The Sole Society, a Family History Society researching Sole, Saul, Sewell, Solley and similar names

More on Neame

from Lynne Burlingham

This article was originally published in the April 2003 edition of Soul Search, the journal of The Sole Society

When I read the item from Bob Sheldon 'Surely that's worth a pint! in the December 2002 issue of Soul Search (vol.2, no.18, p26), the name Neame immediately struck a chord with me.

If you have Solly ancestry, you may be interested to know that there is also a Solly connection with the Neame family.

After my father died I inherited a Pedigree of the Solly family, which was compiled during the early part of the 19th century - the entries go up to about 1816. I am not sure exactly where the Pedigree came from but I think it may have been given to my father by a cousin, sometime in the 1980s. However, at one time it seems to have been in the possession of my great-grandfather William Solley's half-brother George Christopher Solley, who made various pencil additions to the Pedigree including the Solly/Neame connection.

The Pedigree starts with Stephen Soley the Elder, who died March 4 1560/61 (a George Christopher Solley addition!). His son Stephen Solly of Pedding in Ash died in 1590. The line goes from here through several generations to Richard Solly of Faversham (living in Faversham 1816). His daughter Sarah Solly married Thomas Abbott (both living at Doddington in Kent in 1816).

Their son John Abbott born 1800, married Eleanor Anne Neame, daughter of John Neame of Selling Court. This was followed by the marriage of Ellen Abbott, daughter of John and Eleanor, to Robert Neame of Fairbrook. Their son Herbert Abbott Neame was born 7 March 1859 and dies 15 September 1917. He married a Kate Gibson of Croydon. They had two children, Dorothy Gibson Neame and Eric Gibson Neame.

I cannot vouch for the accuracy of these George Christopher Solley additions to the Pedigree, but if anyone wants further details, I am happy to pass them on.