In this journal we welcome three new members; Reg Warren, Don Soles and Ayshea Sole; we also welcome back Sally Pillen.

Reg is researching the family of Clara Sole (b.1875), daughter of David Sole and Sarah Ann Norwood. Clara married Frederick Warren in Salford in 1897 and they had six children: Clara, Frederick, George, Harry, Hilda and Reginald. This Sole family has been traced back to the marriage of John Sole and Sarah Hale in 1692 in Throcking, Hertfordshire.

Don Soles can trace his paternal line back through 11 generations to George Soule of the Mayflower. Don's branch of the family, who settled in North Carolina, is the subject of a book written by his wife Joy. While George Soule and his descendants are the prime focus of Don and Joy's attention, Joy is also keen to find out more about another early settlement in America with a Sole connection. In 1584 Sir Walter Raleigh sent an expedition to look for a suitable location for a settlement on the eastern coast of America. The expedition set up a fort on Roanoke Island, which lies just off the coast of what is now North Carolina. In the following year the first group of 75 settlers were sent to the site but the attempt at settlement was largely unsuccessful and all but 15 men returned to England. In 1587 Raleigh made a further attempt to establish a colony, and 117 settlers, including a William Sole, landed on Roanoke Island on 22 June 1587. One of the settlers was killed by Indians, another returned to England to procure further supplies but nothing is known about the fate of the other 115, including William. When a supply vessel finally reached Roanoke Island in 1590, the settlement was deserted.

Ayshea has yet to tell us about her research interests.

Sally is still trying to establish whether her William John Sole, who was living in Islington at the time of the 1901 census, is the same person as John William Sole, son of Thomas and Maria (née Rust), who was born in Somersham, HUN, in 1874. On balance the evidence we have to date indicates that he was, but there are still a few nagging doubts.

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