Noyes, S

1st tier

Samuel Noyes, Jr. 1759-1816 Newburyport, MA and Campton, NH, carpenter
Samuel Noyes Jr. 1767-1842 Newburyport, MA housewright / ship carpenter

Alternative candidates to Samuel Stone Noyes, who was presented as the likely maker of the S Noyes planes in GAWP5 and The Chronicle 42-3 9-1989 article by B and L Blumenberg.

Noyes, S

Alternative candidates will be presented in leu of Samuel Stone Noyes, cabinet maker, 1785-1832, Sudbury, MA.

The cabinetmaker Samuel S Noyes was researched and put forward as the craftsman behind the S Noyes planes in the Chronicle 42-3 article by B and L Blumenberg, September 1989. GAWP5 also presents this "believed to be" craftsman as the maker of the S Noyes planes. In GAWP5, the S Noyes molding planes, with A and B marks, are described as 9 15/16" to 10 3/8" long, made of beech, having heavy flat chamfers and I Sleeper style wedges. The Blumenbergs based their assessment on Samuel S's having been in the woodworking trade in the general east-central Massachusetts area during roughly the ca1800 period. They did consider that the planes had wedges that were somewhat similar to John Sleeper, but the Sleeper connection was deemed to be secondary. They did not find a stronger candidate based on their search of period probate records.

Three considerations "speak" to the idea that another candidate might be involved with these planes; 1) The planes have strong I Sleeper characteristics, 2) Sudbury is not that close to Newburyport, the local of John Sleeper and 3) the planes with their Sleeper styling and generally 10"+ lengths seem to be earlier than ca 1805 to 1810.

Period deed, town, census and probate records were searched in Essex County, MA and southern / central NH yielding multiple candidates in Newburyport and Newbury. Two of these craftsmen (housewright/carpenter/joiner) are considered 1st tier and four are considered 2nd tier with the town of Salem being included for one of the individuals.

1st Tier Candidates

Samuel Noyes Jr.

b 1759 Newburyport -1789 to Campton, NH- d 1816 Campton, NH, carpenter.

Samuel Jr., (b 1759) was identified as a joiner living in Newburyport, MA in a single 1786 deed numbered 145-277. The land, in Newburyport, consisted of 25 3/8 rods with neighbors Samuel Brown and Zebedee Cook. Samuel married Abigail Stckney and the couple moved to Campton, NH ca 1789. In a 1789 deed recorded in Essex Co., Samuel and Abigail of Campton, NH sell the same exact property having the same neighbors, thus confirming the identity of Samuel Jr., Newburyport joiner of 1786.

Multiple Newburyport deeds (1759 to 1815) record a Samuel Noyes as either a housewright or a joiner, several providing the name of a wife Mary and later the name of a wife Dorothy. Only two, the deed previously noted from 1786 and the deed from 1765 identify Samuel as a "Jr". Based on the dates, the limited "Jr." designations and the wives Mary and Dorothy, these deeds refer to Samuel (Jr.) (b 1735), a 2nd tier candidate and father of Samuel Jr. (b 1759). (This earlier Samuel will be covered in the 2nd tier section.)

Samuel’s Campton inventory dated to Jan. 1817, lists jointer planes, saws and other basic tools. The tools have a limited value of $9. His trade is given as a carpenter in NH death records. In the NH deed and probate records, “Jr” is not used.

1786 deed. Samuel Noyes Jr., Newburyport, joiner, 25 3/8 rods adjoining Brown and Cook lands.

1789 deed. Samuel and Abigail Noyes of Campton, NH. Land in Newburyport, MA, 25 3/8 rods, next to Brown and Cook.

Samuel Noyes Jr. Jan. 1817 inventory, Campton, NH.

Samuel Noyes Jr.

b ca 1767 – d 1842 Newburyport, MA.

(Limited records were found for this individual, but a piecing together of information provided a reasonable timeline.)

