George Soule
BORN: Probably between 1595 and 1602.
MARRIAGE: Mary Buckett, about 1625-1626, at Plymouth.
CHILDREN: Zachariah, John, Nathaniel, George, Susanna, Mary, Elizabeth, Patience, and Benjamin."
DEATH: Before 22 January 1679 at Duxbury.
yDNA HAPLOGROUP: I-M253 (I-A20032)
George Soule's origins have not been discovered. The most promising record found to date is the baptism of a George Soule on 9 February 1595 at Tingrith, Bedford, son of William. However, recent DNA testing has now shown this Bedfordshire Soule family was not the direct ancestor of George Soule. Other Soule families using the name George can also be found in many other places counties across England in the 16th and 17th centuries. DNA testing has eliminated the predominant Soule families of Gloucester, Worcester, East and West Sussex, and Bedford. Louise Throop has published a reasonable hypothesis that George Soule may have been descendant of the Sol family of Leiden, who were involved in the printing press.
George Soule came on the Mayflower as a servant to the Edward Winslow family, indicating he was under 25 years old at the time; however, he did sign the "Mayflower Compact," suggesting he was over 18, and probably over 21. This puts his birth year at around 1595-1602. This matches well with his apparent marriage date of around 1625 at Plymouth: by the May 1627 Division of Cattle, he was married to Mary [Beckett], and they had had one son, Zachariah.
George Soule and family moved to Duxbury very early on, and he was a deputy to the Plymouth Court for a number of years beginning in 1642. He had volunteered for the Pequot War of 1637, but Plymouth's troops were not needed. He was on various committees, juries, and survey teams, during his life in Duxbury. In 1646, for example, he was appointed to the committee to deal with Duxbury's problem of the disorderly smoking of tobacco.
George Soule made out his will on 11 August 1677, and added a codicil to it on 20 September 1677. The codicil is quite interesting as it gives a little insight into a family squabble between son John and daughter Patience:
If my son John Soule above-named or his heirs or assigns or any of them shall at any time disturb my daughter Patience or her heirs or assigns or any of them in peaceable possession or enjoyment of the lands I have given her at Nemasket alias Middleboro and recover the same from her or her heirs or assigns or any of them; that then my gift to my son John Soule shall be void; and that then my will is my daughter Patience shall have all my lands at Duxbury and she shall be my sole executrix of this my last will and testament and enter into my housing lands and meadows at Duxbury.
