Some notes about Sopers in the Caribbean
England to Caribbean
John Soper, yeoman, sailed from Bristol, 21 Aug 1660, bound to William Phelps to serve 4 years in Barbados. from Franklin Family Research [Four years seemed to be the normal contract, presumably to pay for the passage.] (another site mentions Scottish Prisoners of War, sold as slaves in 1650, saying 'The attitudes in New England at the time favored indentured servitude as opposed to slavery'). A William Phelps b.1599 Tewksbury, left for the colonies, with his wife & 6 children, on the 'Mary and John' (140 passengers) 20 March 1630 via Barbados. Arriving 30 May 1630, Dorchester, Massachusetts, the first settlers there. [Interesting that John is described as a Yeoman (someoneone of good family, usually somone owning land), so perhaps this was not the type of apprentiship forced by hardship] source & source
Robert Souper, married Eliza Denny, 3 Jun 1733, St Philip, Barbados
John Soaper was 1 of 5 watchmen at Greenwich Yard, Jamaica. Request for payment. 26 Mar 1765 Robert Patterson, Attorney received wages for them : ADM 106/1141/55 : File marked London : [Apart from a Greenwich Yard in Pensylvania, no web record (2/05)] : ADM 106/1141/55 : National Archives
Barbara Souper from Barbados to William FitzHerbert; thanking him for loan of £40. [FitzHerbrts of Tissington, Derbyshire & Barbados plantations] 29 July 1775 : National Archives
Thomas Soper , born 1751/2 Hampshire recorded in 1786 as being a serving man in Barbados. A loose end in Eric Soper’s line. Thomas's parents, William & Nanny Soper, married in 1735 and died in Hampshire.
John Soper ; Barbados, Original Residence: ? , Destination: Barbados, Page in Original Document: 376. Ship:? .Date: ? Original Port: ? source
Margaret Ann Sobers married Benjamin Newton, 23 Dec 1880, St Michael, Barbados. Her parents were Benjamin Sobers and Phillis? : James Harrison seeking information Oct'01 genealogy.com
Henry Soper (c1832-?) (49) & Elizabeth (44). Presumably visited Barbados in the 1850's, as son William H., a clerk (18) was born there but daughter Florette (11) was born Frome, Somerset, England. The family was living in Derby St Peter, Derby during the 1881 British census. Henry was a Wesleyan Minister, Greenhill Circuit.
William R Soper, Immigration records for Ellis Island, New York have him arriving on The Hamilton from Bermuda on 6 Mar 1916 : Age 41 : Single: Nationality, English : Residence, Ireland Island, Bermuda
Caribbean to England
Margaret D. Soper born c1868 in America, in 1881 British Census, living in Guernsey with her Grandparents
Immigration ships passenger search page, from rootsweb.com
Early Caribbean Sopers some odd notes, listed in approx date order
Peter Soper witnessed at a death, 17 July 1654, Barbados*
Mary Soaper witnessed at a death, 1654, Barbados*
Peter Soper a soldier in 1679
Walter Soper m Millecent SPRINGER , 24 Mar 1721/2, St Michael Parish, Barbados**
Robert Souper m. Eliza DENNY, June 1733, Barbados*
John Soper (c1742-1749) Gravestone at Towers, Tortola inscribed "son of McCuthbert Soper"; - This family gave the name
to a West End harbour called Soper's Hole, 'very often misspelled as Sopher' (Photo by Marge Doran, copyright)
www.islandsun.com --- Another site says John Soper was the son of a wealthy settler, and was only seven years old when he tragically drowned in the area known today as Soper’s Hole (aptly named by his father after his son’s unfortunate death). The tombstone, decorated with elegant cherubs, declares "Here lies the Body of John Soper, Son of M. Cuthbert Soper, who departed this life the 4th Day of January 1749, Aged 7 years, 4 months and 19 days."
