Introduction

As part of my research on possible connections between my ancestors and the Nowells and Newells of Cornwall (see parent page of this report) I investigated the life of the Rev. Simeon Noall a Cornish Methodist Missionary who served in Newfoundland between 1824 and 1829. The publication Newfoundland and its Missionaries by Rev. William Wilson, (1866 ) summarizes his life (see below) but does not provide any details on his early life and family so I investigated further. This research did not uncover any direct connections to my family but I did uncover some more details of his life which I have documented in this report.

Ministry in Newfoundland (1824- 1829)

During the autumn of 1824 three Methodist Ministers arrived at St. John’s; William Croscombe, an experienced missionary who was appointed to the Chairmanship of the Newfoundland District, and a week later two young ministers George Ellidge and Simeon Noall arrived from England. Simeon’s first appointment was at Island Cove and Perlican (now Lower Island Cove, Conception Bay and Old Perlican, 11 km away in Trinity Bay).

Simeon’s appointment to Island Cove in Conception Bay was likely designed to allow him to acclimatize to life in Newfoundland since this area was more developed. Methodism arrived in Conception Bay, Newfoundland in 1766. By Simeon’s time Missionaries vied with each other to serve in Conception Bay and St. John’s, instead of stepping out to help expand the work along the south and northeast coasts.

The next year (1827) he was sent to one of the more challenging locations Grand Bank and Fortune Bay on the South Cost of Newfoundland.

The following extracts from Simeon’s Journals from the summer of 1827 come from an article in the St. John’s Daily News, published Dec. 14, 1957.

 

The following map shows that a visit to Round Harbour (one of the locations he visited) from Grand Bank (red marker on map) would require a voyage of over 50 km in a small sail boat in open waters.

The following is a list of the children Simeon baptize on his visit to Round Harbour on the 2nd of July 1827 (see above).

Location	Surname	Parents	Name	Minister	Date
Round Harbour	Lee	William & Grace	Elizabeth	Simeon Noall	7/2/1827
Round Harbour	Lee	William & Grace	Thomas	Simeon Noall	7/2/1827
Round Harbour	Kendle	Robert & Mary	Mary	Simeon Noall	7/2/1827
Round Harbour	Kendle	Robert & Mary	Hannah	Simeon Noall	7/2/1827
Round Harbour	Kendle	Robert & Mary	William	Simeon Noall	7/2/1827
Round Harbour	Kendle	Robert & Mary	Jane	Simeon Noall	7/2/1827
Round Harbour	Kendle	Robert & Mary	Charity	Simeon Noall	7/2/1827
Round Harbour	Spencer	Abraham & Elizabeth	Sarah	Simeon Noall	7/2/1827
Round Harbour	Lee	William & Dinah	Elizabeth	Simeon Noall	7/2/1827
Round Harbour	Lee	William & Dinah	Robert	Simeon Noall	7/2/1827

Simeon also took an interest in trying to make contact with the last of the native “Beothuk Indians” (the “Micmac Indians” he references were originally from Nova Scotia).

As late as 1827 another Methodist missionary living at Grand Bank, Simeon Noall (1795-1850), was excited at meeting on one of his peregrinations into Hermitage Bay a band of Micmac Indians from Bayd’Espoir; he saw them as a means of eventually contacting the “Red Indians”who, he assured his superiors in London, still existed in the interior of the island in spite of reports to the contrary. Nothing came, however, of this suggestion,and Noall failed to find the Micmacs on his next visit to Hermitage Bay (Beothuks and Methodists)

The Rev. Simeon Noall recorded a great many baptisms in 1826 and 1827, both in Fortune Bay and Placentia Bay. Other places mentioned in his Journals for these years are: Lamaline, Round Harbour, Jersey Harbour, St. Jacques, Ferby’s Cove, Frenchman’s Cove, Harbour Breton, Pick Harbour (Pickart), Garnish, Brunnick (Brunette?), Poile and Lalley Cove (http://www.southerngazette.ca/news/local/2017/3/17/down-memory-lane.html).

