George Soule
George Soule (c. 1595 – 1679) was a signer of the Mayflower Compact, and one of the original 102 Pilgrims who arrived on the Mayflower to Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1620.
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[edit] Biography
Soule was born in England about 1595, and as a young man became a teacher to Edward Winslow's children. Soule came with Winslow to America on the Mayflower in 1620 probably as an indentured servant. He was one of forty-one signers of the Mayflower Compact in November 1620. Soule was among the one half of the population that survived the first winter in Plymouth and was present at the time of the "First Thanksgiving" in 1621. In the 1623 Plymouth division of lands, Soule received 1-acre (4,000 m2) as a passenger on the Mayflower. About 1626, Soule married a woman named Mary (likely Mary Buckett), and they had nine children: Zacariah, John, Nathaniel, George, Susanna West, Mary, Elizabeth, Patience, and Benjamin. In 1637, Soule volunteered to serve during the Pequot War. Soule moved to Duxbury, Massachusetts at some point before 1642 and eventually became a prominent landowner there. He served as a deputy (representative) for Duxbury to the Plymouth General Court and on many committees in Plymouth Colony. Soule died in 1680, leaving a sizable estate. He was likely buried in Miles Standish Burial Ground where a stone was later erected in his memory.[1][2]
[edit] Images
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Mary Soule, ca. 1627, portrayed by a reenactor at Plimoth Plantation in 2009
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George Soule's house, recreated at Plimoth Plantation
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George Soule's gravestone in Duxbury within the Myles Standish Burial Ground
[edit] Children of George Soule and birth years
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- Zachariah Soule (22 May 1627)
- John Soule (about 1632)
- Nathaniel Soule (about 1637)
- George Soule (about 1639)
- Susanna Soule (West) (about 1642)
- Mary Soule (Peterson) (about 1644)
- Elizabeth Soule (Walker) (about 1648)
- Patience Soule (Haskell) (about 1648)
- Benjamin Soule (about 1651)
[edit] Notable descendants
- Richard Gere, American actor[3]
- Joshua Soule, Methodist-Episcopal Bishop[4]
- George Soulé, founder of Soulé Steam Feed Works[5]
- Dick Van Dyke, American actor[3]
- Jerry Van Dyke, American actor
- William West, Rhode Island politician, American Revolution general[1]
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- ^ a b Soule, John E., Col.; Perry, Milton E., Ph.D.; Harding, Anne Borden (1980). Mayflower Families Through Five Generations - George Soule, Volume 3. General Society of Mayflower Descendants. http://books.google.com/books?id=QnA9GwAACAAJ.
- ^ "George Soule in 17th Century Records". Pilgrim Hall Museum. 1998-07-14. http://www.pilgrimhall.org/soulegeorgerecords.htm. Retrieved 2008-08-23.
- ^ a b http://www.mayflowerhistory.com/Genealogy/famousdescendants.php
- ^ George Soule of the Mayflower and his descendants for Four Generations, by John E. Souel, Milton E. Terry and Robert S. Wakefield, Second Edition, Published by General Society of Mayflower Descendants, 1995, pg. 72
- ^ Jack Shank (1986). Meridian: The Queen with a Past. Volume II. Meridian, Mississippi: Southeastern Printing Company. p. 56–61. ISBN 0961612320. "Born in Buffalo, New York, in 1849, G. W. Soulé was a descendant of another George Soulé that came over on the Mayflower."
