The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1900-04-28
DEATH IN HOUSE OF WOLFE TONE
PASSING OF DAUGHTER OF DIS
TINGUIsHED IRISH LINE.
The Grandchild Of Theobald Wolfe
Tone, of Revolutionary Fame,
Died in Brooklyn Last Week.

There died in Brooklyn last week
woman who had in her veins, on III
maternal side, the blood of the Dulzet
of Normandy, and on her fathers thai
Of the great Irishman, Theobald Wolff
Tone, the hero Of the Revolution o.
1898, and the founder Of the Society OF
United Irishmen. And, on the same
day, and at very nearly the same houl
that Queen Victoria set out from Wind
sor on her visit to Ireland, was buried
in Greenwood cemetery this woman
beside six Of her noble ancestry. Mrs
Grace Georgiana Maxwell lived for
nearly forty years in her beautiful
home in Washington avenue, Brooklyn
a home built by her husband, the late
Lascessel Edward Maxwell, and Occu-
pied continuously by herself and her
children. There is scarcely another
woman Of this country who can point
TO SO many distinguished ancestors. or
TO h0nOrs won by them in the service
Of SO many different countries, and, at
the same time, show a record so unsUl-
lied by its representatives. It is to be
said Of all of them that they were
brave and viTtuous, and this fact,
combined with all the other charac-
TeristiCs united in their line, made
them a race worthy to be called the
descendants of King David, and de-
serving of the hOnOrs heaped upon
their names by the Ireland of today.
At the close of the eighteenth CEN
fury there came to this country from
Ireland and from France many eXiles,
driven from their own lands by revo-
1utions and consDiracies in revolutions.
Mrs MaXwell'S ancestors We're Irish
exiles, those exileS whom the Poet
Campbelfs ''EXiles' Of Erin describes
so graphically. Her father, who was
the only surviving son of Wolfe Tone,
was in France with his mother at the
time of his fathers death in prison in
Dublin. Napoleon appointed him ca
det in the Imperial School of Cavalry
at st. GeTmaine. AfterwaTd he served
in the French army and fought in the
battles of Dresden, LoWenberg, LeiDsiC
and many others. Napoleon decorated
him for great bravery with the medal
OF the Legion Of Honor. Had this
woman not BEEN an invalid from the
time Of her early married life, and
compelled thenceforth to live in the Sc
cluSion of her family circle, her per-
sonality would have been known to her
contemporaries as widely as was the
fact Of her historic ancestry. Nearly
every Irish-AneIscan is familiar with
the story of Tones granddaughter,
Grace Tone Maxwell. Her grandfath-
er's great fame makes her Of historic
interest, and her own character added
;ustre TO the name she inherited.
The history of Theobald Wolf Tone
IS the history of one of Ireland's no
blest eraS. He worked for the union of
his cOuntrymen under one national
banner, and yielded up his life in the
cause of Irish liberty in that eventful
year of 1898. IriShmen, Catholic and
Protestant alike united in praise of his
memory, two years ago, when the CEN |
1ennial anniversary of his death was |
celebrated with loving fervOr in Ire !
land 1t was on Aug. 10, 1898, that |
Dublin witnessed one of the greatest |
demonstrations that ever manifested |
Ireland's feelings of honor for an il /
lustrious son. Those who. unacCUaint- |
ed with the fact that Ireland was once
a free kingdom, maTveled at the ex-
tent Of this demOnStrat ton, and of the
worldwide interest that was taken in I
it. From all countries came delega-
tions to pay reverence to the memory
Of Wolf Tone, a martyr, who not only
gave up his life for his native land,
but had devoted his entire existence
TO its unSelfiSh service. Dublin streets
were invaded for that celebration by
thousands from all parts of the island,
and by yet other thousands Of loving
SONS who had returned to the mother
land from the four quarters Of the
ence would have lent the last com
pletad feature to the occasion could not
be there. but from her home in Brook
lyn the proud and thankful gTandchild
sent the silver trowel used in laying
The monuments foundation stone. And
the speaker, in presenting ii to the
President Of the '9S Centenary commit
tee, said:
"The trowel with which you Will per-
0n "a * q
granddaughter of Wolfe Tone, and the
reply made to the invitation TO attend
this ceremony gives eloquent proof that
distance from the old home is not oblit-
Grated the heroic memories in which
the family of Tone may take pride, nor
chilled the ardor Of the love which
should be borne for Ireland by those
who claim descent from the foremost
among the patriots Of '9S."
The trowel bore the inscription: IRE
land a Nation. The Memorial to Theo-
bald Wolf Tone and the United irish
men. Dublin, Aug. Is, 1893 Grace
GeorEiana Tone Maxwell"
In her home in Brooklyn, surrounded
by proud traditions and by the Dor
traits, busts, relics and papers of her
great kinSman. Mrs. Maxwell honored
the day with mingled emotions of pride
and TegTet-pride in the honor of her
and regret that she could
not have crossed the sea TO take part
n the national tribute to the character
and deeds Of her grandfather. But in
the wide halls Of her home she spread
the flag Of Erin, and to her children
and her grandchildren she gave re-
lewed evidences of her pure and holy
spirit, and Of the possession of the
self-same qualities that had won death
eSS fame for her ancestors. And the |
other day. when she lay in her coffin, |
her daughter with reverend hands, |
placed in it beside her a withered
shamrock and the Irish soil in which it
had grown, sent to her by an Irish lover
If Tone. Had this woman, within the
iorty odd years she lived in BROOKLYN,
oeen an active participant in the social
life about her, the "house Of history"
n which she dwelt. for the latter part | ]
With her sons and daughters. would ]
nave been the theme Of frequent de-
5criDtiOn, for it is one of the most in
eresting private residences in New
York City. :
At this time when American women
ire actively interested in genealoEies, ]
he contemplation Of this Irish-Ameri- :
an woman, whose ancestry il traced
back 10 the time Of StrOngbOw. a time
when the English language was crude s
md barbarous, and when Ireland was Z
he most cultivated land in Eu-ope. is !
If timely and valued importance. One /
an understand the love and generation ,
# the educated IRISH for their mother !
and when it is realized that according
o traditions Of the land Irish history
soes back to the time of King David. e
hSt the Irish veTnacular tongue is {
IDENTIFIED with Holy Writ and that {
Ireland is the "Innis Phail," Island ;
in which the seed of King !
David found a resting place after leay-
ng Egypt And one may realize how