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Note: N18 Married a sister of the second wife of his brother, Benjamin Soule, the widow of one William Brown and a lineal descendant of Elder William Brewster. He was in early life an extensive contractor in building canals in the State of New York. Being a tall, powerfully built man, he gave his employees examples of strength when excavating and in other heavy work. When he was 35 years of age he was commissioned Colonel of the Onondaga Co., militia, and during one of the "General Musters" of his command where athletic sports were in evidence, a bully somewhat under the influence of drink, challenged him to a test of strength in wrestling.This adventure the Colonel wished to avoid, but was at last forced into the match by the continual hectoring of the bully and his own admirers. In this encounter he was victorious and threw his adversary, but the leg of the vanquished was broken in the struggle and he was made a cripple for life. The outcome of this encounter so distressed Colonel Soule that he forthwith resigned his commission and would not allow any person to address him by his military title or to refer in any manner to his connection with the militia. He also aided in the support of the crippled man and his family and sought in every possibleway to make amends for the injury inflicted by his hands but against his will. After his removal to Ohio a letter was received from a brother addressed "Col. A. L. Soule," and he was so enraged that he tore the envelope into shreds and only read the contents after much deliberation and self-struggle. About the year 1835, his brother, Ephraim L. Soule, compounded and manufactured a household remedy known as "Soule's Sovereign Balm Pills." This medicine proved so popular about the old homestead in Onondaga Co.,, that it was decided to enlarge the territory of sale, and Ambrose L. Soule moved with his family to north-western Ohio about 1841 to take charge of the distribution in Ohio, Indiana and Michigan. Mr. Soule had been brought up a Quaker, but after his removal to the West, became identified with the founding and upbuilding of the Campbellite or Disciple Church, and became a lay preacher of high standing and great influence in that denomination. He was thus associated with James A. Garfield, afterwards President of the United States; and they were long firm friends. He was one of the founders and a liberal contributor to "The Western Reserve Eclectic Institute," now Hiram College, at Hiram, Ohio, and was one of the Trustees from the founding of the institution in 1850 to the time of his death. Ambrose L. Soule was a superior business-man and became the most wealthy of any in his Co., while living in Ohio; also in Michigan where he was early identified with the lumber trade; and lived in Iona Co., in that state. His death occurred in 1857, a few days after his 56th birthday, just as the financial panic of that year came on, and his estate suffered much from the difficulties that followed, but there was left nearly $250,000 to be distributed to each of his children. The names were as follows: William, Jane, Delia, Mary, Annette, Sarah, Julia, Ambrose L., Julius M., Charles E., James, Francis, Carlos, Arabella, William F. and Belle.
Ambrose L. Soule, Lyons, Mich. (died June 24, 1857). His heirs were: Sophia M. Soule, widow, Lyons Township; Ambrose L. Soule, Jr., Lyons Township; Julius M. Soule, Lyons Township; Annette L. Soule, Lyons Township; Julia A. Soule, Lyons Township; Charles E. Soule, Lyons Township; James B. Soule, Lyons Township; Richard C. Soule, Lyons Township; William Soule, Lyons Township. Ambrose L. Soule.--This proceeding was had for the purpose of probating the estate of this decedent, who was a resident of Lyons, Michigan, this Co.,.
Source: G. T.Ridlon, A Contributon to th Hisory, Biography and Genealogy of the Families Named Sole, Solly, Soule, Sole, Soulis. (Journal Press, Lewiston, ME, 1926) Vol 2.
Son Chrles Edward wrote: My father Ambrose Latin Soule, son of Latin Soule, was born in Dutchess Co.,, NY. June 24, 1801. of his mother I have no account only, as told me by Aunt Rhoda, she was a large and stout woman. When Ambrose was 18 years old which would be in 1819, his father moved from Dutchess to Onondaga Co., into the woods, his elder brother Clement and Nathan had become of age and gone for themselves and he as the eldest son had the burden of clearing up the farm and making a home in the wilderness, his father being then and until his death in 1825 an invalid. He had schooling for but two or three winters when he went to district school in winters without shoes, he would heat a large hardwood chip, carry it with him, run through the snow and when his feet became too cold would stand on the chip for breath and then take another run. He learned to write and cipher lying on his face before the fireplace fire for light. He was always lean and thin never fleshy.
