Sacramento County
Biographies
MRS. ELIZABETH NOBLE
MRS. ELIZABETH NOBLE.--A native daughter of Sacramento County who
has been prominently identified with the district of her birth all her life is
Mrs. Elizabeth Noble, the youngest child of well-known pioneer settlers of this
county, William Henry and Elizabeth (Zumwalt) Young,
the former born at Lincoln, Benton County, Mo., March 10, 1818, and the latter
born at St. Charles, Mo., March 11, 1818. Attracted to the West by the
excitement resulting from the discovery of gold, William Henry Young crossed
the plains with his family in the summer of 1852. Unlike many of the
newcomers, he did not try his fortune in the gold mines but engaged in
agriculture as a permanent means of livelihood. Settling three miles from
the present site of Galt, he took up a quarter-section of
land on Dry Creek. This was in its virgin state, not a furrow having been
turned in the soil, and his was the difficult task of making the land
productive. He became extensively interested in raising grain, as well as
cattle and hogs, and eventually accumulated an estate of 1,100 acres, becoming
one of the most influential ranchers of the county. The names of the
twelve children born to this worthy pioneer couple, with the dates of their
birth, follow: William, November 25, 1838; Vernety,
August 3, 1841; Henry, April 22, 1843; Leander J., August 3, 1846; Mary Ann,
January 2, 1848; Christopher Columbus; January 25, 1850; Marion Francis, May 2,
1852; California Amador, January 1, 1855, born at Sutter Creek, Amador County;
Daniel Boone, September 4, 1856, named for the famous hunter, who was a direct
ancestor of the family; Lafayette, February 2, 1859; Beauregard, August 11,
1861; Elizabeth, of this sketch, March 4, 1864. William Henry Young
passed away February 18, 1883, his wife surviving him until May 5, 1895.
Elizabeth Young was born
at the old homestead in Dry Creek
Township, Sacramento
County, and attended the schools at
Galt, but discontinued her studies when only sixteen to assume the responsibilities
of a home of her own, her marriage to George W. Noble occurring on September
30, 1880. Mr. Nobel was born near Oquawka, Henderson
County, Ill., January 19, 1852,
a descendant of colonial Virginian ancestry on the paternal side and of
substantial Easterners through the maternal lineage. His parents were
George W. and Julia Ann (Moorhead) Noble, the former born in Virginia and the
latter in Ohio, who both passed away at Oquawka, where Mr. Noble had been one
of the very earliest settlers, coming there from his Virginia home when only
eighteen, and in time becoming a prominent farmer of that section. His
son, George W. Noble, Mrs. Elizabeth Noble’s husband, started out for himself
at the age of eighteen, and went to Jackson County, Kans., where he spent three
years in farm pursuits. Returning to Illinois, he
spent one year on a farm near Oquawka and then, in 1875, came to Galt,
Cal., where he followed the carpenter’s
trade for a time and also helped build the Ione
Railroad. Later he opened a barber shop at Galt, which he conducted for
many years. Meanwhile he became interested in ranching, and for twelve
years he operated a farm of 150 acres, placing the land under a high state of
cultivation and maintaining an equipment both modern
and extensive. In all his activities he was fortunate in heaving the
hearty cooperation of his capable wife, and not a little of his success may be
attributed to her sagacious counsel and energetic assistance. After
retiring from the farm, Mr. Noble reopened his barber shop and conducted it
until 1918, when a severe attack of influenza impaired his health, in
consequence of which he has since been retired from active business life.
Mrs. Noble is the owner of a fine farm of 246 acres east of Galt which she
inherited from her father, and here her son-in-law conducts a dairy.
Mr. and Mrs. Noble are
the parents of two children. William Henry resides in Sacramento
and has two children: Everett and Howard. Violet Attella married A. R. Beckwith, and they reside on Mrs. Noble’s
ranch near Galt; they are the parents of two children: Chester R. and
Grace E. Mrs. Noble is prominent in the activities of the Woman’s Relief
Corps, her brother William having been a veteran of the Civil War. She is
a past noble grand and past district deputy of the Rebekahs
and past worthy matron of the Eastern Start, her father having been a
thirty-second-degree Mason. The friendship of a large circle of
acquaintances indicates the sterling worth of herself and her husband, both of
whom possess the good-will and warm regard of the entire community.
Transcribed by Barbara Gaffney.
Source: Reed, G.
Walter, History of Sacramento County, California
With Biographical Sketches, Page 419. Historic Record Company, Los Angeles, CA. 1923.
© 2007 Barbara Gaffney.