so didn't get any family lore from him.My elder sister said he went to the US for a while, 'cos he came home one day, after a few years away, with a brace of Colt revolvers! from Pennsylvania probably.
I myself lived in the US during 1991-96 (you can find my name sometimes as a resident of Rockville, Maryland).I was surprised by the pronunciation of the surname in the US.There it is pronounced to rhyme with "holy" or "hooley" and the Wholey's that I contacted there (and there are dozens) all seem to "Holies" or "Hoolies" and speak of their Irish origins. Now, in my family we pronounce Wholey as either "Whoaley" (to rhyme with "goalie" or "Woolley" to rhyme with "pulley" - I think my grandfather pronounced it "Woolley".I have heard an anecdote about one family of Woolleys in Derbyshire during the last century - the father had six sons, and the parish recorder spelt each of their surnames different. I wish I could prove the anecdote as it could sort out the confusuion regarding Ireland versus Derbyshire as the centre of origin of the surname.I believe that there are two "blood-lines" - one Irish and the other English (North Midlands).I certainly have never heard of any Irish origins in my line.However, coal mining seems prominent as do certain Christian names. My father was John, my brother is John and my son is John!When I did a little geneology research a few years back in St. Catherine's House I found a large proportion of Wholeys with the name John, (also Thomas).
Cheers
Doug Wholey (who lives and works in Rome, Italy)
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Re: Wholey = Woolley / ? / Mass. & Ireland
andrew tune 6/09/12