It was between 1820 and 1824 that the great Erie Canal was built through New York from Albany to Buffalo, and after he went for himself he worked on the canal first as a laborer but soon became foreman and contractor. Later he became an extensive contractor in canal building having a very large contract in building the Chemung Canal with head quarters in Binghamton connecting the Erie system with headwaters of the Susquehanna. He made a good fortune for those days from his contracting, something like or more than $10,000. My father married in 1825 aged 24 Ruth Brown, my mother, a young widow aged 20. Her maiden name was Paddock, daughter of Aaron Paddock, my grandfather, who lived with his daughter, my Aunt Rhoda the last years of his life, who died at Muir, Michigan in 1858, aged 90. My maternal grandfather was a ne'r do well unfortunate man, much given to drink, with a large family (15 children) living from hand to mouth in some other folks' abandoned houses in the new country of western New York. My mother Ruth was sort of adopted in her childhood by a family the man of whom I remember in childhood as Messinger. This family moved to Ohio when she was ten old years old and settled in the woods in Concord Township-Lake Co.,. At the age of 15 she was married to William Brown to whom I never heard reference except as "ma's first husband." She had a bureau with body of dark wood and drawer fronts of light colored curly maple. My sister Julia had this and I believe it to be among the Craw's possessions now.
Shortly before my birth in 1840 my father came to Ohio to take charge of the sale of pills in Ohio, Indiana, and Southern Michigan. His brother, Uncle Leech, Dr. E. L. Soule, as the pill papers had it, (he never was a doctor actually) had originated a medicinal pill, "purely vegetable", it was advertised at his home at Clay Corners, Euclid Post office, as it is today, some ten miles north of Syracuse. He and father originated a system of peddling these pills by having men walk through the country carrying a leather valise of the pills, call at every house and try to sell a box for 25 cents, if no sale was made the box of pills would be left on the mantle or clock shelf with leave to use them, if desired, and the peddler would call again collect the money if the pills had been used or take back the box, or leave it for further use. This had been found to be successful and profitable, and from the business Uncle Leech and my father made a comfortable fortune. Father bought an 100 acre farm adjoining his two brothers, Uncle Myron's north, with Uncle Ben's next adjoining south in Bainbridge township, ours was Russell, Geauga Co.,, Ohio. When father bought this farm there was the "old barn" and the "old house" of my memory standing north of where he built his new house and near the east and west road running to "the falls" making what was then and still is known as "Soule's Corners". Father moved his family from Syracuse to this farm by the Erie Canal 200 miles to Buffalo, by steamer about 150 to Cleveland and by teams to the farm 20 miles away. The roads here were good in the summer when the clay was dry, but very dusty, and in the winter when frozen or there was snow, but in the spring when winter was breaking up impassable. He ensconced his family in the old house and proceeded at once to build his new house forty rods to the south. He bought the primitive saw mill at the center to saw lumber for his new house. He bought a 100 great Whitewood trees from his neighbors, cut them into logs and hauled them to the mill at the center kept running a year to saw lumber for his house. It had an upright 40 feet square, two stories high, with a wing on each side 30 feet in length, making a front to the west on the road a 100 feet. The windows were large with numerous small 8 by 10-inch lights. I remember a hailstorm by which many of these thin lights of glass were broken, and one in the "pill room" had a round piece broken out without breaking the rest of the glass. This great house was always kept well-painted white with green blinds. The rooms in this great house were many, how many it would take too much calculation for me to tell. I remember of some figures being made as to the number of beds set up and used, and it was twenty. The family averaged more than that with outsiders always present. The children were doubled up, the little ones sleeping in trundle beds on rollers that were shoved under the four poster and pulled out at night. I remember talk among the numerous hired men around our family that this great house built by father was the largest and finest in the Co.,. This house was built as a a residence for his family and for carrying on the pill business with it as storehouse and headquarters. I was born in this house very soon after its completion. Soon after its completion attention was given to the pill business. The farm was run as a farm on an expensive, if not profitable scale. There were hired men, never less than two, as I remember, two and sometime more hired girls employed in the house, the word servant was never used in regard to them. Six to ten cows were kept for milk and butter for the family. Some cheese was made at times according to the skill and leisure of the female help. Grain corn and oats and much hay were raised. There was grain and hay plenty to keep the stock and fatten a number of pigs killed in early winter. Nothing was sold from the farm except hay and some dressed hogs. The farm and family were supported by the pill business. The pill business must have been very successful because there was always an abundance of money. The pill business was conducted by father ten years when it was sold out by him to his brother Uncle Ben and his son in law. Father did his banking business in Cleveland. He kept a driving horse and drove to Cleveland often with much scolding of terrible mud. It must have been about the time he disposed of his pill business he organized a plank road company and built a plank road from Cleveland to Chargin Falls, seventeen miles. He had controlling interest in the stock and built most of the road by contract as he had built canals years ago. He traded this stock after a few years for a large lot of land in the "black swamp" as it was called the flat marshy territory around Toledo. At the time he was worth around $40,000.
There is a marker at Spring Lake Cemetery as well apparently.
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