The Book of Soden

 History of the  Soden Family 1164 - 1950


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[Text and Source : Glenn Warren Soden, Columbus, Ohio, USA, February, 2023]


The only other genealogy of the Soden family found of record is by Neta Kellogg Melton, “Descendants of William Soden and George King”, Iowa, 1959. 9  The Emigrant Soden family in that writing was William Soden (b. 2-JAN-1800 in England; d. 22-DEC-1878 in Iowa) and wife Elizabeth (b. 23-JUL-1801 in England; d. 30-JAN-1867, Phelps, New York).  That Soden family emigrated to the United States through New York in 1830. 10

 

The only genealogical research found which may relate to the earlier origins of the Soden family here under discussion is found in “The Compendium of American Genealogy”, submitted by Bertha Soden Fitch (b. 28-AUG-1872; d. 1969). 11  Her submission indicates arrival of (9) Thomas Robinson (Sowden) Soden in Hartford, Connecticut in 1640 and a grandson (7) Thomas (b. 1699; d. 1770) relocating from Cambridge, Massachusetts to New Jersey. 12  Great grandsons (5) Edward Elijah (b. 1750; d. 1824) and his brother William are reported as “engaged in running the British blockade in a vol. Vessel carrying supplies to the colonists; captured, put in irons and carried on the prison ship H.M.S. Royal Oak to Eng.; of Millville, N.J…..”  A great-great grandson (4) Thomas Theodore (b. 1789; d. 1844) is indicated as departing Millville, N.J. to Tenn., ca. 1825.  It has not been determined whether (7) Thomas migrating from Massachusetts to New Jersey, most likely by the origins of the Boston Post Road, is the originator of the Sodens in Middlesex, Monmouth, and Somerset Counties of New Jersey.

 

Soden/Sodon in Central New Jersey Prior to 1800:

 

Sodens with Christian names of Thomas and John are found continuously in central New Jersey from 1722 (mentioned in inventory of blacksmith Derrick Huff, also 1752 Freeholders New Brunswick).  The earliest Soddon found in New Jersey is Charles Soddon of Elizabethtown as a witness to a will in the year 1687.

 

A listing of early Sodens/Sodons include:

+  John Soden, AUG-1741 “The Janeway Account Books”, 1752 Freeholder New Brunswick, 1754 contributor  to Cranbury Parsonage, 1772 New Brunswick, SW district tax census, 1778 Middletown, Monmouth County tax census, 1780 New Brunswick, SW district tax census, 1786, 1789 South Amboy tax census;

+  Thomas Soden, 1723 (May Term) Supreme Court Alexander vs. Soden, 1735 (Oct. Term) Allen vs. Soden;1752 Freeholder New Brunswick;

+  Thomas Soden, b. 15-MAR-1741, d. 17-OCT-1827 (interred Cranbury First Presbyterian Church), REV WAR private (p. 761 Stryker 1872 Official Register, Men of New Jersey in the Revolution”, Middlesex County, 1772, 1778, 1780 tax censuses, New Brunswick, South Ward;

+  Francis Soden, 1753 Freeholder, Somerset County;

+  Thomas Soden, b. ca. 1769, d. 26-NOV-1849, a cooper (see 1850 Mortalilty Census) m. 16-JAN-1794, Kingston Presbyterian Church Catherine Brickner;

+  Taylor Soden, b. ca. 1770’s (1830 census, Middletown, Monmouth County), tax censuses 1784, 1789, 1792, 1795, 1797 tax censuses, Middletown, Monmouth County, New Jersey);

+  Lewis Soden, b. ca. 1775, Monroe Township, Middlesex County;

+  Mary Soden, 1784 tax census, Middletown, Monmouth County;

+  Edward Soden, b. ca. 1784, d. ca. 1872 (NJ Archives);

+  Catharine Soden m. 10-OCT-1805, South Amboy Township, Middlesex Co.,  Abraham Atchley

+  Esek. Soden, 19-OCT-1819 estate, Monmouth County Surrogates Records, inventory1820, #09365);

+  Garret Soden, b. 15-OCT-1788, d. 25-FEB-1865 (interred Kingston Cemetery) m. 20-MAR-1815 Cranbury Presbyterian Church, Sarah;

+  Thomas Soden, b. ca. 1790’s, son of Thomas and Catherine,  m. Elenor Brewer, Spotswood, NJ (children: eight: Eliza, John, Elenor, Ephriam, Thomas, Henry, twins Isaac & Jacob, and Ottis Weston);

+  George Soden, b. ca. 1790, son of Nancy Souden m. 20-DEC-1815 Alice Hire, Monmouth County; served War 1812, Capt. Daniel D. Hendricksons Co. of Riflemen, discharged 09-DEC-1814;

+  Richard Souden, son of Nancy Souden;

+  John Soden, b. ca. 1790 (1830 census) m. 19-OCT-1819 Rachel Thomas, widow (Middlesex County Marriage Records);

+  James Soden m. 21-SEP-1822 Margaret Buckelew, Somerset County, Kingston Presbyterian Church;

+  William Soden, b. ca. 1790’s (see 1830 census, South Brunswick (perhaps the William Soden who signed an 1811 petition offering to quit the state of New Jersey to be discharged from prison for felony robbery);

 

Other early Sodens to the Colonies are found to be John Soden, no age given, sentenced to transportation at Sessions of Geol on the ship Susannah and Sarah, Captain Peter Wills, arriving from England in Annapolis, Maryland transported in October 1719 with a landing certificate of April 1720.  13 An earlier Soden arrival in Maryland is recorded to be Issac Soden in 1677. 14  A Thomas Sowden is recorded as arriving at Marblehead, Massachusetts in 1674.15

 

POST REVOLUTIONARY AMERICA:



  1. JONATHAN SODEN/SODON

 

As we are currently unable to determine the Revolutionary War period ancestor of the family here under discussion, we begin with our ancestor  (7) Jonathan Soden, b. ca. 1776; d. ca. JAN-1848.  In our search for his parents, we begin with several possibilities.  NJ Archives lists John Sodon Sr., John Soden, Joshua (Josiah) Soden, (d. 20-NOV-1778 hospital Morris County, 1st NJ Regiment, private, enlisted 18-APR-1777 Col. Matthias Ogden’s Regiment, Capt. John V. Angel’s Co. Morris Guard, Valley Forge, 25-MAR-1778), Thomas Soden, and William Soden, (3rd Regiment, reported killed 1777 at Bennett’s Island in two pension applications by David Luker and John Ervin), as serving during the Revolutionary War from Middlesex County.  

