~ Stephen Moore of Mount Tirzah Family ~

STEPHEN MOORE CHRONOLOGY

2010-05-23T17:15:00.001-04:00

Documented events from his birth

To his move to North Carolina

1734-1775

Compiled by Terri Bradshaw O’Neill

Stephen Moore was the 17th of 18 children born to Col. John Moore of New York City, and his wife, Frances (Lambert) Moore. There were three sets of twins, all males, and only one twin of two sets survived: Thomas, and Lambert.

• 19 Oct 1734-STEPHEN MOORE born, NYC. [Source: Moore Family Bible. This Bible is located in the Webb Papers, #1900, Southern Historical Collection, Wilson Library, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, hereafter SHC-UNC. The Bible bears Stephen Moore’s bookplate but was published by Mathew Carey, Philadelphia in 1802, 3 years after Stephen’s death. Most of the handwriting is Mary (Moore) Stanford's and Cornelia Webb's, with a few entries in an unknown hand.]

• c. Jan 1738/9-sister ANN born, last of siblings. [Source: Letter- from Ann Moore, dated Throg’s Neck, Jan. 1808 to Mary (Moore) Stanford, located in the Stanford Papers, #2096, SHC-UNC.]

• 29 Oct 1749-father JOHN MOORE died, Stephen inherited WEST POINT, age 15. [Source: Will of John Moore, NY Wills, Liber 17, p. 44, dated 4 Sep 1748, proved 9 Nov 1749.]

• c. 1750-1-Stephen MOORE “brought up in business” or apprenticed to the Hon. John WATTS of NYC. [Source: Moore, John Memoirs of an American Official in Service of the King, p. 36, from the Journal of American History, Vol. 4, #1:36-8 1910, hereafter MAOSK. It is perhaps during his apprenticeship with John Watts that Stephen began his work as a scribe or clerk in the Secretary of the Province’s office transcribing deeds and other documents into the registers.]

• 14 DEC 1753-Stephen MOORE served as witness to a very complicated indenture or deed involving descendants of Stephen van Cortlandt. [Source: New York Deeds-Secretary of State, Vol. 16:289-96, FHL film #0945273.]

• 1757-commissioned LT. in NY Regiment. [Source: DeLancey, Edward F. Muster Rolls of New York Provincial Troops 1755-64, p.539]

• 1758-expedition against Ft. Stanwix. [Source: Moore, John MAOSK.]

• 1759-probably with Col. John BRADSTREET & Sir Jeffrey AMHERST in expeditions against Ticonderoga and Crown Point [Source: MAOSK]

• c. 1760-appointed Deputy Paymaster General for the British Army of Canada. [Source: MAOSK]

• c. 1761-formed partnership in Quebec with Hugh FINLAY. Firm of Moore & Finlay in business until c. 1769. [Source: Dictionary of Canadian Biography, Vol.5, p.314-Biographical sketch of Hugh Finlay. While a General Merchandise store went out of business in May 1765, it appears from Court records that the partnership stayed intact until about 1769 as a Shipping business.]

• 21 Aug 1762-godfather along with his brother-in-law, John SMITH to nephew Richard Channing MOORE, who later became Bishop of Virginia. [Source: John Moore’s memoirs, “Leisure Hours Employment”, p. 32, at NYHS Library]

• 5 Nov 1762-son ROBERT born, location unknown. [Source: Biographical sketch of Robert Moore says that he was the only child of Stephen Moore and Julia, an actress. The sketch was made in preparation for a Moore family reunion held at Mt. Tirzah, 3 Oct 1925, and was found in the A W Graham Papers, Series 2.8, Moore family folder #257, UNC-Chapel Hill, Wilson Library, Southern Historical Collection.]

• c. Jan 1763-Stephen in Montreal. [Source: Letter-dated 1 Jan 1769, New York, to S. Moore at Quebec, from the Gratz Collection, Historical Society of PA, hereafter HSP.]

• c. Feb 1763-Stephen’s feat of taking dispatches from GEN. HALDIMAND in Quebec to SIR Jeffrey AMHERST at NYC, in 10 days. [Source: MAOSK, p. 36-7. Agnes Miller's article, Owner of West Point, speculates that he carried a letter from Haldimand to Amherst, dated 12 Feb 1763]

• 30 Apr 1763-first known letter from sister REBECCA MOORE, direction unknown. [Source: South Caroliniana Library, Stephen Moore papers, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, hereafter SC Lib.]

• 24 Nov 1763-Stephen in London; first known letter of sister, FRANCES (MOORE) BAYARD. [Source: SC Lib. Frances' son, Samuel Bayard, Jr. is with Stephen.]

• 13 Dec 1764 Stephen mentioned as Paymaster to the Regiment, in a letter from John WATTS to Sir Wm. Baker. [Source: Collections of the New-York Historical Society, 1928, Vol. LXI:316, The Letter Book of John Watts]

• 10 Jan 1765-Stephen and his brother THOMAS both recommended as a replacement for Mr. Marsh, Clerk of Albany & Secretary to Indian Affairs, who had died. [Source: Collections of the New-York Historical Society, 1928, Vol. LXI:319-20, The Letter Book of John Watts]

• 27 Sep 1766-signs an address and welcome to new Gov. of Province of Quebec with 46 other Merchants & Traders. [Source: Quebec Gazette, 29 Sep 1766]

• 8 Aug 1768-letter of Rebecca MOORE directed to Stephen at Quebec. [Source: SC Lib. Frances' son, Nicholas Bayard with Stephen]

• 21 Dec 1768-Stephen settled the WEST POINT property on GRIZEY PHILLIPS as a marriage gift. [Source: Recorded in Papers of the Continental Congress, Roll 24, item 60, p. 441, 24 May 1784.This instrument is not recorded in Orange Co., NY, Deeds, and is in the handwriting of Stephen Moore.]

