George Soule Research
Luther and Merle Soules Family Foundation Research Grant Overview
Over the years many attempts to discover George Soule's birthplace and parents have proven unsuccessful. In 2002 Soule Kindred applied for and received a $10,000 grant from the Luther and Merle Soules Family Foundation to continue the search for George Soule's origins with particular emphasis on England and a possible connection to a William de Soule who signed a "Declaration of Independence" in Scotland in 1320. Research under the grant has now been completed. No proof of George Soule's birthplace or parents was discovered, but some possible locations and candidates have now been eliminated. Although this result is a bit disappointing, as anyone who has conducted genealogy searches knows, even the process of elimination brings us just a little closer to identifying OUR George Soule's origins. Of course, this is not the end of Soule Kindred's research efforts. As you will read in the article below titled Caleb Johnson Research, 2009, a couple of candidates have been identified for further research.
Soule Kindred wishes to thank the Luther and Merle Soules Family Foundation for its generous support of this research effort. You can read the results of the research below, starting with a 2003 report from Norman Standish, then President of Soule Kindred, who went to England to conduct his research. Caleb Johnson, noted Mayflower expert, wrote four research articles for the Soule Kindred Newsletter. Parts 1 & 2 were published in Vol. XXXIX, April 2005. Part 3 was published in Vol. XXXIX, Oct/Nov 2005. The fourth article was published in Vol. XXXXIII, No. 3 in 2009 in response to an earlier article by Louise Throop, George Soule compiler for the General Society of Mayflower Descendants.
You can support Soule Kindred's continuing efforts to discover the birthplace and parents of George Soule and those of Mary (Beckett) Soule by donating to the Colonel John Soule Research and Publication Fund or volunteering to be a member of the Soule Kindred Research Committee.
Caleb Johnson Research, Part 1
Caleb Johnson Research, Part 2
Caleb Johnson Research, Part 3
George Soule: A Walloon?
Louise Walsh Throop, compiler of the Mayflower Families in Progress series on Pilgrim George Soule, makes the case that George Soule was the son of Jan and Maeken (Labis) Solis who were Walloons. Her article on this subject was printed in the Soule Kindred Newsletter, Vol. 45, No. 4 - Fall 2011. A follow up article, written by Marcy Kelly Brubaker, Chair of the Soule Kindred Research Committee, appeared in the Soule Kindred Newsletter, Vol. 46, No. 4 - Fall 2012.
George Soule 2015 Research
In 2015 a new candidate for George Soule came to Soule Kindred's attention, one George Saule of Braceby, Lincolnshire, England. Soule Kindred again called on the expertise of Caleb Johnson. Johnson researched George Saule of Braceby and found that, although he could not conclusively be ruled out as our George Soule, most likely he is not. You can read the summary of Caleb's research by clicking here.