Martha WELLS

1852 - 1936  (84 years)  Submit Photo / Document

• Name	Martha WELLS  [1]
  Relationship	with Rodney VOJVODICH
  Born	1852	Woolwich, Kent, England
  Gender	Female
  Death Record	1936	Western Australia, Australia
  	#1074
  Buried	1936	Cemetery, Karrakatta, Western Australia, Australia
  Died	22 Jun 1936	Fremantle, Western Australia, Australia
  Patriarch & Matriarch	Thomas WELLS,   b. 14 Feb 1766, Leigh, Kent, England ,   d. DECEASED  (Grandfather)  Caroline Emily Minnor GOLDING,   b. 26 Jul 1829, Kent, England ,   d. 5 Jul 1905, Fremantle, Western Australia, Australia  (Age 75 years)  (Mother)
  Person ID	I1587	MyBradyTree | JW
  Last Modified	21 May 2022

  
  

  Father	Alexander WELLS,   b. 12 Oct 1817, Leigh, Kent, England ,   d. 30 Jun 1863, Champion Bay, Western Australia, Australia  (Age 45 years)
  Mother	Caroline Emily Minnor GOLDING,   b. 26 Jul 1829, Kent, England ,   d. 5 Jul 1905, Fremantle, Western Australia, Australia  (Age 75 years) Other Partners: Esau WETHERALL  m. 30 May 1864
  Married	Abt 1851	Kent, England
  Children	5 children
  1. Martha WELLS,   b. 1852, Woolwich, Kent, England ,   d. 22 Jun 1936, Fremantle, Western Australia, Australia
  2. Alfred John WELLS,   b. 21 Mar 1857, At Sea ,   d. 1937, Toodyay, Western Australia, Australia
  3. Amelia Ann WELLS,   b. 17 Jul 1858, Fremantle, Western Australia, Australia ,   d. 8 Feb 1939, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
  4. Ellen WELLS,   b. 6 Oct 1859, Glengarry, Western Australia, Australia ,   d. 27 Dec 1937, Northam, Western Australia, Australia
  5. Emily WELLS,   b. 22 Aug 1862, Perth, Western Australia, Australia ,   d. Bef 1905
  Family ID	F293	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	John HOULAHAN,   b. 21 Jan 1850, Canterbury, Kent, England ,   d. 15 Jul 1896, Fremantle, Western Australia, Australia  (Age 46 years)
  Married	21 Jan 1872	Geraldton, Western Australia, Australia
  Reference Number	#3396
  Children	1. Margaret Ellen HOULAHAN,   b. 7 Sep 1872, Geraldton, Western Australia, Australia ,   d. 3 May 1875, Western Australia, Australia  (Age 2 years)   2. Eliza Louisa HOULAHAN,   b. 1876, Geraldton, Western Australia, Australia ,   d. 5 Jul 1913, Fremantle, Western Australia, Australia  (Age 37 years)   3. Martha HOULAHAN,   b. 1878, Gwalia, Western Australia, Australia ,   d. 6 Aug 1960  (Age 82 years) 4. Charles William HOULAHAN,   b. 26 Feb 1880, Fremantle, Western Australia, Australia ,   d. 7 May 1909, Leederville, Western Australia, Australia  (Age 29 years) â–» Agnes UNKNOWN  m. 1905   5. Amy Josephine HOULAHAN,   b. 15 Feb 1882, Roebourne, Western Australia, Australia ,   d. 21 Oct 1968, Mosman Park, Western Australia, Australia  (Age 86 years) 6. Maud Julia HOULAHAN,   b. 14 Feb 1885, Guildford, Western Australia, Australia ,   d. 15 Sep 1970, Inglewood, Western Australia, Australia  (Age 85 years) â–» Michael Joseph KEANE  m. 14 Feb 1908   7. Bertha May HOULAHAN,   b. 19 Feb 1887, Fremantle, Western Australia, Australia ,   d. 24 Jun 1887, Fremantle, Western Australia, Australia  (Age 0 years)   8. Lucy Rose HOULAHAN,   b. 13 Aug 1888, Smiths Mill, Western Australia, Australia ,   d. 3 Jan 1904, Fremantle, Western Australia, Australia  (Age 15 years)   9. Joseph Alfred HOULAHAN,   b. 1890, Smiths Mill, Western Australia, Australia ,   d. 18 Sep 1919, Fremantle, Western Australia, Australia  (Age 29 years)   10. Ernest George HOULAHAN,   b. 6 Nov 1893, Fremantle, Western Australia, Australia ,   d. 1894, Fremantle, Western Australia, Australia  (Age 0 years) + 11. Emily Mary HOULAHAN,   b. 23 Sep 1895, Fremantle, Western Australia, Australia ,   d. 6 Nov 1948, Fremantle, Western Australia, Australia  (Age 53 years) â–» John Walter SHAW  m. 8 Feb 1915
  Last Modified	21 May 2022
  Family ID	F927	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Event Map	Click to hide
  		Born - 1852 - Woolwich, Kent, England Married - 21 Jan 1872 - Geraldton, Western Australia, Australia Death Record - #1074 - 1936 - Western Australia, Australia Buried - 1936 - Cemetery, Karrakatta, Western Australia, Australia Died - 22 Jun 1936 - Fremantle, Western Australia, Australia  = Link to Google Earth
  Pin Legend	: Address       : Location       : City/Town       : County/Shire       : State/Province       : Country       : Not Set