• 25 Dec 1768-Stephen married to Grizey PHILLIPS of Boston, at Quebec. [Source: Moore Family Bible]

• c. 1769-Stephen’s business partner, HUGH FINLAY, married Grizey’s sister, MARY PHILLIPS. [Source: Dictionary of Canadian Biography]

• 12 May 1769-letter from Frances BAYARD to Stephen, congratulating him on his marriage. [Source: SC Lib. Frances' son, Nick still in Quebec]

• 28 Sep 1769-Stephen’s reply to Frances' letter, written from Quebec. [Source: SC Lib.]

• 7 Oct 1769-letter from Rebecca MOORE to Stephen at Quebec. [Source: SC Lib. Sam Bayard mentioned as still in Quebec]

• 12 Nov 1769- son JOHN born. [Source: Moore Family Bible. The Bible lists John's birth and death in Mary Moore Stanford's handwriting.]

• 10 Apr 1770-Stephen signs petition protesting an Ordinance to forgive debtors in Quebec. [Source: Documents of the American Revolution, 1770-1783, vol. 1 & 2; K.G. Davies. Apparently, Gov. Guy Carlton of the Province of Quebec, in an effort to curb abuses of Justices in the Province against debtors, forgave all debtors with this Ordinance. Court documents show that Stephen took several people to Court in order to collect outstanding debts owed to the firm of Moore & Finlay. The Ordinance may have led to the final demise of Moore & Finlay's business interests, and led to Stephen's departure from Quebec.]

• 5 May 1770-letter of Frances BAYARD to Stephen, undirected, but still presumably at Quebec. [Source: SC Lib. Mentions both Samuel & Nick Bayard]

• 7 Jun 1770-letter of Rebecca MOORE to Stephen, same as above. [Source: SC Lib.]

• 7 Sep 1770-son JOHN died. Note: It is unknown whether son JOHN died before, during or after the move from Quebec. However, it seems likely that his death occurred during the move. [Source: Moore Family Bible]

• 20 Sep 1770-letter from ANNE PAYSON, Grizey's sister, directed to MRS. GRIZEY MOORE at NEW YORKE. [Source: SHC-UNC, Howell Papers, #1060 A]

• 20 Nov 1770-letter of Rebecca MOORE to Stephen, undirected, mentions "that agreeable wild" and "your improving of it." [Source: SC Lib. This letter indicates that Stephen is now in the West Point area.]

• 14 Dec 1770-letter of sister, ANN MOORE, directed to MRS. STEPHEN MOORE at WEST GROVE in ORANGE. [Source: SHC-UNC, Howell Papers, #1060. West Grove was a community near West Point in Orange Co., NY.]

• 27 Dec 1770-Stephen receives letter from E LEVY, NYC dated 18 Nov 1770; Stephen endorses letter “ans. at Peekskill.” [Source: David Library, Burr Papers-Chancery Court Case Stephen Moore v. Eleazor Levy, 1789, Exhibit A]

• 14 Jul 1771-son PHILLIPS born in NY. [Source: Moore Family Bible]

• 10 Sep 1771-letter of Rebecca MOORE, directed to MR. STEPHEN MOORE at WESTGROVE. [Source: SC Lib.]

• 21 Mar 1772-letter of Rebecca, mentions WEST GROVE. [Source: SC Lib.]

• 5 Jul 1772-petition of Stephen MOORE & 30 others, including brother THOMAS MOORE and nephew JOHN MOORE, for 1,000 acres of vacant land each on the Great River Chazey, nine miles distant from the West Branch of Lake Champlain. [Source: NY State Archives-Land Papers, Vol. 32, p. 28]

• 7 Aug 1772-letter of Rebecca MOORE, mentions "that shell of a house you propose going into", possibly referring to the Red House. [Source: SC Lib.]

• 1 Sep 1772-MORTGAGE recorded between Stephen MOORE and ELEAZOR LEVY of NYC, dated 29 May 1772, on 1080 acre tract at West Point for £1000 with lawful interest. [Source: Orange County, NY, Mortgage Book A, p.134]

• 4 Oct 1772-letter of Rebecca MOORE, directed to MR. STEPHEN MOORE at West Grove. [Source: SC Lib.]

• 5 Nov 1772-letter of Rebecca MOORE, undirected, mentions "you're moved & hope you'll find the House comfortable", probably meaning the Red House at West Point. [Source: SC Lib.]

