Update - John Nobes and Ann Chester
I was slow to embrace DNA testing, my brick walls were so
far back I was not sure what value if any, was to be gained from the
results. Surprisingly I have had
successes, and often in areas I did not expect.
One such success was with my Nobes family. As mentioned in earlier posts, my confirmed
ancestors were John Nobes born 1806 in Briston, Norfolk, England and his wife
Mary Beckham. I believed John’s
parents were John Nobes and Ann Chester, as their children were born in Briston
and Brinton; and they appeared to be the only Nobes family in the area. A sister Sophia witnessed John's marriage; John and Ann had a daughter Sophia. Still I had no proof.
Through DNA I have connected with descendants of John and Ann’s other children – Henry, who married Ruth Gertrude Johnstone – they lived in Australia; and Martha who married William Field – they also ended up in Australia. These matches gave me the confirmation I needed.
Update - New brother Samuel for my Mary Ann Nobes
Through DNA I connected with descendants of Samuel Nobes
from Kingston, Ontario. I did not have Samuel in my tree but persistent searching by one of his descendants uncovered
his christening record:
Samuel Noabes son of
John and Mary Noabes of Brinton baptized 4 Oct 1829
One extra letter in the last name unfortunately meant Samuel did not come
up during a conventional search on Ancestry.
Further confirmation came when I re-read notes from Diane Gratton. Diane was a descendant through John
Nobes, Samuel and Mary Anns brother.
Diane mentioned descendants of Samuel in her notes. (Martha Lappan is a descendant of Samuels.)
I am friendly with Gladys Devereux in Plattsburgh, N.Y. whom I see a few times each summer. Her mother (Martha Nobes Lappan) and Grandma Gratton (Mary Nobes Gratton) were first cousins and they were very close. Martha often visited Mary in Kingston with her children and Mary often visited Martha in Schenectady, N.Y.
I know that my Mom and Dad were well acquainted with Gladys' older sister and her husband, Florence Lappan Carty and Bill Carty, who lived in Pittsfield, Mass.
Now finally my 1990 letter writing to any Kingston Nobes I could find, paid
off. The letters I received in response to my query were
from various Samuel descendants. It took
a bit to piece the family together; the letters offered information that was
hard to find elsewhere.
Update - John's Sister Sophia
When I originally published information on my blog about the Nobes family I was not sure I connected to the correct Norfolk Nobes
family, but I was almost certain. I posted
the names of my John’s siblings and their spouses whenever I found them.
I received a message from a
woman in Kansas City. She was
downsizing, had purchased a marriage certificate in an antique store in Montana
and now wanted to return the certificate to a family member. She had bought the certificate because it was
beautiful and early, not because she knew who the people were. Although Sophia wasn’t a direct relative, she
was my John’s sister and a witness at his wedding. I was very happy to take the certificate off her
hands.
Sophia Nobes and John Fuller were married in Brinton, 21 Mar
1834. Although I already had a record of
Sophia’s wedding, I had no idea what happened to the couple after their
marriage.
When the certificate arrived I
sent a photo, plus the information about where it had been purchased, to a
cousin (5th or so) in Australia and we both immediately searched in
Montana and then in the US for any mention of Sophia. No such luck.
The certificate arrived in the frame it
was purchased in. It wasn’t well framed,
nor was it in an old frame. I knocked it over the other night
and realizing the frame was even looser than when it arrived, I opened the
back. Oh my, what a surprise, the
wedding certificate had been repaired using an old newspaper and even more
amazing, the full date was showing on the newspaper, 19 January 1843
Kingston. I now know where they went!
Back to Ancestry with this new information. A tree pops up with a John Fuller and Sophia
Robie and the following information:
Maria is my great grandmother. She lived with my mother's family, William and Mary Speer, in Ft. Pierre SD, after her second husband Mr. Wallace died at Valley Springs, SD. My mother remembered her well. The information I have for Maria came from my mother's memory. Maria's parents, John and Sophia Fuller and were born in England. They immigrated to Kingston, Canada ca 1838. They were members of the Anglican church of England and Canada. They died of cholera ca 1850. Maria was raised by a family named "Drake" who were good to her.
This must be my John & Sophia (nee Nobes) Fuller. My John brought his young family to Kingston, Ontario about 1834. It would make sense that other family members may have followed him over.
I can picture the young child Maria clinging
to the few possessions she has left after her parents died; one being their marriage
certificate. Somehow she made it to
South Dakota and sometime in the last 30 years or so the treasured marriage certificate
ended up in a Montana antique store.
