Ancestors of New England

Tonight in the family tree research, I go way back. This is my paternal grandmother’s family line who last name was Noble. This ancestor was born in 1739 in Massachusetts:

This isn’t even my oldest American ancestor. Obadiah’s great grandfather – Thomas Noble, is the one who came to Massachusetts from England in the 1600s. I was trying to find a really old census record that had an address of where they use to live- to see if any of the old houses were still standing, but they don’t list specific addresses- just land. And the number of “freed people”.

Here is a census of Obadiah’s grandson, Obadiah the 3rd:

And Obadiah the second was a Reverend who attended Princeton:

These old records are addicting. And my Great Great Grandpa Charles Noble fought in the Civil War:

In high school I used to put my head down on my desk in history class because I was so bored. My teacher, Mr. Jameison, would kneel down and look up at me and say, “Please listen- you’re gonna wanna know this stuff when you get older.”

Man was he right.

Saturday, March 15, 2025:

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The Fighting Irish

I know, I know, it’s Valentine’s Day, not Saint Patrick’s Day, but I stumbled upon a couple of feisty historical records recently while doing research on my Irish ancestors.

Kate Connolly– My Great Great Grandfather’s Sister:

According to my Grandma Gerry, “Kate stayed in Ireland and married Dan O’Sullivan. They had a huge family.”

Ancestry.com said I had a “hint” about her, so I checked it out:

Obviously, I don’t think that’s her, but OMG – this chick got thrown in the slammer for USING OBSCENE LANGUAGE? What did the other inmates do to get arrested? Look at the last one on the list below.

BEING A “ROGUE VAGABOND” it says if you can’t read the handwriting. That sounds like the name of a night club or something.

Not to be outdone, I received another “hint”, this time for her husband, Daniel O’Sullivan. Look at the first line under the OFFENCE column. Can you read it?

MANSLAUGHTER.

Dang, Ancestry,com, what are you trying to tell me?

I am pretty sure these are not our people. According to my grandma, the O’Sullivans stayed in Ireland, had a big family and “one of their kids married a Crowley, hence, the connection with Father Pat“. I mean, they had religious ties and everything.

These coincidences simply mean that people in Ireland all have the same freaking names.

Friday, February 14, 2025:

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Before the Freeway

I came down with a cold last night and have been feeling fatigued, so I didn’t have the energy to walk down to the lake and snap sunset photos. When I don’t have time to make it down there, I walk one block over to Vermont Street because it’s high up a hill and I can get a decent angle from there.

But what bums me out about this view is the sight of the freeway.

Below the overpass there is a plaque that reads:

MAC ARTHUR FREEWAY – Most Beautiful Urban Highway in the U.S.A.

Um, what now? They hand out awards for freeways? Freeways that cut through neighborhoods and make a lot of noise because, people keep moving here. So much for our “pandemic exodus”. They came for the gold in the 1800s and have been coming here ever since.

On the east side of the lake there are these really cute 1920s looking apartments. Apartments that once had a peaceful view before the freeway was built. Now it’s just loud. The lake is loud. If I want peace and quiet, I head for the hills – literally. There are beautiful walking trails up in the Oakland hills.

I know some people find noise comforting but I grew up in Contra Costa County where I could hear the crickets at night. Now all I hear is the freeway. Why am I still here? I hate hot weather and God put me here to do research on my ancestors who lived all over Oakland and San Francisco as early as 1880.

Before the freeway.

Monday, February 10, 2025:

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