ETTA married HAYS UNKNOWN. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Joseph's occupation was Methodist minister. He lived at Patterson, New Jersey. Joseph was the family poet and authored the following poem: Oh let us be Noble; not only in name, But in words and in thoughts and in action the same, And in all that is Noble, let us ever strive hard, And in Heaven reap a Noble reward.

Joseph, second son of John and Martha Noble, was born in 1819. He was converted at the age of 17. He was a member of the New Connection Methodist Church. His first winter in Wisconsin, 1842-43, he preached the first sermon at the English Settlement at the home of James Tinekr. He later moved to Burlington and finally to Petterson, New Jersey, where he and his wife made their home. He was a weaver fo fine silk. One son was born to them, Lewis, who died in his boyhood and one daughter, Etta, (Mrs. Hays), who had a daughter and sons, but no further record has been found of his descendants.

I his later life, he became interested in the Spiritualist religion. His brother, Dyson, died at his home in New Jersey and had never married.

Joseph frequently visited his brothers in Wisconsin and in 1893, he with his five remaining brothers had a group picture taken. they were all white haired men, Lewis being the youngest at the age of 62.

Joseph was the poet of the family, writing poetry for amny occasions. He gave the following helpful lines to his brothers and descendants:

"Oh let us be Noble, not only in name,
But in words and in thoughts and in action the same
And in all that is Noble, let us ever strive hard
And in heaven reap a Noble reward."

From "Joseph Henry Noble and Annie Haigh Noble Family History and Genealogy"

POEMS WRITTEN BY JOSEPH NOBLE

The following two poems were written by Joseph Noble, the son of John Noble. Joseph lived in Patterson, New Jersey.

The first poem was written for a friend residing in Clifton, England, and has references to the scenes and incidents of his early life.

MY NATIVE HOME by Joseph Noble

Forty-eight years ago, or mroe,
I left old England's briny shore,
And came to this far western land.

The keen regret I did imbibe,
To you I cannot now describe,
What I felt no tongue can tell,
When bidding living friends farewell.

I always love my native home,
And with regret I here did come,
But circumstances seemed to say
'Twas best for me to come away.

So here I came in search of health,
In search of fortune and of wealth;
An oh! What changes I have seen,
While in this foreign land I've Been.

Though I have lived here forty years,
'Midst shade and sunshine, storms and tears,
Though my adopted home I bless,
I love old England none the less.

I've traveled for away down east,
I've traveled far away out west,
Where'er I go, where'er I roam,
I never find a place like home.

My native home! Oh yes, 'Tis sweet
To think of that dear, sacred spot
Where I first breathed the vital air-
Where I enjoyed a mother's care.

I love the hawthorne and holly bough
From which we made our knurs, you know;
The wild brier, with its rose so sweet,
And those grand violets at their feet.

I love the skylark's thrilling notes,
As proudly in the air it floats,
The cuckoo, too, I loved to hear,
Reminding me that spring was near.

And I love those games and sports,
Those gala days and grand resorts,
With football, cricket, knurr and spell,
With shuttlecock, and kites as well.

And those excursions cheap, which rn
To London, York, and the Isie of Man,
To Harrogate, Hull, and Scarbro', too,
As at lightning speed on the rail we flew.

O what fond memories cluster round
Those bygone days, wherein I found
Those lovely scenes I can't forget
Those joys and sports I'd relish yet.

Although my memory has grown poor,
Alathough death is nearly at my door,
And old and feeble though I be-
These things all seem still fresh to me.

Tho' seven times I've crossed the sea,
Yet once again I'd like to be
Landed on that briny shore,
And see my native home once more.

But now I fear this cannot be,
For I am old and grey, you see;
I must forego that boon so dear,
And tarry, whilst I live, just here.

But soon I'll drop this mortal clay,
And rise to that eternal day,
And when in spirit life I reign,
I'll see my native home again.

I'll take my bearings from the sky,
And then, as quick as thought, I'll fly
On wings of love until I come
To that sweet place-my native home.

I'll visit first that humble cot,
Where nature first did cast my lot;
Where I first saw the light of day,
And started on life's thorny way.

Around that garden then I'll go,
Where I did cultivate and grow
Those flowers so grand, that fruit so sweet,
The flowers to view, the fruit to eat.

