1803 Note Signed by John Soule, Jr., at Freeport, Maine, to Pay Ralph Cross; witnessed by Winslow Webb

Note made by John Soule, Jr., at Freeport, Maine, on 1 June 1803  promising to pay $12.50 to Ralph Cross.  The document was witnessed by Winslow Webb.

See another document that includes the name of Ralph Cross here.

Transcript:

Freeport, June 1, 1803
For Value Received of Ralph Cross, I promise to pay him on his order the Sum of twelve dollars & fifty cents in eight months from date with interest.
Witness                                         John Soule, Jr.
Winslow Webb

John Soule, Jr.
$12.50

If you have corrections to the transcript and/or can decipher some of the other writing, please leave a comment. 

From online research, hopefully correct: [corrections and additions welcome]

I found more than one instance of a John Soule, Jr., at Freeport, Maine.  

Perhaps John Soule, Jr. was the son, born 13 August 1772, of John Soule, described below in "New England Families, Genealogical and Memorial: A Record of the Achievements of her People in the Making of Commonwealths and the Founding of a Nation", Volume I, by William Richard Cutter, published in 1915.  

If so, then John Soule Jr.'s mother was Elizabeth (Mitchell) Soule, daughter of Benjamin and Mehitable (Bragdon) Soule.

A hitch with this theory is that most online references have this John Soule, Jr., as having died in 1800, whether in error or not.

If you have corroboration that this is the likely John Soule, Jr., or feel that the note maker was a different John Soule, Jr., please leave a comment or contact me directly.  Thanks!

Ralph Cross was born about 1764 and was a merchant at Portland, Maine, with a store at Freeport, Maine.  He died 15 October 1815 at Portland, Maine.

It's possible that the note's witness, Winslow Webb, was the son of John and Priscilla (Winslow) Webb, born 4 June 1778 at Hardwick, Massachusetts.  He was living at Freeport, Maine, during the relevant time frame, though he and his family later moved to Turner, Maine.  

That Winslow married Betsy Means/Meins at Freeport, Maine, on 10 January 1805; they had, I believe, twelve children.  

If you have corrections to the information above, or additional information on John Soule, Jr., Ralph Cross and/or Winslow Webb, please leave a comment or contact me directly.  Thanks for stopping by!


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