• 24 Nov 1772-petition granted for land on Lake Champlain to Stephen MOORE and 30 others. [Source: NY Calendar of Council Minutes,1668-1783, p.568]

• 13 Dec 1772-letter of Rebecca MOORE, undirected, wishing Stephen and family a Happy Christmas. [Source: SC Lib. ]

• Apr 1773-Stephen appointed Overseer of Dist. 34, Path Master. [Source: Cornwall (NY) Town Minutes, p. 23]

• 5 Nov 1773-daughter FRANCES born at West Point. [Source: Moore Family Bible]

• 12 Feb 1774-letter of Stephen to Grizey. He is apparently on a trip to Canada or the Lake Champlain area. [Source: SHC-UNC, Howell Papers #1060]

• APR 1774-Stephen appointed Overseer, Path Master, Dist. 34. [Source: Cornwall Town Minutes, p. 25]

• 10 MAY 1775-letter of Rebecca MOORE directed to MR. STEPHEN MOORE at WEST POINT. This is the first and only letter bearing that address. [Source: SC Lib.]

Sometime between the date of this last recorded letter and Sept of 1776, the date of the next known letter of Stephen Moore, he had moved his family to North Carolina, first settling in Granville County, and then acquiring land and establishing himself in Orange and Caswell Counties, which finally became Person County.

to be continued...

James Edwin Webb

2010-01-25T00:00:00.004-05:00

[EDITOR'S NOTE]: For those of you who attended the 1991 West Point Reunion, do you remember visiting the Thayer Award Room? One of those who was given this prestigious award was a member of our Stephen Moore Family. James E. Webb received that recognition in 1981. In addition, Webb was presented with the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Lyndon Johnson in 1969. His recognition continues to this day, as the future telescope that follows the Hubble was named the James Webb Space Telescope in 2002. Thanks to Thompson Webb, III who directed me to this site.

[From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, accessed 24 January 2010.]

James Edwin Webb (October 7, 1906 – March 27, 1992) was the second administrator of NASA, serving from February 14, 1961 to October 7, 1968.

Webb oversaw NASA from the beginning of the Kennedy administration through the end of the Johnson administration, thus overseeing all the critical first manned launches in the Mercury through Gemini programs, until just before the first manned Apollo flight. He also dealt with the Apollo 1 fire.

The planned scientific probe (launch now scheduled 2014) originally called the Next Generation Space Telescope (NGST) was renamed in 2002 as the James Webb Space Telescope to honor Webb's memory.

Biography

Early years

Webb was born in the hamlet of "Tally Ho", Granville County, North Carolina; Webb completed his college education at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he received an A.B. degree in education in 1928. He was a member of the Acacia Fraternity. Webb became a second lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps, and he served as a Marine Corps pilot on active duty in 1930-32. Webb then studied law at the The George Washington University Law School in 1934-36, and he was admitted to the Bar of the District of Columbia in 1936.

Career

Webb enjoyed a long career in public service in Washington, D.C., first serving as a secretary to the North Carolina Congressman Edward W. Pou, in 1932-34. He next served as an assistant in the office of O. Max Gardner, an attorney and former governor of North Carolina, in 1934-36. In 1936, Webb became the personnel director, the secretary-treasurer, and later the vice president of the Sperry Gyroscope Company in Brooklyn, New York, before he re-entered the Marine Corps in 1944 during World War II.

After World War II, Webb returned to Washington and served as executive assistant to O. Max Gardner, by then an Under Secretary in the U.S. Department of the Treasury, before being named as the director of the Bureau of the Budget in the Office of the President of the United States, a position that he held until 1949. President Harry S. Truman next requested for Mr. Webb to serve as an Under Secretary of State in the U.S. Department of State. When the Truman administration ended in January 1953, Webb left Washington, D.C., for a position in the Kerr-McGee Oil Corp. in Oklahoma City, but he was still active in government circles, for instance serving on the Draper Committee in 1958.

NASA

Webb returned to Washington in 1961 when he accepted the position of the Administrator of NASA. Under his direction, the agency undertook to achieve the goal set by President John F. Kennedy of landing an American on the Moon before the end of the decade of the 1960s through the success of the Apollo program. For seven years after President Kennedy's May 25, 1961, announcement of the goal of a manned lunar landing, through October 1968, Webb endeavored for support for NASA in Congress. As a longtime Washington insider, and with the backing of President Lyndon B. Johnson, he was able to acquire continued support for and resources to accomplish the Apollo Moon landing on the schedule President Kennedy had announced.

During his administration, NASA developed from a loose collection of research centers into a coordinated organization. Webb had a key role in creating the Manned Spacecraft Center, later, the Johnson Space Center, near Houston, Texas. Despite the pressures to focus on the Apollo program, Webb ensured that NASA carried out a meaningful program of planetary exploration with the Mariner and Pioneer space probe programs.

NASA Distinguished Service Award and medal

Webb was in the leadership of NASA during the Apollo 1 accident in 1967. Webb told the media at the time, "We've always known that something like this was going to happen sooner or later. ... Who would have thought that the first tragedy would be on the ground?" Webb went to President Johnson and asked that NASA be allowed to handle the accident investigation, and to direct its recovery from the accident. He promised to be truthful in assessing blame, and he pledged to assign that to himself and NASA management, as appropriate. The agency set out to discover the details of the tragedy, to correct problems, and to continue its progress to the Apollo 11 lunar landing.

Webb reported his investigation's findings to various Congressional committees, and he took a personal grilling at nearly every meeting. Whether by happenstance or by design, Webb managed to deflect some of the backlash over the accident away from both NASA as an agency and from the Johnson administration. As a result, NASA's image and popular support were largely undamaged.

