Pictured is a drawing of the first Meeting House in Springfield. Thomas would have attended many meeting here.
Thomas Noble was born about 1632. I have not seen any evidentiary proof of his parentage or location of birth. Thomas Noble married Hannah Warriner, daughter of William on 1 November 1660 in Westfield. Their children are listed below.
I have seen family trees that list a father named Thomas who died in Westfield, Massachusetts in 1675 and his mother as Rachel Gardner who died in Westfield in 1632. Both claims seem ridiculous to me and not possible. No English were in that part of Massachusetts until 1633. Westfield was not settled until 1660 so Rachel could not possibly have died there 28 years before any English set foot there. Every settler who was in Connecticut and southwest Massachusetts left many records and were mentioned in founding documents, yet there is no mention of the father of Thomas Noble in land records, the receipts and records of William or John Pychon, town meetings or anywhere else. I believe Thomas, father could have been named Thomas and perhaps his mother was named Rachel Gardner, but as of the moment I write this I have seen no credible proof of that. Regardless, neither one of them ever set foot is Southwest Massachusetts.
The first evidence of Thomas in the colonies was dated 5 January 1653 when he was admitted as a resident of Boston. Later the same year he is mentioned in documents and records in Springfield, Massachusetts. The ledgers of John Pynchon show Thomas borrowed money for ship passage back to England as well as his passage to return to Massachusetts. The reason why Thomas returned to England is unknown, however, it is clear he intended to return. The loan is recorded in the records of John Pychon on 1 September 1657. The next mention of him in the town records is dated 8th of December 1664 when the town approved land to be granted to Thomas Noble, Elizur Holyoke, Samuel Marshfield and Thomas Miller for the purpose of building a saw mill. They were granted 40 acres of land to be split among them for their personal use near the mill. The grants were given on the condition that the mill be functional by 1 April 1666 or the land would return to the possession of Springfield. The saw mill was to be for the benefit of Springfield. A portion of his time in Springfield, Thomas worked as a tailor, mostly in the winter months when farming was not possible.
In 1669 a meeting was held in Springfield to allow Thomas Noble, Thomas Dewey (Jr.), George Phelps and John Cornish go to Woronoco to survey the land to establish borders from Springfield and Suffield and establish a settlement there at the request of those named. Springfield had been purchasing land from the local tribes in Woronoco in increments since 1658.
Town records reveal many entries which show how active he was in the community. But Thomas was also found in the court records of Northampton. Westfield was a small town so if their citizens did something wrong or brought a suite against someone, the courts of Northampton were utilized. A case against Thomas Noble was adjudicated in the Northampton court on 27 March 1683. The charge was travelling on "the day of humiliation" (Sunday). his defense was he was going home but the court fined him 5 shillings. Thomas was a witness in what appears to be a modern day equivient to a coroner's inquest for another Westfield settler named Elizur Welles. A transcript can be viewed on the Springfield Index. Below is a summary of various positions, land purchases and appointments found in the records involving Thomas Noble.
| Town Service | ||
|---|---|---|
| July 1666, 9 January 1668 renewed | Westfield | Land Grant |
| 7 April 1674 | Westfield | Chosen as Constable |
| 12 October 1681 | Westfield | Became a freeman |
| 4 March 1694 | Westfield | Land granted |
| 2 March 1696 | Westfield | Chosen as county surveyor |
Thomas Noble died on 20 January 1703 in Westfield. By the time he died, all his children were grown, his youngest being 20 years old. His wife Hannah survived him.
Hannah Warriner was born on 17 August 1643 in Springfield, Massachusetts. Her parents were William Warriner and Joanna Searle. Her father William was an original founder of Hartford, Connecticut and his name is on the Founders Monument there. Hannah married Thomas on 20 November 1660 in Westfield at the age of 17. She bore him 10 children before his death in 1703. After the death of Thomas she married Medad Pomeroy on 24 January 1705 in Northampton. She outlived him as well. Her second husband left her the possessions she brought with her in the marriage and a cow in his will. Since she lost the home Thomas Noble left her when she married Medad Pomeroy under the terms of his will, I am not sure what happened to her after his death. She died on 30 December 1705 in Northampton, Massachusetts at the age of 77. She had outlined both her husbands and two of her children.