Jane Souper m illegible, 1752, St Phillip Parish, Barbados*
George Soper m Ann BLISS , 31 Jul 1757, St Michaels Parish, Barbados*
John Bliss Soper b 26 May 1761, born to George & Ann (pos m 1790?), Barbados*
James Soaper : A Midshipman, on board HMS Griffin
1761, a 6th rate ship or frigate of 28 guns, she was lost shortly after 9 p.m., in the dark, on October 27, 1761. The ship had left Bermuda weeks earlier, had been on the high seas far away from land and, at the time she was lost on the reefs on the northeast coast of Barbuda, the captain believed (based on his reckoning)that he was more than 25 leagues off that island. "Morning : when closer to Barbuda than believed by its reckoning, Cpn. Taylor spots two suspect sails which he takes to be French privateers and starts chase. The chase goes until the night when two lights appear supposed to be the ones of the supposed French privateers. These are followed until the ship runs on the rocks, on northeastern point of Barbuda. Attempts are made to anchor, the cables part, the ship runs on the rocks and is evacuated. The captain remains alone apparently on his disintegrating ship until 4 pm on October 28. Nothing can be saved from the wreck. Three able seamen, William Cribb, Samuel Bond and Francis Amandis, have been drowned in the shipwreck". http://www.caribbeanmarinerecovery.de/griffin.htmGeorge Soper b 20 Aug 1763, born to George & Ann, Barbados*
William Souper, married Barbara Redwan, 'J.N.'. 25 Aug 1765, St Michaels, Barbados, Caribbean : igi & rootsweb.com
William Henry Souper bapt 21 Oct 1775 St Michael, Barbados, Caribbean, 'mother Souper' : IGI index source
Rebecca Miller Soper born 8 Nov 1779 of Barbados : Relative/Witness Emery F. Barrus **
Susannah Thayer Soper born 8 Apr 1781 of Barbados : Relative/Witness Emery F. Barrus **
Lucinda Artherton Soper born 14 Jan 1784 of Barbados : Relative/Witness Emery F. Barrus **
George Robert Soper & wife Mary Soper, St. John 28 May 1786 :Vol. 789, FHL #0426944; 4 Sep 1789 : West Indies Chancery http://www.horlacher.org/USVirIs/1771VIwl.htm
Mary Frances Soper born 3 Jul 1788 of Barbados : Relative/Witness Emery F. Barrus **. Death 25 Jan 1859
John Soper married Elizabeth McDaniel, 24 Dec 1790 Saint Michael, Barbados. ** [pos b 1761?]*
Katherine Woodford Souper bapt 17 Jul 1798 St Michael, Barbados : to William Henry Souper & Amelia [a Woodford Souper bapt c1881 to Rev Francis Souper of Devon]
William Henry Souper born 16 Mar 1800, bapt 1 Oct 1800 Old Church, St Pancras : to William Henry Souper & Amelia
John Cadogan Souper, bapt 15 Oct 1804 & George Frederic Souper 19 Jan 1806, sons of William Henry Souper Inspector of the Chasseurs Brittannique & Amelie Ann Souper , possibly at Vittoriosa, Malta (or Alexandria, Egypt) Robert Souper Howard
Ensign William H Souper York Chasseurs promoted to Lieutenant 2 Jan 1818. (Cadet T Richardson from the Royal Military College replaces him) : [see Dorset Notes 1789 for possible birth] : from The Edinburgh Advertiser [The York Chasseurs, a penal regiment, formed 1813 from Irish deserters was permanently assigned to the Caribbean. 'Efficient with a happy officer corp but decemated by tropical fever & desertion'. After the Napoleonic Wars, arrived at Quebec from Jamaica to disband as colonisers, 24 Aug 1819.] [presume the son of W H Souper 1808 above]
