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BIOGRAPHIES
‡Source
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History of Franklin &
Pickaway Counties, Ohio
Published by Williams Bros.
1880
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Geo. W. Needels |
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JOHN NOBLE
was born in Lancaster county,
Pennsylvania, Nov. 15, 1789.
His parents were Samuel and Mary
Patterson Noble. With them
he removed to Emmettsburgh,
Maryland, in early life. Here
his father joined with the
occupation of a farmer that of a
mechanic. John was
early engaged in labor, and had to
leave school at a very early age.
He chafed at the attitude the slave
owners assumed towards mechanics,
and when he arrived at majority, he
announced his fixed purpose to leave
for a free State. This purpose
impelled his father to sell his
small property and remove, in May,
1811, to the State of Ohio.
They passed through Lancaster, to
Pickaway county, where the family
settled on a beautiful farm, near
Tarlton, where Samuel Noble
and most of his children lived and
died. John Noble
returned to Lancaster the same year,
and engaged at once in active
business. Full of energy and
enterprise, he made himself felt in
every department of life. He
advocated improved schools, the
building of a school-house and
market-house and all other
improvements that the young
community could afford.
In the winter of 1812-13, he commenced a trade of
ready-made clothing, shoes, etc.,
with the army, lying at Franklinton
and Delaware, and thence to Fort
Meigs. In passing through
Columbus, Front street was the
chief street, and it was full of
logs and brush. He attended a
treaty with the Indians at Piqua, of
which he gave a vivid picture in his
"Pioneer Sketches," published in the
Columbus Gazette, in 1870.
The money he made by these
enterprises was lost by a partner.
He had, therefore, to pursue every
honest calling he could, to support
himself and his young family.
In 1820, he commenced hotel keeping in Lancaster, a
business which ultimately became his
only occupation; but at that time
such an employment was too small for
his necessities, and he carried on
several mechanical branches, in
addition. In 1825-6, he took a
contract on what was called the deep
cut of the Ohio canal, in Licking
county, and was present and took
part in the ceremonies at Licking
summit, July 4, 1825, when
Governor Clinton, of New York,
took out the first spadeful of earth
for that canal. This
enterprise, with that of building
the banking-house, for the Ohio
bank, in 1826-7, and others, brought
him into debt. As money was
exceedingly scarce, and produce very
low, he determined to take a cargo,
by flat-boats, to New Orleans.
This was done by hauling the load to
Circleville, twenty-two miles, and
there loading about two miles above
town, on the Scioto, thence floating
down the Scioto and Ohio to the
Mississippi, to New Orleans.
This trip was successful, and he was
able to pay off his debts.
He found Lancaster was probably to be left at one side
by the advance of Columbus, and the
building of the National road; so,
in 1832, he removed from Lancaster
with his family, and took charge of
the National hotel, in Columbus,
located where the Neil house
now stands. He remained in
this house nearly seven years.
During this period the Cumberland,
or National road was built, and the
line of Neil, Moore & Co.'s
stages furnished the great means of
travel to the west. Emigration
was at its height, and many
thousands of people stopped at his
house in Columbus, who afterwards
settled in Ohio, or the States
further west. As he had a
wonderful facility for making
acquaintances he was in those days
as well known as any man in Ohio.
In Columbus he showed the same interest in the
advancement of the interests of that
city that he had shown in Lancaster.
He became supervisor of roads at one
time, in order to have the power to
improve Broad street, and was the
first person who redeemed that
beautiful avenue from the swamp.
He was afterwards one of the
commissioners to plant the trees
that now beautify that street.
He was, for many years, a member of
the city council. In July 4,
1839, he assisted actively at the
laying of the corner-stone of the
new capitol, provided the jars
deposited in the corner-stone, and
aided in filling them with all
manner of documents, to be opened
for the enlightenment of future
ages. These incidents indicate
the energy and spirit of the man.
In 1840 he removed to to
Cincinnati, to take charge of
the Dennison house, which he
kept for five years. While
here he gained a very large and
favorable acquaintance in
Cincinnati, and all southern Ohio.
He returned with his family to
Columbus, in 1845, and remained here
until the summer of 1847.
While here he was elected a
representative to the forty-fifth
general assembly of Ohio, from
Franklin county, and served with
intelligence and fidelity.
In 1847, he returned to Cincinnati, and took charge of
the Pearl Street house, which he
kept for seven years, when he went
back family to Columbus, and
abandoned all active business.
