The Soden Family Reunion

REPORT ON THE SODEN REUNION IN SLIGO, 16TH-18TH JUNE, 2000

The Soden Family Gathering

The first Soden Reunion took place in the Tower Hotel, Quay St., Sligo

16th – 18th June, 2000

This first Soden gathering attracted visitors from all corners of the globe representing the families in Canada, Great Britain, Northern Ireland, Australia, Tasmania, and the United States of America. The associated counties in Ireland of Sligo, Cavan, Longford, Leitrim, Westmeath, Dublin, and Offaly were also well represented.

Talks covered the following themes:

Arms and Crests in the Soden Family by James Arthur Soden, Toronto, Canada

German or Not? By Felix P. Soden, Dublin, Ireland

Caleb Soden of Leitrim and Virginia by Robert Soden, Decatur, Alabama, United States of America

The Sodens of Hook Norton, Oxfordshire by Bryn Ellis, Flintshire, Wales

The Story of Alice Soden, Birmingham by Kenneth Gould, Dorset, England.

An exhibition of Soden documents, photographs, maps and family trees was one of the main attractions of the weekend together with a CD produced for the occasion containing all major books, sources and photographs of the Soden families around the globe.

Copies of the Group Photograph were forwarded to those who ordered them.

Books on the Soden name:

The Sodens of Coventry: A Warwickshire Family through Six Centuries by Ronald Soden, Aberwysweth, Wales (1992)

The Ancestors and Descendants of Caleb Soden (1934) by John Voorhis Soden, New York

A Chronological Source to the Soden Name in Ireland from 1651-1951 by Felix P. Soden, Dublin, Ireland (1999)

The Story of Alice Soden: Re-incarnation or the Living Proof  by Kenneth Gould, Dorset, England

Booklet: "37 Soden Profiles from around the World"

Booklet: "Soden's in the Air, Military and Naval Forces of Australia, Canada, Germany, Great Britain, New Zealand and the United States of America"

Among those present were the families of:  (individual names are indicated at the top)

Pat and Marilyn Soden, Cavan, Ireland

Sean and Margo Soden, Sligo, Ireland

Peter and Alice Soden, Dublin, Ireland

Felix and Ute Soden and children, Dublin, Ireland

Karen D’Or and Bob Pittman and children, California, USA

Bruce and Priscilla Soden, New York, USA

James and Edna Soden, Toronto, Canada

Marg and Michael Strus, Mississauga, Canada

Robert and Doris Soden, Alabama, USA

Jim and Norma Soden, Belfast, Northern Ireland

Ronald, Linda and Charlotte Soden, Leicester, England

Ann Pugh, Sligo, Ireland

Jim Soden, Santry, Dublin, Ireland

Alice, Christine, Kathleen & Margaret Soden, Dublin, Ireland

Paul and Rose Soden, Sligo, Ireland

Peter Soden, Rathfarnham, Dublin, Ireland

Pat and Marilyn Soden, Dublin, Ireland

Nora and Anne Soden, Sligo, Ireland

Francis and Mary McInerney, Sligo, Ireland

Muriel Soden, Blackrock, Dublin, Ireland

Kate Soden, Virginia Cavan, Ireland

David Soden, Dublin, Ireland

Gretta and Oliver O’Reilly, Sligo, Ireland

Marie Soden Feeney, Toronto, Canada

Therese Soden Kelly, Swinford, Ireland

Kay Parry, Dublin, Ireland

Conor Soden, Dublin, Ireland

John Voorhis Soden II and his son, Garrett Soden, California, USA

Tanya Soden, Sligo, Ireland

Peter Soden, Dublin, Ireland

Matthew and Jeanine Soden, New York, USA

Mark Montignani Soden, New York, USA

Terry and Jean Soden, Berkshire, England

Bryn and Beryl Ellis, Wales

Craig and Sarah Scott, Berkshire, England

Marilyn Higson, Shropshire, England

Details of the reunion can be obtained from:

Felix P. Soden, Dublin

33,Wyattville Park,

Loughlinstown,

Dun Laoire,

Co. Dublin.

Republic of Ireland.

Telephone: 01-282 6841

Email: sodenpf@hotmail.com

Bob Soden,

3309 Valley Forge Road, SW

Decatur, Alabama 35603-3115

USA

Telephone: 256-340-0322

Email: sodenb@hiwaay.net

Both Bob Soden and Felix Soden wish to thank all those who attended or who assisted in any way and say what an enormous pleasure it was to have met so many relatives and ‘cousins’ from around the world. On behalf of the Irish Soden's, I, Felix Soden, must express our gratitude that so many traveled so far from Canada, Britain, and the United States. We hope you enjoyed this visit to Ireland and gained something special from the family gathering. We look forward to hearing from you and hearing more about your family history research.

I, Bob Soden, on the behalf of the American (Canada and the US) Sodens would also like to express my profound gratitude to everyone that attended this historical gathering. It was a first for the Sodens and I certainly hope it will not be the last. I believe that not enough credit has been bestowed on Felix Soden for all of the tireless effort he put into this event. I just don't have the words to express my appreciation for his efforts that he put forward to making such a memorable event in my lifetime. There were two others that did a great deal in making this event as great as it was and they haven't been mentioned. They were Felix's brother Peter, also of Dublin, and his Sister, Marie of Toronto, Canada. Without this trio of Sodens the event would have been just another event, but they put a great deal of effort into making it what it was. God bless them for it.

It was mentioned on several occasions that a follow-up reunion should take place in three to five years; with the possibility of meeting in the State of New Jersey, since so many of the Sodens that immigrated from Ireland and England came through Ellis Island, NY and settled in New Jersey and New York. Over the next year or so I will make some inquires concerning hotel and meeting places.  If some of you have New Jersey contacts please let me know.