In hopes that someone who subscribes to this List will see something familiar in my research and will write to me, I am posting a description of my search for my Thomas Noble's family. Please write to me if you have any interest in my Noble family. Ted Noble P.O. Box 837 Gualala Ca 95445 >My ancestor immigrant is Thomas Noble, born ca >1632, in England. Our first documented >reference to Thomas is in _The History and >Antiquities of Boston__ by Samuel G. Drake, >1856: "Jan. 5, 1654, Thomas Noble admitted an >inhabitant." We know that he helped settled >Westfield, Massachusetts, and worked as a >tailor. Records of John Pynchon, who owned the >"country store" in Westfield, show that Thomas >borrowed money ca 1657 from Pynchon. Pynchon's >account book lists: "To what I pd. for yor >passage to and fro. Engld, and for yor charges >(beside what I give you) as in my pocket booke, >£16 00. 00." > >Thomas married Hannah Warriner in 1660. Hannah >was born in Massachusetts, so we know he didn't >return to get his wife. Assuming that he made >the expensive trip to collect an inheritance, I >have searched for a Noble family that had a son >Thomas, the age of my Thomas, who was given an >inheritance and was mentioned in his father's >will. > >In the late eighties, my wife Freda and I made >two trips to England to search for Thomas' >family. We spent some time examining the >records in London and the only serious lead was >a Thomas Noble, the pin maker, who lived in >London at the right time and had a son Thomas. > >In 1991-92, I engaged the services of a >professional British genealogist, Ian Hilder, >B.A. (Hons.) to research the English origin of >Thomas Noble. He did an outstanding job of >investigating all pertinent genealogical records >to find a likely ancestral tie-in. While >nothing conclusive was ever found, his work did >turn up some very interesting leads. > >In the wills of the Prerogative Court of >Canterbury (PCC Wills), he located a will for >the London (St. Giles, Crippledgate) pin maker >named Thomas Noble. The pin makers were members >of the Merchant Tailor Guild. The will was >proved in 1649/50 and named a son, Thomas, to >receive an inheritance at age 21. Research in >the parish records of St. Giles, Cripplegate, >revealed that this Thomas, son of the pin- >maker, was born in 1635/36, making him 14 or 15 >years old at the time of his father's death. He >would have had, in the judgement of Mr. Hilder, >considerable knowledge of the tailoring trade >and likely would have begun an apprenticeship in >that trade. > >In the card files of the Society of >Genealogists, London, Mr. Hilder located a >record of research by a noted British >genealogist named Cotton for a Utah woman in >1963, that settled on Thomas Noble, the >pin-maker, as a likely choice fo rthe father of >our Massachusetts Thomas Noble. Efforts to >locate this woman by correspondence to the >address given in 1963 failed. > >If Thomas Noble, son of the London pin-maker, >were indeed our Thomas Noble of >Springfield/Westfield, he would have been only >17 years old upon his arrival in Boston in >1651/52. However, he would have been just 21 >years old in 1656, the date of the entry in the >John Pynchon account book that mentions his >return to England. > >The will of Thomas Noble, the pin -maker, >mentioned a brother, Richard, of Owston, >Leicestershire. If a will for this Richard >could be found, it might possibly mention a >nephew, Thomas, in New England. This was made a >future research goal, and during a recent visit >to the LDS library in Salt Lake, I pursued this >lead with the results mentioned below. > >Mr. Hilder, in his research efforts during the >time he worked for me, reported that he had >searched the International Genealogical Index >for Leicestershire and found only one >possibility for brothers named Thomas and >Richard Noble: >1587, Jan 16, Thomas, son of John Noble >1593, Sept 12, Richard, son of John Noble. >Both of Gainsborough Parish. > >However, I found upon examination of the same >IGI for the pertinent time period that >Gainsborough Parish was situated in >Lincolnshire, not Leicestershire. This was not >discouraging for adjoining Gainsborough was an >Owston Parish, same spelling as the Leicester >Owston. > >Calendars of Wills and Administrationss at >Lincoln, ed. c.w.Foster, Vol. 4, London, British >Record Society, 1930, p. 124., listed wills for >John Noble, Mercer, Gainsborough, 1611, and for >Richard