James Nolan, of Glengoole, Gortnahoe, Co. Tipperary (near New Birmingham), married at Moycakey and Borris, Co. Tipperary, 20 Apr 1836 to Alice Houlahan (b. 1807, probably at Borris, bap. 9 Apr 1807 at Moycarkey and Borris, dtr. of Ned (Edmund or Edward) Houlahan and Honora Shanahan). Present at their wedding were a James Nolan and Bridget Houlahan (Ancestry).
James and Alice had at least seven children who were all baptized at Killenaule as follows (cf. parish register):
- Margaret, bap. 10 Feb 1837, sp. Anty Nolan (Ancestry)
- John (Patrick), bap. 18 Jun 1839, sp. Edmund Carrol and Mary Nolan (Ancestry)
- Honoria, bap. 1 Jun 1841, sp. Connor Mathew and Mary Ryan (Ancestry)
- Mary, bap. 9 Feb 1843, sp. John Ryan and Mary Meagher (Ancestry)
- Edward, bap. 17 Jan 1845, sp. James Ryan and Mary ...mmins (Ancestry)
- Alice, bap. 15 Feb 1847, sp. Michael Nowlan and Mary Croake (Ancestry)
- Honora, bap. 30 Jun 1849, sp. Edmund Maher and Ellen Nawley (Ancestry)
James Nolan may also be the same that holds a portion of land at Glengoole as a tenant, mentioned in a encumbered estate sale there in 1855 (Ancestry).
His son baptized John (above), but consistently named John Patrick, emigrated to Australia, and is first known there in 1863 when, on the 23 Jan 1863, he marries Margaret Jane O'Ryan at Sandhurst (now Bendigo), Victoria. His Australian death record (Ancestry) explicitly mentions James Nolan as his father, and Houlihan as the maiden name of his mother, so there is pretty good certainty that John Patrick Nolan in Sandhurst, is the same as the John (Patrick) Nolan born to James and Alice at Glengoole.
Margaret Jane O'Ryan died in 1872, and John Patrick remarried to Elizabeth Mary Agnes Cullen, having between his two wives no less than 17 children.
A memorial plaque was put up at Corop cemetery, a small village in rural Victoria, Australia, where John Patrick and his family lived, probably between ca. 1871/2-1888. The memorial plaque also mentions:
Michael Nolan, b. 1838, and baptised at Killenaule, publican of the Shamrock Hotel at Corop, Victoria, Australia, d. December 1878 there, m. to Ellen Hennessy, b. 1853, d. 1882. The plaque explicitly mentions "Michael and John Patrick Nolan (Snr.) were second cousins..." Michael and Ellen had four children, William, Edward, Michael, and Margaret.
Michael and Ellen's children were still under age when Ellen died in 1882. Both Michael and Ellen died intestate, and John Patrick sues for executorship over their estate, on behalf of their under-age children, giving as one reason "That I make application to administer the estate of the said Michael Nolan deceased intestate left unadministered by the said Ellen Nolan during the minority of the eldest child of the said Michael Nolan as the cousin of the said children and I believe I am lawfully entitled to such administration." (VIC Public Record Office, image 4)
According to Michael Nolan's obituary, published in The Riverine Herald, 4 Dec 1878 (TROVE) he had two brothers in Australia: Philip Nolan and John Nolan, both at Echuca. According to their respective Australian death notices, they were the sons of a William Nolan, and his wife's maiden name was Leahy. These can be found in Irish parish registers, specifically a William Nolan, m. Margaret Leahy, with issue at least the following:
1. Philip Nolan, bap. at Killenaule 9 Jun 1829, they then residing at Loraga, sp: Michael and Catherine Nolan. (FMP)
2. John Nolan, bap. 11 May 1831 at Killenaule, they then residing at Lurga (same as Loraga; presumably the nearby parish of Lurgoe), sp. William Nolan and Mary Nolan. (FMP)
3. Michael Nolan, bap. at Killenaule 5 Oct 1837, they then residing at Lisaugh (? Lisnaganouge near Thurles?) and the sp:s were John Nolan and Mary Graham. (FMP)
As Michael Nolan was evidently the son of William and Margaret, and John Patrick Nolan the son of James and Alice, then John Patrick cannot have been the [1st] cousin of Michael's children as that would place James in the same generation as William, and James and William would have to be brothers, which they are decidedly not.
It is possible that Michael and John Patrick are cousins, and James and William are brothers, OR that the plaque is right and Michael and John Patrick's grandfathers were brothers (making the two of them 2nd cousins).