 

Although a Jonathan Soden/Sodan is recorded with the DAR and SAR (b. ca. 1740; d. ca. 1790) [his pension records, however indicate his death ca. 1823], the only confirmation found of his existence in New Jersey are compiled military records showing his service during the Revolutionary War. 16  Pension records indicate he wintered at Valley Forge with George Washington and fought at the battle of Monmouth.  That may be where the NJ reference originated, as Jonathan Soden’s pension file indicates he orginated from MA and RI.  He and other Sodens are shown in Orange County, New York in the 1790 census. His issue in the DAR and SAR is indicated to be Lydia (b. 1785; d. 1855) who in 1807 married James Turner of New York. 17  It is unlikely this Jonathan had a son Jonathan based upon the pension record.

 

We also find various records of John, John Sr. (same individual as previously John?), Thomas, Joshua and William (the latter two died during that conflict) serving in the Middlesex County Militia during that war. 18

 

The New Jersey Sodens we have found were Presbyterians.  In fact, three of the generations here discussed were interred at the cemetery at Old Tennent Church near Englishtown, Monmouth County, New Jersey, near the site of the Battle of Monmouth.  Perhaps partly because of their religion and its effect upon their daily lives, so many of these early Sodens served in the young country’s military.  In “A Survey of American Church Records” it was observed:  “During the Revolutionary War Presbyterians suffered because of the allegience to the cause of the patriots.  It has been said that no other denomination equaled the patriotism of the members of the Presbyterian Church.” 19

 

The location in which we continue to find this family played an important role during the 

Revolutionary War.  Although the Battle of Monmouth was not a decisive victory for either side, it helped to exhibit the abilities of the colonial Army following its reconfiguration at Camp Valley Forge.  Old Tennent Church, central to the area, received this family as its congregation and for their final resting place for three generations.



  1. Jonathan Soden is first recorded as a private on the Muster Roll of the company of Granadiers under the command of Captain Ezekiel Price in the service of the United States, commanded by Colonel Jonathan Forman, dated at Trenton the 20th of September, 1794.  20  Having enrolled in Middlesex County, New Jersey on the twelfth of September for three months, Jonathan was still a raw recruit when he and nine other privates in his company of 48 privates are recorded as “absent without leave”. 21

 

“Drafting an army was only the first of may problems faced by officers of the state and federal governments.  The rate of desertion was high.”  22  This was not surprising in this test of the young government to suppress The Pennsylvania Insurrection of 1794, which resulted in riots and conflicts among lines of both class and urban versus rural.  In analysis of this response, “drafting the eastern poor to fight the impoverished of the West seemed the ultimate hypocrisy to those who opposed the Federalist regime”.  23  Jonathan was one who responded to the call to raise an army of 12,950 men from New Jersey, eastern Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia. 24  The unpopularity of the effort to bring forces to crush the Whiskey Rebellion is indicated by reports that “volunteers represented a very small percentage of enlisted men—as low as zero and seldom above 25 percent among rural brigades. 25

 

A 1793 military census of those males 18 to 39 eligible for military service shows a John Snoden, age 39, in South Amboy as the only surname close to Soden. 26   This does not appear to be our Jonathan who would have therefore been under age 18 in 1793, however must have achieved that age in 1794.  The census was to record those eligible for military service, excepting those only between those ages who had already served in the military during the Revolution.  Or is it possible that our Jonathan is the same Jonathan Soden who enlisted 26-MAR-1777 for a term of tree years, as a matross in the colonial Army?  A Jonathan Soden is recorded as serving in the Third Artillery Regiment of Continental Troops in Captain William Perkins’s Company commanded by Colonel John Crane under Brig. Gen. Henry Knox. 27  That Jonathan is recorded as being from RI and MA in compiled records as appearing on Company Muster Rolls in 1778 dated at Camp Valley Forge. 28  We also find a family of Rev. Gilbert Tennent Snowden as pastor in the later 1790’s at the Cranberry Presbyterian Church in South Amboy Township.  The families appear to be unrelated.

 

Jonathan was from rural Middlesex County in New Jersey.  In December 30, 1799 he is recorded as marrying Lydia Applegate, daughter of William and Elizabeth Applegate, in that county.  29  Despite the marriage record however, a mortgage dated May 10 of that year in South Amboy Township in Middlesex County, New Jersey already recorded them as husband and wife. 30  This may be explained in part by several indexes which show the date of marriage as December 30, 1794. 31  A first son, Jacob, was born May 11, 1797.

 

Children with his first wife, Lydia Applegate were:

 

i.  JACOB, b. 11-MAY-1797; d. 26-NOV-1868; m. REBECCA BARMORE, b. 1801; d. 25-DEC- 1865; (interred Cedar Hill Cemetery, Hightstown); Children (ten):

  

