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
Showing posts with label Thomas Noble. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Thomas Noble. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 23, 2020
Tuesday, June 9, 2020
Allen line: Thomas Noble 1632ish-1703/04
Earlier, I wrote about Thomas's supposed parents. I wasn't sure at the time that I had the right people and I am still not sure. So I will just say Thomas's parents may or may not have been Thomas and Rachel Gardiner Noble. His father also may or may not have been John Noble. The Thomas and Rachel may or may not have come to New England, and they may or may not have both died during the year of Thomas's birth. End of speculation for now.
The first that i really known of Thomas Noble is that he was "admitted" to Boston on January 5, 1653. "Admission" generally means that he had no family there but that he had a trade or other means to provide for himself. Boston did not wish to have people in its community who could not be trusted to contribute to its growth, and who might, for whatever reason, become a burden to the town. (This was common for single men in most early Massachusetts towns and villages). Thomas, then, had permission to stay, but he didn't stay for long.
Later in the year he is found in Springfield, Massachusetts, a town which was founded in 1653. He was still a single man so would have been required to have stayed in someone else's home. (The First Century of the History of Springfield gives his arrival date as 1656. I think that is in error, because in 1657 Thomas had already gained enough approval from Mr. Pynchon to be advanced money for a trip to and from England. We can only speculate whether the trip was trade-related, or family related, or on some kind of errand for Mr. Pynchon.)
Thomas Noble did have a trade, or at least a part time trade. He was a tailor when he wasn't farming. Again, it is hard to trace who he lived with and how he could practice a trade when he had no place to call his own. He married Hannah Warriner, daughter of William and Joanna Scant (probably) Warriner of Springfield on January 11, 1660, in Springfield. It's possible that he had stayed in the home of his in-laws until and even after the marriage, but as far as I know there is no documentation of that. We can see that after his marriage he acquired a bit more status than he had as a bachelor. In 1659, he was assigned to the 9th row of men in the meeting house, and in 1662 he was already moved to the sixth row. Marriage made a man more respectable, in and of itself.
Thomas and Hannah stayed in Springfield for several years, eventually moving to the new town of Westfield, a little further to the west of the Springfield village. In 1664 he was one of four men who were given permission to set up a saw mill, and were also given 70 acres of land to use. The sawmill was to be in operation by April 1, 1666. The sawmill was on the west side of the Agawam river, which appears to be just where Westfield was created. Thomas Noble is noted as having been there in 1667, so probably the family moved during or after the construction of the sawmill.
Yes, Thomas and Hannah had a family, and there are probably tens of thousands of descendants from this family now. There were at least ten children born to the couple. The family didn't realize it at the time, but later learned that a native American called "Gray Locks" had often had some of the children in his sight, saying he could have killed several at one time, but that he wanted to capture them so they could be held for ransom. Thankfully, this goal was not accomplished. During King Philip's war, the same Gray Lock would open the door to the cabin, and let it swing shut before playing his game again. This encouraged the family to move from their farm to the relative safety of Westfield, at least for the duration of hostilities.
Thomas farmed, of course, and probably helped in the saw mill operation, and also did tailoring work until close to the end of his days. He was involved in another saw mill operation in 1684, but it's not clear whether he had already relinquished his partnership in the earlier saw mill, or whether this was a separate enterprise entirely. At various times he was a constable, an appraiser, and on committees to help set the boundaries between Springfield and Westfield.
Thomas joined the Westfield church on February 26, 1681 and was made a freeman in the fall of the year. He was on juries, including one conducting an inquest into the manner of death of one of their neighbors, concluding that Eliezer Weller had hanged himself. But Thomas also had his minor run-ins with the law, specifically, church law. He was fined 5 shillings in 1683 because he traveled on a day of court-ordered fasting and humiliation. Thomas stated that he was just trying to get home, but that didn't fold water with the court.
Thomas seems to have been often, if not always, in debt, especially to William or John Pynchon, despite acquiring more and more land during his lifetime. When he died on January 20, 1703/04, he left a will naming his ten children, although it appears that son James died at the same time that Thomas did. Hannah survived him and later married Medad Pomeroy, another of our ancestors. She lived until 1721.
Thomas's inventory was valued at 448 pounds, which was mostly land, farm animals, and farm implements. He had arms and ammunition, but I didn't see any mention of books in the inventory, nor did I see tailoring tools, although they could have been included with "other small things". There is much more information available about Thomas, but the big mystery is still the identification of his parents, and of how and when he arrived in Massachusetts.
Fun fact: I was fascinated to learn that Agatha Christie, the mystery writer, is his sixth great grand daughter. He is my 8th great granddaughter, so that makes us very distant cousins. Other famous grandchildren are Samuel Colt, Humphrey Bogart, Nancy Davis Reagan, and Ken Burns.
