James Noyes (1608 - abt. 1656)

Born 1608 in Cholderton, Wiltshire, England

Ancestors

Husband of Sarah (Browne) Noyes — married 21 Mar 1634 in Romsey, Hampshire, England

Descendants

Died about 22 Oct 1656 at about age 48 in Newbury, Essex, Massachusetts Bay Colony

Problems/Questions Profile managers: Puritan Great Migration Project WikiTree [send private message], Theodore Palmer [send private message], and Carolyn O'Connor [send private message]

James Noyes migrated to New England during the Puritan Great Migration (1621-1640). (See The Great Migration (Series 2), by R. C. Anderson, vol. 5, p. 282) Join: Puritan Great Migration Project Discuss: pgm

Biography

This is the profile for Rev. James Noyes, who emigrated to New England in 1634 and lived in Newbury, Massachusetts.

Parentage

James was the son of Rev. William Noyes of Cholderton, Wiltshire, England and his wife Anne (Parker) Noyes. His parentage is established by (1) the account of James' life written by his nephew, Rev. Nicholas Noyes of Salem and contained in Cotton Mather's 1702 Magnalia Christi Americana, which states that James was born at Choulderton, Wiltshire and that his father was the minister of the town,^[1] and (2) the 1656 will of Ann Noyes of Cholderton, widow, which included bequests to "James Noyes and Nicholas Noyes my two sonnes now in new England."^[2] As discussed in Anne's profile, while some sources state that she was the daughter of Nicholas Stephens, Esq. of Burdrop Manor, Wiltshire, evidence indicates, and the most reliable secondary sources state, that she was instead the sister-by-blood of Rev. Robert Parker and that her maiden name was thus Parker.

Date of Birth

According Rev. Nicholas Noyes' account in Magnalia Christi Americana, James was born in 1608 at Cholderton, Wiltshire.^[1] No record of his birth or baptism have been found or are likely to be found, since no parish records survive for Cholderton prior to 1651, except some fragments of bishop's transcripts.^[3] Based on the March 1633/4 date of his marriage, a date of birth of sometime in 1604-1612 would be expected, so there is no reason to suspect that the 1608 is incorrect, although it could be off by a year or two.

Early Life in England; Education

Since James' father was rector of Cholderton at the time of his birth and lived there until his death in 1622^[4] and since James' mother continued to live at Cholderton until the time of her death in 1658, James no doubt spent his youth in Cholderton, Wiltshire. According Rev. Nicholas Noyes' account in Magnalia Christi Americana, James "had much of his Education and Tutorage under Mr. Thomas Parker.^[1] Thomas Parker was James' first cousin and about 13 years older than Thomas.^[5]

Rev. Nicholas Noyes' account in Magnalia Christi Americana states that James was "called by [Mr. Thomas Parker] from Brazen Nose College in Oxford, to help him in teaching the Free School at Newberry; where they taught School together, till the Time they came to New England."^[1] James' father had graduated from Oxford University, so it would have not have been surprising for James to also have attended. Unlike his father, however, there is no entry for James on Alumni Oxonienses, which can be explained by his being "called" from Oxford by his cousin, prior to graduating.^[6] Based on records for other students in Alumni Oxonienses, James probably matriculated at Oxford when he was 15-20 years old (1623-1628) and left Oxford less than 1-3 years later (1624-1631).^[6] The 1899 NEHGR article "Noyes Pedigree'"stated, without citing a source, that James matriculated at Brasenose College, Oxford on August 22, 1627.^[7] A number of quality secondary sources have repeated that claim, but none have cited a source for that assertion.^[8][9][10]

Since James was called by his cousing Thomas Parker to assist him at Newberry where he taught until he emigrated, the Newberry referred to was no doubt Newbury, Berkshire, England, which is about 26 miles northeast of Cholderton. James thus appears to have lived in taught at Newbury, Berkshire from, say, sometime in 1628-1630 until he emigrated to New England.

Marriage

John married Sarah Browne in Romsey, Hampshire, England on March 21, 1633/4,^[11][12] just a few months before emigrating to New England.