  1. LUYCUS (LEWIS) W., b. 1825; d. 08-NOV-1887 of septicemia following a wound to hand from a factory machine (O.T.C.), m. Eliza R. ______, b. ca 1831-1836; (four children: Lydia Anne or Sophia A., Harriet L., Adell or Ada, Edward or Ennis);
  2. JACOB, b. 17-NOV-1830, d. 21-NOV-1902 (Mound Hill Cemetery, Gallipolis,  OH), m. 15-FEB-1858 TABITHA LUELLA LIBERTY BAYES (HAYS) at Pendleton Co., VA , b. 11-JUN-1832, d. 15-AUG-1898, daughter of Thomas W. and Ann Bennett Bayes and Widow of Alexander Hayes: (nine children: (Rev.) Roy, b. 20-OCT-1859, d. 30-SEP-1913; Rebecca, b. 7-MAY-1861, d. 10-AUG-1911; Henry; Jacob Thomas, b. 26-JUL-1864, d. 13-MAY-1933 m. Hattie H. ___, b. 18-MAY-1866, d. 20-SEP-1928; Luella Liberty; Amy Ann; Harry Rodgers, b. 18-AUG-1870, d. 20-SEP-1906; Rosa; Samuel Oliver);
  3. (SAMUEL), b. 21-FEB-1833, d. 11-OCT-1889 m. ANNA _____, b. 1835; (children: Alexander, William, Ira);
  4. SARA E., b. 1834, d. _____ m. _____ LANNING (Hightstown, NJ); (children:  John F. m. Lizzie D. ____; Will; Julia; Ella; Emma);
  5. AARON T., b. 04-AUG-1837, d. 19-AMR-1920 m. MARY ELLEN BOOREAM, b. 29-JUL-1837; (five children:  Gilbert A.; Rachael E.; Conover; Winfield; Archibald Cobb);
  6. NANCY, b. 1838, d. ____ m. JACOB TASH (Princeton, NJ); 
  7. ROY, b. 1842, d. 16-JUN-1901 m. HENRIETTA _____ (Trenton, NJ);
  8. DISBROW (GEORGE?), b. 1844, d. ____;
  9. MARY, b. 1847, d. _____;
  10.  ELIZABETH (BETSY), b. 1825? D. ___ m _____ STILLWELL (Trenton, NJ); (children:  Isaac m. Fannie Seavers);
  1. ELIZABETH, b. ca. 1799, d. 28-JUL-1876 (interred Atlantic Cemetery, Manasquan, NJ) m. 1816 SAMUEL ROGERS (at Cranbury Presbyterian Church) b. 1796, d. 17-APR-1887; (children:  none, however Charles Mooney, b. ca. 1837 and adopted Martha Mooney (grandniece) b. ca. 1839 m. William Palmer (Mooneys shown in 1850 census Howell Twp., Monmouth Co., NJ);
  1. WILLIAM, b. 26--?-1802, d. 06-DEC-1869 m. 18-DEC-1822 (1) MARY ANN DEY, b. 1803, d. __;

(2) MARTHA VANDERYN or VANDERIPE, b. 1802, d. 30-APR-1878; (children (six): 

  1. JOHN DEY, b. 1823, d. ___ m. ELIZABETH BOOREAM, b. 17-JUL-1829;
  2. JAMES, b. 1825, d. ____ m. 23-APR-1854 FRANCES BOWREM (daughter of Joseph and Hilsey?);
  3. ELIZABETH, b. 1827, d. ____;
  4. MARTHA, b. 1828, d. ___ m. LEONARD ERVIN, b. 1825, d.____;
  5. ARCHIBALD, b. 30-MAR-1830, d. 14-MAY-1927 m. 29-JUN-1850 ABIGAIL AN BOOREAM;
  6. MARY ELIZABETH, b. DEC-1836/37, d. APR-1900 m. 01-JUL-or 14-AUG-1857 EDWARD LIVEZEY, b. JAN-1838, d. MAY-1912;                           
  1. LYDIA (or CHARITY?), b. 4-OCT-1803, d. 14-SEP-1880 (cert. Of death “paralysis”, O.T.C.) m.29-MAY-1819 JOHN O. SHEARMAN (at So. Amboy Twp., Middlesex County, NJ), b. ____, d. 1865;
  1. BRITTON ROGERS, b. 8-NOV-1806, d. 07-MAR-1887 (per  death cert. “apoplexy”, burial Cranbury) m. ANN ____; (children: three):

  

  1. ABIJAH, b. 1835, d. NOV-1885?;
  2. AGNES, b. 1839, d. ____ m. ____ COOK;
  3. CHARLES S., b. 1843, d. 1866?;



  1. KIZIAH, b. 18-JUL-1809, d.3 SEP 1864 ____ m. 27-NOV-1828 (at Cranbury Presbyterian Church) LUCAS S. BENNETT, b. ca. 1802, d. 15-JUL-1878 (death cert. “tumor on the brain”);
  1. CHARLOTTE, b. 30-JUL-1812, d. 27-MAR-1869 m. 31-DEC-1838 ROBERT SHAFTO, b. 26-SEP-1811, d. 27-NOV-1885; (children: seven): (from 1850 census Howell Twp., Monmouth Co., NJ):
  1. Elizabeth, b. ca. 1837, d. ____ m. Joseph DONOHUE;
  2. William Henry, b. ca. 1840, d. ____;
  3. _______, b. ca. 1841, d. _____;
  4. Andrew, b. ca. 1843, d. _____;
  5. Mary, b. ca. 1846, d. _____;
  6. Samuel G., b. _____, d. _____;
  7. Alexandria, b. _____, d. _____ m. Timbrorte STOUT;

 

It is possible Jonathan’s first wife LYDIA APPLEGATE died in childbirth with CHARLOTTE.  Due to his wife’s death, Jonathan and his sons Jacob and William, the only children that  would have reached majority age at that time, inherited land in Surrogate’s and Orphan’s Court proceedings held in 1823 upon the death of Lydia’s father, WILLIAM.

 

On 01-FEB-1816 Jonathan is recorded as marrying MARY HILLYER at the First Presbyterian Church of Cranberry.  This match appears to be related to neighbors as three acres of land Jonathan and Lydia purchased on 14-MAY-1802 from Peter and Elizabeth Barclay ran to a corner in “Hillyer’s line”. Faced with raising a young family, his eldest son aged 15 and youngest daughter aged 3 ½, Jonathan likely would have courted a neighbor, Mary Hillyer.  As we will see with Jonathan’s youngest son Gilbert, “the names of neighbors on adjacent properties can often help solve the question of whom the children married, since, …, young men who worked hard all day were not inclined to go too far when they courted and often found a wife on the next farm or in the same urban neighborhood”.

