Description

This book is primarily a study of the Montgomery County descendants of John Soper the immigrant, who arrived in the Maryland Colony in 1676 and died circa 1743, but it includes references to numerous other Maryland Soper family members and allied families. The book begins with a look at the early history of the Maryland Colony, the formation of the counties, and some of the earliest census records, indicating population patterns of the Soper families. John Soper (died c.1743) is discussed in Chapter 2, and several generations of his descendants are discussed in Chapters 3 through 6, in both male and female lines of descent. Chapter 7 discusses the fairly large family of James P. Soper, who lived in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, and died there in 1825. Many of his descendants were later found in Prince George's and Montgomery Counties. Chapters 8, 9 and 10 provide information about Soper family members living in Frederick, Prince George's and Montgomery Counties not yet placed within the framework of the two major families first discussed (John Soper and James Soper). Chapter 11 covers Soper family members not placed elsewhere in the text, with a lengthy list of bits of miscellaneous information. A bibliography of about seventy-five titles testifies to the wide range of sources used in this compilation, and an every-name index supplies about 2,300 names. This book will be a huge head start for anyone researching the Soper surname in this area.