William H Souper (c1729-1819 -if '90' is correct) sacred to the memory. Late M??? York Chasseurs 16 Dec 1819 : aged 90 years 03 Oct 1797 : [If age is correct then too old to be WH above or his father] : Trinidad's Botanical Gardens has a cemetery plot for the island's Governors, family & friends. The earliest burial was William Souper source
Captain Sooper at Winchester Assizes for killing an opponent in a duel, c1815, when the Government was clamping down on duelling. Sooper had a wife & children & expected acquittal or short imprisonment, but the jury returned 'Guilty of Murder'. Sooper feinted,, he apologised, saying he had no fear death having been in battle & faced the West Indies climate. He argued, had he not vindicated his honour, he would loose his commission. 'Am I to get led to execution like the vilest felon'. Justice Dampier sympathised & he was ultimately pardoned : Autobiography of William Jerdan, pub 1853 [This written as a 2nd hand anecdote, so perhaps part or wholely fictional, or phonetic spelling? - ie, no sign of the Judge : However a military Souper family was in W.Indies]
Rachael Ann Soper baptised 2 Aug 1824, Saint Michael, Barbados. ** : Mother Elizabeth Mary Soper
Sir Francis Souper Bayley (c1789-1824) Knight, of Malvern, Barbados. monument at St John's Church Barbados Died 19 Oct 1824, aged 35 [a Sir Francis Souper Bayley had Factory Records with East India Company, 1824. Will 'of Lincolns Inn' London, 17 May 1825 (A2A)] : Also monument there to his parents Francis and Jane Bayley died 21 Oct 1777 & 10 Nov 1803
Carr Ann Soper baptised 12 Apr 1826 Saint Michael, Barbados. Mother Elizabeth Mary Soper. Relative/Witness Emery F. BARRUS **
John Francis Soper baptised 9 Jun 1831 Saint Michael, Barbados. Mother Lydia Soper **
Sarah J Souper (21) Head & sister Julia Ann Souper (20) both b.Trinidad (c1830-1) in 1851 census for Bedford : Jessie Georgiana Souper (15) 'b.London' but 'of Trinidad' at marriage 1869 below
Eliza Emily Souper, the only child of the late George Frederick Souper of the inner Temple, barrister, formerly of Trinidad, She married Samuel Cooper Wayth master of HMS Sparrowhalk at Southwold, Sussex 28 Feb 1856 : [Samuel Cooper from BDM, marriage at Blything] The Southwold Diary of James Maggs 1818-1876 from ancestry.com
Mrs Eliza Souper 10 Nov 1801 'born wd of the lt Henry Gooch maiden name Wayth' : The Southwold Diary of James Maggs 1818-1876 from ancestry.com
Henry Soper & Eliza Cook Barratt, witnessed the marriage of John Cook Barrett & Elizabeth Osborn, 9 Oct 1860, in Bridgetown, Barbados. see www.kevinlaurence.net [JCB, EO & ECB all were born in England]
William H Soper born abt 1863 in Barbados. In Derby, '81 census with father, Henry (49), a Wesleyan Minister, Greenhill Circuit. Henry b. South Brent, Devon. Wife, Elizabeth (44) b. Poole, Dorset children : William H. (18) a clerk b.Barbados : Florette (11) b.Frome, S.Set : Herbert K. (9) : Edward K. (8) both b. Salisbury,Wilts : Maud (3) b.Taunton. So guess Henry & wife were in Barbados sometime between 1853 & 1871 then+-/98 moved to Dorset. The 7 year gap between William & his sister's birth might hint at an earlier marriage or adoption?