 

By a certificate dated 8-JUN-1812, which currently remains with a descendant family of Jacob Soden, we know Jonathan became a regularly admitted member of The Washington Benevolent Society of Cranberry.  This Society was an arm of the Federalist party. The certificate informs that the society was “instituted in the Town of Cranberry, on the nineteenth day of May, 1812”.  The certificate is included in a copy of “Washington’s Farewell Address, to the people of the United States”.

 

We know Jonathan was literate.  His first and second wives, Lydia and Mary, were not.  Jonathan signed three deeds of sale and two mortgages during his lifetime.  Both wives simply made their mark.  He is also shown as a petitioner signing his name with those of eleven of his neighbors on 26-FEB-1814 requesting a license be issued for the ensuing year to Elizabeth Gulick “to keep a Tavern and Publick house of Entertainment where she now lives in said Township Rhode Hall….”

 

The 1830 U.S. Census for New Jersey, the first census available for that state, lists as heads of families, Jacob (over age thirty and under forty), Jonathan (over age fifty and under sixty), and William (over age twenty and under thirty); that conforms with the dates of their birth shown above.  Their residences in the same area conform with the inheritance of land they received as tenants in common from the estate of Lydia Applegate Soden’s father William Applegate.  Until the 1840 census, Jonathan and his family are recorded as residing in South Amboy Township in Middlesex County, New Jersey.

 

The only other Soden families shown in the 1-NOV-1830 U.S. Census in Middlesex County, New Jersey are:  Thomas Soden, age 40 and under 50 (b. 1780/1790), in North Brunswick Township, with seven children under age 20 (6 males and 1 female) and a female, presumably his wife, age 30 and under 40 (b. 1790/1800).  In South Brunswick William Soden and John Soden are shown next to each other.  Both are shown as ages 30 and under 40 (b. 1790/1800), as are females in each of their families.  Williams is shown with two males under age 5 (b. 1825/1830); John is shown with two males under age 10 and one female under age 5.  

 

Garret Soden is also shown as a head of family in South Brunswick with him and a female indicated as ages 40 and under 50 (b. 1780/1790), with two males age 10 and under 15 (b. 1815/1820), and three females, two ages 10 and under 15 and one age 5 and under 10.  48  [Garret Soden, b. 15-OCT-1788 or 1789, d. 25-FEB-1865 (interred Kingston Presbyterian Cemetery, Somerset County, NJ; m. 26-MAR-1815 Sarah Brown at Cranbury Presbyterian Church (children: six: Sarah Ann, b. 4-FEB-1816, d. ____ m. 13-OCT-1844 Caleb Hunt; John, b. 17-OCT-1817, d. ___; Morris, b. 13-AUG-1822, d. ____; Joseph Brown, b. 05-JUL-1820, d. ____; Mary Jane, b. 05-MAY-1825, d. ____; Abigail, b. 1831, d. 20-FEB-1909 m. Isaac Bastedo).  We are uncertain of the relationship these Soden families have to Jonathan.

 

The only Soden shown in the 1830 U.S. Census for Middletown, Monmouth County, New Jersey is for Taylor Sodin (spelled Sodan in earlier tax records).49  Taylor and a female in that family are recorded to be age 50 and under 60 (b. 1770/1780) and a male child age 10 and under 15.  In Surrogate’s records for that county we find the Administration of Esek. Soden’s estates granted to Taylor Soden 19-OCT-1819.  Earlier records indicate Jonathan Soden as an “indenter” in 1723 in Middletown; John in 1778 tax census; Mary in 1784 tax census; and Taylor from 1789 tax census.

 

The 1840 census shows Jonathan’s move to Freehold Township in the eastern adjoining county of Monmouth, New Jersey.  Interestingly, Jonathan’s age is now shown as corresponding to the age of the eldest female in the family, 30 and under 40. 52  Since the numbers of males and females under age 20, however, match the birthdates of children of Jonathan and Mary, it appears the census taker, James Craig, may have mistaken the ages of Jonathan and Mary, or presumed them to be under age 40.  If he spoke only to Mary, it is possible he presumed Jonathan to be of like age.  Ages for children shown match females Catherine Lena (10 and under 15) and Margaret (5 and under 10) and males Daniel P. and Gilbert  (under 5), James (5 and under 10), Jonathan Craig(15 and under 20), and Allen Pette (10 and under 15.  It is possible that as Allen is later shown as idiotic in the 1850 census, the census taker incorrectly assigned a younger age to Allen.  53  We find ages stated in the later census records for 1850 and 1860 for Allen to vary significantly.

 

The only other John Soden in the census records for that year in this part of New Jersey is John and Rachael Soden in South Brunswick, Middlesex County.  Both were born during the early years of 1800.  We find a marriage license for John marrying Rachael, a widow,  19-OCT-1819.  The 1850 U.S. census for South Brunswick in Middlesex County shows two children, Catherine age 14 and Lydia age 19.  The census record indicates John, age 60, to be a pauper and his wife Rachael, age 50, as blind.

 

U.S. Census records of 1850 for Manalapan Township, Monmouth County, New Jersey, afford us our first glimpse of Jonathan Soden’s second family with Mary.  Mary is recorded as a widow in that census with children, Allen (idiotic), Margaret, Daniel P., and Gilbert.  It was not until the discovery of an extract from a family Bible of William Soden/Sodon as an unpublished record at the DAR Headquarters in Wahsingotn, D.C., that we discover all the children of Jonathan and Mary’s union, together with their step siblings, children of Jonathan and Lydia:

 

Jonathan’s family indicates a female age 30 and under 40 (b. 1790/1800), 5 males under age 15 (one 10 to 15, one 5 to 10, and two under age 5) and two females under age 15 (one 10 to 15 and one 5 to 10).  These ages match those indicated below for  John Hillyer, James Riggs, Jonathan Craig, and Allen Pette.  The age for Sarah Ann matches, although the presented age for Catherine Lena is  ---------.  Jacob’s family shows a female age 20 and under 30, two males age 5 and under 10, and one female under age 5.  44  William’s family shows a female age 20 and under 30 and one male age 5 and under 10 and two females under age 5.

