Sarah (Browne) Noyes (abt. 1615 - 1691)

Born about 1615 in Southampton, Hampshire, England [uncertain]

Wife of James Noyes — married 21 Mar 1634 in Romsey, Hampshire, England

Descendants

Died 13 Sep 1691 at about age 76 in Newbury, Essex, Massachusetts Bay Colony

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Sarah (Browne) Noyes migrated to New England during the Puritan Great Migration (1621-1640). Join: Puritan Great Migration Project Discuss: pgm

Biography

This is the profile for Sarah, the wife of Rev. James Noyes of Newbury, Massachusetts.

Parentage

Cotton Mather's 1702 Magnalia Christi Americana contains an account of Rev. James Noyes' life written by his nephew, Rev. Nicholas Noyes of Salem, which includes the following passage:

He married in England to Mrs. Sarah Brown, the Eldest Daughter of Mr. Joseph Brown of Southampton, not long before he came to new England, which was in the year 1634.^[1]

Based on the above, it is generally believed that Sarah's father was a man named Joseph Brown, who lived in Southampton, Hampshire, England. The assertion that Sarah's maiden name was Brown is supported by a 1664 deed by Sarah Noyes, widow of Rev. James Noyes, in which Sarah referred to "my brother Mr. James Browne's portion of dividend land."^[2] No baptismal record, will or other record, however, has been found that confirms Rev. Nicholas Noyes' statement that Sarah's (and James') father was named Joseph. In fact, as discussed in the profile for Joseph Brown, no records have been found that identify or provide any additional information about a Mr. Joseph Brown who lived in or near Southampton who could have been Sarah's father.

The identity of Sarah's mother is unknown. Some online genealogy pages state that she was a woman named Sarah Hibbert or Christian Hibbert. However, the webpages cite no reliable sources for that assertion, and no reliable evidence supporting that assertion has been found.

Date and Place of Birth

Sarah's date of birth is uncertain. Based on the fact that she was married in March 1633/4, she was probably born no later than 1616, while based on the fact that her last child was born in March 1655/6, she was probably born no earlier than 1614. It is therefore likely that Sarah was born sometime in 1614-1616, with 1615 being a reasonable midpoint estimate.

Based on Rev. Nicholas Noyes' statement quoted above that Sarah's father was "of Southampton", it is reasonable to assume that Sarah was born in or near Southampton, Hampshire, England. However, since no records have been found that confirm her father's residency in Southampton and since Sarah was married in Romsey, Hampshire (about 8 miles northwest of Southampton), it is reasonably likely that Sarah's father lived instead in Romsey and that Sarah was born in or near Romsey. It should be noted that Romsey is the town that fellow Newbury immigrants Richard Knight and John Knight Sr originated from.

Marriage

Sarah Brown married James Noyes in Romsey, Hampshire, England on March 21, 1633/4,^[3][4] just a few months before they emigrated to New England.

Immigration to New England

As discussed in James Noyes' profile, James Noyes, emigrated to New England in 1634 aboard the Mary & John, arriving in Boston in May of that year. Sarah no doubt accompanied him.

Residency at Ipswich?, Medford? and Newbury

As discussed in James Noyes' profile, after arriving in Boston, Sarah and James may have first lived briefly in Ipswich, but then probably lived in Mystic/Medford in the winter of 1634-5 and spring of 1635, before moving to Newbury in the summer of 1635, shortly after the main group of settlers from Ipswich. They resided in Newbury for the remainder of their lives.