Immigration to New England

James emigrated to New England in 1634 aboard the Mary & John of London, Robert Sayres master, as established by a record which shows that the list of men who took the Oath of Supremecy & Allegiance to pass to New England on that ship included Thomas Parker and James Noyce, who took the oath on March 26, 1634, and Nicholas Noyce, who took the oath on March 24, 1633/4.^[13] That assertion is also consistent with (1) Rev. Nicholas Noyes' account in Magnalia Christi Americana, which states that James cames to New England in the year 1634 and that he came on the same ship as Thomas Parker and his brother Nicholas Noyes,^[1] and (2) the fact that James was in New England by the September 1634, when he and Thomas Parker were made freemen of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.^[14] According to Rev. Nicholas Noyes' account in Magnalia Christi Americana, "The Reason of [James'] coming to New England, was, because he could not comply with the Ceremonies of the Church of England."^[1] According to History of Newbury, the Mary & John arrived at Boston in May 1634.^[15]

Residency in Ipswich?, Medford? and Newbury

According to Currier's History of Newbury, after arriving in Boston, most of the persons on the Mary & John removed to Agawam (later known as Ipswich), where they remained during the following winter, before moving to the newly incorporated town of Newbury in May 1635.^[16] This is consistent with Anderson's profile for James in Great Migration, which states that his first residence in New England, following his arrival in 1634, was at Ipswich and that James then removed to Newbury in 1635.^[17] Anderson's profile states that James was the third of a sequence of four Ipswich men who became freemen on September 3, 1654. However, the source Anderson cites does not say what town the men were residents of.^[17]

The assertion that James initially settled at Ipswich in 1634 and then removed to Newbury in 1635 is at odds with Rev. Nicholas Noyes' account in Magnalia Christi Americana, which states that "When they arrived, Mr. Parker was first called to preach at Ipswich, and Mr. Noyes at Mistick [later called Medford], at which Places they continued for nigh a Year. He had a Motion made unto him to be Minister of Watertown; but Mr. Parker and others of his Brethren and Acquaintance, settling at Newbury, and gathering the Tenth of the Churches in the Colony, and calling Mr. Noyes to be the Teacher of it, he preferred that place."^[1] This passage indicates that, rather than being at Ipswich from the summer of 1634 until removing to Newbury when it was settled in May 1635, either James was never at Ipswich and instead was at Mistick/Medford (6 miles northwest of Boston and 26 miles southwest of Ipswich) from the summer of 1634 until removing to Newbury in the summer of 1635 (sometime after Thomas Parker and the rest of the Ipswich settlers had moved there) or James was at Ipswich during the summer to perhaps fall of 1634, then at Mistick/Medford in the winter of 1634-5 and spring of 1635, before removing to Newbury in the summer of 1635.

Upon settling at Newbury, James was chosen by the town as "teacher" of the Newbury church in the summer of 1635, while Thomas Parker was chosen as the church's "pastor".^[18] James continued in the position of church teacher until his death, as supported by Rev. Nicholas Noyes' statement to that effect in Magnalia Christi Americana^[1] and the inventory of James' estate, which referred to him as "Mr. James Noyes, teacher of Newbury.^[19][20] The position of teacher was a religious position, and Anderson's profile of James refers to his occupation as "minister".^[17] James was the author of a number of religious works, including "A Catechism for Children," "The Temple Measured" and "Moses and Aaron."^[21][7]

According to Currier's Ould Newbury, James' first residence in Newbury was at the Lower Green, but when the meeting house was moved to the Upper Green in 1646, he built a house on what is now known as Parker Street and lived there until his death.^[22] His house still stands and is listed on the US National Register of Historic Places. (For more information, see "James Noyes House," wikipedia.org.)