Noble, merchant, Barcroftes, >Gainsborough, 1640-59. A search in the >microfilm indices in the British record section >at LDS led to the will of John, but not Richard. >The will of Richard obviously exists, but that >will require time to patiently go through >microfilm. I received help in extracting the >pertinent details of John Noble's will. Richard >was the executor of the will in which John left >a substantial inheritance to his son Thomas, >provided Thomas continue in his father's trade, >whatever that may have been. There were six >sons and three daughters mentioned in John's >will. There is nothing in the will to either >prove or disprove that Thomas, the father, >became the London pin-maker. Among the >Gainsborough, Lincoln wills is also a will for >Ann Noble, wife of John, which was proved in >1660-1663. This will, like that of Richard, >needs to be searched out and read for any >confirmation of her son's status or the >possibility of a reference to her grandson in >New England. > >My search was then directed to the early records >of the Massachusetts Bay Colony and the town of >Boston to determine whether they prescribed any >minimum age for a new inhabitant. Could a >17-year-old boy migrate to New England and be >permitted status as a settler? Nothing in the >records for the period 1640-1660 established any >specific qualification of age. In 1649, a new >category of immigrant called "inhabitant" >appeared in Boston Town records. Such a person >need not be required to be a church member nor >to possess and develop land but must have a >skill or trade needed in the new colony. A >17-year-old boy (man) could, of course, be under >servitude to another established settler, >especially if he was skilled in a trade. > >Robert Innes in his fascinating book, _Labor in >a New Land_, traces the working lives of a >number of early Springfield residents whose >names regularly appear in the store account >books of William and then John Pynchon. The >theme of Innes' book is that through accumulated >indebtedness to John Pynchon's store, the latter >became a virtual ruler of Springfield. Innes >makes the statement that the age of workers >through all trade categories ranged from 18 to >35. > >It seems probable that Thomas was under service >to another individual for a few years after his >arrival in 1651/52. The town records of >Springfield note that Thomas was first granted >land at a town meeting on Jan 30, 1655. > Late last year, we employed the services of professional genealogist, Jean M. Fanthorpe, MA, of Lincoln, to research the parish records and wills of Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, in order to prove or disprove a connection between Thomas and Richard Noble of Gainsborough and the Thomas Noble, pin maker of London and his brother Richard. > >"on first glance what did spring to mind was >that there was an OUSTON in Leicestershire, >whereas it is OWSTON in Lincolnshire [although >spelling in the earlier periods was not >standardised], the latter being two Parishes >north of Gainsborough. Having just checked the >IGI I can agree that the entries for Richard and >Thomas, baptised to John Noble for the dates you >give, are indeed given as Gainsborough, >Lincolnshire, and at no time was Gainsborough >ever in the county of Leicestershire. The >county of Nottinghamshire borders both >Gainsborough and Owston, but on the other side >of the tidal River Trent. Leicestershire does >have a border with a section of Lincolnshire but >this is no where close to this area of our >county." I cannot yet prove the Gainsborough >families as belonging to your ancestor Thomas, >but they do use Richard and Thomas as names, and >I make suggestions for furthering work on these >families [who appear to be related to each >other] in the Gainsborough Parish Registers/BTs >in order to gather more information before >they could be ruled out." > It was found that there could be no connection. Ann Noble, mother of Thomas of Gainsborough, appointed her son, Thomas, as executor of her will in 1657. Since Thomas, the London pin maker was deceased in 1649, they could not be the same person. Also the Richard of Gainsborough was to have a will probated circa 1641. Richard, brother of Thomas, the London pin maker was alive in 1649-50. Research will continue to obtain information about the Richard Noble of Owston, or Coston, Leiscestershire, mentioned in the will of Thomas Noble, the pin maker.