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Facts and Events
John Soule died intestate and Esther Soule, widow, was appointed to administer his estate 14 November 1707. His three daughters or their heirs proposed division of the residuary real estate amongst them since their father "in his lifetime settled all his sons portions in land by deed", and they, the daughters, received but one cow. The settlement was signed by John and Rachel Cobb, Edmund and Rebecca Weston and Adam Wright on behalf of his children born to his wife, Sarah deceased. G.E. Bowman (MD 8:184ff) identifies all of the sons of John and abstracts the deeds of gift to these sons.Other references:Families of the Pilgrims Shaw, Hubert F.Boston, MA 1956
Identity
By 1897, there was speculation that Esther, the wife of Samuel Sampson and later John Soule, was the daughter of Philip Delano[3]. In 1898, genealogist Susan Augusta Smith refuted this, stating that she was Esther Nash, daughter of Lt. Samuel Nash, based on a mis-reading of the will of Lt. Samuel Nash[4]. In 1902, NEHGR correspondent A.H.T. corrected Smith's misinterpretation, pointing out that Samuel Sampson's mother (not his wife) was the daughter of Lt. Samuel Nash[5]. Torrey reiterated this correction in 1938[8]. In the meantime, publications stated that she was Esther Nash and not Esther Delano without providing the argument on which this was based. Smith's incorrect conclusion was also cited by Great Migration Begins[10], presumably without the thorough examination of the will and relationships done by A.H.T in 1902 and Torrey in 1938.
There is no firm evidence that Philip Delano's daughter Esther/Hester (who is known to have existed) was the wife of Samuel Sampson and John Soule, but apparently there was no other documented Esther who was a candidate[1]. Given the lack of records, there could easily have been another Esther, but there is no reason to outright reject the possibility that the wife of Samuel Sampson and John Soule might have been the daughter of Philip Delano. The families apparently lived close to one another, and Esther's brother Philip married Samuel's sister Elizabeth.
Note that other than the Find A Grave[1] and VR[2] citations, the remaining sources are deliberately listed in order of publication, so that the introduction of error and its impact can be easily seen.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Esther Delano Sampson Soule, in Find A Grave.
includes a photo of her gravestone saying she died 12 Sep 1735, aged 95 years, 6 months and 6 days
Includes some commentary on her identity, agreeing that she wasn't likely a Nash, but leaning toward the idea that she was the daughter of Philip Delano (de la Noye).
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Duxbury Deaths, in Duxbury, Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States. Vital Records of Duxbury, Massachusetts, to the Year 1850. (Boston, Massachusetts: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1911)
p. 420.
SOUL, Ester, w. John, Sept. 12, 1735, a. 95 y. 6 m. 6 d. G.R.I.
- ↑ application of Frederick Wesley Parker, filed 9 Oct 1897, in General Society of Mayflower Descendants. Membership
104:3.
John Soule, born 1632, died 1707, married Esther Delano, born 1638, died 12 Sep 1733.
- ↑ NASH--SAMPSON--SOULE in Notes and Queries, in The New England Historical and Genealogical Register. (Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society)
52(1898):76.
'In Winsor's History of Duxbury, p. 301, is the statement that Abraham Sampson -- the first Abraham -- married a daughter of Lieut. Samuel Nash. Having last spring occasion to look up something connected with the Sampson family, I sought verification for the statement in the will of Samuel Nash, and what was my surprise to find mention of his two "grandsons (Samuel Sampson's two sons) Samuel and Ichabod," his two grand-daughters Elizabeth "Dillano" and Mary Howland, and his daughter Martha Clarke. His daughter Martha to be executrix and his two friends Thomas "Dillino" and John Soule to be "overseers." (Old Colony Court Orders, Vol. 4, part 2, p. 112.)
'Samuel Sampson was killed in Philip's War, and a reference to the Old Colony Records shows that in 1678 his widow Esther Sampson married John Soule, thus proving positively that the wife of John Soule, son of George Soule of the Mayflower, was Esther Nash, daughter of Lieut. Samuel Nash, and not "Esther de a Noye" as has been so long conjectured.'
SUSAN AUGUSTA SMITH, Genealogist, North Pembroke Mass.