The will of Thomas Noble was written 7 years before his death. It was proved 7 months after his death. I have reprinted his will as published in the book titled History and Genealogy of The Family of Thomas Noble of Westfield, Massachusetts by Lucius M. Boltwood
The last will and testament of Thomas Noble of Westfield, in ye County of Hampshire, in ye Province of Massachusetts Bay in New England, being weak in body, but of perfect understanding. Impr, I commend my soul into the hands of Christ my blessed Lord and Saviour, and my body to a Christian burial, in full faith of a blessed resurrection, through the rich grace of God in Christ my Saviour.
Item, I give unto my son Thomas, that parcel of land lying in the farm purchased from Mr. John Pynchon, from the gate beyond the house entering into the field bounded by the plowing land, the way to Springfield, John Noble's land and the drain all along to the swamp.
Item, I give unto my son Matthew, a tract of land in the same farm, lying by a ditch easterly, and bounded at both ends by the river.
Item, I give unto my sons Mark and Luke, my little meadow, lying against the orchard of Noah Cooke, and that homelot that I have bought, and they have raisd frames upon.
Item, I give the lot that the town gave me on top of the hill agt my house on the same farm, to all my six sons for a pasture.
Item, to my son James, a parcel of land and house upon it, on that farm that is fenced in, being six or seven acres more or less.
Item, I bequeath the rest of this my farm lying bounded upon James northernly, Thomas on the east, Matthew on the southernly, ye river on the westrly sides, to all my sons, i.e., to my sons John, Thomas, Matthew, Mark, Luke and James, equally to be divided amongst them by my brother James Warriner, and John Hitchcock of Springfield, and by Capt. Isaac Phelps of Westfield.
Item, I give to my son James, all my land in the plain, on the side the hundred acres, and the lot by the way to Pochastuck.
Item, I give to my son John, the rest of my lot in ye fort meadow.
Item, I give unto my beloved wife, Hannah Noble, an acre of
land reserved out of my son John's homelot; also helf my dwelling
house, that is to say, that end next to the street, and halfe the
land and orchard and barn we dwell on, and the other halfe
of the house lot and barn to my son James, as also the thirds
of all that I here will to my sons, and after her
decease, I give to my son James the whole of the house,
houselot, and barn and the acre reserved out of my son
John's homelot.
Item, I give unto my four daughters, Hannah, Elizabeth, Mary and Rebecca, 20 pounds apiece, to be paid them by my sons (viz), Thomas, Matthew, Mark, Luke and James, to Mary and to Rebeccah about half a year after their marriage, and a cow apiece at their marriage. And in the case any of my children should dye, not leaving any issue behind them, then my will is that the legacies that I give them, be equally divided among the surviving, and also, I order these my sons to find my wife fewel wood, and two load of hay every year, so long as she shall remain widdow.
Item, I give unto my wife also a cow and a heifer, also all my household goods, which household goods I would have her at her pleasure dispose to my two youngest daughters.
Item, my team (one yoak of oxen excepted), I give unto
my three youngest sons, Mark, Luke and James. And for the well
and faithful execution of this my last will, I ordain
and make my beloved wife Hannah Noble and my son Thomas Noble
joint executors, to defray all my lawful debts and for that
end leave one yolk of working cattle, a yoak of fatt oxen, and
the money in the Bay due me, and all other dues, the which
when my debts are defrayed, the remainder I would have go to pay
my daughters portions. But in the case the same should be too little to
clear my due debts, that then they are to raise what is sufficient
out of the legacies I have given to my children, to do the same.
In witness whereof I set my hand and seal this eleventh day of May
Anno Dom., 1697.
Thomas Noble and a [seal]
Signed and sealed in the presence off
Edward Taylor
Victory Sikes
James Warriner
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