Allen line: Yet another Thomas Noble 1696-1775

I try to make it a habit to write a blog post of at least five paragraphs, when writing about an ancestor.  I don't think I'll make it on this one.  Thomas Noble, who is at least the sixth of that name in a line dating back to the early 1500's, is also our last direct ancestor of that name, at least as far as I know now.  However, he seems to have not done much to make himself known, so this will be a short post. 

Thomas was born November 10, 1696 in Westfield, Massachusetts Bay Colony, to Thomas and Elizabeth Dewey Noble.  He was one of at least 11 children, and, like his father, he was born and died in the same small town. 

Thomas married Sarah Root, daughter of John and Sarah Stebbins Root, on September 1, 1722 in Westfield.  He and Sarah had at least 10 children together before her death on July 19, 1760, also in Westfield.  He then married Sarah Field Belding in 1761 in Hatfield, Massachusetts Bay Colony, and they returned to Westfield to live. 

We have these additional facts about Thomas:  He was a farmer, and in fact lived on the farm that had belonged to his grandfather.  He was chosen as a fence viewer in 1739 and in 1744, and was on a committee responsible for building pews in the meeting house.  He was often the moderator for town meetings, calling the meeting to order, making sure everyone's voice (male, of course) was heard, ancounting votes.  This took a level-headed man, one who could control both his own emotions and those of others.  That's as close as I can come to defining the character of the man. 

He was, of course, the son of a deacon and his vital records are in the First Church record books.  We can probably guess that he attended church on a regular basis, but I've not been able to determine whether he was actually a member of the church.  I have also been unable to determine whether, or to what extent, he served in the militia or on military expeditions.  It is within the range of possibility that he would have participated in King George's War, since he was only about 50-53 during that time period.  This would have pitted the colonists and Great Britain and their native American allies against the French and their native American allies.  His name is not listed in the source I consulted about Colonial Officers and Soldiers but those lists are always incomplete.  So we just don't know. 

  There is, on the "Early American Ancestors" website, a drawing labeled "The home of Thomas Noble, Westfield, 1725".  This is likely to be the home of Thomas's parents, Thomas and Elizabeth Dewey Noble, but it may well be the home that this Thomas also lived in.  At any rate, he would have been very familiar with this home. 

Sarah Root Noble died July 19, 1760 and Thomas married Sarah Field Belding the following year.  She died in 1763.  Thomas died February 18, 1775, just two months before the battles of Concord and Lexington.  We don't know what he would have thought about the Revolutionary War, except that at least two of his sons, who were middle aged men at the time, served as patriot soldiers.  That says something about their upbringing.  

I haven't been able to locate a will for Thomas, or a definitive land transfer.  The land probably stayed in the family, perhaps for generations.  We know there were Nobles in Westfield up through the 1940 census and probably longer.  Of course, I'd love to find a will or deed.  I'd love to find military records.  I'd love to know more about this man who seems to have stayed in the background.  I would be willing to bet there is more to his story.

The line of descent is:

Thomas Noble-Sarah Root
Stephen Noble-Ruth Church
Ruth Noble-Martin Root
Ruth Root-Samuel Falley
Clarissa Falley-John Havens Starr
Harriet Starr-John Wilson Knott
Edith Knott-Edward Allen
Richard Allen-Gladys Holbrook
Their descendants