My origins are in this very large family tree held in The Sole Society's records.

I am also a classic example of how the spelling of this surname can change: my name is SOLES, my father was SOLE, and my grandfather a SOUL.

Many of my ancestors were agricultural labourers, and in fact even my father spent a short time working at the Walter Harvey & Son pheasant farm at Great Rollright near Chipping Norton when he first left school.

At the moment the family tree can be traced back to Edward Soul who was born at Yanworth in about 1755. He married Elizabeth Walter at Burford in 1787 and they had 10 children. I think I am right in saying that we have no reliable evidence of Edward's parents at the moment.

Through the Gloucestershire record office, I was lucky to find Edward and Elizabeth on a Poor Law Removal Order from Chedworth to Sherborne in 1794. The Settlement Order for Sherborne is dated 23 November 1796 so these matters clearly took a while to organise.

I am very pleased to be involved with The Sole Society and the excellent work they do in researching these names. I have no doubt that this new forum will lead to an even better exchange of information and further growth in the Society's already extensive records.

Tim Soles