Old Lyme in Lower Connecticut River Valley Region, Connecticut — The American Northeast (New England)

Arabella

Witness Stone

Photographed by Conrad Ward, January 18, 2025

1. Arabella Witness Stone

Inscription.
Across Lyme Street Also called Bella
Enslaved before 1719
by Rev. Moses Noyes
Willed to
Sarah Noyes Mather 1729
Baptized 1734

Erected 2021 by Witness Stones Project. (Marker Number OL14 CT70.)

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Colonial Era • Industry & Commerce • Religion & Religious Structures. A significant historical year for this entry is 1734.

Location. 41° 19.694′ N, 72° 19.527′ W. Marker is in Old Lyme in Lower Connecticut River Valley Region, Connecticut. It is on Lyme Street (U.S. 1), on the right when traveling south. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 105 Lyme St, Old Lyme CT 06371, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is on the Connecticut Shoreline,

in Greater New London, in Mystic and the Eastern Shore,

and in the Thames River Valley.

It is also in the American Northeast,

in New England,

and on the Eastern Seaboard. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region,

North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself

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in what was once New London County

and also one of the original Thirteen Colonies.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Grace (here, next to this marker); Warwick (here, next to this marker); Jube (here, next to this marker); Pompey Freeman (within shouting distance of this marker); Mingo (about 500 feet away, measured in a direct line); Jack (about 500 feet away); Jane (about 500 feet away); Temperance Still (about 500 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Old Lyme.

Also see . . . Arabella (Witness Stones Project.

When Rev. Moses Noyes wrote a will in 1719, he specified: To my daughter Sarah Mather I give twenty pounds to be paid by my son Moses besides the ten pounds from my son John and the negro maid Arabella. Lyme’s first minister named his enslaved servant after the ship Arbella on which the Massachusetts Bay Colony’s governor John Winthrop emigrated from England in 1630.

(Submitted on March 16, 2025.)

Arabella Witness Stone (furthest away) image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Conrad Ward, January 18, 2025

2. Arabella Witness Stone (furthest away)

Credits. This page was last revised on May 19, 2026. It was originally submitted on March 16, 2025, by Conrad Ward of Guilford, Connecticut. This page has been viewed 110 times since then and 8 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on March 16, 2025, by Conrad Ward of Guilford, Connecticut. • Devry Becker Jones was the editor who published this page.