In the spring of 1828 Simeon was transferred to Trinity, Newfoundland. Trinity being a more developed town this could perhaps be seen as a reward. However by this time his health was starting to fail as evident from his Journal Entry for 13 January 1829: This day I am reputed thirty-four years of age – I am fast approaching to an old man – my hair is very grey & falling off fast, my hand shakes, and I cannot see to mend my pen well by night (Transcriped by David Pike). A biographer the Rev. William Wilson (1866) summed up his service in Newfoundland as follows:

Many were the seals to his ministry in different parts of the island; but his constitution was too feeble to endure the hardships attendant upon a missionary life; he therefore returned to England in the year 1829. By breathing his native air, his health was much improved; so that he labored in different circuits for nineteen years with the same esteem and success that he had in Newfoundland.

Ministry in England (1829-1850)

The following is a list of the parishes Simeon Noall served in after leaving Newfoundland in 1829:

• 1829 Liskeard, Cornwall [1]
• 1830 Dursley, Gloucestershire [2]
• 1831-32 Bristol [2] Poss Bristol South
• 1833 Liskeard & or Towbridge
• 1834 Towbridge, Wiltshire [3]
• 1833-34 Bradford on Avon [1]
• 1835-37 Dorchester, Dorset [2]
• 1835-37 Weymouth, Dorset [1] Note: daughter born Weymouth 1837.
• 1838-1842 Stourbridge, Worcestershire [2]
• 1840 Dudley (near Stourbridge) [4]
• 1841 Dudley [5]
• 1841 made Supernumerary after slight seizure
• 1845-46 Redruth, Cornwall [1]
• 1845-46 Camborne, Cornwall (3 mi from Redruth) [2]
• 1848-49 Hayle, Cornwall [1]
• 1850 Died near Hayle

The data sources used to compile this list include:

• [1] The Wesleyan Methodist Itinerancy, Joseph Hall (1873)
• [2] Halls Circuits and Ministers, Rev. Joseph Hall (1897)
• [3] The Western Times – Exeter, Devon, 07 June 1834 
• [4] WESLEYAN CONFERENCE, 1845
• [5] 1841 UK Census

Marriage and Children

Simeon was married on 30 August 1831 at Kingswood, Gloucestershire. His bride was Lucy Smith eldest daughter of the Rev Robert Smith who was the Methodist Minister at Kingswood.

Name:	Lucy Smith
Gender:	Female
Event Type:	Marriage
Marriage Date:	30 Aug 1831
Marriage Place:	Kingswood, Holy Trinity, Gloucestershire, England
Spouse:	Simeon Noall

Their first child, Samuel Shepherd was born a year later. Note his given names “Samuel Shepherd” were the same has Simeon’s half brother.

Name:	Samuel Shepherd Noall
Birth Date:	15 Aug 1832
Birth Place:	Paternoster Row Wesleyan Methodist Registry, London, London, England
Baptism Date:	28 Oct 1832
Baptism Place:	Paternoster Row Wesleyan Methodist Registry, London, England
Father:	Simeon Noall
Mother:	Lucy

Samuel Shepherd became a Commercial Traveler (Salesman) and joined the Masonic Lodge at Bristol in 1861. Samuel Shepherd moved to New Zealand shortly after this (early 1860s), became an accountant and died in Sept. 1887  at  Christchurch, New Zealand.

Their daughter , Lucy Smith Noall, was born in 1837 at Dorset.

Name:	Lucy Smith Noall
Birth Date:	19 Feb 1837
Birth Place:	Dorset
Baptism Date:	27 Apr 1837
Baptism Place:	Paternoster Row Wesleyan Methodist Registry, London, London, England
Father:	Simeon Noall
Mother:	Lucy

The year after her fathers death Lucy Smith was living with her Smith Grandparents in Clifton, Gloucestershire.

Name:	Lucy Smith Noall
Age:	14
Estimated Birth Year:	abt 1837
Relation:	Granddaughter
Gender:	Female
Where born:	Weymouth, Dorset, England
Town:	Clifton, Gloucestershire

Lucy Smith married John Stephenson a Methodist Missionary.

Their mother Lucy was admitted to an institution in 1848.

Name:	Lucy Noall
Admission Date:	15 Mar 1848
Institution:	Huningham
Intitution Place:	United Kingdom

At the time of Simeon’s death his wife Lucy was still of “unsound mind” since administration of his Will was granted to Robert Smith, canal agent of Manchester, guardian; [Lucy Noall, relict, of unsound mind].

