By George Solly
By George SollyWe welcome new member Peregrine Solly. Peregrine writes:
‘Along with many of the Society I have a copy of the George Solly family tree that runs all the way back to Stephen Solly the Elder. I also have in my possession a number of Solly papers, ledgers and letters from 1730 through to 1864. The majority of these are from the 1760-80s and belonged to William-Henry Solly (1714-70) and Richard Heaton Solly (1746-1816) who appear in the tree. However, intriguingly, my immediate forebears don’t appear and it has taken me a bit of time looking at various wills to work out why, despite all the documents linking us to the Solly’s from Ash and Sandwich, we don’t feature in the tree.
The reason, if my research is correct, is that Joseph Solly (1751-1806) who is shown in the tree is described as “late of Sandwich, ob SP, died a bachelor”, in reality was married and adopted and legitimised his natural son George. Joseph’s will is dated 31st September 1805 and is available in the Canterbury Wills 1805-7 – Piece 1449 and makes much of his “dear and beloved natural or reputed son George Solly”.
Assuming that I have got this right, there is then a straightforward descent from George (1777-1842), through Thomas Wickes Solly (1803-61), George Bushell Solly
(1836-1908), James Collet Solly (1869-1946), to my father Phillip Watts Solly (1908-1989) and to the three of us.
I have worked the line back from Stephen Solly, through Simon (1460-1500), to Peter of Hoaden (1433-95) but there it seems to stop. Mind you that is not too bad for a relatively undistinguished (if remarkably long-lived) family.’