  
  

• Notes

  According to Phyllis Dorothy WARE (nee SHAW) her grandmother, Martha HOULAHAN (nee WELLS) had a very tough life as did most in those days. Martha and Phyllis where close and what she remembers of Martha stories is little, but of their time together up to the age of 12 years is reasonable. It is believed the marriage between Martha WELLS and John HOULAHAN was at first good, but being a Policeman, they had a life on the move. He was posted to many places north and quite often was an escort on exploration expeditions. Note that a few of her children died very young, Bertha May died at 4 months of convulsions' Margaret Ellen of croup at 2 1/2 years. Eventually they were located at Fremantle, however, not quite sure what happened, but he turned to alcohol and became quite a brutal man. He evidently, beat poor Martha up regularly and abused their children. Martha, however, was evidently a woman of 'faith' and that's what got her through. As you will note, that two of the girls Amy Josephine and young Martha (Sister Columba) became nuns. They did wonderful work in the community and Martha was especially well remembered at Iona Presentation College. Martha (mother) was heartbroken at losing Joseph Alfred in 1919 from a war related illness as she was with Lucy Rose also from illness. Maud Julia was well loved within the family and favourite of Phyllis, she had a kind heart and very 'chatty'. The other children were not mentioned as there has been nothing mentioned. Phyllis's father John Walter SHAW was a medical officer at Fremantle Prison and was good man of high principle (a Freemason and Druid), looked after Martha well, in fact she lived for them for a quite some time and assisted with looking after the grandchildren, Kathleen, Veronica 'Ronnie', Phyllis and John. Martha was well loved and thought of in the Fremantle community and like her daughters who became nuns had great compassion for other in the community. Martha's house was in Edmund Street, Fremantle, my mother Phyllis remembers in Martha's later years she took a liking to cats, in fact she had 80 cats! She took in every stray cat and their kittens and of course the kittens had kittens! The neighbours and subsequently the town council were not particularly happy and John Walter SHAW had the difficult task of persuading mother the cats had to go. Some found new homes, other had to be euthanized. There are many other little stories similar to this, what has come through though, is despite adversity, there was a great sense of humour and turning something good out of the bad. Unfortunately, there have been no stories from Martha's days with her father and mother, Alexander and Caroline, handed down, nor of the other siblings. It is interestingly noted that members of the family throughout the different generations and extended families, married Pensioner Guards, Policeman and Prison Warders. They were obviously were well connected and travelled same social circles. I guess being a small world in Western Australian, everyone new everyone else. Great, Granddaughter - Jennifer Ware – 2008

  
  

• Reference

  Darryl Brady. (2022, May 23). Martha WELLS. Brady Family Tree in Western Australia. Retrieved from https://www.bradyfamilytree.org/genealogy/getperson.php?personID=I1587&tree=BRADY2008