Henry Soper, 1867, charged at Jamaica Police Court, with refusing to join the ship Fair Wind, after signing Articles for a voyage to Pensacola, with the view of defrauding the Sailor's Home of the advance for board and lodging. Having persisted in refusing to join the ship, the magistrate sentenced him to 30 day's imprisonment. Report in 'Jamaica Daily Gleaner', 11 June 1867 http://www.jamaicanfamilysearch.com/Samples/glean11.htm
Jessie Georgiana Souper of Trinidad And Tobago, Caribbean married Gerald De Courcy O'Grady 1 Jun 1867 in Ireland
From Caribbean, to New York
Capt S T Soper : age 47 : res-?, Nat-? on The Trinidad, from Hamilton, Bermuda: on 13 May 1895 : US citizen Frank Soper (38) & Mary (28)m, US citizens, sailed on 'The Monterey' from Havana, Cuba to New York, arriving 16 Mar 1907, they sailed again in Feb 1912 [Mary stayed the same age] John Soper (52), US citizen, sailed on 'The Havana' from Havana, Cuba to New York, arriving 23 Mar 1909 Robert Soper (72) & Bessie Soper (76), US citizens, sailed on 'The Oruba' from Kingston, Jamaica & the Cayman Islands, arriving New York, 29 Mar 1911 2 James P Soper sailed one m & aged 61, one s & aged 24, US citizen, sailed on 'The Almirante' from Kingston, Jamaica & the Cayman Islands, arriving New York, 7 Mar 1913 Harry A Soper : age 48 Ada Soper : age 45 : residence, Waterbury, Connecticut, Nat-US on 'The Bermudian', from Hamilton, Bermuda to New York : on 26 Aug 1915 : married : US citizen Arthur L Soper, age 51 : residence, Jersey City, New Jersey, Nat-? on 'The Nieuw Amsterdam', from Falmouth, Antigua & Barbuda: on 8 Dec 1915 : married : US citizen
William R Soper : age 41 : residence Bermuda : single : English on 'The Bermudian', from Hamilton, Bermuda to New York : on 6 Mar 1916
Myrtle Soper, age 22 : on 'The Bermudian', from Hamilton, Bermuda to New York: on 4 Mar 1917 : single : US citizen Maria R Soper, age 25, Maria Soper (2) & Jorge Soper (0) : residence, Massachusetts, Nat-US on 'The Coamo', from San Juan, Porto Rico to New York, on 3 Feb 1919 : maried : US citizen : note
Bessie Soper, age 30 : residence- Halethorpe, Maryland, sailed on 'The Fort Hamilton', from Hamilton, Bermuda to New York : on 19 Aug 1920 : single : US citizen Edgar K Soper, age 33 & Solveig M Soper, age 30 : residence New York, on 'The Matura', from Port-of-Spain, Trinidad & Tobago to New York, on 12 Jan 1920 : married : US citizens
: Solvieg sailed 4 Jun 1921 on 'The Matura': They both sailed again on 'The Vauban' 12 Jul 1922 Beulah Soper, age 36 : res Washington, DC, on 'The Philadelphia', from San Juan, Porto Rico to New York : on 17 Apr 1922 : single : US citizen Jessie Soper : age 42 : sailed on 'The Fort Hamilton', from Hamilton, Bermuda to New York : on 13 Mar 1922 : married : a US citizen Robert Soper (41) , Mary (30) , Robert (5) & George (3) US citizens sailed on Ulua from Havana, Cuba to New York arriving 11 June 1922 : (same trip Aug 1923) : [probably coincidence but a Mary (b1891) sailed from Ireland 1896] James Soper age 26 & Katherine Soper age 26 : residence - Salem, Massachusetts, on 'The Fort Victoria', from Hamilton, Bermuda to New York : on 18 Jun 1923 : married : US citizen Robert H Soper, age 41 : residence, Raxbury, Massachusetts, Nat-? on The San Lorenzo, from San Juan, Porto Rico: on 21 Jan 1924 : married : US citizen [Robert H sailed 1922/23/24/24 & as crew 1918]
SOBER’s
Some of the SOBER family (possibly went by the name SOPER) from the Isle of Thanet moved to Barbadoes during the 1600's. source
John Sober m Mary Wilcox , 25 Oct 1743, he had a slave
plantation & castle in Barbados, he requested burial in St
Paul’s London, his mother lived on the Isle of Thanet /
Little Burstead, Essex. Children of above John, Sarah,
Abraham, Mary & Cumerbatch were each
left £3000 in will. A Sober Link
Isaac Sober (1738/40-1775) m. Susanna Poyer, ca. 1758 of Pennsylvania may have been related to John above. source : US link to Isaac
Thomas Sober and Mary Ann parents of Thomas below
Thomas Sober m Jane Redman , 18 Feb 1734, St Johns Parish,
(later went to Phila PA, Boston MA & NY)
