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Grand Rapids Daily Eagle
Wednesday, 19 November, 1873

         A correspondent of the Detroit Tribune at Elk Rapids,
       writes of the death of Mrs. HARRIET L. NOBLE there on
       the 11th inst., and gives briefly a few incidents in
       her life as a pioneer woman of Michigan, that are in-
       teresting. She was the mother of H. H. NOBLE, ESQ., of
       the firm of Dexter & Noble, at Elk Rapids, and of Messrs.
       O. L. and E. S. NOBLE, well-known business men in West-
       ern Michigan.
       
         She was indeed one of the pioneer women of Michigan,
       and her life was rich in the eventful experiences of
       the early history of our Commonwealth. Her maiden name
       was HARRIET LUCRETIA STILSON, and she was born at Sand-
       gate, Bennington county, Vermont, July 28, 1797, being
       at the time of her death nearly seventy-seven years old.
       While still young, her father removed to Western New
       York, near Geneva, where in 1818 she was married to
       NATHANIEL NOBLE. In 1824 she and her husband and family
       came to Michigan, settling near Dexter. She was the first
       white woman who settled west of Ann Arbor in this State.
       Here she endured the greatest privations and underwent
       the severest toil in trying to establish a home in the
       wilderness. A very vivid narrative of her trip to Michi-
       gan and of her experiences at that time, written by her-
       self, may be found in a work entitled "Pioneer Women of
       the West," published in 1854 by CHARLES SCRIBNER. Her
       life for a few years was one of constant struggle with
       poverty and sickness, and filled with incidents which
       brought out the most noble traits of character. She
       walked from Detroit to Ypsilanti, the loads being too
       heavy to permit her to ride. When settled on her farm,
       and during her husband's illness, she drew and stacked
       her hay, put in grain, drew stone to build a chimney for
       her house, and did the work from which many of the men
       of to-day would shrink in despair. Her husband had to 
       go to Detroit to mill, and often while absent on those
       trips, which required then fifteen days with ox teams,
       she remained with her family alone, in the midst of the
       forest, the wild beasts and Indians her only neighbors,
       and their howls and cries the only sound to break the
       stillness. She was a woman respected by all, and of
       great energy and untiring industry. She leaves a large
       circle of friends to mourn her loss, to whom her life
       has been a bright and worthy example.
       
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