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Boudica will change the world. For 2,000 years Western civilization has created imballances with nature. The time is now. The Roman Empire has lost.

Most of the Sosebee place names occur in that part of England which was known as the Danelaw. This area was created as a result of years of raids upon the eastern coast of Britain by Vikings, usually called the Danes in English history. The earliest settlers of Britain were the Celts, Picts and Scots, Germanic people who collectively became known as the Britons. They were in turn invaded by the Romans who built roads and fortifications, but little else was left behind when they left in 410 A.D. Between 410 and 876 the Britons were invaded by other Germanic tribes known as Angles, Saxons and Jutes and after the defeat of the Britons a relatively stable culture and population were formed. Christianity had first touched the Britons as early as perhaps , the time of Christ, and a strong foothold in the sixth century. In 829, Egbert became overlord of all England. In 871, his grandson, Alfred, took the throne.

By this time, however, new invaders had arrived, the Vikings or Danes. They came from an area further north than the former invaders of England but still spoke a Germanic dialect. Their long, dashing, dragon-proud ships brought to Britons shores men who were exceedingly courageous and cruel. Many years later, G.K. Chesterton wrote of them:

"Misshappen ships stood on the deep Full of strange golden fire And hairy men as huge as sin With horned heads came wading in Through the long, low sea-mire"

These wading men were characterized by their blond hair, their blue eyes and a pagan hatred of Christianity. It was the latter, together with their cruelty, that forced King Alfred to form an army and navy to defeat them after so many monasteries had been destroyed that the monks had added to their prayers."From the fury of the Northmen, good Lord, deliver us"!In 878, after several battles had been won on both sides, the final battle was won by Alfred. The danish leader was converted to Christianity and a treaty was struck by which the Danes were given

the northeastern part of Britain, which thereafter was called the Danelaw. It is there that the Sosebee ancestral name first appeared. The earliest version of the name is the Danish word Saurebe which means a farm or village in marshy ground. At the same time the Vikings were invading Britan, they were also invaded France. They were principally called Northmen which later became softened to Norman. In France, as in Britain, the Vikings gave up their hatred for Christianity. In 1066, the last great invasion of Britain occurred when these Normans, under the leadership of William the Conqueror, defeated King Harold at the Battle of Hastings.

From these facts, it is clear that the Sosebee family is from Germanic, Scandinavian stock. The oldest name on record is that of Odierna de Saurebi in 1095. The surname is a place-name. That is, a name used to differentiate him from, say, Odierna de Nottingham, or Odierna de somewhere else. The use of surnames in England began with the Norman invasion, but were not in general use until the 16th century or 17th century. Prior to the Normans, Englishmen had but one name and when another was needed, an occupation, personal pecularity, or locality was used. Thus, you could find Harold the Carpenter, Harold the Dauntless and the like. Among the Norman, however, the lace of family name came to be looked upon as a sign of low birth. In one recorded incident, a nobleman?s daughter refused to marry a noble having only a single name. It was in this context that we find Kirkesoresbi or castle Soresbi which was in Cumberland. Richard Surbe lived in 1381, William Sourby, 1381, Isable Soreby in 1485, Thomas Sowerbye, in 1597 Christopher Sourbye, in 1615 and Robert sorsyie, in 1623. These various Sosebees went on the Crusades, fought in the Hundred year war, fought against each other in the War of the Roses and lived principally in old Danelaw where their ancestors landed in Viking ships.

Places named Sowerby are to be found in Cumberland, Westmoreland, Lancashire and Yourshire. Sowerby castles or seats mentioned in Burks are: Putterage Park, Luton, Herts, Dalton Hall, Richmond, Youkshire, Dalston Hall, Carlisle, Cumberland and also Lancaster. These Sosebee farmers, landed gentry, nobels and knights wen through three hundred years over faithful to the crown-ever loyal to England. Then in 1607, a London Joint stock company comprised of merchants, adventurers and speculators established the first permanent colony in America. The colony was named Jamestown for the king who, from so many miles away, dictated their rights and their religion. The early days of Jamestown were difficult. Unlike later expeditions to America, this one was made up of gentlemen unaccustomed to manual labor. The colony was located on the James river upon a low, marshy peninsula. As a result, decease reduced the colony from 104 in May, 1607 to only 50 in the autumn of that year, and continued problems were encountered with the Indians. Had it not beef for the courageous, energetic leadership of Captain John Smith, the colony would have been lost. His leadership continued until 1609, when injury forced him to return to England. The colony, which by this time had been thrice supplied and repopulating had grown to 500. The winter of 1609-1610 was known as the "starving time". The colony was reduced to only 60 through illness, famine and Indian attacks. The colony was almost abandoned by Lord Delaware arrived with new supplies and settlers just in time to prevent this act. In May, 1611, Sir Thomas Dale took control and enforced the martial law previously implemented. Through his strong hands, Virginia became a going concern, and martial law was gradually relaxed. The marriage of John Ross to Pocahontas, daughter of Chief Powhatan, assured the colony relief from the Indian attack. About that same time, in 1612, this same John Rolfe crossbred a variety of tobacco which became known as the Virginia Leaf.