In 1854 he was elected again to the
city council, and remained a member
for several years. On the
sixteenth of July he was elected
president of the council, to fill an
unexpired term, ending April 10,
1856.
When the war of 1861-5 broke out, he was deeply
interested, and gave every aid and
comfort he could to the Union cause.
He was always interested in the
advance of the city, State, and
nation. By nature he was
active and enterprising, These
qualities continued to the end of
his life. His step in his last
days was as elastic, his eye as
clear, his speech as ready, and his
hearing as good, as in his youth.
AT the ripe age of eighty-one, on
the twenty-fourth day of June, 1871,
at six in the morning, he passed
away. Beautiful tributes were
paid to him in public and private.
His was a life of usefulness and
honor, marked by justice and
integrity. He was genial by
nature, winning and retaining many
friends, and crowned the whole by a
firm, consistent christian faith.
The example of such a life, worthy
in its every relation, is of lasting
benefit to the race. It
inspires others to the highest aims
and noblest purposes in the
accomplishment of life's great work.
Human effort and aspiration are
usually content with that which is
not worthiest, best, even if within
their grasp; hence the lasting
benefit to man of a career which
furnishes an exception to this rule,
and which has been satisfied only
with highest attainment.
The children of Colonel Noble were: Catharine,
wife of Godfrey M. Robinson;
Mary, widow of Clement J.
Acton; Margaret Delia, wife of
Dr. Stadwig Loring; and
Henry C. Noble, all residents of
Columbus, and General John W.
Noble, of St. Louis Missouri.
Mrs. Kate Myers, wife of
E. L. Taylor, of Columbus, is a
granddaughter.
(Source: History of Franklin &
Pickaway Counties, Ohio - Published
by Williams Bros. - 1880 - Page 512) |
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REV. SETH
NOBLE was born in Westfield,
Massachusetts, about the year 1731.
After completing his theological
studies, he settled at Mangerville,
Nova Scotia, and became the pastor
of the Presbyterian or
Congregational church at that place.
At the breaking out of the
Revolutionary war, his out-spoken
sympathy with the revolted colonies
brought down upon him the
denunciation of the authorities,
and, along with many others, he was
obliged to flee the country.
He joined the party of Colonel
Eddy, who, in 1776, settled a
town in Main (then a part of
Massachusetts), to which they first
gave the name of Muskegeag (or
Sanduskeag) Meadow. Here
Mr. Noble was joined by his wife
and children, who he had been
obliged to leave behind him so
precipitate was his flight. He
organized the First Presbyterian
church in the new town, and
continued its pastor for many years.
It was largely through his influence
that, in 1791, a decree was obtained
from the general court of Boston,
incorporating the aforesaid town
under the name of Bangor - that name
being selected on account of Mr.
Noble's partiality for the old
Scotch psalm tune known by the same
name.
In 1805, led by the generous offer, made by congress,
of a donation lf land to the Nova
Scotia refugees, he came to
Franklinton, having located three
hundred and twenty acres of land in
the Refugee tract across the river,
near by. On this land he built
a cabin, in which a married daughter
was his housekeeper - his wife
having died a number of years
before. Immediately after his
arrival in this county, he commenced
preaching - first in Franklinton,
and afterward in two or three other
places, which he visited at stated
intervals until his death, which
occurred in September, 1807 - only
eight or nine days after he had
preached his last sermon, on the
text, "Come unto me, all he that
labor, and are heavy Laden, and I
will give you rest." He was
buried in the Franklinton
burying-ground, but, as no headstone
was erected, and as the family was
for many years absent from this part
of the country, all trace of his
grave is lost.
The daughter, mentioned above, was the mother of the
Hon. W. M. Beach, of London,
Madison county, to whom we are
indebted for the facts here stated.
These, and other facts, are also
given in the "Genealogy of the
Noble family," in the Ohio State
library. Mr. Beach was
a member of the Ohio legislature
(first in the house and then in the
senate), from 1869 to 1874.
We strongly incline to the opinion that the name of
Rev. Seth Noble ought to have
been mentioned along with that of
the Rev. Dr. Hoge, as one of
the pioneer preachers and founders
of Presbyterianism in Franklin
county; but as none of the early
chroniclers thus associate these
venerable names, we have not felt
authorized to mention that of Mr.
Noble in the history of the
Presbyterian church of Columbus; but
the brief sketch which we have given
here, we regard as a simple act of
justice.
(Source: History of Franklin &
Pickaway Counties, Ohio - Published
by Williams Bros. - 1880 - Page 582) |
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