Note: According to Torrey (TAG 15:165), the Samuel Samson and Ichabod Samson mentioned in the will were great-grandsons of Samuel Nash, since their father, Samuel Sampson, was Nash's grandson. This establishes that the mother (not the wife) of Samuel Samson was a Nash.
Hence, there is no reason to reject the speculation that the wife of Samuel Samson was Esther Delanoy.
- ↑ NASH-SAMPSON-SOULE in Notes and Queries, in The New England Historical and Genealogical Register. (Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society)
56(1902):205.
NEHGR correspondent A.H.T. corrects the misinterpretation of Samuel Nash's will given by Susan Augusta Smith in 1898 (NEHGR 52:76), stating "All authorities say that Abraham Sampson married the daughter of Samuel Nash (her name not known), and their son Samuel Sampson married Esther -----, and had two sons, Samuel and Ichabod. (See Giles Memorial, page 378)." and goes on to say "The conjecture that Esther [wife of Samuel Sampson] was the daughter of Philip Delano is probably right, but I should like confirmation of this."
- Stevens and Tripp Family, in North America, Family Histories, 1500-2000
p. 44.
'John [Soule] m. Esther Sampson, widow, whose maiden name was Nash.'
The identification of her maiden name is likely based on the erroneous reading of the will of Lt. Samuel Nash of Duxbury, MA, by Susan Augusta Smith (NEHGR 52:76). However, Torrey (TAG 15:165-66) has a different explanation for the relationship, and provides no maiden name for Esther.
- Goodrich, Merton Taylor. Children and Grandchildren of Captain Myles Standish, in The New England Historical and Genealogical Register. (Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society)
87(1933):155.
'Sarah ... m. Benjamin Soule, a son of John Soule by his first wife, Rebecca Simmons. This John Soule did not marry Esther Delano, as stated by Winsor, Davis, and others.'
- ↑ Torrey, Clarence Almon. A Nash-Sampson-Delano-Howland Problem, in The American Genealogist (TAG). (Donald Lines Jacobus, et.al.)
15(1938):165-66.
Torrey explains the relationships presented in the 1681 will of Lt. Samuel Nash of Duxbury as follows:
The Samuel and Ichabod Sampson who were beneficiaries in the will were Samuel Nash's great-grandsons, children of Samuel Sampson, Nash's deceased grandson. This Samuel Sampson was the eldest son of Abraham Sampson. Abraham had other sons not mentioned in the will. Thus, Abraham Sampson had at least 2 wives, the first of which was a daughter of Lt. Nash.
This explains the Nash link to Samuel Sampson - Samuel's mother (not his wife) was a Nash.
- Mayflower Families: A Critical Examination, in Selby, Walford D. (ed. v. 1-5); Keith W. (ed. v. 6-10) Murray; and H.W. Forsyth (ed. v. 11-38) Harwood. The Genealogist (New Series). (London: George Bell & Sons)
1(1980):233.
'Esther, second wife of John2 Soule was not born a Nash. Her maiden name is not known.' (citing TAG 15:165)
- ↑ Anderson, Robert Charles. The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England, 1620-1633. (Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1995)
p. 520.
child of Philip Delano:
'ESTHER, b. say 1657; ... She was not the wife of John Soule [NEHGR 87:155], nor was she the wife of Samuel Nash [he probably meant to say Samuel Sampson, as incorrectly argued in the cited source] [NEHGR 52:76].)'
- ↑ Addenda et Corrigenda, in Anderson, Robert Charles. The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England, 1620-1633. (Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1995)
p. 2090.
'PHILIP DELANO, page 520, CHILDREN: vii ESTHER: "On 1 October 1661 Abraham Pierce Jr. confessed that he had falsely accused 'Rebeckah Alden and Hester Delanoy' of being pregnant [PCR 4:7]." This provides the evidence for the existence of this daughter of Philip Delano, and requires that she be placed as child with his first wife, perhaps born about 1641 and therefore to be placed between sons Thomas and John. ...'
- ↑ Anderson (GMB 2090) estimates the birth year of Hester Delano as 1641, but it could have been a few years later. The gravestone of Esther Soule implies a birth year of 1640, but her age at death could have been exaggerated. Either way, Hester Delano appears to have been born at approximately the right time to be the wife of John Soule.
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