Thomas Noyes's Pocketbook

Men carried decoratively stitched pocketbooks like this one to keep their money and personal papers organized. “Thomas noyes his book 1776” is stitched onto the pocket flap, indicating its owner and the year it was made for him. This book belonged to either Thomas Noyes III (born 1729) or his son, also named Thomas (born 1754), of Essex County, Massachusetts. Both father and son served in the Massachusetts militia during the Revolutionary War. As a member of the militia, one of the Noyes men may have also carried passes, oaths of allegiance, and mementos from home and loved ones in this pocketbook.