Simeon’s wife Lucy died at Kingswood , near Bristol in 1873.

Simeon’s Death

His death was recorded in contemporary newspapers as:

9 AUGUST 1850, Friday : At Hayle, on Sunday last, the Rev. Simon NOALL, Wesleyan Superannuated Minister, aged 56 years [b 1794].

But other sources give a slightly different age and location.

Day Month Year	09-Aug-1850
Parish Circuit Or Chapel	Royal Cornwall Gazette
Forename	Simon
Surname	NOALL
Age	55
Residence	Copper-house
Notes	on Saturday last, Supernumerary Itinerant Wesleyan preacher

While Parish records for his burial give a completely different age.

Day Month Year	08-Aug-1850
Parish Circuit Or Chapel	Gwinear
Forename	Simeon
Surname	NOAL
Age	65
Residence	Phillack

To further confuse the situation in the England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1837-1915 his burial is registered at Redruth.

The different burial locations are the easiest to understand, with Redruth (furthest east on following map) being the registration location, Gwinear (second most easterly) is a town and parish, Hayle is a town and a parish just west of Gwinear (see second map of Parish boundries), Phillack is a village about one mile northeast of the town of Hayle. Copperhouse is the name given to the area of Hayle developed by the Cornish Copper Company in 1758, as well as the name of an Inn and a Wesleyan Methodists Chapel in that area. The inn at Copperhouse was built in 1791 to cater for the needs of a rising population and visitors to the Cornish Copper Company. Wesley preached at ‘the Hayle’ in 1765, and on two later occasions at Copperhouse where he met the society in its room That preaching house, the private property of the Cornish Copper Company , was followed by two galleried chapels at Copperhouse (1816) and Foundry (1846). 

Birth

The Wesleyan-Methodist Magazine for 1850 indicates that he was a native of Gwennap, Cornwall but there was little information on his early (pre 1824) history.

The only direct information on his date of birth comes from a comment in his Newfoundland Journal (Transcriped by David Pike)

13 January 1829: This day I am reputed thirty-four years of age – I am fast approaching to an old man – my hair is very grey & falling off fast, my hand shakes, and I cannot see to mend my pen well by night.

We can assume from these comments in 1829 (that suggest a birth in 1794) that the reported age of 65 at death is incorrect and he was born in either 1795 or 1795 (55 or 56 at death).

As stated earlier the Wesleyan-Methodist Magazine for 1850 indicates that the Rev. Simeon Noall was a native of Gwennap, Cornwall; however, there are no records of anyone with this or a similar name being born at Gwennap between 1790 and 1800.

There was a Simon Noall baptized in 1795 at St. Ives (a town and parish NW of Hayle) but this Simon appears to be still living in St. Ives at the time of the 1841 census.

Name:	Simon Noall
Baptism Date:	13 Sep 1795
Baptism Place:	St. Ives, Cornwall, England
Father:	Simon Noall
Mother:	Elisabeth Noall
FHL Film Number:	1595570

Name:	Simon Noal
Age:	45
Estimated Birth Year:	abt 1796
Gender:	Male
Where born:	Cornwall, England
Civil Parish:	St Ives
Wife	Mary Noal

There was a Samuel Shepherd Noel/Nole who had his baptism registered at Redruth in April 1796 (see below). His parents were married in 1794 and at that time his father’s residence was listed as Gwenap; however, this Samuel Shephard Noel died a few months after his birth.

Day Month Year	05-Apr-1796
Parish Circuit Or Chapel	Redruth
Forename	Samuel/Saml. Shepherd
Surname	NOEL/NOLE
Father Forename	Simon
Mother Forename	Martha

There is a record in England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975 for a Simeon Noel born Feb 1795 at Gwinear.

Name:	Simeon Noel
Event Type:	Christening
Event Date:	11 Feb 1795
Event Place:	Gwinear, Cornwall, England
Event Place (Original):	Gwinear, Cornwall, England
Sex:	Male
Father’s Name:	Simeon Noel
Mother’s Name:	Jennifer Vinicombe

However, this record is not in the Cornish parish records and the parents Simeon Noel and Jennifer Vinicombe were not married until 1797. The Cornish Parish records do have a record for a Simeon Noel born 1795 but he is listed under his mothers surname which suggest that he was illegitimate.