 

Jonathan and Mary had the following nine (9) children:



  1. JOHN HILLYER, b. 19-JAN-1817, d. ____ m. 10-NOV-1840 HARRIET PITTENGER, (children [2]):
  1. CHARLES, b. 1841, d. 06-OCT-1910 m. ISABELLA EMENS, b. 1845, d. 1943 (five children: Georganne, John H., Albert, George W., Stella).  Served as private, Co. E, 29th Regminent, New Jersey Infantry;
  2. JOHN S., b. 07-SEP-1857, d. ____;

ii.  SARAH ANN, b. 22-JUN-1819, d. 1876 (burial Old Tennent Church cemetery 24-JAN-1876) m. 5-MAR-1840 WILLIAM H. WEEDEN (some records show WHEEDEN or WHEELER), b. 25-JUN-1809, d. 17-APR-1884; (children nine):

  1. JOHN A., b. 1841?, d. _____ m. MARY ____;
  2. MARY E., b. 1844?, d. ____;
  3. JAMES E., b.1846?, d. 1875 (burial 14-MAR-1875);
  4. FORMAN L., b. 1848?, d. ____;
  5. CATHERINE A., b. 1851?, d. ____;
  6. WILLIAM C., b. 1854?, d. ____ m. MARGARET _____;
  7. SARAH H. or  F., b. 1856?, d. ____;
  8. CLAUDE P., b. 1858, d. ____;
  9. ELEANOR M., b. 02-APR-1861, d. 18-SEP-1883;



  1. JONATHAN CRAIG, b. 29-OCT-1821, d. 11-NOV-1898 m. 17-OCT-1841 LEAH MARIA MARLATT.  Served as private, Co. A, 14th New Jersey Volunteers during the Civil War; (children five):
  1. ROBERT S., b. 1842, d. 19-SEP-1864 (killed in action at Winchester, VA as a private in Co. B, 14th New Jersey Infantry);
  2. ISABELL W. (MATILDA), b. 1844, d. _____ m. _______ AYERS;
  3. MARGARET (MAGGIE) A., b. 1846, d. ____ m. AUGUSTUS RILEY;
  4. JOHN P., b. 1847, d. 1891 of pneumonia; (children: William, Lillian, Helena D.);
  5. MARY A. (DELIA), b. 1861?, d. 10-FEB-1892 at Trenton, NJ m. CHARLES BOUDREAU;



  1. ALLEN PETTE, b. 8-FEB-1824, d. ____ (listed in 1850 census Monmouth Co., NJ as idiotic);
  1. CATHERINE LENA, b. 26-JAN-1827, d. 1897 (interred Christ Church Cemetery, Middlesex Co., NJ); m. WILLIAM D. BUCKALEW, b. 1831, d. 1910 (interred Christ Church Cemetery, Middlesex Co., NJ).
  2. JAMES RIGGS, b. 15-SEP-1829, d. 15-AUG-1910 (interred Maplewood Cemetery, Freehold, NJ) m. 22-NOV-1851 HENRIETTA FREEMAN, b. 06-MAY-1835, d. 06-JUN-1900.  Served as private, Co. E, 27th Regiment, New Jersey Volunteers during Civil War.  Prominent carpenter and builder in Freehold,  NJ.  Constructed family residence in Freehold profiled in Freehold Transcript; (children: five):
  1. WILLIAM H., b. 16-SEP-1852, d. 18-JUN-1928 m. KATHERINE CURLEY, b. SEP-1851, d. 05-JAN-1941;
  2. MARY CATHERINE, b. 13-JAN-1855, d. ____;
  3. ELLEN (ELLA) E., b. 12-FEB-1858, d. ____ m.  ____ FOLEY; 
  4. HENRIETTA, b. 04-MAY-1862, d. ___  m.  ______ JENNINGS;
  5. JAMES EDWARD, b. 24-FEB-1866, d. 1951 (interred Maplewood Cenetery, Freehold, NJ) m. Lulu ____ Wolcott? ; (children:  Frank Walcott, b. 4-SEP-1892, d. ____ m. 01-JUL-1917  Madeline Hess, b. 30-APR-1896, d. ____; their children: Eugene Wilson, b. 7-APR-1918, d. ____; Edward Wilbur, b. 3-AUG-1921, d. ____; Claire Mount, b. 04-JUL-1923, d. ____ m. 05-MAY-1945 Joseph H. Machu;
  1. MARGARET, b. 05-MAY-1832, d. ____;
  1. DANIEL POLHEMUS, b. 05-DEC-1834, d. 01-JUN-1864 in Battle of Cold Harbor, VA m. 28-DEC-1853 MARY E. BAKER, b. 07-MAY-1838, d. 22-FEB-1921.  Served as a private, Co. D., New Jersey Infantry during the Civil War.  He died of gunshot wounds received to both legs during the battle at Cold Harbor, Virginia.  (children: four):
  1. AARON, b. 01-MAR-1855, d. ___;
  2. JONATHAN CRAIG, b. 02-MAY-1857, d. ____;
  1. JOHN CONOVER [GILBERT A.}, b. 18-JUN-1859, d. ____;
  1. WINFIELD SCOTT, b. 19-JUN-1862, d. ____;
  1. GILBERT MOUNT (also sometimes recorded as W.), b. 26-JUL-1838, d. 27-MAR-1910 m. 19-AUG-1860 ELEANOR (ELLEN) HAGERMAN; (children: seven):

 

It appears Jonathan and his wives Lydia and then Mary named their children after relatives, in-laws or friends.  For example, it appears Britton Rogers Soden was named after Britton Rogers, the husband of Lydia (Applegate) Soden’s sister Elizabeth.  Allen Pette Soden appears to have nemaed after Allen Pette who married Sarah Applegate in 1807.  Continuing this logic it appears John Hillyer Soden may have been named after Mary’s father or another relative.  Britton Soden is recorded as purchasing property from Daniel Polhemus in 1845; Daniel Polhemus Soden may have been named for this community physician.