I'll visit then my childhood's scenes,
Which now to me look just like dreams,
Those places, when on pleasures bent,
In which my youthful days were spent.

I'll tread those fields, those lanes, that road
Where I, and my intended trod;
Where I, with her so bright and fair,
Built many castles in the air.

I'll see that church, which once we went,
With loving hearts and good intent,
To get that man with silvery tones
To tie the knot-'twas Parson Jones.

Those sacred places then I'll reach
Where I the word did use to preach,
Where many a happy day I've spent
In labours that were then well meant.

With my dear wife adn children then
I'll run o'er field and glade and glen;
I'll mount those rocks, I'll ford these rills,
I'll climb those grand old Yorkshire hills.

With nought to stay our progress there,
We'll run and ramble everywhere;
With pleasure we will often roam
Around that sweet, that native home.


The following untitled poem was composed and read by Joseph at the Noble Reunion and picnic held in the English Settlement on September 23, 1893.

UNTITLED by Joseph Noble

Dear brothers so loving, so faithful and true,
It gives me great pleasure to meet with you;
As well as those nephews, nieces and friends
With whom my feelings and sympathy blends.

Fifty-one years ago, or a little more,
You arrived on Wisconsin's lake bound shore,
You have pitched your tent, you here took your stand
On which was then this far western land.

With father and mother, Henrietta and Ann,
With Allen and Dyson you here began
To start a new life and build up a home
And citizens of this new country become.

Your prospects in life you then thought were bright
And so you prepared life's battle to fight.
That life has been checkered again and again
With sunshine and shade and pleasure and pain.

Dear Henrietta was first to be taken away
In the bloom of her youth, so cheerful and gay,
And then poor Dyson sickened and died,
Far away down east, close by my side.

And then dear father the summons obeyed
And in the quiet grave his body was laid.
And soon after that dear mother was called
To join the glad throng in the heavenly fold.

Eighteen years ago the rest of me met
On that old homestead that stands there yet
With sister, seven brothers and nephews and nieces;
All happy and pleasant with sweet smiling faces.

But very soon after poor Allen passed on,
And today we find sister Ann, too, has gone.
The youngest and oldest have reached that blest shore
Where those I have mentioned had passed on before.

Thus six have passed on and six are left here.
At this Noble picnic now we appear;
There's James and there's John, Simeon and John,
With Henry and Lewis following on.

Tough, old and feeble, we are here today;
Though careworn and tired, wrinkled and gray,
With the turmoils and troubles, disappointments and tears
That we have experienced the last fifty years.

In a few years more we shall all be gone,
One after another we shall soon pass on.
But O! What a host of nephews and nieces
Stand ready and willing to step in our places.

To give you their names it was my intention,
But I find them far too numerous to mention.
The young and the old, the large and the small,
It would take me all day to go through them all.

There's fifty-nine nephews and sixty-two nieces.
Which shows how this Noble family increases.
They have increased and scattered in rapid motion,
Until they now reach from ocean to ocean.

Away down east on the Atlantic coast
There are four of whom I am proud to boasst,
And away out west on the Pacific slope
There is one who is making his fortune I hope.

And between those seas they are sandwiched in,
So numerous I hardly know where to begin.
To give you their residence, their location relate,
For I find them in almost every state.

Some you find way off in Minnesota
And some you find in the state of Dakota.
In Iowa and Kansas the Noble's appear,
And both are well represented here.

And still I find there are a few more,
Far over the lake on the Michigan shore,
And as for Wisconsin, my how rank they appear,
If you don't believe it, just look around here.

O! What sweet memories will cluster around
The pleasures and greetings which among you I've found,
From the odlest and youngest all through the line;
To make me so welcome you have seemed to combine.

It's been Uncle Joe her, and Uncle Joe there,
It' been Uncle Joe, Uncle Joe everywhere;
I am greeted with this wherever I go
Even that little babe says how do you do, Uncle Joe?

Dear brothers, dear nephews and nieces too,
I thank you sincerely, I thank you all through;
Through all coming years, wherever I be
I shall never forget your kindness to me.

But soon we must part perhaps never to meet,
Again in this life each other to greet.
But let us all meet on that evergreen shore,
Where parting will never be known any more.