Children

James and his wife Sarah 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^[23]
2. James, b. March 11, 1639[/40?], m. September 11, 1674 Dorothy Stanton at Stonington^[23]
3. Sarah, b. August 12, 1641, d. by 1655 (when younger sibling by that name was born)^[23]
4. Moses, b. December 6, 1643, m. by 1678 Ruth Pickett^[23]
5. Thomas, b. August 10, 1648, m. 1st December 28, 1669 Martha Pierce at Newbury, m. 2d September 24, 1677 Elizabeth Greenleaf at Newbury^[23]
6. John, b. June 4, 1649, m. by 1672 Sarah Oliver^[23]
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^[23]
9. Sarah, b. March 21, 1655/6, m. March 31, 1684 John Hale of Beverly^[23]

Will; Death; Estate

James made the following brief will on October 17, 1656, a few days before his death, in which he left his entire estate to the control of his wife so long as she remained unmarried:

my will is that my wife shall have the rule and ordering with the disposing of all my substance I have; while she keepeth hir selfe in an unmaryed Condition, And That she will Take counsayle of my Loving Freinds Cozen Thomas Parker my brother Nicholas Noys & Wm Gerrish; But if she dissposeth hir selfe in way of marryage then my will is; That my Friends Above mentioned shall have the disposing of all for the portions of my wife And Children as they shall see meete; in witnes hearof I have put my hand this 17th ocktob: 1656, James Noies. Wit. Wm. Gerrish, Richard Browne and Robert Long^[19][20]

James died on either October 21, 1656 (per his inventory report)^[19][20] or October 22, 1656 (per Newbury town records).^[24][25]

The inventory of the estate of "Mr. James Noyes, teacher of Newbury" was taken by Richard Knight, Anthony Somerby and Benjeman Swett and sworn to by Sara Noyes, widow of the deceased on November 21, 1656. The real and personal property of the estate was appraised at £597.11.4, including his house and 7 acres of adjoining land with an orchard (£100), other parcels of upland and meadow (£210), 4 oxen (£22), 8 cows, a steer and 2 calves (£30), 19 swine (£14), 2 mares and colts (£36), books (£30), and clothing, furniture and various houseld items. Debt payable by the deceased totalled £16.10 payable in England and £40 payable in Boston and Newbury, while Debts payable to the deceased totalled £60.^[24][25]

James was buried in the First Parish Cemetery (Old Town Cemetery), Newbury. The inscription in his gravestone (which may well not be the original) reads:

Here lies the body of Rev. James Noyes, who was born in Chaulderton, England, in 1608, came to New England in 1634, was chosen teacher of the church in Newbury as colleague of his cousin Parker in 1635. He died October 22, 1656, in his 48th y'r. He was, says Mr. Parker, "a man of singular qualifications, in piety excelling;and may be reckoned among the greatest worthies of the day."^[26]

Chronology of Records

• 1634. James Noyse and Sarah Browne were married the 21th day of March 1633/4 in Romsey, Hampshire England.^[11]
• 1634. James Noyse was among the men who took the Oath of Supremecy & Allegiance on March 26, 1634 to pass to New England on the Mary & John.^[13]
• 1634. The list of men who were made freemen at the General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony on September 3, 1634 included Mr. Tho: Parker and Mr James Noise.^[14]
• 163[7?]. Joseph Noyce sonne of James Noyce the teacher of Newbury was borne the 14th of October 16__ (Date unreadable; next child was born in March 1639/40)^[27]
• 1640. James Noyce [James Noyce's] sonne borne the 11th March 1639/40.^[27]
• 1641. Sarah Noyce daughter of James Noyce was born the 12th August 1641.^[27]
• 1643. Moses Noyce [James Noyce's] sonne borne the 6th decem. 1643.^[27]
• 1645. At a Quarterly Court held at Ipswich on November 4, 1645, the cases included a lawsuit by Mr. John Coggswell against Mr. Jeames Noyce.^[28]
• 1647. In a Newbury town record dated February 7, 1646, James Noyce was among 14 men who agreed to assign land on the left side of Merrimack Ridge on the condition that they be granted 3 acres for every 2 assigned.^[29]
• 1648. Thomas ye son of Mr James Noyes borne August 10th 1648.^[30]
• 1649. John Noyes the sonne of James Noyes was born June 4, 1649.^[31]
• 1650. At a Quarterly Court held at Ipswich on September 24, 1650, the cases included a lawsuit by Mr. Jeames Noyce against John Tillison for killing a mare. Verdict for the plaintiff, £27 and the colt.^[32]
• 1651. Rebecca Noyes the daughter of Mr. James Noyes borne April the 1 1651.^[33]
• 1653. William Noyes son of Mr James was borne Sept 22th 1653.^[34]
• 1655. Sarah Noyes the daughter of Mr James Noyes borne March 21, 1655/6.^[35][36]
• 1656. Mr. James Noyes dyed Octob 22th 1656.^[24][25]
• 1656. At a Quarterly Court held at Salem on November 26, 1656, the will of Mr. James Noies of Newbery was proved by Capt. Wm. Gerrish and Nicholass Noies and the inventory of his estate was proved.^[19][20]

