NOBES UPDATE

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 (5^th 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.