Evening star., 1948-12-01
#. B. Noyes Dies;
.HeddedA.P.and
Star 38 Years
Took Leading Role in
Establishing News
Gathering Agency


Frank B. Noyes, chairman OF
the Board of Directors Of The
Evening Star Newspaper Co., one
of the incorporators and the first
president of the present Asso-
ciated Press, continuing in that
office until 1888, died at lao am.
today at his apartment, 1883
Massachusetts, avenue NV. He
was IS years old last July.
He is survived by the following
grandchildren; Newbold Noyes, jr,
Crosby S. Noyes, Thomas E. Noyes.
Janet Hart Golden, Ann Hart and
Willmott Lewis, jr.
The following great-grandchildren
also survive him: Newbold Noyes III,
Annette, Josephine and Alexandra
Ewing Noyes and Ann Golden.
Mr.. Noyes married the former
Janet Thruston Newbold September
II, 1888. She died in 1912. He OUT
lived his three children, Newbold
Noyes, Mrs. Edward H. Hart and
Mrs. Ethel Noyes Lewis.
A memorial service will be con-
Quoted at 2 pm. Friday in st.
Johns Episcopal Church, Lafayette
square, by the rector, the Rev. G.
Leslie Glenn. Interment will be
private.
Frank Brett Noyes listed himself
as "Newspaperman." He thought
it was the most honorable title that
could be self-conferred. He was
fond of quoting his fathers admonl-
ton that any one who wanted to do
anything else or be anything other
than a newspaperman had no right
to call himself one. He remained a
neWspaperman as long as he lived,
proud of his calling, jealous OF its
good name.
Years before he died he had be-
come the surviving member OF a
generation of newspapermen whose
successful efforts in conducting the
Associated Press left profound i'm
preston on the course OF modern
journalism. He used to complain,
after he turned 80, that he was
living on borrowed time and there
was no logical reason for his con-
tinued existence except to remena-
ber, perhaps, some of the things
that no one else could remember
because he was the sole survivor.
He had q long memory, clear.
orderly and-to the distress of those
who differed with him as to facts
remarkably exact. His first recol-
lection, as a child, was Of soldiers
marching through the streets OF
Washington. An impression which
etched itself in his mind-he was
probably 2 or years old-was that
the soldiers carried with them little
squirt guns with which they sucked
water out of mud puddles in the
streets to fill their canteens.
Father Came From Maine.
He was born July 7, 1863, on G
street S.W. (S2 was the number.
since changed in South Washing
ton on what was then known as
The Island" His father was Crosby
Stuart Noyes and his mother Eliza
beth williams. Crosby Noyes had
come to Washington from Maine in
1852, riding farmers wagon into
the city from Baltimore and carry
ing all his worldly possessions on his
back. He had joined The Star in
1855, three years after it had been
founded, and when Frank was born.
he was running the paper as editor
in fact, if not title. Frank Noyes'
greatest treat, as youngster, was
to accompany his father on Sunday
afternoons to The Star Office and
while his father busted himself with
preparations for the next days
paper, the little boy played around
the Office with the tools Of the trade,
pastepot and shears. He loved the
pungent smell of newspaper Of
fice-redolent mixture of paper and
printers ink-and in that atmos-
phere he spent his life.
He went to school first at Ann
Willett's private school in South
Washington and he later attended
the old Jefferson School, graduated
from the Washington High School
in 1878, and until a few years ago
was regular attendant at the re-
unions of the class of 1886 of that
school-the oldest class of graduates.
He started to college Columbian.
later George Washington, Univer-
sity), but did not finish, his father
agreeing with him that he might
absorb as much education by read
ing. Unlike his older brother, the
late Theodore w. Noyes, he did not
take to formal education. But he
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