There are various conjectures as to where Thomas came from, and who his parents are. I am not sure enough of any of them to state them as fact, or even as probables. It is probable, however, that Thomas was an immigrant from some part of England, and was born about 1632. We're not sure when he arrived in America, but he married Hannah Warriner, the daughter of William and Joanna Searles Warriner, in 1660 in Springfield, Hampden, Massachusetts. The couple made their home in what became Westfield in 1669. The couple had at least ten children. After Thomas died in 1704, Hannah married Medad Pomeroy, the son of Eltweed and Margery Rockett (Rockwood) Pomeroy. Medad is our ancestor in our Holbrook line, and I hope to write about that family in the future.
John seems to have been the first born, in 1662. (He was born almost exactly two years after his parents married, so it is possible there was an earlier pregnancy.) He died in New Milford, Litchfield, Connecticut in 1714, but not before he had married twice. His first wife is Abigail Sackett, the daughter of John and Abigail Hannum Sackett. They have one daughter together, also Abigail, but sadly, John's wife died 4 days after giving birth to Abigail. Less than a year later, he married Mary Goodman, the daughter of Richard and Mary Terry Goodman. They have 10 children together-John, Stephen, Elizabeth, Mary, David, Hannah, Sarah, William, Margaret, and Mabel.
Hannah was born next, in 1664. She married three times and died in 1741 in Hadley, Hampshire, Massachusetts. Her first husband was John Goodman, the daughter of John and Hannah Edwards Goodman (I have not yet found a connection between Richard and John Goodman, but there is at least a possibility that these two families are related.) Hannah's children with John are John, Hannah, another Hannah, Stephen, and James. She later married Nathaniel Edwards, the son of Alexander and Sarah Searle Edwards, and then Samuel Partridge, the son of William and Mary Smith Partridge. I have not found any mention of children with Nathaniel, and she was well along in years when she married Samuel.
Thomas was born next, in 1666. He married Elizabeth Dewey, the daughter of Thomas and Constant Hawes Dewey, and died in 1750 in Springfield, Massachusetts. Their children are Thomas, Job, Jonathan, Seth, Israel, Elizabeth, Louis, Ebenezer, Thankful, Anna, and Jonathan. I will follow this family in my next blog post.
Matthew was born in 1668 and died in 1744 in Sheffield, Berkshire, Massachusetts. He married Hannah Dewey, the daughter of Thomas and Constant Hawes Dewey (see above). Their children are Joseph, Hezekiah, Matthew, Solomon, Elisha, Obadiah, Hannah, Hester, Jonathan, and Rhoda.
Mark was the first child born in Westfield, in 1670, and like several of his siblings, didn't leave. He died there in 1741. He married Mary Marshall, the daughter of Samuel and Rebecca Newberry Marshall. Their children are Noah, Mary, Abigail, John, Miriam, and Noah.
Elizabeth was born next, in 1673. She died in 1751 in Colchester, New London, Connecticut. She married Richard Church, the son of John and Sarah Beckley Church, who are also our ancestors and I hope to write about one day. Their children are John, Hannah, Rachel, James, Joseph, Jonathan, and Samuel. Her second marriage is to Samuel Loomis, the son of John and Elizabeth Scott Loomis. This was a late in life marriage and there were no children of this couple.
Luke was born in 1675 and died in 1744 in Westfield, Massachusetts. He first married Hannah Stebbins, the daughter of Thomas and Abigail Munn Stebbins, who are not our ancestors but are related. (The Stebbins families are another goal of mine.) Their children are Luke and Samuel, although I am not sure about Samuel. He may be a child of the second marriage, or there could be two Samuel Nobles in this family, but I haven't been able to confirm birth dates. His second marriage is to Ruth Wright, the daughter of Joseph and Ruth Sheldon Wright. Their children are Ruth, Moses, Anna, Asa, Naomi, Samuel, Jacob, and Ephraim. Luke's third wife is Sarah Dewey, who was the widow of David Dewey but whose parents are unknown. There are no children know to have been born to this couple.
James was born in 1677 and died in 1712 in Westifeld. He married Katharine Higley (also seen as Higlee), the daughter of John and Hannah Drake Higley. Their children are Lydia, James, and David.
Then came Mary, in 1680. She also died in Westfield, in 1750. Her husband is Ephraim Colton, the son of Ephraim and Mary Drake Colton. Their children are Mary, Ephraim, Deborah, Jerusha, male twins who died very young, Damaris, Job, Samuel, and Hannah.
And lastly came Rebecca, in 1683. She married Samuel Loomis, the son of Samuel and Hannah Hanchett Loomis. (Yes, the Hanchett line is in our tree also.) Their children are Rebecca, Samuel, Rachel, Rebecca, Mabel, Mercy, Moses, and David. I am confused about her death date. It may be 1720, it may be 1750, or it may be 1759, but whichever is correct, she died in Westfield, Massachusetts.
This Noble family is interesting for several reasons. First, of course is the number of ties to other lines in our families. Then there are the first names-almost every name of the grandchildren, as well as the children, is from the Bible. The family lived through trying times with King Philip's War and later battles with natives, and I'm sure many of these names will be found on military rolls. Many of these children lived into their 70s, and they would have told many stories to their children and their own grandchildren. It's been fun to write about this family that ties to ours in so many ways.