The line of descent is
Thomas Noble-Hannah Warriner
Thomas Noble-Elizabeth Dewey
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
The first that i really known of Thomas Noble is that he was "admitted" to Boston on January 5, 1653. "Admission" generally means that he had no family there but that he had a trade or other means to provide for himself. Boston did not wish to have people in its community who could not be trusted to contribute to its growth, and who might, for whatever reason, become a burden to the town. (This was common for single men in most early Massachusetts towns and villages). Thomas, then, had permission to stay, but he didn't stay for long.
Later in the year he is found in Springfield, Massachusetts, a town which was founded in 1653. He was still a single man so would have been required to have stayed in someone else's home. (The First Century of the History of Springfield gives his arrival date as 1656. I think that is in error, because in 1657 Thomas had already gained enough approval from Mr. Pynchon to be advanced money for a trip to and from England. We can only speculate whether the trip was trade-related, or family related, or on some kind of errand for Mr. Pynchon.)
Thomas Noble did have a trade, or at least a part time trade. He was a tailor when he wasn't farming. Again, it is hard to trace who he lived with and how he could practice a trade when he had no place to call his own. He married Hannah Warriner, daughter of William and Joanna Scant (probably) Warriner of Springfield on January 11, 1660, in Springfield. It's possible that he had stayed in the home of his in-laws until and even after the marriage, but as far as I know there is no documentation of that. We can see that after his marriage he acquired a bit more status than he had as a bachelor. In 1659, he was assigned to the 9th row of men in the meeting house, and in 1662 he was already moved to the sixth row. Marriage made a man more respectable, in and of itself.
Thomas and Hannah stayed in Springfield for several years, eventually moving to the new town of Westfield, a little further to the west of the Springfield village. In 1664 he was one of four men who were given permission to set up a saw mill, and were also given 70 acres of land to use. The sawmill was to be in operation by April 1, 1666. The sawmill was on the west side of the Agawam river, which appears to be just where Westfield was created. Thomas Noble is noted as having been there in 1667, so probably the family moved during or after the construction of the sawmill.
Yes, Thomas and Hannah had a family, and there are probably tens of thousands of descendants from this family now. There were at least ten children born to the couple. The family didn't realize it at the time, but later learned that a native American called "Gray Locks" had often had some of the children in his sight, saying he could have killed several at one time, but that he wanted to capture them so they could be held for ransom. Thankfully, this goal was not accomplished. During King Philip's war, the same Gray Lock would open the door to the cabin, and let it swing shut before playing his game again. This encouraged the family to move from their farm to the relative safety of Westfield, at least for the duration of hostilities.
Thomas farmed, of course, and probably helped in the saw mill operation, and also did tailoring work until close to the end of his days. He was involved in another saw mill operation in 1684, but it's not clear whether he had already relinquished his partnership in the earlier saw mill, or whether this was a separate enterprise entirely. At various times he was a constable, an appraiser, and on committees to help set the boundaries between Springfield and Westfield.
Thomas joined the Westfield church on February 26, 1681 and was made a freeman in the fall of the year. He was on juries, including one conducting an inquest into the manner of death of one of their neighbors, concluding that Eliezer Weller had hanged himself. But Thomas also had his minor run-ins with the law, specifically, church law. He was fined 5 shillings in 1683 because he traveled on a day of court-ordered fasting and humiliation. Thomas stated that he was just trying to get home, but that didn't fold water with the court.
Thomas seems to have been often, if not always, in debt, especially to William or John Pynchon, despite acquiring more and more land during his lifetime. When he died on January 20, 1703/04, he left a will naming his ten children, although it appears that son James died at the same time that Thomas did. Hannah survived him and later married Medad Pomeroy, another of our ancestors. She lived until 1721.
Thomas's inventory was valued at 448 pounds, which was mostly land, farm animals, and farm implements. He had arms and ammunition, but I didn't see any mention of books in the inventory, nor did I see tailoring tools, although they could have been included with "other small things". There is much more information available about Thomas, but the big mystery is still the identification of his parents, and of how and when he arrived in Massachusetts.
Fun fact: I was fascinated to learn that Agatha Christie, the mystery writer, is his sixth great grand daughter. He is my 8th great granddaughter, so that makes us very distant cousins. Other famous grandchildren are Samuel Colt, Humphrey Bogart, Nancy Davis Reagan, and Ken Burns.
The line of descent is
Thomas Noble-Hannah Warriner
Thomas Noble-Elizabeth Dewey
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
Tuesday, July 26, 2016
Allen line: Thomas Noble, 1606-1666, Immigrant or not?