JOSEPH married UNKNOWN. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

HISTORY OF JOHN AND MARTHA NOBLE FAMILY
(Compiled by family members for the 1942 Noble Centennial in English Settlement, Wisconsin.)

In the year 1792 in Rastrick parish near Huddersfield, Yorkshire, England, John Noble was born. He married Martha Dyson. She was born in 1795. Following their marriage, they settled at Huddersfield where their first four children were born. The last seven were born in the Parish of Halifax.

In 1840, Huddersfield was a town of 285,000 people located ina valley with beautiful hills surrounding it. The social life included entertainment provided by the Y.M.C.A. and the Y.W.C.A., as well as concerts, art exhibits, operas and operettas. Professional troupes, school and college groups, and local theater groups provided the entertainment. Many of the boys in the town played rugby or cricket. A team known as the Huddersfield Rangers represented the city.

Outside of town, farmers tilled the soil in preparation for the raising of barley, oats and alfalfa. Since the farmers did not produce enough croups to supply the country's needs or demands, England was dependent upon the world for its agricultural needs.

The council and aldermen of Huddersfield governed the town and local schools. The schools were known as council schools although there were many other schools known as private schools. All the schools were under government control with a minister of education of cabinet rank. The teachers were under meit rank and could not be dismissed without justifiable cause. All teachers could apply for any vacanycy in any school to which their ability and educational standing qualified them. Parochial schools, known as church schools, were under the same standards and requirements as other schools.

Huddersfield was a great manufacturing center in 1840. Their main industry was cloth weaving, making woolen, cotton and worsted goods. They took raw material and worked it into finished goods ready for the market. They also produced soaps, ropes, door and window sashes and candy. In addition, they had large chemical works with full processing into finished products. They also produced quality cabinets and polishes of all kinds for the finishing of furniture.

One of the factories in Huddersfield was a Noble, Starkey and Helm firm. They manufactured fancy goods and also had a small grocery store. Because of a disagreement between the three men, John Noble and Joseph Starkey decided to emigrate to America with their families. In 1840, Mr. Helm bought out the interests of John Noble and Joseph Starkey.

Mr. Starkey had a family of six, and in the Noble family there were eight boys, two girls and a grandchild. According to age the children were: Ann, James, Joseph, Simeon, John, Henrietta, Henry, Lewis, Dyson, and Allen. An infoanat daughter, Etta, was buried in England.

After much preparation by John and Martha Noble, on August 10, 1841, the entire family except for James and his wife, Zilpha, who had just had a baby son, John william on August 7th, left their home for Liverpool, England. On August 14, the folowing persons set sail on the steamship, Garrick, for New York. John and Martha Noble, their children, a granddaughter, eight members of the Starkey family, Mr. and Mrs. Haigh, and Alan and Henry Gooder. James, his wife and infant son followed the rest of teh family to New York a month later.

The children were very excited at first, but they soon became tired of the long voyage. It was not by any means an unexciting trip. After being on the water a few days, a huge whale nearly upset the ship. That was a time that no one forgot! Finally, on September 11, they sighted Staten Island and thought it was the most beautiful scenery they had every seen. On Monday, September 13, they sailed into New York harbor. They had reached America.

Mr. Noble and Mr. Starkey left their families at a hotel and went in search of a home. they soon found one occupied by two Irish women in the basement and a woman in the second story. All of the families moved into this house. A month later, they were joined by the James Noble family, a Mr. Walker, and also a large family named Smith.

After getting their families settled, Mr. Noble and Mr. starkey went to Wisconsin to buy government land. Mr. Noble purchased three "eighties" and a "forty", and Mr. Starkey about the same amount of land including what is now Waterford Woods, one mile north of the village of Waterford. They contracted wtih Edwin Rice to put up two fram houses to be ready in the spring. They then returned to New Yor to spend the winter with their families. The winter proved to be mild with very little snow. The children attended day school and Sunday school and always remembered the kindness of their teachers.

While in Wisconsin, Mr. Noble found that there were no pennies in circulation, and that eight dimes made a dollar. He exchanged several hundred dollars into dimes in New York to be used in paying for things he had to buy in Wisconsin.