However, Webb was a Democrat tied closely to Johnson, and, with Johnson choosing not to run for reelection, decided to step down as administrator as this would allow the next president to choose his own administrator. [1]

Webb was informed by CIA sources in 1968 that the Soviet Union was developing its own heavy N1 rocket for a manned lunar mission, and he directed the MSFC to prepare Apollo 8 for a possible lunar orbital mission in 1968. At the time Webb's assertions about the Soviet Union's abilities were doubted by some people, and the N-1 was dubbed "Webb's Giant". However later revelations about the Soviet Moonshot - after the collapse of the USSR - have given support to Webb's conclusion. Webb left NASA in October 1968, just before the first manned flight in the Apollo Program was scheduled for launch.

In 1969, Webb was presented with the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Lyndon Johnson.

Personal life

After retiring from NASA, Webb remained in Washington, D.C., serving on several advisory boards, including serving as a regent of the Smithsonian Institution. In 1981, he was awarded the prestigious Sylvanus Thayer Award by the United States Military Academy at West Point for his dedication to his country.

Webb was married to Patsy Aiken Douglas in 1938, and they had two children: Sarah Gorham Webb (b. 1945), and James Edwin Webb, Jr., (b. 1947). He died in 1992, and was buried in the Arlington National Cemetery.

Legacy

In the 1998 miniseries, From the Earth to the Moon, Webb was played by Dan Lauria.

NASA's planned James Webb Space Telescope was renamed in Webb's honor in 2002. The telescope is referred to as "the Hubble successor".

Bibliography

• W. Henry Lambright, Powering Apollo: James E. Webb of NASA; Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1995; ISBN 0-8018-6205-1

• Piers Bizony, The man who ran the moon: James E Webb, NASA, and the secret history of project Apollo; New York: Thunder's mouth press, 2006; ISBN 1-56025-751-2

References

1. http://www.lbjlib.utexas.edu/Johnson/archives.hom/oralhistory.hom/WEBB-J/webb.pdf Webb oral biography. Transcript, James E. Webb Oral History Interview I, 1969/04/29, by T. H. Baker, Internet Copy, LBJ Library. Accessed May 28, 2009.

2. Portions of this article are based on public domain text from NASA.

3. Encyclopaedia Britannica, James Edwin Webb

4. Transcript, James E. Webb Oral History Interview I, 4/29/69, by T. H. Baker, Internet Copy, LBJ Library.

Gilbert Moore Bible

2010-01-18T15:30:00.003-05:00

As many of you know by now, Stephen was my 4-great grandfather, Robert was my 3-great grandfather, and Gilbert was my 2-great grandfather. Gilbert Moore married Levina Satterfield on the 19th October 1830 and this is their bible.

Through many years of handling, the bible is in very fragile condition today. It still retains its leather binding and the engraving on the cover is remarkably good.

The first pages of the old testament are now gone, and the pages have loosened from the binding as seen here:

Fortunately, since there exists no title page to the old testament, there is one for the new testament which allows us to know the publisher [H&E Phinney, Cooperstown, NY] and date of publication [1832]:

The Family Record section in the middle of the bible gives us quite a bit of information. On page one under Marriages, is listed the following information: "Gilbert Moore & Levina Satterfield was married the 19th Oct. 1830 ~"

Page two lists Births

Francis Ann Moore was

Born 23rd July 1831

Radford Robert Moore

was born 7th March 1833

James William Moore was

Born 13th September 1835

Thomas Barnett Moore was

Born 4th August 1837

George Lewis Moore was

Born 4th Stept. 1839.

George Washington Moore was

born 5th July 1841

Sarah Elizabeth Moore

was born 15th June 1843

Martha Jane Moore

was born July 15, 1845

Mary C. Moore

was born Augt 8th 1848

Page three also shows Births, but these appear to be the births of their slaves:

Births

Af Blacks

Mary's children

Eliza was born August 1st

1840

Mahaley was born 27th

July 1842

Lcory ~ was born April

8th 1845.

Mary Susan was

born 23 Sept [smudged] 1856

Page four in the Family Record lists

Deaths

George Lewis Moore died

27th Sept. 1840

Robert R. Moore died

Sept 17th 1862 in the

Battle of Sharpsburg

Thomas T. Satterfield

died Sept 4th 1872

Lavina Moore died

december the 23 1882

in the 79 year of

her age

Gilbert Moore

died July the 5

1883 in the 78 year

of his age

[Ed. note: Robert R. Moore and Thomas T. Satterfield are very faint pencil entries. Lavina and Gilbert made bold as senior members of the family.]

