Noyes was born in Haverhill, Massachusetts. He was orphaned at the age of three and was raised in New Hampshire by his grandfather and a guardian. At the age of thirteen, he was apprenticed to the printer of The Morning Star, a religious newspaper published in Dover, New Hampshire. He remained an apprentice for over four years until he left to enter an academy in Kingston, New Hampshire. He graduated from Dartmouth College in 1857, then moved to Cincinnati, Ohio, and attended the Cincinnati Law School. Noyes served in the Union Army during the Civil War. He helped organize the 39th Ohio Infantry, and was rewarded with a commission as its first major on July 27, 1861. Within a few months, he had become the regiment's colonel. Noyes married Margaret W. Proctor at Kingston, New Hampshire in February, 1863, while on leave from the army. He was severelywounded in his ankle in a skirmish at Ruff's Mill on July 4, 1864, during the Atlanta Campaign and, as a result, had his left leg amputated. Three months later, Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker assigned Noyes, who was still recuperating and using crutches, to the command of Camp Dennison near Cincinnati, breveted him as a brigadier general. Noyes commanded the post until April 22, 1865, when he resigned to become city solicitor. He was elected in October 1866 as the probate judge of Hamilton County. He was elected to the governorship in 1871, besting another former Union Army officer, Col. George W. McCook, by more than twenty thousand votes. He served one two-year term between 1872–74, pushing for stricter coal mine inspection laws and promoting fish conservation. He lost re-election in 1873 by 817 votes, 50.1% - 49.9%. In 1874, he was appointed an Ohio Commissioner of the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia He later served as Rutherford B. Hayes's Minister to France from 1877–81, a patronage reward for his strong support of his fellow Buckeye soldier during Hayes' presidential campaign. He died on September 4, 1890 in Cincinnati, Ohio. He was buried in Spring Grove Cemetery in Cincinnati, Ohio.