^{[22] [18] [16] [15] [13] [7] [21] [10] [9] [8] [3] [17] [12] [23] [6] [5] [4] [2] [1] [11] [24] [35] [34] [33] [31] [30] [27] [20] [25] [19] [36] [29] [32] [28] [14] [26]}

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8} 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} See "Will; Death; Estate" in the profile for Anne (Parker) Noyes.
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} Smith, Dean Crawford and Reed, Paul C. "Four Generations of English Ancestry for the Noyes Families of New England." New England Historical and Genealogical Register. Vol. 149 (1995). p. 116.
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1} See the profile for Rev. William Noyes.
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1} See the profile for Mr. Thomas Parker.
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1 6.2} Foster, Joseph. Alumni Oronienses: The Members of the University of Oxford, 1500-1714: Their Parentage, Birthplace, and Year of Birth, with a Record of Their Degrees. Volum III - Early Series. 1891. p. 1082. Link to page at hathitrust.org.
7. ↑ ^{7.0 7.1 7.2} Noyes, James Atkins. "Noyes Pedigree." The New-England Historical and Genealogical Register. 1899. Volume LIII. p. 36. Link to page at hathitrust.org.
8. ↑ ^{8.0 8.1} Smith, Dean Crawford and Reed, Paul C. "Four Generations of English Ancestry for the Noyes Families of New England." New England Historical and Genealogical Register. Vol. 149 (1995). p. 120.
9. ↑ ^{9.0 9.1} Davis, Walter Goodwin. The Ancestry of Abel Lunt 1769-1806 of Newbury, Massachusetts. 1963. p. 74. Link to page at hathitrust.org.
10. ↑ ^{10.0 10.1} Noyes, Henry E. Genealogical Record of Some of the Noyes Descendants of James, Nicholas and Peter Noyes. Volume I. Descendants of Nicholas Noyes. 1904. p. 19. Link to page at hathitrust.org.
11. ↑ ^{11.0 11.1 11.2} Parish registers for Romsey, Hampshire, 1569-1876. FHL Film #07908490. Image 64 of 699.
12. ↑ ^{12.0 12.1} 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. p. 283. Link to page at ancestry.com.
13. ↑ ^{13.0 13.1 13.2} Drake, Samuel G. Result of Some Researches Among the British Archives for Information Relative to the Founders of New England: Made in the Years 1858, 1859 and 1860. The New England Historical and Genealogical Register, 1860. pp. 70-71. Link to pages at hathitrust.org.
14. ↑ ^{14.0 14.1 14.2} Shurtleff, Nathaniel B. Records of the Governor and Company of the Massachusetts Bay in New England. Vol. I 1628-1641. 1853. p. 370. Link to page at hathitrust.org.
15. ↑ ^{15.0 15.1} Currier, John. History of Newbury, Mass. 1635-1902. 1902. p. 28. Link to page at archive.org.
16. ↑ ^{16.0 16.1} Currier, John. History of Newbury, Mass. 1635-1902. 1902. pp. 28-32. Link to page at archive.org.
17. ↑ ^{17.0 17.1 17.2 17.3} 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. p. 282. Link to page at ancestry.com.
18. ↑ ^{18.0 18.1} Currier, John. History of Newbury, Mass. 1635-1902. 1902. p. 36. Link to page at archive.org.
19. ↑ ^{19.0 19.1 19.2 19.3 19.4} Records and Files of the Quarterly Courts of Essex County, Massachusetts. Volume II 1656-1662. The Essex Institute, 1912. p. 7. Link to page at hathitrust.org.