The Writings of Stephen Moore

2009-12-11T18:14:00.006-05:00

Stephen Moore was a prolific writer and record keeper and fortunately, much of his writing is preserved in various repositories. The following document may be found at the Wilson Library, Southern Historical Collection, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.¹ It appears to be a draft of an address, written about 1797, organizing his thoughts on the topic of revising the Constitution.

~~~~~~

All political power is vested in and derived from the people only.~~
A frequent recurrence to fundamental principles is absolutely necessary to preserve the blessings of Liberty.~~

Happy for us my fellow citizens of North Carolina, that the two foregoing articles are not only implied, but are wisely recorded in our list or Bill of Rights, as the uncontroverted Privileges of the body of the people at large—they are of ancient authority, & it wants nothing but the becoming spirit of a free people to establish & maintain the same Principles to the last days of our liberty—

We are now in the 21^st. year since our present Govern. had its formation, & was there no other reason than the general Idea set forth in our declaration of rights, that a frequent Recurrence & al.

It would be highly proper that the people should claim a Privilege of reminding our rulers that they have not a life inheritance in their power of Governing—long used customs (even without an original authority) ~~gain~~ root themselves into establishments, & are frequently in that way made use of for pernicious purposes; but my fellow citizens, we need not at present be urged by Ideal motives for revising our Constitution—look to our Gen. Assembly in session, & look to the harvest of their labour. If the crop be worth the seed, I am bad at calculation.

Next, turn your attention to the Judicial benches of our counties, & you will there see crowds of Justices Sacrificing the laws of their Country. If it be not altogether from their ignorance, it is by their aspiring for popularity or for some other sinister purpose. Judicial acts of partiality are now become so common & the Courts are so contemptible in several other respects, that many people rather submit to private injuries, than be put to the hazard of being wronged by such mock Judiciaries

These and sundry other more minute Evils, with the detail of which it is not necessary to lengthen this address, must convince every considerate person that (although our Constitution is upon the whole as good as we could have expected at the distressed time of its formation) still a 21 years trial, together with the sundry changes in our general as well as State Governm’t. shews an absolute necessity for a number of very important changes in the fundamentals of our Constitution—

The ability & Constitutional or rather innate propriety of taking in hand a reformation, being beyond contradiction, let us next consider the measures we are to pursue to bring about the desired purposes—And to this end it is recommended that the free men in each County, do for the sake of uniformity, in an orderly & peaceable manner, convene at their usual places of holding Elections, on the ____ & ____ days of August next, and then make a Judicious choice of 5 reputable & well informed men, to represent their body in a general convention of the States & that Selection to meet at the Seat of Government on the ___ day of November, & then & there to take the Government into their hands, and frame & establish such a Constitution for the future Government of our Country as in their wisdom they shall see right.
____________________________________________
¹#2205-Stephen Moore Papers, Series 2, 1769-1794, Folder 3B - Southern Historical Collection.

Stephen Moore's Mt. Tirzah 1777-1806

2009-11-30T21:00:00.003-05:00

Compiled by

Stephen Moore, a 4th Great Grandson

Stephen Moore began the acquisition of his Mt. Tirzah estate on 9 January 1777 when he purchased a tract of 220 (described in the indenture as 265) acres of land in Orange County from Arthur and Elizabeth Moore, no relation to Stephen¹. This land had been part of a 365 acre grant made to John Allen Tharp in 1761 by John Earl of Granville. On 27 March of the same year, Stephen bought another Orange County parcel from James Dickins². This parcel, described in the indenture as 70 acres, was actually 145 acres and comprised the remainder of the 365 acres of the Tharp grant. On 9 May 1777, these parcels became part of the new Caswell County. The two parcels looked like this (measurements in chains, 1 chain = 66 feet):

The property lay on minor tributaries of the Flat River in the western part and was traversed southwest to northeast by the Hillsboro Road.

On 11 July 1778, Stephen laid claim to three parcels of land surrounding his homestead³. His claims were filed in Palmyra and warrants were issued for the parcels to be surveyed. A warrant for the survey of grant 801 was issued on 11 July 1778. This tract was surveyed on 24 December 1778⁴. The State of North Carolina ultimately approved the claims and granted the three parcels of land to Stephen; Grant No. 689 of 640 acres⁵; Grant No. 691 of 692 acres⁶; and Grant No. 801⁷ of 640 acres. The deeds were recorded on 10 November 1784. Grant No. 691 was actually 640 acres as testified to by the 1784 tax list of Caswell County. In that list, Stephen was credited with 2285 acres, the original 365 acres plus 1920 acres in grants.

On 19 January 1788, Stephen purchased a 250 acre parcel from Robert Dickins.⁸ This parcel was divided by the Deep Creek of the Flat River and contained a ford on that creek for the Hillsboro Road. Stephen purchased a second parcel from Robert Dickins on 17 February 1790 comprising 125 acres lying on small branches of Deep Creek.⁹ Stephen’s holdings were now 2660 acres. After Stephen’s death, his executors Grizey, Robert and Phillips purchased, on 28 May 1800, an additional 13 ¾ acres from James Cochran, the property described as “on Meadow Br on the Great Road.”¹⁰ This parcel, a small triangular plot, lay on the north side of the Helena-Moriah Road.

The estate now comprised 2673¾ acres. The following plat shows the various parcels of Stephen’s estate as of June 1800.

A - 4 January 1777 from Arthur Moore

B - 27 March 1777 from James Dickins