Children

Sarah and James had the following children, all born at Newbury:

1. Joseph, b. October 14, 16[37?], m. 1st November 12, 1662 Mary Darvell at Sudbury, m. 2d July 14, 1680 Mary (Dunster) Willard at Sudbury^[4]
2. James, b. March 11, 1639[/40?], m. September 11, 1674 Dorothy Stanton at Stonington^[4]
3. Sarah, b. August 12, 1641, d. by 1655 (when younger sibling by that name was born)^[4]
4. Moses, b. December 6, 1643, m. by 1678 Ruth Pickett^[4]
5. Thomas, b. August 10, 1648, m. 1st December 28, 1669 Martha Pierce at Newbury, m. 2d September 24, 1677 Elizabeth Greenleaf at Newbury^[4]
6. John, b. June 4, 1649, m. by 1672 Sarah Oliver^[4]
7. Rebecca, b. April 1, 1651, m. January 1, 1671/2 John Knight at Newbury, d. after January 7, 1725 probably at Newbury. (See discussion and sources in Rebecca's profile.)
8. William, b. September 22, 1653, m. November 6, 1685 Sarah Cogswell at Newbury^[4]
9. Sarah, b. March 21, 1655/6, m. March 31, 1684 John Hale of Beverly^[4]

Husband's and Brother's Deaths

Sarah's husband James Noyes made a simplified will a few days before his death in 1656. In his will, instead of making specific bequests to his wife and children, he gave full control over his estate (valued at over £597) to his wife so long as she remained unmarried, which she did until her death.^[5][4]

As discussed in his profile, Sarah's brother, James Browne, probably also died about 1656 or, in any event, by 1664. Since James Browne is not known to have had any children and Sarah sold some land formerly owned by her brother in 1664,^[2] it appears likely that Sarah inherited all of her brother's estate as well. The combination of her husband's estate and her brother's estate made Sarah a very wealthy woman, as shown the value of her estate at the time of her death.

Death; Estate

According to the 1899 NEHGR article "Noyes Pedigree", Sarah died on September 13, 1691 at Newbury, her will as dated November 11, 1681 and proved September 29, 1691, and the inventory of her estate was valued at £1108.^[6] The article, however, does not cite any sources for those assertions. Vital Records of Newbury does not contain an entry for her death^[7] and the Essex County Probate Index does not contain any entry for her will or estate records.^[8]

^{[5] [1] [2] [4] [3] [8] [7] [6]}

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} Mather, Cotton, Magnalia Christi Americana: or, the Ecclesiastical History of New-England from First Planting in the Year 1620 unto the Year of Our Lord, 1698. The Third Book. De Viris Illustribus. Containing the Lives of near Fifty Divines, Considerable in the Churches of New-England. p. 145. Link to page at archive.org.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2} Anderson, Robert Charles. The Great Migration. Immigrants to New England 1634-1635. Volume V: M-P. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2007. p. 283. Link to page at ancestry.com. Citing Ipswich Land Records, Vol 3, p 147.
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} "England Marriages, 1538–1973 ", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NV26-R2T : 12 March 2020), James Noyse, 1633.
4. ↑ ^{4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10} Anderson, Robert Charles. The Great Migration. Immigrants to New England 1634-1635. Volume V: M-P. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2007. Profile of James Noyes. pp. 282-286. Link to pages at ancestry.com.
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1} The Probate Records of Essex County, Massachusetts. Volume I 1635-1664. The Essex Institute, 1916. pp. 245-247. Link to pages at hathitrust.org.
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1} Noyes, James Atkins. "Noyes Pedigree." The New-England Historical and Genealogical Register. 1899. Volume LIII. p. 36. Link to page at hathitrust.org.
7. ↑ ^{7.0 7.1} Vital Records of Newbury, Massachusetts to the End of the Year 1849, Volume II - Marriages & Deaths. The Essex Institute, 1911. p 677. Link to page at hathitrust.org.
8. ↑ ^{8.0 8.1} Essex County Probate Docket (Index). Vols 9-12, K-Ri, 1638-1840. FHL Film #007704235, image 553 of 968. Link to image at familysearch.org.

See also:

• Descendants of Reverend William Noyes Author: LaVerne W. Noyes and Frances Adelia Noyes-Giffen Publication: C. J. Burroughs, Chicago IL, USA, 1900
• Genealogy of the Descendants of William Chesebrough, Founder of Stonington, Ct. Author: Anna Chesebrough Wildey Publication: New York: Press of T. A. Wright 1903
• http://noyesgenealogy.net/getperson.php?personID=I998&tree=noyes