By Jared L. Olar
December 2018
The English surname "Noble" usually signifies a family of "noble" descent, deriving from medieval families surnamed "Nobilis" in Latin. It may also ironically indicate a non-noble person. Nothing is known of the ancestry of the Nobles who lived in Flushing, New York, in the 1600s, however. Our actual relationship with these Nobles in undetermined, and may be adoptive rather than natural.
1. WILLIAM NOBLE, born circa 1630, died by 17 June 1697 in Flushing, Queens County, New York. William's wife was named ANN. William was a magistrate in Flushing in 1658, but was removed from his post and arrested when he refused to repress the Quakers in his town. David W. Hoyt's A Genealogical History of the Hoyt, Haight, and Hight Families (1871), pages 313-314, provides this information and commentary on William and Ann Noble:
. . . The name of Wm. Noble occurs as one of the proprietors of Flushing in 1666, etc., but no Hoyt nor Haight. The name of Samuel Hoyt immediately follows that of Wm. Noble, and is the last one of the nine names of the proprietors of Flushing, found on the Indian deed of April 14, 1684, and the patent of March 23, 1685, on file at Albany. The Documentary History of N. Y. gives Samuel Hoyt of Flushing in 1683. . . .
At Albany is also found a petition of Samuel Haight, June 17, 1697, stating that his father-in-law, Wm. Noble, lately dec'd, and having "no children of his own body," left his estate to his widow during her life, and at her death to "the people called Quakers,"[3] the land then being in the possession of the widow and the petitioner. In consideration of the request of the dec'd, the petitioner had erected a meeting-house for the Quakers in that town, at his own charge, and prays that certain tracts of land may be confirmed to him at the decease of the widow. Also, same date, a patent to Samuel Hoight, of Flushing, granting and confirming land in F., lately belonging to his father-in-law,[4] Wm. Noble, of F., dec'd, in which Ann Noble, wid. of Wm., is mentioned.
[3] O'Callaghan (Hist. New Netherlands) states that Wm. Noble was a magistrate in Flushing in l658, and was then arrested for refusing to persecute Quakers. The first Quakers landed in this country in 1656, at Boston.
[4] It is uncertain just what relation between Wm. Noble and Samuel Haight is indicated by the expression "father-in-law." The children of Sam.,3 from Nicholas down, are spoken of as the children of "Samuel and Sarah Haight." and his wid., Sarah Haight, was living as late as 1740, though she must then have been about 90 years old, if she was the mother of Samuel.4 She could not have been the dau. of Wm. Noble, as he had "no children of his own body." Perhaps she may have been a dau. of Wm. Noble's wife, by a former husband; or either Sam. or his wife may have been an adopted child of Wm. Noble. There is no evidence that Sam. had more than one wife, though if Wm. Noble were the father of a deceased wife of Sam., the conditions given above would be met.
Because SAMUEL HOYT (Samuel Haight) referred to William Noble as his "father-in-law," it is possible that William was the father of Samuel's wife SARAH. However, the prima facie meaning of "no children of his own body" is that William Noble was childless -- but may have had adoptive children. In that case, Samuel's wife Sarah may have been an adopted daughter (perhaps adopted step-daughter) of William Noble. On the other hand, Samuel was himself an orphan -- it is quite possible that William was Samuel's adoptive father -- a relationship that adequately explains Samuel's inheritance and oversight of William's and Ann's property.
Willam and Ann Noble's possible daughter (adoptive?) was:
-- SARAH [NOBLE?], born circa 1655 in New England.
2. SARAH [NOBLE?], perhaps daughter of William and Ann Noble, born circa 1655 in New England, died 1741 in Flushing, Queens County, New York. Sarah's husband was SAMUEL HOYT (Samuel Haight), born 1 May 1647 at Windsor, Hartford County, Connecticut, died between 21 Sept. and 21 Oct. 1712 in Flushing, Queens County, New York, son of Nicholas and Susanna Hoyt. Samuel was orphaned when he was only eight years old. We do not know the name of the family who took him in and raised him to manhood, but it seems likely that his adoptive parents were William and Ann Noble, who later lived in Flushing, Queens County, New York -- but William and Ann may rather have been the parents of Samuel's wife Sarah. Samuel and Sarah had five sons and five daughters.
The children of Samuel and Sarah Haight were:
-- SAMUEL HAIGHT, born circa 1667 in Eastchester, New York, died Sept. 1712 in Eastchester, New York, married Charity Field.
-- NICHOLAS HAIGHT, born circa 1670 in Long Island, New York, died 1730, married Patience Titus.
-- JONATHAN HAIGHT, born circa 1672, died probably after 1752, married Rebecca (NN).
-- DAVID HAIGHT, born circa 1674, died Nov. 1760, married Phebe (NN).
-- SUSANNA HAIGHT, born circa 1676 in Flushing, New York, died 27 Nov. 1760 in Flushing, New York, married Richard Griffen.
-- SARAH HAIGHT, born circa 1678 in Flushing, New York, married Silas Titus.
-- JOHN HAIGHT, born circa 1690, died 13 May 1740, Phebe Titus.
-- MARY HAIGHT, born 1693 in Flushing, Queens County, New York.
-- HANNAH HAIGHT, born before 1699, possibly married Robert Field.
-- PHEBE HAIGHT, born before 1701, died 20 Jan. 1731 in Flushing, New York, married Anthony Badgley
Noble Genealogy Resources:
Noble DNA Project