Samuel's age of 75 in his Newburyport death record dated 9-28-1842, provided his ca 1767 birth date. In this record he was recorded as a shipwright, but no wife or other details were provided. Samuel is listed as a housewright in his Newbury probate records from June 1843. In these records, Samuel Jr. dec’d, widow Mary and administrator SH Currier, JP are cited. His real estate is listed as a 12 rod property with ½ house on Hancock St. in Newbury. Its' evaluation was $400. No tools were included in the inventory.

In a 1796 deed and a 1816 deed, 7 rods of land with buildings in Newburyport are exchanged and Samuel is listed as a Newburyport shipwright. In a second 1816 deed, 210-293, Samuel is id’d as Jr. and as a shipwright from Newburyport. The property is on Hancock St. in Newbury. In a 1843 deed, 339-108, Mary is a widow, the Newbury land is on Hancock St. and SH Currier is a witness. Widow Mary, SH Currier and the Hancock Street property details help tie the second 1816 deed and 1842 / 1843 resources together such that Samuel Jr., the shipwright is reasonably believed to be Samuel Jr. the housewright.

Samuel Jr married Mary Thompson in 1791 in Newburyport. Their son Samuel 1797 -1814 was found in Newburyport records. No parents or birth records have yet been found for Samuel Jr. (ca 1767).

1816 deed. Samuel Noyes, Jr., Newburyport, shipwright. Land on Hancock St. in Newbury.

Samuel Noyes Jr., Newbury, housewright probate document from 1843.

2nd Tier Candidates (They are either to early or too late for the planes)

Stephen Noyes (probably too late for the planes)

Based on information in a 1809 Salem deed where he was listed as a housewright (his father was deceased and he was selling land to assumed brother Silas Noyes) this Stephen was identified as the Samuel Noyes having been born in 1782 and died in 1812. In deeds from 1806 and 1808 he was also a housewright. Importantly, in a 1809 deed, be bought land from Thomas Lamson, housewright and planemaker in Salem.

Samuel Stone Noyes (probably too late for the planes)

Presented in The Chronicle 42-3, 9-1989, by B and L Blumenberg) as the cabinetmaker tied to the S Noyes planes.

b 1785- d1832, East Sudbury (removed from Newburyport)

Samuel Noyes Jr. (too early for the planes)

b 1735 -d 1822 Newburyport. This Samuel (Jr.) was partially covered in the section for his son Samuel Jr. (b 1767). In deeds from 1759 (Jr.), 1765, 1772, 1783, 1788, 1790, 1791, 1793, 1799, 1809, 1815 he's recorded as either a housewright or joiner. Samuel married Mary as a young man and then later to Dorothy. As mentioned, he was the father of Samuel Jr. 1759-1816. His parents were Samuel (a butcher) and Martha. In his will, he states his son Samuel was already deceased. In his probate documents he’s listed as a housewright, but his inventory contains no tools. There is an outside chance that the planes with the earlier S Noyes stamp were made by this craftsman, although the ca 1755 starting date for the craftsman seems to be too early by some 20 years.

Simon Noyes (too early for the planes)

Simon was found in deeds dated 1748, 1759 and 1760. He was living in Newbury and was a joiner. His wife was Elizabeth.

Additional S Noyes notes

9 Samuels b in Newbury between 1730 and 1767, three of them were Jr’s.

3 Samuels b in Newburyport between 1766 and 1797.

S Noyes not mentioned as a candidate include:

Samuel Jr. 1767-1852 Newbury, a farmer, wife Hannah, son of Samuel Esq. 1737-1820 and Rebecca.

Samuel b 1762, Newbury, son of Stephen Jr., Newbury, yeoman in deeds 1782, 1786, 1792

Stephen, Newbury, yeoman in deeds 1761, 1766, 1769, 1772, 1782, 1789, 1791

Silas, Newburyport, deeds 1793-1798, merchant

Simeon, Salem, deeds 1800-1802, ropemaker