I'M TRYING TO FIND COUNTRY ORIGIN OF SOOY.
I REMEMBER AS A SMALL GIRL GOING TO A MEETING OF THE SOOY FAMILY ASSOCIATION IN GREENBANK NEW
JERSEY. I NOW LIVE IN ALASKA, AND WOULD LIKE TO PASS INFORMATION ABOUT MY SURNAME ON TO MY
CHILDREN. ANY INFORMATION WOULD BE HELPFUL.
THANK YOU.
K. SOOY-EVERETT

At Lower Bank Burlington County in a little fence on private property near the Mullica River is the tombstone of Yoos Sooy.
At the top of this tombstone is a winged scull, it reads
Here Lyes Interrd The Body of Yoos Sooy who Departed this Life the 28th September Anno Do 1737 52 years
Captain Yoos Sooy of Amsterdam had come to New Amsterdam in the employ of the Dutch West India Trading Company.
His wife was Sarah Vandehoven grandaughter of the great Dutch general Cornelius Vandehoven whom he had married in New York at the old Dutch Church, St. Marks in the Bouerie.
He was the grandaddy of all the Sooy's

Kathleen,
There is a wonderful book about the families of the Mullica River which would be of interest to you. It is titled "Jersey Genesis" and the author is Henry Charlton Beck. It should give you some more insight into the Sooy family (which is still prospering in Atlantic County)
Good Luck
Erin

We had relatives by the Sooy name, Emma & Homer Sooy lived in Somers Point N.J. in the 1940's thru1960. They were my Grandmothers people. Retta Sooy Firth w. of John W Firth. Both are buried in Riverside Cemt. Norristown Pa. died 1942 and John 1946

Do you think these are Census records for your John W. and Retta FIRTH?

1900 Federal Census Gloucester Twp., Camden Co., NJ,
Dist. 6, ED 99, pg 8B dwelling #175, family # 180 or 181
FIRTH, JOHN W, head, W M b. July 1868, 31, married 1 year, b. NJ, parents b. NJ
Rette, wife, W F b. May 1876, 24, married 1 year, mother of 1 child (still living), b. NJ
Horace B., son W M b. Sept 1899 b. NJ, parents b. NJ
Kate, mother, W F b. Feb 1836, widowed, mother of 1 child (still living) b. Maryland

(next door is Harry Firth)

1910 Federal Census ATLANTIC, 4-WD ATLANTIC CITY, NJ
114 S. Georgia
FIRTH, John head 42, m1, NJ-NJ-MD, carpenter odd jobs
Retta wife, 33, m1, married 12 yrs, 4/4, NJ-NJ-NJ
Horace son 10, NJ-NJ-NJ
Nuneu?? son 8, PA-NJ-NJ
Ida dau 5, PA-NJ-NJ
Ray son 5, PA-NJ-NJ

Linda McDowell

Retta Sooy Firth and John W. Firth had a daughter Sarah (nicknamed Sally). She married Roland Knott in the early to mid-1930's and, I believe, subsequently died in childbirth. Sally/Sarah and my mother were very close growing up. They were cousins, also. Retta's mother (Sarah E. Meserole) and my mother's grandmother (Harriet L. Meserole) were sisters. We have numerous old photos of the Firth family. Does anyone know where Sally/Sarah is buried? Do Retta and John having any living descendents?
Bunny

Saw your posting regarding Retta and John Firth as they are listed in the 1910 census. They are cousins through my mother's side of the family. "Nuneu" is actually Warren. The census taker must have had either a hearing or handwriting problem. Ray is a girl. Ida and Ray were twins. Ray's first name began with the letter "I" also but she preferred "Ray." My mother corresponded with Ray over the years. She married Fred Kircher and moved to Macon, Georgia in the 1930's. I believe she died in the 1980's.

I am related to Retta Sooy Firth through my mother. Retta's mother Sarah Meserole and my mother's grandmother, Harriet Meserole, were sisters. My mother was close to Retta's children, particularly her daughters Ray and Sarah (Sally) who died in the 1930's during childbirth. Was able to visit Retta and John's gravesite in Riverside Cemetery in Norristown, PA this summer. Their gravesite overlooks a walking trail and the Schuylkill River. I'm trying to find Sarah (Sally) Firth Knott's grave. Do you have any idea where she might be buried? Also, I have some family pictures of the Firths and would be happy to share.

I am a cousin through my mother, Phyllis Sooy Walsh, whose father, William Leander Sooy, was Retta's brother. I met you mother, as well as your Aunt down south and your mother and her brother visited in our home when i was youger. I have some good genealogical info about our family, as well as the family bible records. I would love to share them with you.

Rev. Kenneth L. Walsh, Kingston, NY

My mother, who died in 2005, spoke of attending Sally's funeral in Green Bank. She remembered that she and the baby were laid out in the same casket and she thought the baby was a doll. Perhaps, she is buried in the Green Bank cemetery or in Wading River, where the family farm was.

Rev. Kenneth L. Walsh, Kingston, NY