Day Month Year	11-Feb-1795
Parish Circuit Or Chapel	Gwinear
Forename	Simeon
Surname	VINICOMBE/NOEL
Father Forename	Simeon NOEL
Mother Forename	Jennifer VINICOMBE

Simeon Noel and Jennifier Vinicombe were subsequently married in July 1797.

Day Month Year	15-Jul-1797
Parish Circuit Or Chapel	Gwinear
Groom Fn	Simeon
Groom Sn	NOELL
Groom Residence	otp [of this parish]
Groom Condition	widower
Bride Fn	Jennifer
Bride Sn	VINICOMBE
Bride Residence	otp
Bride Condition	spinster

At the time of their marriage Simeon was listed as a widower. A year earlier a Martha Noal was buried at Redruth.

Day Month Year	05-Apr-1796
Parish Circuit Or Chapel	Redruth
Forename	Martha
Surname	NOAL

This Martha died on the same day that Samuel Shepherd Noel was born and his parents were Simon and Martha (see above). Simeon and Martha were married on 22 May 1794 at Redruth.

Day Month Year	22-May-1794
Parish Circuit Or Chapel	Redruth
Groom Fn	Simeon/Simon
Groom Sn	NOALL/NOEL
Groom Residence	Gwenap
Groom Condition	Bachelor
Bride Fn	Martha
Bride Sn	TREVENA
Bride Condition	Spinster
Witness Fn1	John TREVENA
Witness Sn2	TREVENA, Jun. (mark)
Other Information	The e in Simeon is interpolated. Groom signed NOELL

Their marriage allegation dated 19-May-1794 gives the grooms name as Simeon Noell and indicates both were above 21. It also gives the bride’s residence as Redruth. The couple had a daughter Peggy born 6 months later.

Day Month	30-Nov-1794
Year	1794
Parish Circuit Or Chapel	Gwinear
Forename	Peggy
Surname	NOEL
Sex	dau
Father Forename	Simeon
Mother Forename	Martha

It is likely that Simeon Noall was born out of wedlock in 1795 to Jennifer Vinicombe and Simeon Noell (who at the time was married to Martha). Martha died in 1796 (on same day Samuel Shepherd Noel was born). In 1797, after Martha’s death, Simeon married Jennifer. Over the next 15 years this couple had at least 8 more children.

1798	Gwinear	Jennifer	NOELL	Simeon	Jennifer
1799	Gwinear	Araminta	NOELL	Simeon	Jennifer
1801	Gwinear	Araminta	NOEL	Simeon	Jennifer
1805	Gwinear	William	NOEL	Simeon	Jennifer
1805	Gwinear	Richard	NOEL	Simeon	Jennifer
1808	Gwinear	Henry	NOELL	Simeon	Jennifer
1811	Gwinear	Samuel	NOEL	Simon	Jenefhin?
1813	Gwinear	Elizabeth	NOEL	Simeon	Jennifer

There is likely another sibling also born out of Wedlock in 1797. In August of that year a Margery Gilbert had a son Simeon Noell Gilbert born at Gwinear and the father’s name was given as S. Noell.

Day Month Year	06-Aug-1797
Parish Circuit Or Chapel	Gwinear
Forename	Simeon Noell
Surname	GILBERT/NOELL
Father Forename	S. NOELL
Mother Forename	Margery GILBERT

Parents and Grandparents

The Rev. Simeon’s mother Jennifer died in 1820.

Name:	Jenefer Vinicombe Noell
Maiden Name:	Vinicombe
Event Type:	Burial
Event Date:	1820
Event Place:	Gwinear, Cornwall Unitary Authority, Cornwall, England
Event Place (Original):	Gwinear, Cornwall Unitary Authority, Cornwall, England
Age (Estimated):	44
Birth Date:	24 Feb 1776
Death Date:	16 May 1820
Cemetery:	Gwinear, St Winnear Churchyard

The Rev. Simeon Noall’s father was likely the Simeon Noel baptised at Gwennap in 1771. His parents were Richard and Alimenta (note: name of Simeon Noel’s daughter).