C - 1784 Grant 689

D - 1784 Grant 691

E - 1784 Grant 801
F - 19 January 1788 from Robert Dickins
G - 17 February 1790 from Robert Dickins
H – 28 May 1800 from James Cochran

Here is a reasonably accurate rendition of what the estate would have looked like in June 1800.

There are numerous differences in the various surveys of the estate. The most accurate surveys seem to be the ones performed by Phillips Moore in October 1805. I have chosen to use the metes and bounds of those surveys, with minor exceptions, as the baseline for this study.

Stephen’s sons Robert and Phillips had established their own homesteads and their “plantations” are mentioned in Stephen’s will. Stephen’s brother Charles had his home on Stephen’s land, Stephen’s will stating that Charles held a life lease on the land and that it would revert upon Charles’ death. Charles died ca. 1801 and his lease, therefore, does not show in the plats of the division of the estate following Stephen’s death. Stephen’s will suggests that Robert and Phillips had purchased land adjacent to Stephen’s estate. His bequest states, “The plantations now in the respective possession of my sons Robt. Moore and Phillips Moore are hereby confirmed to them as a part of their respective bequest, together with as much land contiguous and convenient to their respective settlements….” Additionally, the descriptions of Mary Stanford’s and Grizey’s parcels in the 1805 survey show that Robert owned property to the north of Stephen’s estate (See attachment K).

Stephen’s will (attachment I) stipulated that his wife Grizey was to receive 1/3rd of the estate and that the remaining 2/3rds was to be equally divided among his children and his sister Ann. The Person County Court met in September 1803 and ordered Jesse Dickins and other Commissioners to divide the estate. Their proposed division of the estate was exhibited in Court in the March term of 1804 and ordered to be recorded.¹¹ That division is shown below:

This is what the parcels would have looked like on an overlay of the topography.

Grizey’s “widow’s dower” was included in the parcels laid out for Samuel, Portius and Sidney. One wonders how this division was concluded as it clearly is not in accordance with Stephen’s will, which stipulated that Grizey would get one-third of the estate and the remaining two-thirds would be equally divided among his children and sister. By August of 1805, it was clear that this division was not working for the legatees, who made the following petition.

State of N. Carolina

[Per]son County

We the undersigned legatees hereby agree that the division of the real estate of the late Genl Stephen Moore by Comm[issioners] appointed by Person County Court be set aside and that the estate be again divided.

August 13th, 1805

Phillips Moore

R. Stanford

Mary Stanford

Robert Moore

Grizey Moore

Ann Moore

Frances Dickins

Jesse Dickins

Of note is the fact that Portius, age 20, did not sign the petition. He stood to lose land in any subsequent division honoring Grizey’s entitlement to one-third of the estate’s land. The other two legatees, Samuel and Sidney, were ages 16 and 10 respectively and not of age to have signed.

The Commissioners met again on 26 and 27 December 1805 and reapportioned the estate. In this division Grizey was allotted one-third of the estate and the remaining two-thirds was equitably divided among the other legatees. A monetary settlement was made among the latter based on the value of the property they were allotted. The plats of this division and the terms of the monetary settlements were exhibited in open court in the March Term 1806 and ordered to be recorded.¹² Here is a plat of the 1806 division.

Taking what appear to be the most accurate measurements from the various surveys and the very detailed 1805 survey description of Robert’s parcel on Deep Creek, as well as the configuration of that creek, we can postulate, with reasonable accuracy, what the estate would have looked like following the 1806 division as an outline on the topography.

References:

1-Person County Record Book A, page 81; attachment A.
2-Person County Record Book A, page 82; attachment B.
3-In 1777, North Carolina permitted its residents to claim vacant lands that had been owned by the King of England or the Earl of Granville.
4-See attachment L.
5-State of North Carolina Land Grant 689; attachment C.
6-State of North Carolina Land Grant 691; attachment D.
7-State of North Carolina Land Grant 801; attachment E.
8-Person County Record Book E, page 229; attachment F.
9-Person County Record Book G, page 24; attachment G.
10-Person County Deed Book C, p. 230; attachment H. Kendall, Katharine Kerr. Person County, North Carolina Deed Books 1792-1825. Baltimore, MD, USA: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1994.
11-Person County Record Book 3, pages 252-261; attachment J.
12-See attachment K.

Attachments:
A. Indenture, Arthur Moore to Stephen Moore.
B. Indenture, James Dickins to Stephen Moore.
C. Land Grant 689.
D. Land Grant 691.
E. Land Grant 801.
F. Indenture, Robert Dickins to Stephen Moore.
G. Indenture, Robert Dickins to Stephen Moore.
H. James Cochran to executors of Stephen Moore.
I. Stephen’s will.
J. The 1803/4 division of the estate.
K. The 1805/6 division of the estate.
L. Warrant for survey of Grant 801.

Attachment A

Attachment B

Attachment C

Attachment D

Attachment E

Attachment F

Attachment G

Attachment H

230 James Cochran to exec of Stephen Moore namely Grizey Moore, Robert Moore, Phillips Moore all of Person Co., for $46.50, 13 ¾ A on Flat R adj Blakeley on Meadow Br on the great rd. Said land part bequeathed by his father Alexander Cochran, decd, and taken from 2 tracts – 10 A from grant of John Allenthorp 6 Dec 1761 from John Earl Granville; the other to James Blakeley by John Earl Granville 28 Jun 1761. 28 May 1800. Wit: John Clixby, Richd A. Holland.

Attachment I

The Will of Stephen Moore (1734 1799)

Dated 27 Sept. 1797 – Proved March Term 1800

From Person County Will Book No. 4, pages 342-355

In the name of God Amen.

I, Stephen Moore of Person County in the State of North Carolina, being in health of body and of disposing mind and memory do make this my last Will and Testament.

