NOYES Alva Josiah

NOYES Alva Josiah[1]

Male 1855 - 1917  (61 years)

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  • Name NOYES Alva Josiah 
    Nickname A.J. 
    Birth 2 Dec 1855  Saint Anthony, Hennepin, Minnesota, United States Find all individuals with events at this location  [2, 3
    Gender Male 
    _UID 2C750D38EB9ED5118A064445535400001595 
    Death 1917  Turner, Blaine, Montana, United States Find all individuals with events at this location  [1
    • (Killed by a pet bull.)
    Notes 
    • He came to Montana in 1864 and settled in Bannack. In 1866 Al, his mother and younger sister Maud, came by wagon train -- pulled by oxen and cows -- to Bannack. The family lived in Bannack until 1868 when they moved to Silver Star. Al's mother became ill during the winter of 1866 and as she needed help, she sent for her mother, Mary A. Stanchfield. Mary and her son, Charles, came from Minnesota by steamboat up the Missouri River. In March 1869, Amy died. She was buried in Silver Star. Shortly, Grandmother Stanchfield took Al and sister Maud back to Minnesota where they went to school. In 1874, Al stopped his schooling at the University of Minnesota and took the train to Corinne, Utah where he joined his uncles Will and Charles Stanchfield. They were hauling supplies to Montana. The three, each driving a team with wagon load of supplies, started for Montana. They had rain and snow almost every day of the 40 days of their 'trip. When Al was in Minnesota, his father remarried. The woman, Mrs. George Hubbard,had a daughter Jennie and this marriage resulted in three more children, G.W., Laura, and Ernest.

      Al worked at many jobs during the next ten years, mostly in the vicinity of Butte and Silver Star. He prospected, worked with stock, worked in a brickyard, made soda pop, milked cows, taught school, and helped start a Sunday School.

      In 1878, C. M. Buck, contractor and builder, moved his family from Iowa to Butte. There were several children, including one girl, name of Hattie, age 13. In 1881, Al started keeping company with Hattie. This met with disfavor by her parents. The next spring her father talked of moving to California. The young people decided they should marry soon and with a Justice of Peace and a few friends to witness, they married April 6, 1882. That evening Mr. Buck persuaded Hattie to come home with him. In a few days, before a judge in Deer Lodge, when given a choice of going home or with her husband, Hattie chose her husband. In the month of June of that year, they moved to a log cabin, with dirt floor and roof, and started life together at Wisdom in Beaverhead County. Later in 1882, they took up land for a ranch and began the business of raising stock. They had three children born in Butte: Mary Edna on February 7, 1883, Charles Raymond on September 7, 1884, Royden A. on August 1, 1886, and Pauline Edith, born in Dillon on March 27, 1888. Al Noyes, a Republican, was elected County Assessor of Beaverhead County and assumed office January 1st, 1893. He served two terms. When the assessments were completed each year, he spent time developing the ranch he named "Ajax". He acquired more property, some with J.E. Morse as a partner. The property included the "Ajax" mine at the upper end of Swamp Creek and above the lake then called Lake Lena. The mine appeared to be promising but because of the short season at this altitude of nearly 10,000 feet and the rugged terrain from the mine to Divide, where the ore was shipped, it proved to be a losing business. A mill at the mine did not prove profitable and in the end cost the Noyes almost all of their property. In 1903, Al and friend went east as far as Boston to try to sell stock in the mine. They tried for more than a year to raise funds but had to return home without success. Al tried for two more years to make the mine pay and in May 1907, he sold the rest of their property. That was the end of 25 years in the Big Hole. The family moved to Dillon.

      In 1909, Al worked for the Montana Department of Lands. While traveling the state, he became interested in homesteading and settled north of Harlem, Mt. near the Canadian line. In early 1910, he hired a team of horses and looked over this area. The Great Northern Railroad and James J. Hill were interesting people of the Middle Eastern States to settle in this region. Later that year, Al, Hattie, their son Raymond and daughter Edith, together with their wife and husband, homesteaded near Turner, Mt. They worked improving their homesteads and planting crops and there followed some good years and bad dry years. When 1918 arrived, son Raymond and family were the only ones of the group still trying to be successful dry land farmers. In 1917, Al Noyes was killed by a pet bull. Following his death, the others moved to the West Coast.

      Al Noyes was the author of two books of Montana history; The Story of Ajax, which was the first autobiography published in the state, and In the Land of Chinook, or The Story of Blaine County.
    Person ID I6979  Noyes Family Genealogy
    Last Modified 7 Sep 2019 

    Father NOYES George "Raymond" "GR",   b. 8 Jun 1830, Cherryfield, Washington, Maine, United States Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 7 Sep 1887, Montana Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 57 years) 
    Mother STANCHFIELD Amy L.,   b. 1837   d. 22 Mar 1869, Silver Star, Madison, Montana, United States Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 32 years) 
    Marriage 1854  Machias, Washington, Maine, United States Find all individuals with events at this location  [1, 2
    Family ID F2553  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family BUCK Hattie M.,   b. Abt 1865, Iowa, United States Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 1950 (Age ~ 85 years) 
    Marriage 6 Apr 1882  Butte, Silver Bow, Montana, United States Find all individuals with events at this location  [1, 2
    • (Noyes says 1881.)
    Children 
     1. NOYES Mary Edna,   b. 7 Feb 1883, Butte, Silver Bow, Montana, United States Find all individuals with events at this locationd. Yes, date unknown
     2. NOYES Charles Raymond,   b. 7 Sep 1884, Butte, Silver Bow, Montana, United States Find all individuals with events at this locationd. Aug 1965, Chinook, Blaine, Montana, United States Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 80 years)
     3. NOYES Royden A.,   b. 1 Aug 1886, Dillon, Beaverhead, Montana, United States Find all individuals with events at this locationd. Yes, date unknown
     4. NOYES Pauline Edith,   b. 27 Mar 1888, Dillon, Beaverhead, Montana, United States Find all individuals with events at this locationd. Yes, date unknown
    Family ID F2555  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
    Last Modified 23 Feb 2024 

  • Photos
    Alva J. Noyes
    Alva J. Noyes
    "The Story of Ajax" by Alva J. Noyes

  • Sources 
    1. [S1669] Book-History of Southern Montana, p.247.

    2. [S65] Book-Noyes-The Noyes Descendants, Vol. I, p.258.

    3. [S4736] Book-The Story of Ajax, viewed; 5 May 2010; p.1.