 

As the last born of nine children to Jonathan and Mary, Gilbert may have barely known his father.  Mary was approximately 46 at Gilbert’s birth. 56  It appears Jonathan may have been approximately 62.  We surmise that Jonathan died in 1848 as the family Bible apparently recorded by Jonathan Soden (handwriting appears to match the signature on the 1814 petition above referenced) shows the date of January, 1848 and the name of Jonathan’s grandson James Edward Soden, son of James Rigg Soden.    The family Bible reference was submitted to the DAR by Frank W. Soden and his wife Helen Wolcott? of Freehold.  The Bible lists all children and dates of birth except for a torn portion which omits Jacob, Elizabeth and William, however shows a 1799 date.  Jonathan Soden and Mary Hillyer are the only ones listed with no birth dates shown, following Charlotte. 

 

Although we do not know when Jonathan died, he is shown in the 1840 census in Freehold Township, Monmouth County, New Jersey; we find Mary, a widow, in the 1850 census of Manalapan Township, Monmouth County, New Jersey.

 

Mary, as a widow, is recorded residing on property having a value of two hundred dollars in August of 1850.  She does not acquire title to the half acre real property for life, remainder to her son Daniel P., however, until Dec., 1850, paying Benjamin and Ann Dey forty dollars.  Three years later, 1853, Daniel acquires the real property adjacent to his mother’s by payment of thirty-five dollars to Benjamin and Ann Dey.  These payments appears to be significantly less than market value and suggest a close relationship with the Deys.  We know Mary’s step-son William Soden married Mary Ann Dey and one of William’s sons was named John Dey Soden.



  1. GILBERT MOUNT SODEN:

 

Only Allen, is shown residing with his mother, Mary, in the 1860 census.  Gilbert had apparently moved to Monroe Township.  Poor quality census records from that Township prevent confirmation.  We know however, that Gilbert married in August of 1860.  He married Eleanor (Ellen) Hagerman (b. Mary-1850?, d. 31-JUL-1922), a neighbor sever houses away in which Ellen’s grandparents and then her father, Dollance Hagerman resided (Dollance’s grandfather  also Dollance Hagerman served as a private in the Middlesex County Milita during the REV WAR).  Birth records for  their first child, Sarah Catherine, in 1861 shown Monroe Township as the residence.  At the time Gilbert was a laborer.  Upon the birth of his second child, Gilbert W. in 1864, birth records show his occupation as a miller.

 

Although three of Gilbert’s brothers enlisted in the Grand Army of the Republic during the Civil War, with at least one of his nephews, Gilbert did not enlist to engage in that conflict.  Explanation may be the pending birth of his son Gilbert W. born 2-NOV-1864.

 

The birth of Gilbert W. may have been one bright spot in the year of conflict, 1864.  Gilbett’s mother, Mary, died at age 72, 6-MAR-1864.  Less than three months later, brother Daniel Polhemus Soden was shot in both legs during the Battle of Cold Harbor, Virginia in the battle for Richmond.  He died leaving a wife and three sons.  The tragedy in the civil war that year  was not to end for this family.  On 19-SEP-1864 Gilbert’s nephew Robert S. Soden, son of Jonathan Craig was killed in action at Winchester, Virginia.



  1. SARAH CATHERINE, b. 07-MAY-1861, d. ____ m. JAMES DANLEY;(children: three):   Edith, baptized at home 05-DEC-1886 (from records of Sanford Methodist Church, Englishtown, NJ); Marett, b. ____, d. ____; female, b. ____, d. ___;
  2. GILBERT W., b. 02-NOV-1864, d. 03-APR-1915 m. LOUISE JOHNSON; (children: two): i.William A., b. 1888, d. 1959 m. 20-JUN-1920 Cornelia D. Burtt;

ii. Hazel, b. 28-OCT-1887, New Egypt, NJ, d. 25-APR-1926 m. Thomas H. Yetman;

