McGill Library
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Letter, 5 January 1879
Item
Isaac Pitman Noyes was born on April 13, 1840, in New York, New York, the son of Captain John Updyke (1807-1878) and Frances Scott (Updyke) Noyes (1812-1902).
He was a civil servant and author. In 1846, the family moved to Providence, Rhode Island. During the American Civil War (1861-1865), Noyes served as a private in Battery H of the 1st Rhode Island Artillery. He mustered out of service on June 28, 1865, and by 1870 was living in Washington, D.C. For many years, he worked as a clerk at the library office of the Surgeon General, but in 1870 he devoted more of his time to writing. Noyes wrote poems, pamphlets, and articles on various subjects including meteorology, theology, health, fine arts, architecture, drama, and his own reminiscences (“Blue-Boat Cruise of 1877”).
About 1870, he married Elizabeth Smith (1834-). He died on September 20, 1900 (or 1910), in Washington, D.C., USA.
Letter from Isaac P. Noyes to John William Dawson, written from Washington, D.C.