Day Month Year	21-Sep-1771
Parish Circuit Or Chapel	Gwennap
Forename	Simeon
Surname	NOEL
Father Forename	Richard
Mother Forename	Alimenta

Based on dob this Simeon was likely the Simon who died at Gwennap in 1852. From his death record we see that Simon was buried in Gwinear but his residence was in Gwennap.

Day Month Year	15-Apr-1852
Parish Circuit Or Chapel	Gwinear
Forename	Simon
Surname	NOEL
Age	80
Residence	Gwennap

This Simon [now called Simeon Noell] was recorded in the 1851 Census as bein born in and currently living in Gwennap.

Event Type:	Census [1851]
Event Date:	1851
Event Place:	Gwennap, Cornwall, England
Registration District:	Redruth
Age:	79
Marital Status:	Widower
Occupation:	Landed Proprietor
Birth Year (Estimated):	1772
Birthplace:	Gwennap, Cornwall

Simon’s father Richard married Araminta [Alimenta] Leane at Gwennap in 1755.

Day Month Year	31-Mar-1755
Parish Circuit Or Chapel	Gwennap
Groom Fn	Richard
Groom Sn	Noall [Nowell in Banns]
Groom Residence	Gwennap
Bride Fn	Araminta
Bride Sn	LEANE
Bride Residence	Gwennap

Richard and Araminta [Alimenta, Alementa, Aramenta, Aminta] had seven children; Simon/Simeon was the 6th.

1755	Gwennap	Ann	NOELLE/NOELL	Richard	Aramenta
1757	Gwennap	Elizabeth	NOEL	Richard	Alementa
1759	Gwennap	Alamenta	NOEL/NOELL	Richard	Alamenta
1763	Gwennap	Richard?	NOALL	Richard	Alamenta
1769	Gwennap	Mary	NOALL/NOAL	Richard	Arminta
1771	Gwennap	Simeon	NOEL	Richard	Alimenta
1773	Gwennap	Rebecca	NOEL	Richard	Alimenta

Araminta died in 1791.

Day Month	26-Nov
Year	1791
Parish Circuit Or Chapel	Gwennap
Forename	Araminta
Surname	NOEL

There were several birth and burial records that might fit Richard but the one Christened in Gwennap in 1733 looks like the best candidate.

Name:	Richard Nowel
Event Type:	Christening
Event Date:	26 Dec 1733
Event Place:	Gwennap, Cornwall, England
Father’s Name:	Henry Nowel
Mother’s Name:	Ann

There are several genological records for this Richard posted on the Internet and several of these give his death (see below) but I have not found this burial record.

Richard passed away on month day 1789, at age 55 

However, there is a burial record from 1773.

Day Month Year	25-Apr-1773
Type	Burial
Parish Circuit Or Chapel	Gwennap
Forename	Richard
Surname	NOEL

Richard’s parents (Henry Nowel and Ann Philips) were married at Gwennap in 1732. Ann was from Gwennap but Henry was a Sojourner (a temporary stay; a brief period of residence).

Day Month Year	16-Dec-1732
Parish Circuit Or Chapel	Gwennap
Groom Fn	Henry
Groom Sn	NOWEL
Groom Residence	Sojourner
Bride Fn	Ann
Bride Sn	PHILIPS
Bride Residence	otp

Henry was buried at Gwennap in 1770. Henry and Ann had the following children.

1733	Gwennap	Richard	NOWEL	Henry	Ann
1737	Gwennap	Anne	NOEL	Henry
1743	Gwennap	Elizabeth	NOVEL	Henry	Ann
1744	Gwennap	Joan	NOELLS /NOALL	Henry	Ann
1747	Gwennap	Margaret	NOEL	Henry	Ann
1751	Gwennap	Henry	NOEL	Henry	Ann

The following baptism at Lelant (near Hayle and St Ives) may be a child of a different Henry and Ann or a timing issue with the baptism for Henry or this Ann. If the same Henry then the shift of the spelling towards Noal may occur since Noal is the more common spelling in St Ives.

1751

Lelant

Ann

NOALL

Henry

Ann