Noyes, Peter

1591 - 1657  (66 years)

• Name	Noyes, Peter
  Birth	1591	Andover, Hampshire, England   [1]
  	see: Paul C. Reed and Dean Crawford Smith “The English Ancestry of Peter Noyes” New Eng. Hist. Gen. Reg. 152 (1988): 259–285. Wikitree says he was born at Charlton, Hampshire, England.
  Gender	Male
  Founder	1640	Sudbury, Middlesex County, Massachusetts   [2]
  _UID	C4135DD4706F4702B40145458FFCB9E39637
  Death	23 Sep 1657	Sudbury, Middlesex County, Massachusetts
  Person ID	I12146	Tree_1
  Last Modified	24 Nov 2021

  
  

  Children	1. Noyes, Dorothy,   b. Apr 1627, Penton-Grafton, Hampshire, England d. 8 Apr 1715, Sudbury, Middlesex County, Massachusetts (Age 88 years)
  Family ID	F4002	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	11 Dec 2023

  
  

  Family 2	Smith, Elizabeth
  Marriage	18 Nov 1622	Chieveley, Berkshire, England
  	See also: The American Genealogist, vol. 90 no. 1 (January 2018): 24-34. "The Ancestry of Elizabeth (Smith) Noyes, wife of Peter Noyes of Sudbury Massachusetts," by Leslie Mahler and Nathan W. Murphy. "England Marriages, 1538–1973 ," database, FamilySearch [1] : 10 February 2018), Petrus Noyse and Elisabetha Smith, 18 Nov 1622; citing Chieveley,Berkshire,England, reference , index based upon data collected by the Genealogical Society of Utah, Salt Lake City; FHL microfilm 254,496.
  Family ID	F4003	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	11 Dec 2023

  
  

• Event Map

  Birth - 1591 - Andover, Hampshire, England Marriage - 18 Nov 1622 - Chieveley, Berkshire, England Founder - 1640 - Sudbury, Middlesex County, Massachusetts Death - 23 Sep 1657 - Sudbury, Middlesex County, Massachusetts  = Link to Google Earth

  
  

• Notes

  Peter Noyes was born in England, and baptized at the Parish of Andover, in the County of Hampshire on August 30, 1590. He was the son of Thomas Noyes and his wife Dorothy, who was the widow of Nicholas Blake. There is no record of the death or burial of Thomas at Andover, but his will was proved in July, 1627, so he must have died just before that time. Dorothy was buried at Andover on February 27, 1632-3, as "Dorothy, widow Blake alis Noyes". Peter married, about 1621, a woman named Elizabeth. The incidents of her birth and parentage have not been discovered. Peter and Elizabeth had six children baptized at Weyhill, Hampshire, between 1623 and 1633. Elizabeth was buried at Weyhill on February 13, 1635-6. After the death of his wife, Peter must have decided to emigrate to New England. Being a prudent man, he wanted to see this "New England" for himself before he committed his family. He sailed from Southampton on the ship "Confidence" on April 24, 1638. Accompanying him on that voyage were his oldest children, Thomas, 15 and Elizabeth, 13. Also traveling with Peter are three people listed as "servants": Robert Davis, 30; Margaret Davis, 26 and John Rutter, 22. The families of John Bent and Walter Haynes were also on the same ship. Peter was also a cautious man, during that year he rented out two of his four properties in Weyhill, and also accepted 80 Pounds from Agnes Bent of Weyhill, who wished to accompany him to New England at a later date. When he arrived in Watertown, he was granted several parcels of land. He must have been impressed, for he returned to England to dispose of his land there. He then gathered the rest of his family, Agnes Bent, and some of her family, and headed back to America. The bill of the carriers who moved Peter and his party to London has been preserved. It shows that he paid 76 Pounds to transport eleven people and their goods to New England on the ship, "Jonathan". Noyes was investing more than a years income for freight, food and passage to New England. His children Dorothy, Abigail and Peter are listed on the bill, but not Joseph. Perhaps a child of six traveled without charge. Arriving in Massachusetts, he went directly to the new Town of Sudbury, where he was chosen as selectman, a post he was to hold for almost twenty years, until his death. Peter and his fellow selectmen had to decide how to "order the town", or distribute the land to each family. As the new Sudbury settlers came from a variety of English parishes, towns and boroughs, this was no easy task. They didn't take the easy way out and assign each man an equal amount of land, but alloted different size parcels to each family, creating a social structure along with a new town. The complex land pattern in Sudbury was different from that of other New England towns, and the fact that the settlers agreed to the system was evidence that they trusted the Selectmen's judgement. Peter's experience of having served in various posts in England obviously prepared him for the task of creating a new town in the wilderness of New England. He had served in Weyhill on court-baron juries, as bailiff, and as warden of the church. Peter occupied many posts at Sudbury besides selectman. Surveyor, constable, deputy to the General Court and judge of small causes were some of them. Several of his children married children of Walter Haynes. Peter died in Sudbury on September 23, 1657. It's not clear if he had remarried, some sources say his will mentions a second wife, Abigail.

  
  

• Sources

  [S2498] New England Marriages to 1700 (Torrey), V2:1105. [S1960] Sudbury, Massachusetts - original settlers list, 24 November 2021; pg. 261.