| ![Show Contents]() Soley History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
The name Soley arrived in England after the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Soley family lived in Derbyshire. Their name, however, is a reference to Subligny, Normandy, the family's place of residence prior to the Norman Conquest of England in 1066. Early Origins of the Soley familyThe surname Soley was first found in Derbyshire where they held a family seat from very early times and were granted lands by Duke William of Normandy, their liege Lord, for their distinguished assistance at the Battle of Hastings in 1066 A.D. They were descended from a noble who accompanied King William whose home in Normandy was at Subligny near Avranche. Richard Subligny was Bishop of Avranches. They acquired considerable estates in Cornwall, Devon and Somerset by marriage with the Painells, but their main estates were at Newton Solney which later became Soley, and Sola. "The men of Sole," according to Wace, were conspicuous at the battle of Hastings, "striking at close quarters, and holding their shields over their heads so as to receive the blows of the hatchet." The fief of Soules was held of the Honour of St. Lo at the time of the Conquest; but was soon afterwards granted to the chapter of Bayeux. Under Henry II., there was a William de Soules who held three knight's fees in Normandy; two of them in the Comte of Mortaine. 1 Early rolls give a widespread use of the name and its many variants: William de la Sole was listed in the Curia Regis Rolls for Sussex in 1207; Thomas atte Sole was listed in Surrey in 1294; Hamo de Soles was found in Kent records in 1242; Osbert Sole was found in the Curia Regis Rolls for Norfolk in 1203; Walter Sole in Cambridgeshire in 1207; and Godfrey Osbert le Sol in the Hundredorum Rolls for Essex in 1274 and later again the Subsidy Rolls for Worcestershire in 1275. 2 The Kentish branch of this name (of whom John de Soles bought Betshanger in 1347) derived it from the manor of Soles (Domesday Book) in the parish of Nonington. This family was in early times most powerful in Scotland, where it gave its name to the barony of Soulistoun - now Saltoun - in East Lothian. Ranulph de Soulis witnesses a Stirling charter of David I.: and either he, or one of his successors, is styled Pincerna Regis. They were frequent benefactors to Newbottle Abbey and other monasteries; and " their power," says Sir Walter Scott, "extended over the South and West Marches, where they appear to have possessed the whole district of Liddesdale, with five rich baronies in Roxburghshire.1 Early History of the Soley familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our Soley research. Another 270 words (19 lines of text) covering the years 1281, 1291, 1300, 1302, 1318, 1595 and 1679 are included under the topic Early Soley History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Soley Spelling VariationsAnglo-Norman names tend to be marked by an enormous number of spelling variations. This is largely due to the fact that Old and Middle English lacked any spelling rules when Norman French was introduced in the 11th century. The languages of the English courts at that time were French and Latin. These various languages mixed quite freely in the evolving social milieu. The final element of this mix is that medieval scribes spelled words according to their sounds rather than any definite rules, so a name was often spelled in as many different ways as the number of documents it appeared in. The name was spelled Sola, Soul, Soule, Sole, Sooley, Soole, Solley, Sollee, Soully, Sully, Soley, Solney and many more. Early Notables of the Soley familyMore information is included under the topic Early Soley Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.  Migration of the Soley family to Ireland
Some of the Soley family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt. More information about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
| Soley migration to the United States | + |
Because of the political and religious discontent in England, families began to migrate abroad in enormous numbers. Faced with persecution and starvation at home, the open frontiers and generally less oppressive social environment of the New World seemed tantalizing indeed to many English people. The trip was difficult, and not all made it unscathed, but many of those who did get to Canada and the United States made important contributions to the young nations in which they settled. Some of the first North American settlers with Soley name or one of its variants:
Soley Settlers in United States in the 17th Century- George and Alice Soley who settled in Virginia in 1663
| Soley migration to West Indies | + |
The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 3Soley Settlers in West Indies in the 18th Century- Henry and Elizabeth Soley, who settled in Jamaica in 1774
| Contemporary Notables of the name Soley (post 1700) | + |
- Richard Mark Soley (b. 1960), American computer scientist and businessman, Chairman and CEO of the Object Management Group, Inc. (OMG)
- James Russell Soley (1850-1911), American lawyer and Naval historian, Assistant Secretary of the Navy in the U.S. Navy, eponym of the USS Soley (DD-707), an Allen M. Sumner-class destroyer
- Steve Soley (b. 1971), English former footballer who played in the Football League from 1995 to 2002
- Seyfo Soley (b. 1980), Gambian football midfielder
- Clive Stafford Soley (b. 1939), Baron Soley, British Labour Party politician, Member of the House of Lords (2005-), Chair of the Parliamentary Labour Party (1997-2001), Member of Parliament for Ealing, Acton and Shepherd's Bush
| Historic Events for the Soley family | + |
USS Arizona - Mr. Michael Soley, American Corporal working aboard the ship "USS Arizona" when she sunk during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on 7th December 1941, he survived the sinking 4
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Soley migration to the United States 
Soley migration to West Indies 
England
Ireland
Scotland
