By Bradford Willis
 
Among the pioneers of Talbot County were many members of the Smith and Noell families.  For many years, the writer has felt that these families were
related, but much earlier than most historians believed.A few years ago, the writer located the book, Cumberland County Virginia and
Its People, which was published in 1991 by the Cumberland County Historical Society.  Mr. James E. Cooke, Jr. contributed many pages on the family of
Robert Smith, Sr. (ca. 1727-1776).  This Robert Smith, Sr. and his wife, Elizabeth “Betty” Smith, had the following known children:  Robert, Jr. (1749-
1834); George; Byrd (ca. 1762-1826); Larkin, Sr. (1760-1834); Mary (born ca. 1753); and Elizabeth Smith.  Of these children, Robert Smith, Jr. and his
wife, Hannah Andrews; Larkin Smith, Sr. and his wife, Avey/Ava Bradley; and Mary Smith and her husband, John Noell, later moved from Cumberland County to
Oglethorpe County, Georgia where many were charter members of the Mt. Pleasant Methodist Church in 1820.  It is also known that Robert Smith, Jr. and Larkin
Smith, Sr. were veterans of the American Revolution.  Many descendants of these siblings later moved to Talbot County.  In September of 2012, a

gentleman, unknown to the writer, donated the very large and old Noell-Burgess Bible to the Thomaston-Upson Archives.  Mr. Claude C. Burgess,

an archivist there, took photographs of the pages containing the family records.  Appreciation is expressed to Mr. Burgess and the fine staff
at the Thomaston-Upson Archives for preserving this historic Bible.  Recently these pages with the family records were transcribed by the writer:

     Births:
          James W. Noell was born the 12 of June 1820.
          Sarah McCoy was born the 7 of March 1827.
          William Henry [?] Noell was born the 23 of August 1844.
          James Hezekiah Noell was born the 5 of October 1849.
          Robert Garnett Noell was born the 16 of December 1855.
          Cleora Burgess was born 14 Dec. 1865.
          James William Noell, Jr. was born 19 of Oct. 1883.
          Willie Esther Jones was born 24 Feb. 1885.
          The Infant of J. W. and Willie Noell was born Aug. 3, 1909.
          James Carter Noell was born 22 of Oct. 1910.
          Wiliam[sic] Clairence[sic] Noell was born 30 of July 1912.
          Willie Mae Noell was born on June 10, 1921.
          Willey [sic] Burgess was born Feb. the 14  1845.
          Fannie Rearden[?] was born Jan. 4th  1846.
          John Franklin Burgess was born May 4 the 1869.
          William Henry Burgess was born March 12 the 1875.
          Fannie Burgess was born March 21 the 1877.
          Jessie Burgess was born Aug. 3 the 1884.
    
     Marriages:
          James W. Noell and Sarah McCoy was married the 9 of Nov. 1843.
          R. G. Noell and Cleora Burgess was married the 15 of Nov. 1882.
          James W. Noell and Carrie G. Smith was married the 16 of Jan. 1868.
          James W. Noell and Willie _____ Jones was married Nov. 8, 1908.
          William C. Noell and Eunice Harrison Noell married Aug. 2, 1947.

     Deaths:
          Charles L. [Lee] Smith [Sr.] departed this life the 4 of December
1877 in the eighty third year of his age.
          Mrs. Martha T. [Glenn] Smith, wife of C. L. Smith, departed this
life the 6 of Sept. 1878 in the 77th year of her age.    
          Mrs. R. G. Noell departed this life the 23 of Dec 1928.
          Mrs. Fannie Burgess departed this life January the 5   1918.
          Wiley[sic] Burgess departed this life July the 24   1919.
          Parents of Cleora Noell.
          William Henry Noell departed this life the 27 of May 1863.
          Sarah Noell the wife of J. W. Noell departed this life the 11 of
Oct. 1867.
          Carrie G. [Smith] Noell, wife of J. W. Noell, departed this life the
24 of April 1885.
          J. W. Noell departed this life the 5 of July 1894.
          R. G. Noell departed this life the 12 of Jan. 1925.
          J. H. Noell departed this life the 13 of May 1925. Age, 75.    
In A Rockaway in Talbot, Volume II, Mr. William H. Davidson devoted many pages of family history and photographs of the historic homes of James W. Noell,
James Hezekiah Noell, and Robert Garnett Noell.  The writer believes they were descendants of this Mary Smith and John Noell originally from Cumberland
County.

Many members of the Noell family mentioned in this Bible are now resting in peace at the Collinsworth Methodist Church Cemetery, while many members of the
Burgess family now reside at the Merrell Cemetery in Dallas County, Texas.  It is hoped that these Bible records will be helpful to their many descendants.


Additional Comments:
This article was printed in the Talbotton New Era of Talbot County on August 29, 2013.  Appreciation is expressed to its editor, Vann Chapman, and to
archivist, Claude C. Burgess.

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This page was last updated on -01/12/2018