Photos courtesy of Mary Rose Rivett & Anne Elizabeth Owen.
Francesca Bertha Marion "Daisy" Sexton (AKA Frances)	George Edward Noble
Born: 10 Oct 1857 in on a troop ship, the Beechworth - hence the middle name: Bertha.	Born: September 8, 1846, Camberwell, Surrey, England.
Died: June 13, 1945, at Wharnford Hospital, near Oxford, England	Died: April 10, 1901, in London
Father: John Malone SEXTON, born 04 Aug 1832 in Ballina, Tipperary, Ireland.	Father: John NOBLE (1799-1890) an East India merchant who retired between 1861-1871.
Mother: Josephine Mary O'BRIEN, 25 Mar 1835 in probably Newcastle, Co. Limerick, Ireland.	Mother: Mary Ann LAYCOCK

THEIR CHILDREN:
John Frederick Sexton NOBLE. Born Aug 7, 1876 at Fort Bombay, Bombay India. In the 1911 Census, he lived at 37 Inverness Terrace, Paddington W and was an accountant.. The source for his birth date: London, England, Freedom of the City Admission Papers, 1681-1925. In the 1891 Census, he was staying with his grandfather John M. SEXTON and two aunts in Brixton. He was a classical student.
William George Tillotsen Noble b: 25 Oct 1878 in Kensington, London, England d: 24 Dec 1934 in Buchanan Hospital, Hastings, England. He married Miriam Anna Lydia Barton on July 6, 1907 in Church of Our Lady of Victories, High Street, Kensington d: April 1953.
Mary Frances Margaret Noble b: 10 Nov 1881 [No record of a birth in England] d: 19 Nov 1884 in 23 Linden Gardens, Notting Hill, London, England.
Mary Josephine "Molly" NOBLE. Born May 21, 1888 at St. John's Place, Hong Kong. SOURCE: HK PRO. In the 1901 UK census, her age is 12 years. She was engaged 17 July 1912 to "Lionel, John Crowly Anderson" of HKSB Shanghai. NOTE: The name of George Edward NOBLE's eldest daughter was first found in the Hong Kong Public Records Office. I learned more thanks to Dr. Eileen Scully: 1912 July 12, the Hong Kong daily press announced the engagement of Mary Josephine "Molly" NOBLE, eldest daughter of G.E. NOBLE. They had a daughter, Margaret Diana NOBLE, born in Tientsin Jan 13, 1918
Kathleen Louisa NOBLE Born January 1, 1890 at St. Johns Place, Hong Kong. IN 1910, she married Edmund Ford Callaghan. .

L-R: Unnamed Amah, Kathleen NOBLE (b. Jan 1, 1890); unnamed boy (he looks too young to be William George Tillotsen NOBLE who would be between 11-12 years old); George Edward NOBLE; Mary Josephine "Mollie" NOBLE ( b. May 21, 1888).

This photo labelled "Noble and Family in Hong Kong" was found at Gilford Castle [Thanks to Christine Wright]. Thanks to help from HSBC archivist Tina Staples, it is now certain that the man in the photo is George Edward NOBLE who worked with Sir Thomas JACKSON at HSBC. Based on the birth date of the infant daughter, this photo was taken in 1890. I would guess that this boy was born in the early or mid-1880s.

September 2012: I have written and posted two pieces to my blog, one on George Edward NOBLE and one on Frances Bertha Marion SEXTON. NOTE: Both of these blog pieces need to updated with new information, and there are a few errors in them. They are on my very long to-do list.
I am indebted to the help of Terry Noble, Alistair Nobel, Prof. Ellen Scully, Raymond Noble, Christine Wright and Thomas H.F. Kidman - amongst others, some of whom I have lost contact with. More recently, I am also indebted to Mary Rose Rivett & Anne Elizabeth Owen.
I have also added: Chronology of the life of George Edward NOBLE. as well as a couple of family trees: SEXTON-NOBLE family trees.

GRAB BAG OF SOURCES & KNOWN FACTS (the following is overdue for a rewrite - and is on my to-do list)

The probate of his will shows that George Edward NOBLE died at 37 Inverness Terrace, Hyde Park in the County of Middlesex. Executors were his nephew Henry Heywood NOBLE (a son of Henry NOBLE) and Dr. William HARTIGAN (who was physician for HSBC and a brother-in-law of Sir Thomas JACKSON). I ordered this will on line, but several pages were unavailable because of how they were bound. It will take a visit in person to get the rest of the information. Regrettably, that will be the information that matters most!
The 1911 Census shows Henry Heywood NOBLE living in Lancashire aged 50.

