Purpose

I want to try to establish three things. Who is John, where did he live and the name of his wife.

The conclusions that I have drawn are based on my logic of the related information. I have tried not to be biased and make big leaps in my conclusions.

I doubt that my work will be accepted, more likely it will be ignored. There is always the danger of NIHS "Not Invented Here Syndrome" interfering.

The answers to all the “we know” statements will be found in the following chapters.

Thursday, November 12, 2015

What we Know





Source Reference
Early Settlers of Maryland; Gus Skordas
Prince George’s Maryland:
Land records:
1650 - 1710; Robert Hall
1696 - 1702; Shirley Langdon Wilcox
1702 - 1709; Elise Greenup Joudan
1710 - 1717; Elise Greenup Jourdan
1726 - 1733; Elise Greenup Jourdan
Maryland Archives:
                Digital Records available on the Internet.
Family Society Publications
Published Biographies
Maryland Historical Trust


Using the Sources Referenced above, we can say that we know:

That a John Soper was transported to Maryland in 1676.
That a John Soper’s transportation was paid by a Francis Hutchins.
From a will that a John Soper died in Maryland.

From that will, we know:
He was a planter.
That he had at least 9 children and 2 grand children and we know their first names.
The married names of some of the daughters.
The full name of one of the daughter’s husband.
That at some point before his death he lived on the Vale of Benjamin.
That he owned 100 acres of Battson’s Vineyard.
The names of other people involved in John Soper’s life.
There are some dates on the will that span 18 years.

From the will we do not know:
The name of John Soper’s wife.
His birth date or death date.
Where he came from.
Who his parents were.
The children’s Birth and death dates and places.

We know some of the History of the Vale of Benjamin and know where it is location in Maryland.

From Land Transaction Records we know:

That a John Soper, (sometimes spelled Soaper) bought, sold, transferred and deeded land.
That a John Soper was linked to a Mary Soper, (sometimes spelled Soaper).
That a Mary Soper wife of John Soper was willed land by a Thomas Houser.
That a Mary Soper, wife of John Soper and Elizabeth Lewis received land as heirs of Thomas Houser.
That an Elizabeth Lewis refers to a Mary Soper wife of a John Soper as her sister regarding some land called Battson’s Vinyard.

Regarding a Mary Yate, we know from land transactions:

That a John Soaper,  referred to as a Cooper, trades 100 acres of Vale of Benjamin formally owned by Mary Yate a widow on 14 Jul 1716.
That a Mary Yate sold land on 24 Mar 1796 that was a part of a tract called Vale of Benjamin.
That a Mary Yate again sold land that on 29 Jun 1698 that was part of the Vale of Benjamin.
That a Mary wife of George Yate bought land on 10 Aug 1704 bordered on the Vale of Benjamin.
That a Mary Yate on 29 Mar 1699 wills to sons George and John Yate, residue of Vale of Benjamin.
That a Mary Wells married a Thomas Stockett, and after his death married George Yate. (and she was then known as Mary Yate.)

From other registered Maryland transactions we know:

That a John Soper was named as the father in law of a Mareen Duvall.
That this Mareen Duvall on May 25 1744, rendered an account upon the state of his father in law, John Soper and made disbursements to Robert Soper, Robert Lashley, John James, Phillis Lowe and James Shaw.’

That a Mareen Duvall on November 21 1746 reported legacies of (John Soper) to his heirs.

 William Ellis who married the deceased daughter Priscilla, daughter Leah Soper who died during her minority therefore her part descended to her several representative, that is, brothers John Soper and Robert Soper and sisters Mary James, Phillis Lowe and Robert Lashley who married her sister Lucy, John Shaw who married her sister Acqilla, and this accountant who married her sister Esther. (this accountant being Mareen Duvall)






Monday, October 19, 2015

Why This Blog?




In September 2015 I discovered that the records in Family Search for John Soper and Mary Houser Soper and family had names changed, new members of the family merged, records removed from one parent and added to another. 

The actual John Soper was given a different birth date and place, Mary Houser had her name changed to  Mary Yate. Some of their children were moved to a different family, some one elses's childern became John and Marys children. Records were merged and re-merged and left unfix-able.

There are a number of people that claim John Soper as an ancestor, and there are two camps, those that claim Mary Yate as John's wife and those that claim Mary Houser. I am in the Mary Houser camp. 

I will use land records to establish Mary Houser as John’s wife, with land records,who Mary Yate was and how she might fit into the mix and find the Location of The Vale of Benjamin on a current map.

All the reference material that I had gathered over the years was in folders and unorganized.  As I progressed in the research, I realized I needed to make the information clear and readable and in one place; what would be better than a blog?