| 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"
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1792 - 1878 (86 years)
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