  1. JAMES EDWARD, b. 30-DEC-1867, d. 1937 m. Matilda Robbins, b. 1878, d. 1953; (children: five): Archibald (Archie) William, b. 1908, d. 09-JUL-1941 m. Alice May Doscher (three children: Richard William, Milton Henry, Arlene Elizabeth); Lester A., b. 1905, d. 1916, burned; Ethel, b. SEP-1897, d. ___ m. Norman Forman (five children: Evelyn, Norman, Elaine, Doug, Richard Scott);  Marian, b. NOV-1900, d. 1970 m. (1) Bill Hoffman, (2) Donald Smoyer; Katherine H., b. 1912, d. 1990 (two children: Joyce, Joan);
  2. BARTLE (Barclay) S., b. 17-AUG-1870, d. 10-SEP-1936 m. Sarah Jane Herbert; (children: six): E. Augustus, b. ___, d. 1933; Vineyou S., b. ___, d. ___; Arthur G., b. 1896, d. 15-JUN-1970; Milvinia (Minnie) E., b. 1917, d. ___ m. Ellsworth Penson; (two children: Alberta, Charles); Ruth, b. ___, d. ____ m. Aaron Smith; (children: five: Henrietta, Floyd, Doug, Jan, Leona m. Joseph Soden; Sylvia, b. 1920, d. ____;
  3. GEORGE H., b. 9-FEB-1873, d. 21-AUG-1898 (1919?);
  4. HATTIE R., 04-JUL-1875, d. 24-APR-1898 m. Walter (Frank) Pittinger; (children: two): Wilbur or Willis G., b. 1898, d. 1901; Aaron, b. 1898, d. 1898;
  5. AARON H. (HILLYER?), b. 26-DEC-1876, d. 26-DEC-1938 (suicide shotgun) m. 02-JUL-1895 Mary Adelaide (Minnie) McElvain/McIlvaine; (children: eleven):
  1. Hattie, b. 17-SEP-1895, d. 09-OCT-1969 m. 27-SEP-1914 Joseph E. Fischer; 
  2. Harvey, b. 27-OCT-1897, d. 13-JUN-1964 m. Edna Schupp; (child: one: Fred, b. ____, m. Edith ____ (divorced);
  3.  Frank, b. 13-SEP-1900, d. 19-MAR-1967 m. 13-MAY-1923 Marion Louise Emmons; (children: two: Frank, b. 02-DEC-1923, d. 13-JAN-1995 m. Helen Marie Donnelly, b. 04-JAN-1921; Floyd, b. 06-DEC-1929);
  4.   Chester, b. 16-MAR-1904, d. 21-SEP-1964 m. (1) Edith Wenger, (2) Elsie White;
  5.  Harry Taylor, b. 10-APR-1907, d. 29-MAR-1958 m. Lilly Garrison; 
  6. John Dubois, b. 06-JUL-1909, d. 05-OCT-1984 m. 21-JUN-1940 Alice May Baker;
  7.  Albert Edwin, b. 20-OCT-1911, d. 31-OCT-1911; Mary Adelaide, b. 08-FEB-1915, d. 12-JUN-1967 m. 08-OCT-1935 Cortlandt McGantlin;
  8.  Marvin (Myron), b. 28-APR-1917, d. 28-JAN-1971 m. (1) Lois Wooley, (2) Gladys Dubois Bohn; 
  9. Lillian B., b. 27-JUN-1880, d. 03-DEC-1965 m. 01-JAN-1901 George H. Erickson; (children: five: Ed, b. ___, d. ____; Warren, b. ___, d. ____; Emma, b. ___, d. DEC-1991 m. Jerimiah O’Connor; Georginna, b. ___, d. ___; Helen, b. ___, d. ____ m. (1) ____, (2) ____ Daniels;
  10.  Fanny May, b. 10-DEC-1882, d. ____ m. (Augustus) Charles Bedle; (children: three): Myrtle, b. ___, d. _____; Russell, b. ____, d. ____; Bill, b. ____, d. ____;
  11.  Ethel Ruth (Rue), b. 27-JAN-1885, d. ____ m. 09-DEC-1906 Henry Clay Schenck; (children: five: Oliver, b. ___, d. ____; Kenneth, b. ___, d. ____; C. Wilber, b. ____, d. ____ m. Lawrence W. Garatt; Bessie, b. ___, d. ____ m. (1) Herbert M. Strang, (2)  ____ Johnston;
  12.  Belva C. (G.?), b. 02-JUN-1889, d. ____ m. 20-AUG-1911 Benjamin Elmer;



  1. AARON SODEN:

 

According to my father’s written recollection, Aaron was a potato farmer.  In his later life he worked for Rooney and Eily, dealers in potatoes, fertilizer and animal feeds.  “All of Aaron’s sons at one time or other drove trucks for Rooney & Eily of Englishtown”. 66  As my father described his grandfather Aaron: “Smoked a pipe, drank beer, hard of hearing very onery tough on the boys”. 67  Aaron’s life was ended tragically on his sixty-second birthday, the day after Christmas, when he took his own life. 68



  1. FRANK SODEN:

 

FRANK SODEN was the third child, second son of AARON SODEN and MARY ADELAID “MINNIE” MCILVAINE.  Born at the turn of the century, he was witness to tremendous technological achievements and advances.

 

FRANK SODEN also continued to reside in Englishtown, Monmouth County, NJ.  He and his wife, MARION LOUISE EMMONS, had two sons:  Frank Myron Soden, b. 02-DEC-1923, d. 13-JAN-1995 m. 14-MAR-1946 Helen Marie Donnelly; (children: two:  Glenn Warren, b. 03-JUL-1950, Colorado Springs, CO m. 25-AUG-1973 Susan Elaine Culler; Linda Carol, b. 04-NOV-1953, New Brunswick, NJ m. 25-JAN-1978 Michael Pulaski (divorced)); Floyd Jay, b. 06-DEC-1929 m. (1) Mary Ellen_______, (2) Mary Russo;

 

As my father, the above Frank Myron Soden, related in his written recollection of Frank Soden (Sr.):

“Eighth grade education, avid reader of New  York Journal…. He read this paper from front to back every evening after work.  Smoked cigars constantly and had to have cake after every evening meal.  Always loved farming, having been raised on a potato farm and working very hard (a barrel of potatoes is very heavy and fertilizer came in 100 pound bags and they were young boys).  During the years of the 1929 depression he worked for a local butcher, slaughtering cows and pigs.  He supplemented his income by raising chickens and using the eggs as barter with the local A&P to purchase groceries.  Worked as a truck driver for Rooney & Eily delivering feed and fertilizer to local farmers and picking up various ingredients for the manufacture of fertilizer from factories and seaport.  Became an expert on evaluating and grading potatoes, which had to meet government specifications.  Was first placed in charge of manufacturing fertilizer and eventually became yard manager over entire operation.  When business slowed during World War II the company sold out and he took a job as a sheetrock installer with a local carpenter.  This last job he kept until placing nine houses on Soden Lane [Old Bridge, NJ].

 

The farm being such an influence on him, he always had farm animals of some sort on his property even though he always rented, never owned, until buying a farm on Greystone Road in Old Bridge Township (formerly Madison Township) [Middlesex County, New Jersey] on May 2, 1947, property he held until 1955.

 

At one time there was even a milk route, delivering milk to many families in Englishtown.  When the boys grew bigger he moved to a small farm and then along with selling milk he raised chickens and grew vegetables, potatoes, tomatoes, sweet corn and strawberries.  At that time he had a team of, first, mules and then horses, eventually purchasing a John Deere tractor.  Intermingled with the other animals mentioned at different times there were pigs, goats, ducks, and turkeys”.  “In 1955 when he purchased Soden Lane, that ended the farming and started the carpentry phase” of his life. 69

 

Frank Soden, Sr. did not serve in the military during the First World War, he was one day younger than those required to register for the draft.  He continued to farm and labor at home. His two sons, however, served in the military, Frank Myron as a member of the 10th Mountain Division during World War II in Italy as a member of the ski troopers, private 1st class, 1st heavy machine gunner, and Floyd Jay in the navy during the early 1950’s.  Their service continued the cycle from farm and field to a commitment to the protection of their country, the land of the birth of so many of their ancestors.  Unlike their ancestors, however, these two sons, respectively, left the farm and field for the office and factory.



