Friends Arthur Marion Noakes and John Wesley Watson were both from North Leverett, Massachusetts. Noakes was a talented artist and fancied himself a ladies’ man. This letter stands out from the usual correspondence for the nicely colored illustration of “the maid all forlorn” (a verse taken from the rhyme “The House that Jack Built”). Watson was called by his middle name and here, Noakes has humorously changed the spelling to “Westley,” and apparently signed the letter “Noakey.” He had recently come to New York from North Leverett when he wrote this and was self-aware of his country ways (he “could not comb the hayseed out of my hair” and “had to have it cut.”) In New York he met up with Wesley’s brother Hillman Oscar Watson, an art and furniture dealer, whom Noakes apparently already knew. Noakes stayed in New York for a short time before moving to Florence, Italy to study art. Wesley Watson lived in Leverett for the rest of his life. He owned and operated a general store that grew into a substantial business before it burned sometime around 1909.
Noakes, Arthur Marion. Letter to Wesley Watson. ca. 1900. Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, American Centuries. https://americancenturies.org/collection/l02-145/. Accessed on October 4, 2024.
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