In April these families left New York, rode on an immigrant boat up the Hudson River, towed by a steamer, taking two days to reach Albany. They then went up to the Erie Canal to Buffalo where they took a steamer bound for Racine, Wisconsin. They landed on the morning of May 7, 1842, two weeks from the time they left New York. The men immediately procured teams adn wagons to take them all to their destination, Waterford. They drove as far as Ives Grove, about ten miles, and spent the night in a log cabin tavern. In the early morning, they resumed their journey. There were not many houses along the way. The grass was a foot high, and there were gardens of flowers everywhere. They also saw numerous prairie chickens and quail.

They reached the Rice home in the afternoon and remained there for a few days whle getting the houses ready for occupancy. After getting settled, the men decided they wanted more land. They heard of government land for sale along Eagle Creek, three miles southeast of Rochester. After looking it over, Mr. Noble bought five "eighties" on the south side of the creek and Mr. Starkey the same on the north side. Then they decided it would be best to trade. Mr. Starkey would take all the land at Waterford, and Mr. Noble would take Mr. Starkey's land on the north side of the creek. That meant another house had to be built. About this time, the Noble daughter, Henrietta, died at the age of 16 causing the family great sorrow. She was buried in the Rochester Cemetery.

The Noble families found themselves surrounded by other English families. Cocroft, Bottomley, Tinker, Armitage, Earnshaw, Woodhead, Scott, Hinchliffe, Hankinson and others. It was rightly called the English Settlement. Mr. Noble put up the largest house of all. 10 feet x 22 feet with fourteen foot posts and a wing on each side of 16 feet x 16 feet. All of the lumber used was oak. James Noble, John's oldest son, was the carpenter, assisted by a younger brother, Henry. The family lived at the home of Mr. Tinker while their home was constructed. They moved into their new home on November 6, 1842. The month before they moved into their new home a prairie fire broke out and nearly destroyed the entire community. The men, women and children beat the fire with boughts and three water on the fire and managed to save the community. The first winter was always called the "hard winter". Snow began on November 9th and remained until the following April. thought the winter was severe, few had overcoats and overshoes were unknown. The men cut wood for rail fences when the weather permitted. My March they had 4000 logs to go to the sawmill.

The first religious service held in English Settlement was at the home of James Tinker. Joseph Noble, son of John and Martha Noble was the preacher. The first marriage took place December 1, 1842, between Squire Hinchliffe adn Ann Cocroft. The first chld born was Thomas Woodhead in May, 1843.

John Noble was a singer adn belonged to a Glee Club. He accompanied other men as they went from house to house on Christmas Eve siging Christmas carols. The "Old Christmas Hymn", a song they sang in England was a favorite. It was an English custom to invite the singers into the homes to eat currant breat and cheese.

John Noble, Mrs. Bottomley and Mrs. Earnshaw organized the first Sunday School. In 1845, the first school house was bult. When completed the Sunday Service and the Sunday School were held there instead of at the John Earnshaw house. However, after a time, some objections were raised, and it was decided to build a church. A meeting was called, and Edwin Bottomley was elected chairman and James Tinker, secretary. A preamble was drawn up, and any person subscribing five dollars toward the new churchj was qualified to vote on the election of trustees. Edwin Bottomley, James Tinker and JOhn Noble were elected trustees. Letters were written to friends in England explaining the need for a church. A donation of $407 was received. Two hundred and ten dollars was subscribed from the English Settlement residents. The church was built on one and one-half acres of land purchased by the trustees. A cemetery was established on the church land, and was called the Eagle Creek Cemetery. Meetings began in the church in 1847, although it was not completed until 1854. John and Martha Noble were subsequently buried in the cemetery next to the English Settlement Church.

John had entered whole-heartedly into the life and growth of the community even as he diligently tilled his considerable acreage. He and his wife had given each of their children forty acres of land. He had lived to see his dream come true of a proper place to worship. On New Year's Day of 1849, the entire settlement gathered for the dedication service for the church. On August 31st of that same year, John Noble passed away at age 57. Martha Dyson Noble passed away on July 15, 1952, also at the age of 57.

From "Joseph Henry Noble and Annie Haigh Noble Family History adn Genealogy"

JOHN married DYSON MARTHA. MARTHA was born in 1795; died on 15 Jul 1852. [Group Sheet]