  1. FRANK MYRON SODEN:

 

Frank Myron Soden (Jr.), was born 02-DEC-1923 in Englishtown, Monmouth County, New Jersey on his parent’s farm.  He attended a one room schoolhouse.  Following graduation from Blair Business College of Colorado, he worked as an accountant and office manager in Colorado and New Jersey.

 

At age 19 he was inducated 22-APR-1943.  He began training at Fort Hood, Texas with a tank destroyer unit when he was reassigned to the 10th Mountain Division, Company  H, 86th Regiment.  A private first class, he served as a first heavy machine gunner.

 

He was honorably discharged 01-MAR-1946 with the Good Conduct Medal and two battle stars.  He married Helen Marie Donnelly from Jamesburg, New Jersey.  She was a private first class in the Women’s Army Corps (WAC).  The met at a USO dance.  Leaving a legacy of honesty, caring and kindness, and hard work he died on 13-JAN-1995.  He is interred at Somerset Hills Cemetery in Basking Ridge, New Jersey.

 

 

                                                   Notes and References:

 

1 H.G. Wells

2

3 John Voorhis Soden, comp., Ancestors and Descendants of Caleb Soden (New York, 1911; Library of Congress CS 71.S679, 85-229546, 1985), p. 3.

4 Ibid.

5 Ibid., p. 7

6 Ibid., p. 8

7 Ibid. , p. 3

8 Ibid., p. 3

9 Netta Kellogg Melton, Descendants of William Soden and George King, (Iowa, 1959, Library of Congress)

10 Ibid., p. 2

11 Compendium of American Genealogy, First Families in America, p. 160

12 Ibid., Vol. __, p. 160

13 Coldham, Peter Wilson, English Convicts in Colonial America, (1974, new Orleans: Polyanthos); Kaminkov, Marion and Jack, Original List Emigrants in Bondage, p. 146

14 Skordas, Gust, Early Settlers of Maryland, 1968, p. 431

15 Marblehead, MA

16 Compiled Records, U. S. Archives, Washington, D.C.

17 Daughters of the American Revolution, Lineage Book, Vol. 88, pp. 142, 143; App. #87468, 674273; SAR, App. #130488

18 N. J. Archives, Records of Military Service

19 Kirkham, E. Kay, Survey of American Church Records, 1978, p. 32

20 Roster

21 Muster Roll

22 The Whiskey Rebellion 

23 Ibid., p.

24 Ibid., p.

25 Ibid., p.

26 1793 Census

27 Compiled Records of Military Service, U. S. Archives

28 Ibid.,

29 Middlesex County Marriages, 1795

30 Mortgage Deed, Middlesex County, N.J.

31

32 Middlesex County Surrogate’s Court, file #

33 Middlesex County Marriages, 1795

34 Deed, Middlesex County, N.J.

35 Gilbert Doane

36 Ruth Berg Walsh, comp., Cranbury Past and Present (Cranbury, N.J.: privately published, 1975), p. 74

37 Ibid.

38 Washington’s Farewell Address, To the People of the United States, (New Brunswick: Lewis Deare, Published for the Washington Benevolent Society of Cranberry, 1812).

39 Middlesex County N.J. Deeds

40 Petition dated

41 1830 U. S. Census, Middlesex County, N.J.

42 Mortgage Deed, Middlesex County, N.J.

43 1830 U. S. Census

44 Ibid.,

45 Ibid.,

46 Ibid.,

47 Ibid.,

48 1830 U.S. Census, Middlesex County, N.J.

49 1830 U.S. Census, Monmouth County, N.J.

50 Surrogate’s Records, Monmouth County, N.J.

51 1840 U.S. Census

52Ibid.

53 1850 U.S. Census, Monmouth County, N.J.

54 Middlesex County, N.J. Marriages 1795

55 Ezra Parker Chapter, Michigan Daughters of the American Revolution, (Special Project: 1985; Unpublished Bible Records collected by the Genealogical Committee of the Richard Stockton Chapter, NSDAR, 1942), 24

56 1850 U.S. Census

57 Ibid.

58 Deed, Monmouth County, N.J.

59 Ibid.

60 1860 U.S. Census, Monmouth County, N.J.

61 Middlesex County, N.J., Birth Certificate

62 Ibid. 

63 David G. Martin, ed., The Monocacy Regiment: A Commenorative History of the Fourteenth New Jersey Infantry In the Civil War, 1862-1865, (Hightstown, N.J.: Longstreet House, 1987).

64 Obiturary, The Monmouth County Democrat

65 U.S. Archives

66 Recollection, Frank M. Soden

67 Ibid.

69 Certificate of Death, Monmouth County, N.J. Dept. Health

69 Recollection, Frank M. Soden

 

 

 

 

 

FRANK SODEN was the third child, second son of AARON SODEN and MARY ADELAID “MINNIE” MCILVAINE.  Born at the turn of the century, he was witness to tremendous technological achievements and advances.

 

FRANK SODEN also continued to reside in Englishtown, Monmouth County, NJ.  He and his wife, MARION LOUISE EMMONS, had two sons:  Frank Myron Soden, b. 02-DEC-1923, d. 13-JAN-1995 m. 14-MAR-1946 Helen Marie Donnelly; (children: two:  Glenn Warren, b. 03-JUL-1950, Colorado Springs, CO m. 25-AUG-1973 Susan Elaine Culler; Linda Carol, b. 04-NOV-1953, New Brunswick, NJ m. 25-JAN-1978 Michael Pulaski (divorced)); Floyd Jay, b. 06-DEC-1929 m. (1) Mary Ellen_______, (2) Mary Russo;


[Text and Source:- Glenn Warren Soden, Columbus, Ohio, USA, 2023]