Noah W. Briles Biography
From North Carolina to the Kansas Prairie
One of the things I enjoy about creating narrative reports from my genealogy database is that they bring together the facts of an ancestor's life into a single timeline. Once that timeline is complete, it becomes much easier to see the person behind the records.
Recently, I generated a narrative report for my second great-grandfather, Noah Washington Briles (1840–1879). While the report contains the documented events of his life, it also provides the framework for telling his story. Below is an expanded biography based on that report.
Early Life
Noah Washington Briles was born in 1840 in Randolph County, North Carolina. He spent his childhood in the household of his father, Alexander Briles, appearing with the family in the 1850 census. By 1860, the Briles family had moved west to Coffey County in Kansas Territory, joining thousands of families seeking new opportunities on the frontier.
Noah grew up during a remarkable period in American history. As a boy, he experienced life in rural North Carolina. As a young man, he helped settle a newly opened territory that would become the state of Kansas in 1861. The nation was expanding rapidly westward, and Kansas stood at the center of the debate over slavery during the years leading up to the Civil War.
Family
Noah Washington Briles was born into a large pioneer family headed by Alexander Briles (1817–1900) and Sarah Rush (1816–1872). Both were natives of North Carolina and were among the many families who moved west in search of new opportunities, eventually settling in Coffey County, Kansas. Alexander lived to see the turn of the twentieth century, while Sarah died in 1872. Both are buried in Big Creek Cemetery, where several members of the Briles family would later be laid to rest.
Noah was one of ten known children, growing up in a busy household where older and younger brothers and sisters shared in the work of frontier life. His siblings were:
- Silas Clark Briles (1838–1862)
- Sarah "Sadie" Briles (1841–1923)
- John F. Briles (1843–1913)
- Louise Jane Briles (1846–1926)
- Robert Alexander Briles (1849–1918)
- Harrison W. Briles (1852–1929)
- Zebadee Rush Briles (1855–1940)
- Nancy Briles (1856–1933)
- Benjamin R. Briles (1860–1914)
The Briles family experienced both joy and hardship. Noah's older brother Silas Clark Briles died in 1862 at just twenty-three years of age, during the Civil War era, while the rest of the family continued establishing themselves in Coffey County. Nearly all of Noah's siblings spent their adult lives in Kansas, reflecting the family's successful transition from North Carolina to the prairie. Several are buried in Big Creek Cemetery or Crandall Cemetery, creating a lasting Briles presence in the area.
Growing up in such a large family undoubtedly prepared Noah for the responsibilities that lay ahead. By the time he reached adulthood, he had already experienced the family's migration from North Carolina to Kansas, the challenges of frontier life, and the close-knit relationships that often developed among pioneer families. Those experiences likely shaped the determination he later demonstrated as a Civil War soldier, farmer, husband, and father.
Answering the Call
When the Civil War began, Noah was living in Highland Township, Wapello County, Iowa, in the household of William Robertson. On 13 June 1861, only weeks after President Lincoln called for volunteers, Noah enlisted in Company I of the 1st Iowa Cavalry in Ottumwa.
Unlike infantry soldiers, cavalrymen served in many different roles. They scouted enemy positions, protected supply lines, carried dispatches, pursued Confederate forces, and patrolled vast stretches of territory. Horses required constant care, making life in a cavalry regiment physically demanding even when no battles were taking place.
Noah served as a private throughout the war. On 1 January 1864, he reenlisted as a Veteran Volunteer, choosing to continue serving after completing his initial enlistment. His military service finally ended on 15 February 1866 when he was mustered out in Austin, Texas. Like many western Union regiments, his unit remained on duty for many months after the fighting ended while federal forces helped restore order during Reconstruction.
Marriage and a New Beginning
After returning home from the war, Noah married Sarah Jane Thompson on 9 August 1866 in Ottumwa, Iowa.
Sarah had been born on 7 August 1843 in Warrick County, Indiana, the daughter of William T. Thompson and Polly Ann Evans.
Like countless young couples following the Civil War, Noah and Sarah looked toward farming as the foundation for their future. Their first child was born in Iowa before the family returned to Kansas, where Noah established himself as a farmer and landowner.
On 20 September 1869, Noah purchased farmland in Coffey County from his father, Alexander Briles. Less than a decade later, he appeared as a landowner on the county's 1878 land ownership map, showing that he had become an established member of the local farming community.
Children
Noah and Sarah were the parents of two children.
Ida Angelina Briles
- Born 19 March 1868 in Ottumwa, Wapello County, Iowa
- Married Harry E. Myers on 29 September 1884
- Married Ed C. Barr on 3 March 1929
- Died 16 April 1959 in Burlington, Coffey County, Kansas
Edward Grant Briles
- Born 18 July 1869 in Coffey County, Kansas
- Married Frances Artlissa Ricketts on 19 February 1890
- Died 23 July 1951 in Emporia, Lyon County, Kansas
Building a Life in Kansas
The census records trace Noah's growing roots in Coffey County. In 1870, the family lived in California Township, and by 1875 they were residing in Neosho Township.
Life on the Kansas prairie demanded perseverance. Farmers built homes, broke the prairie sod, raised crops, cared for livestock, and worked together to establish schools, churches, and local communities. Noah was among the generation of Civil War veterans who exchanged military service for the equally demanding work of building farms and raising families.
A Life Cut Short
Sadly, Noah's story ended far too soon.
He died on 14 July 1879 in Coffey County, Kansas, at just 39 years of age. He was buried in Big Creek Cemetery, where his grave remains today.
His death left Sarah a widow with two young children. Probate proceedings began within weeks of his death as the family worked to settle his estate and preserve the farm he had spent years establishing.
Sarah's Long Journey
Sarah would live more than half a century beyond Noah's death.
She remained in Coffey County, where she watched her children establish families of their own. By the time she died on 17 August 1930 at the age of 87, she had witnessed enormous changes in American life—from covered wagons and frontier homesteads to automobiles, electricity, and telephones.
She was laid to rest beside Noah in Big Creek Cemetery.
Looking Beyond the Dates
It's easy to view a timeline of names and dates as simply another genealogy report. Yet those records tell the story of a young man who left North Carolina as a child, helped settle Kansas Territory, served nearly five years in the Union Army, returned home to marry, purchased land, raised a family, and worked to build a future on the Kansas prairie.
Although Noah Washington Briles lived only thirty-nine years, his life reflects the experiences of thousands of Americans whose lives were shaped by westward expansion, the Civil War, and the challenge of building new communities in the Midwest.
For me, that's one of the greatest values of a narrative report. It doesn't replace the records—it connects them into a story that reminds us these were real people whose lives extended far beyond the individual documents we discover during our research.
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