First I do order and direct that my loving wife Grizey Moore do hold and remain in possession of my homestead plantation with all the buildings and improvements thereon together with as much land contiguous and convenient as to make one full third part of my real estate and also one third part of my Personal Estate agreeable to the laws of the State of North Carolina; in, such behalf made and provided.

My executors are to raise from such part of my Estate as is not otherwise disposed of so much as may be necessary to pay my just and lawful debts and to pay the same with all convenient speed. – My wife Grizey Moore is requested to take upon herself the burden and charge of the guardianship and tuition of our children during their nonage unless any or either of them (having a lawful right thereto) may otherwise choose in their own behalf.

Our elder children having had their nurture and education without charge having been made against them personally it is my Will that a reasonable and equitable proportion of my estate (before a division) be set apart and appropriated to the nurture and tuition of my younger children, the care and tuition of whom is hereby most earnestly recommended to the strict attention of my executors—and (excepting my household and kitchen furniture and wearing apparel) I do order and direct that the rest and residue of my estate, real and personal be apportioned off or made sale of at the discretion of my Executors and fair and equal division be made of the same, or of the value or proceeds thereof between my sister Ann Moore and my children (to wit) Robert Moore, Phillips Moore, Frances Dickens or her lawful representative, Ann Moore, Mary Moore, Portius Moore, Samuel Moore and Sidney Moore and the child or children that may hereafter be born from our wedlock or the survivor or survivors of them; in equal shares; any or either of such shares are nevertheless subject to a deduction or other adjustment, equal to the value of any debt, valuation of real property by any of them possessed of from me, or balance that may appear, that is due either to or from them by my books of account or otherwise. It being always my express Will and desire that my sister Ann Moore and all my children should fairly and equally share and divide the full value of two thirds of [all] my net estate, real and personal, to them or the survivors of them, their heirs and assigns forever—and after the death of my said wife Grizey Moore the other third part is also to be equally divided between all my other legatees herein before particularly named and mentioned, or the survivors of them or their lawful representatives.

[The plantations now in the respective possession of my sons Robt. Moore and Phillips Moore, are hereby confirmed to them as a part of their respective bequest, together with as much land contiguous and convenient to their respective settlements (regard being always to be had that the boundaries and lines be so fixed, as not to do an unreasonable injury to other divisions to be made) as shall be fixed by indifferent judges allotting to each of them their equitable and proportionate value of my Estate to be divided among my aforesaid legatees.]

The plantation which now is and is to remain in possession of my brother Charles Moore for and during his natural life is to be considered as an allotment for my youngest surviving child and the land to be bounded and extended agreeable to the directions ordered to be observed as to the settlements made by my sons Robert and Phillips—The value of improvement[s] is not to be rated in the estimation of the value of the land, but damages if any, is to be taken into a reasonable estimation; this is directed in consideration of the uncertainty of the time when it may revert to their use, my brother having a life lease with even date of this Will.

Again I do constitute and appoint to execute this Will my wife Grizey Moore Executrix and my sons Robert and Phillips Moore Executors—in witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal at Mount Tirzah this twenty-seventh day of September in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and ninety seven – This being my Will written on two sides of paper in my own proper handwriting without erasure, interlination or witness.

Stephen Moore (seal)

Person County March Term 1800

This Will being exhibited in open Court and the handwriting of Stephen Moore dec’d being proved by the oaths of [Jos] Taylor, William Waite and Charles Moore Junr the same was ordered to be entered on record.

Test

Jesse Dickens

Attachment J

March Term 1804, Book 3, p 252

Agreeable to an order of Person Court September 1803 appointing the undersigned and other Commissioners to divide the estate of Genl Stephen More deceased amongst the legatees agreeable to the tenor of his will and (2 wds). The undersigned Commissioners proceeded to divide the estate by consent of the widow and the other legatees who are of full age. In some respects different from the tenor of the will, the manner of which division will appear by the plans herewith presented Viz.

To the widow Mrs. Grizey Moore a small part of the lot No. 3 laid off for Sidney Moore included in the dotted line is subject to the widow’s dower. Also the whole of the two lotts No. 4 drawn by Samuel Moore and No. 5 drawn by Portius Moore is subject to the widow’s dower except what is included in the dotted lines.

To Phillips Moore No. 1 containing 320 acres of land valued at 23/9d per acre – 380 [values are in pounds, shillings and pence]

To Ann Moore Jr. No. 2 containing 317 acres of land valued at 10s per acre – 158/10

To Sidney Moore No. 3 containing 308 acres of land valued at 22/6 per acre – 346/10

To Samuel Moore No. 4 containing 307 acres of land valued at 25s per acre – 383/15

To Portius Moore No. 5 containing 307 acres of land valued at 33/4 per acre – 511/13/4

To Mary Stanford No. 6 containing 307 acres of land valued at 15s per acre – 230/5

To Ann Moore Sr. No. 7 containing 309 acres of land valued at 10s per acre – 154/10

To Robert Moore No. 8 contained 315 acres of land valued at 22/6 per acre – 354/7/6

To Frances Dickins No. 9 contained 336 acres of land valued at 25s per acre – 420

Wm. Cocke

Chas. Holeman
Woodson Hubbard

The foregoing division is satisfactory to me in

Behalf of Portius Moore, Samuel Moore and