20. ↑ ^{20.0 20.1 20.2 20.3 20.4} The Probate Records of Essex County, Massachusetts. Volume I 1635-1664. The Essex Institute, 1916. Link to pages at hathitrust.org.
21. ↑ ^{21.0 21.1} Noyes, Henry E. Genealogical Record of Some of the Noyes Descendants of James, Nicholas and Peter Noyes. Volume II. Descendants of James and Peter. 1904. pp. 28-41. Link to page at hathitrust.org.
22. ↑ ^{22.0 22.1} Currier, John James. Ould Newbury: Historical and Biographical Sketches. 1896. p. 165. Link to page at hathitrust.org.
23. ↑ ^{23.0 23.1 23.2 23.3 23.4 23.5 23.6 23.7 23.8} 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. 283-284. Link to pages at ancestry.com.
24. ↑ ^{24.0 24.1 24.2 24.3} Newbury Births, Marriages, Deaths 1635-1701. Vol 1. FHL Film # 886202, image 193 of 195. Link to record at familysearch.org. See image attached to this profile.
25. ↑ ^{25.0 25.1 25.2 25.3} Records and Files of the Quarterly Courts of Essex County, Massachusetts. Volume II 1656-1662. The Essex Institute, 1912. p. 57. Link to page at hathitrust.org.
26. ↑ ^{26.0 26.1} Find A Grave: Memorial #35286148
27. ↑ ^{27.0 27.1 27.2 27.3 27.4} Newbury Births, Marriages, Deaths 1635-1701. Vol 1. FHL Film # 886202, image 33 of 195. Link to record at familysearch.org.
28. ↑ ^{28.0 28.1} Records and Files of the Quarterly Courts of Essex County, Massachusetts. Volume I 1636-1656. The Essex Institute, 1911. p. 87. Link to page at hathitrust.org.
29. ↑ ^{29.0 29.1} Records and Files of the Quarterly Courts of Essex County, Massachusetts. Volume I 1636-1656. The Essex Institute, 1911. p. 199. Link to page at hathitrust.org.
30. ↑ ^{30.0 30.1} Newbury Births, Marriages, Deaths 1635-1701. Vol 1. FHL Film # 886202, image 39 of 195. Link to record at familysearch.org.
31. ↑ ^{31.0 31.1} Newbury Births, Marriages, Deaths 1635-1701. Vol 1. FHL Film # 886202, image 40 of 195. Link to record at familysearch.org.
32. ↑ ^{32.0 32.1} Records and Files of the Quarterly Courts of Essex County, Massachusetts. Volume I 1636-1656. The Essex Institute, 1911. p. 199. Link to page at hathitrust.org.
33. ↑ ^{33.0 33.1} Newbury Births, Marriages, Deaths 1635-1701. Vol 1. FHL Film # 886202, image 42 of 195. Link to record at familysearch.org.
34. ↑ ^{34.0 34.1} Newbury Births, Marriages, Deaths 1635-1701. Vol 1. FHL Film # 886202, image 45 of 195. Link to record at familysearch.org.
35. ↑ ^{35.0 35.1} Newbury Births, Marriages, Deaths 1635-1701. Vol 1. FHL Film # 886202, image 48 of 195. Link to record at familysearch.org.
36. ↑ ^{36.0 36.1} Records and Files of the Quarterly Courts of Essex County, Massachusetts. Volume II 1656-1662. The Essex Institute, 1912. p. 4. Link to page at hathitrust.org.

See also:

• "History of the First Parish Church of Newbury", firstparishofnewbury.org.
• Lambert, David Allen. Guide to Massachusetts Cemeteries (NEGHS) ISBN: 0-88082-134-5
• Savage, James. A Genealogical Dictionary of the First Settlers of New England. Vol. III. Boston, Little, Brown and Company, 1861. p. 296. Link to page at hathitrust.org.
• "William Noyes," wikipedia.org
• Sprague, William Buell. Annals of the American Pulpit. Vol. 1. Robert Carter & Brothers, New York, 1857. pp. 43-44. Link to pages at archive.org