* Hope Sober Conrad of Sunbury, Pa. contributed most of the these people
SOBERS
Samual William Sober The start of Donald L. Hinson, Jr's line (African slavery to Barbados between 1627 & 1750. Abolition 1834). He married Sally Patience abt 1820, Barbados. Son named;
Sir Garfield Sobers, the greatest cricket player of his era (1952 to 1974) : Garfield St. Aubrun Sobers b. 29 July 1936, Bay Land, St Michael Parish, Barbados, the 6th of 7 children, his father, a merchant seaman, died in WW2. source
Soper's Hole, Tortola, British Virgin Islands -------- Maps: Sopers Hole - Tortolla Soper's Hole, described as a tropical urban "gunkhole," a nautical term for a sheltered anchorage. Now a town and marina, it is surrounded by small mountains. Fort Recovery has a well-preserved round tower believed to have been built by Tortola's earliest Dutch settlers who first landed at Soper's Hole in 1648. Tortola is the largest of over 50 Islands and Cays that surround the Sir Francis Drake Channel and comprises of the British Virgin Islands. It was discovered by Columbus in 1493. In reply to an query on the origins of it’s name, Chris Codrington, who lives in Jamaica, wrote Feb’01 CaribGenWeb chriscod@bellsouth.net 'Along the coast north of Manchioneal Harbour there were several "Holes" and several "Bluffs".
They were named Panton's Hole, Codrington's Hole, Downer's Bluff and later, there was the famous Blue Hole. Please
if you have anything more to add. Back to Sopers in Britain
--- Isaac 1738, John 1739, Thomas 1743, George
1745 Jane c1748 Children of Thomas & Jane
This moved site, said "The Sober family of Barbados was a wealthy and respected, active in the import/export business. SOBER and SOPER are common last names still in present day Barbados. Most, however, are the Negroe descendants of their old property." (Also says Jane Redman, b.Philadelphia, PA)
** From the IGI database Familysearch.org. (Feb'03, 10
entries) for Caribbean SOPERs, all from Barbados.
John William Sober b.1841, St Peter, m.Elizabeth Mac Clean, 1860, children Elizabeth Jane Sober, b.1862 &
James Edward Sobers b.1863, a carpenter, married Margaret Elisbeth Vaughan in St. Andrew, 1884, children James Elverton Sobers, b.1887, Cheltenhan, Ernest William Sobers b.1894, Haggatts &
James Augustus Sobers, b.1884, St. Simon, a carpenter, settled in St. Michael & married Florence Malvinia Goddard,1906. The marriage failed &
Florence Sobers immigrated from Barbados to America 1918, her children Stephen Alfred Sobers and Waynett Arthur Sobers joined her in 1923, Dorothy and Lewis followed,1932. She settled in New York. Donald Hinson of Texas (grandson of Waynett) continues & gives the full story in his site
Similar names go to similar features all along the eastern and northern coast. In most cases the names relate to family's who owned the feature, or owned land closely adjacent to it. In some cases the feature (particularly "holes" as you observed)
was surveyed as a minor parcel with the obvious purpose of providing a loading area for a plantation somewhere nearby which
did not have water access.
The importance of water access to early plantations is amply demonstrated by the way most of the early island plantations were laid out. Coastal areas were taken first and often were long & narrow or almost pie shaped. Sugar was transported to the coast in Hogsheads and off loaded to small sloops (droghers) who would then transport the sugar either to the main port or for transshipment to a larger vessel lying off the coast or in a secure harbor nearby. Droghers were often the topic of much complaint regarding their rates etc and most enterprising early planters with any resourcefulness acquired their own shallops & sloops to allow them to either dispense with the Drogher's services, or mediate their complete'
Since this mailing I've found mention of, John Soper's gravestone below, saying Soper's Hole was sadly named after he drowned there, aged 7. Though I would have thought a deep water anchorage would most likely be named after the family name of the nearby plantation.