At the time of her daughter "Molly's" engagement, Frances or Francesca NOBLE lived at 37 Inverness Terrace, Hyde Park, London. SOURCE: HK PRO. [Thanks to Dr. Eileen Scully for this.] Francesca NOBLE, was in attendance at the funeral of Sir Thomas JACKSON in December 1915. SOURCE: The London and China Telegraph December 24, 1915.

George Edward NOBLE and Frances SEXTON were married in Bombay. SOURCE: Recollections of H.D. Sharpin in the HSBC archives. Sharpin's father was Frederick Lloyd SHARPIN, Archdeacon of Bombay at the time and officiated at their wedding. Her family was of Irish descent. At the time of the 1911 Census, her sister Myrna - who was born in Ireland abt 1875 - was staying with them.

G.E. NOBLE 1889-1890 - when he was briefly Chief Manager of HSBC before illness forced him to resign.

In February 1866, G.E. Noble was recruited from the Commercial Bank Corporation of India where he had already been working as an agent in Bombay. (NOTE: Seven months later, Thomas JACKSON was hired.) Going from NOBLE's birth records, he was merely 19 years old when he started work with HSBC. [NOTE: There are likely to have been other NOBLE family connections in India. I continue to consider the relationships of dozens of other NOBLE families in India. Also of interest is the name of George Noble TAYLOR, mentioned in the Madras Civil Fund Family Register.]

As far as George E. NOBLE's banking career went, he had many of the same experiences as Sir Thomas Jackson - Shanghai, Hong Kong, Bombay . Both starting young and rising through the ranks (small as they were at the start). In 1882, he was brought to Hong Kong as sub-manager and in 1886 was appointed Inspector. He eventually succeeded Sir Thomas JACKSON on January 1, 1889 (when Sir Thomas took a short leave). Regrettably for NOBLE, his reign was short. He became ill and in March 1890 and was in urgent need of emergency sick leave. In appreciation, the Board offered him $10,000 to tide him over.

“But NOBLE was not to return. In June there was some criticism of NOBLE’s handling of Head Office overdrafts, and in July the Board asked for a confidential medical report. As the latter was unfavourable, the question of NOBLE’s handling of the Bank’s affairs was never formally considered independently; the medical report was sufficient to cause NOBLE to cancel his already booked return passage; and the Board granted him a further year’s leave. JACKSON was to stay until de BOVIS could return to become acting Chief Manager – again pending NOBLE’s eventual recovery. …. By mid-1891 the Board had ascertained that NOBLE could not return to Hong Kong …” [SOURCE King, History of HSBC Vol. I p414]

"A mid-1890 internal investigation … revealed that NOBLE had initially set sound credit limits for brokers, but that beginning in August and September 1889 he had under pressure permitted these limits to be exceeded …” [SOURCE: Ibid. p.436]

"When due to ill health GE NOBLE retired from the junior manager’s position in the London Office, he requested appointment to the Committee, explaining to the Board that many British banks followed such a custom. The Board agreed…” He died in 1901. [SOURCE: Ibid. p.471]

From the 1901 Census and from his will, we learn his date of death, age and confirm the name of his wife ("Frances" in the Census - but "Francesca" in the HK PRO files). He died at home at 37 Inverness Terrace, Hyde Park in the County of Middlesex. His two daughters were aged 10 & 12 and living at home. In the same residence in 1901 was also a relative, Myna SEXTON (described as a son-in-law born in Ireland - but I suspect she was female as her first name is a common name for an Indian woman) a Johanna ROCHE and five servants: Agnes REARDON, Kate FIELD, Elizabeth ? and Alice PERRY.

George Edward NOBLE's son, J.F.S. NOBLE also served in the HSBC from 1896-1903. His highest rank was as a junior in Hong Kong and he left the Bank during his first home leave. Also, George Edward NOBLE's wife's youngest brother, G.H.N. SEXTON [George Henry Noble SEXTON] also served from 1896-1903 and his highest rank was as a junior in Bombay. His family was described by Frank H.H. King as Anglo-Indian. He subsequently left the Bank for the Catholic priesthood (King. Vol. I, p. 578).In the HK PRO records, there are records relating to: Septimus Sexton; Shanghai; Macau; James Logan Sexton Machado; Robert Woolfsen Sexton; Maria Anna Machado Sexton; George Henry Noble  Sexton; Hk And Shanghai Bank.