I have recently been corresponding with Donna (Soles) Hall of Vernon, British Columbia. She tells me she is descended from Albert Dubois Soles (b1838) and Mary Ann Milligan (b 1843). Her great-grandfather William (Bill) Storie Soles married Fanny Burton Billingham in Willesdon in 1917. Fanny was from Morton Pinkney in Northamptonshire.

Fanny’s sister Dorothy married Donna’s great-uncle Albert, but according to Dale Haynes Soles’ database of SOLES families in Canada, John Henry Soles married Dorothy Rose Billingham in March 1922. The Dale Haynes database shows approximately 230 Canadian SOLESs and a total of about 1100 names. I hope Donna has access to this database as it may solve some of her genealogical problems.

Donna has sent me details of the Canadian SOLES Reunion, which is held in the Columbia Valley every five years. This is a three-day event, usually held at the end of July, and often has as many as 300 to 350 at the barbecue dinner. Tournaments, horseshoe matches and friendly family games are organised during the event. She says the reason the reunion is held in Columbia Valley is that when the SOLESs families came out west from Ontario, they worked on the railroad as it was pushed through the Rockies, they also farmed and were trappers. The valley is about a two to three hour drive southwest from Banff, Alberta.

The SOLESs of England have been invited to attend the reunion

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