I thought I'd found an immigrant to write about, but now I'm confused as to whether I should be writing about Thomas, or about another Thomas who was born about 1632.
According to very sketchy information I've found, the Thomas I intended to write about was born in 1606 in Aldingha, Kent, England. Except that he may be the Thomas who was born in 1606 in St Giles, Cripplegate, England. If the second theory is correct, his occupation may have been that of pinmaker, which was a working class job except that he seems to have been admitted to a guild.
Thomas may or may not have married Rachel Gardiner, and he may or may not have died in 1666 in Westfield, Hampden County, Massachusetts. Right now I am not finding sources or documentation for any of these statements. I am finding that Thomas Noble born 1632 is noted as "The Settler". He was admitted an inhabitant of Boston in 1651. The internet assumption is that this refers to Thomas born 1632, but I don't know that there's proof about that.
I'm also wondering about the death date and location for Thomas. There is at least some thought in the genealogy world that Thomas senior died in England about 1650, and that Thomas the settler went to England soon after at least partly to claim his inheritance. This would explain a lot of things, but absolute proof is lacking, since the will of Thomas in England leaves an inheritance to Thomas Jr but doesn't state the younger Thomas's whereabouts.
I'll write another blog post about Thomas the Settler, but I wanted to at least throw out the ideas that are floating around, about Thomas's father. He may have been from Aldingham, Kent, England or he may have been from London. He may have married Rachel Gardiner, or he may have married someone else. He may have died in London, or he may have died in Westfield, Massachusetts. And someday, we may have the answers to these questions, and more!
The line of descent may be:
Thomas Noble-Rachel Gardiner
Thomas Noble-Hannah Warriner
Elizabeth Noble-Richard Church
Jonathan Church-Ruth Hitchcock
Ruth Church-Stephen Noble
Ruth Noble-Martin Root Jr.
Ruth Root-Samuel Falley
Clarissa Falley-John Havens Starr
Harriet Starr-John Wilson Knott
Edith Knott-Edward Allen
Richard Allen-Gladys Allen
Their descendants
Their is another line that would go
Thomas Noble-Rachel Gardiner
Thomas Noble-Hannah Warriner
Thomas Noble Elizabeth Dewey
Thomas Noble-Sarah Root
Stephen Noble-Ruth Church and then duplicates
So Stephen Noble, Revolutionary War soldier, and Ruth Church were second cousins.
According to very sketchy information I've found, the Thomas I intended to write about was born in 1606 in Aldingha, Kent, England. Except that he may be the Thomas who was born in 1606 in St Giles, Cripplegate, England. If the second theory is correct, his occupation may have been that of pinmaker, which was a working class job except that he seems to have been admitted to a guild.
Thomas may or may not have married Rachel Gardiner, and he may or may not have died in 1666 in Westfield, Hampden County, Massachusetts. Right now I am not finding sources or documentation for any of these statements. I am finding that Thomas Noble born 1632 is noted as "The Settler". He was admitted an inhabitant of Boston in 1651. The internet assumption is that this refers to Thomas born 1632, but I don't know that there's proof about that.
I'm also wondering about the death date and location for Thomas. There is at least some thought in the genealogy world that Thomas senior died in England about 1650, and that Thomas the settler went to England soon after at least partly to claim his inheritance. This would explain a lot of things, but absolute proof is lacking, since the will of Thomas in England leaves an inheritance to Thomas Jr but doesn't state the younger Thomas's whereabouts.
I'll write another blog post about Thomas the Settler, but I wanted to at least throw out the ideas that are floating around, about Thomas's father. He may have been from Aldingham, Kent, England or he may have been from London. He may have married Rachel Gardiner, or he may have married someone else. He may have died in London, or he may have died in Westfield, Massachusetts. And someday, we may have the answers to these questions, and more!
The line of descent may be:
Thomas Noble-Rachel Gardiner
Thomas Noble-Hannah Warriner
Elizabeth Noble-Richard Church
Jonathan Church-Ruth Hitchcock
Ruth Church-Stephen Noble
Ruth Noble-Martin Root Jr.
Ruth Root-Samuel Falley
Clarissa Falley-John Havens Starr
Harriet Starr-John Wilson Knott
Edith Knott-Edward Allen
Richard Allen-Gladys Allen
Their descendants
Their is another line that would go
Thomas Noble-Rachel Gardiner
Thomas Noble-Hannah Warriner
Thomas Noble Elizabeth Dewey
Thomas Noble-Sarah Root
Stephen Noble-Ruth Church and then duplicates
So Stephen Noble, Revolutionary War soldier, and Ruth Church were second cousins.
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