Sidney Moore I being their guardian.

In witness whereof I have set my hand and seal.

Grizey Moore

The above exhibited in Court

and ordered to be recorded.

Jesse Dickins.

March Term 1804

[Plat of land allotted to Phillips Moore]

This plan represents the lott of land laid off for Phillips Moore agreeable to the will of Stephen Moore decd. Beginning at a hickory corner near the Great Road running thence north 15 chains to a red oak thence east 47 chains to a stake thence south 45° east 7 chains to a stake thence south 51 ½ chains to a red oak thence west 60 ½ chains to a red oak Roberts Cate’s corner thence north 38 chains to a stone corner thence east 8 ½ chains to the beginning containing 320 acres of land more or less surveyd the 28th day of Novr 1803.

Chas. Holeman

Person County March Term 1804

The plott of land above was exhibited in open court and ordered to be reco[rded].

Test.

Jesse Dickins

March Term 1804

[Plat of land allotted to Ann Moore (daughter)]

This plan represents the lott of land drawn for Ann Moore Junr out of the lands of Stephen Moore decd. Beginning at a red oak corner in Gooch’s line thence north 51 ½ chains to a stake thence north 45° west 7 chains to a stake thence east 68 chains to a pine thence south 11 chains to a white oak thence west 4 ½ chains to a pine thence south 42 chains to a red oak thence west 56 ½ chains to the beginning containing 317 acres of land more or less surveyd this 28th of Novbr 1803. Chas. Holeman

Person County March Term 1804

The foregoing plott of land was exhibited in open court and ordered to be recorded.

Jesse Dickins

March Term 1804

[Plat of land allotted to Sidney Moore]

This plan represents the lott of land laid off for Sidney Moore agreeable to the will of Stephen Moore deceased. Beginning at a red oak Phillips Moore corner running thence north 18 chains to a stake thence north 56° W 13 chains to a stake in the road [Helena-Moriah Road] thence east 10 ½ chains to a stake in the meadow thence south 2 ½ chains to a stake at the fence thence south 84° E. 26 chains to the middle of the great road [Hillsboro Road] thence east 45 chains to a pine thence north 16 ½ chains to three sowerwoods thence east 46 chains to a pine in Sweanys line thence south 37 chains to a pine thence west 113 chains to the beginning containing 308 acres of land more or less. Surveyd the 28th of Novbr 1803.

Chas. Holeman

NB That part of the above plan which is included within the dotted lines is subject to the widows dower.

Chas. Holeman

Person County March Term 1804

The foregoing plott of land was exhibited in open court and ordered to be recorded.

Test.

Jesse Dickins

March Term 1804

[Plat of land allotted to Samuel Moore]

This plan represents the lott of land drawn for Samuel Moore out of the lands of Stephen Moore deceased. Beginning in the road [Hillsboro Road] at the dividing line between him and Portius Moore thence north 84° west 26 chains to a stake thence north 2 ½ chains to a stake thence west 26 chains to a stake thence north 64 chains to a post oak thence east 23 chains to a black oak thence south 21 chains to a post oak thence east 41 ½ chains to the road thence the course of the road to the beginning containing 307 acres of land more or less the whole of which is subject to the dower of Mrs. Moore except what is included in the dotted lines. Surveyd the 29th of November 1803.
Chas. Holeman

Person County March Term 1804

The forgoing plott of land was exhibited in open court and ordered to be recorded.

Test.

Jesse Dickins

March Term 1804

[Plat of land allotted to Portius Moore]

This plan represents the lott of land drawn for Portious Moore out of the lands of Stephen Moore deceased. Beginning in the road [Hillsboro Road] the dividing line between him and Samuel More thence east 45 chains to a pins thence north 55 chains to a black oak thence west 23 chains to a black jack thence north 22 ½ chains to a post oak thence west 17 ½ chains to a post oak thence south 9 ½ chains to a white oak thence west 30 chains to a black oak thence south 21 chains to a post oak thence east 42 chains to a black oak at the road thence the course of the road to the beginning containing 307 acres of land more or less. Surveyd the 29th November 1803. Chas. Holeman

All the above tract of land represented by this plan is subject to the dower of Mrs. Moore except that part which is included in the dotted lines. Chas. Holeman

Person County March Term 1804

The foregoing plott of land was duly exhibited in open court and ordered to be recorded.

Jesse Dickins

March Term 1804

[Plat of land allotted to Mary Stanford]

This plan represents the lott of land drawn for Mary Stanford out of the lands of Stephen Moore decd. Beginning at a black jack running thence north 22 ½ chains to a post oak thence east 67 chains and 90 links to a pine in Persons line thence south 55 ½ chains to a pine in Swaneys line Sidney Moores corner thence west 46 chains to three sowerwoods thence north 33 chains to a black oak thence west 23 chains to the beginning containing 307 acres of land more or less. Surveyd the 29th day of Novbr 1803.

Chas. Holeman

Person County March Term 1804

The foregoing plott of land was exhibited in open court and ordered to be recorded.

Test. Jesse Dickins

March Term 1804

[Plat of land allotted to Ann Moore (sister)]

This plan represents the lott of land drawn for Ann Moore Senr out of the land of Stephen Moore decd. Beginning at a small white oak running thence west 63 chains to a pine Osborn Jeffreys corner thence north his line 54 chains and 82 links to a pine [thence east 13 chains 50 links] thence south 7 ½ chains to a post oak thence east 49 chains and 66 links to a pine knoll and pointers thence south 47 chains and 38 links to the beginning containing 309 acres of land more or less. Surveyd the 30th of November 1803.
Chas. Holeman

Person County March Term 1804

The foregoing plott of land was exhibited in open court and ordered to be recorded.

Test.

Jess Dickins

March Term 1804

[Plat of land allotted to Robert Moore]

This plan represents the lott of land laid off for Robert Moore agreeable to the will of Stephen Moore deceased. Beginning in the great road [Hillsboro Road] on Stanfords line running thence west 38 ch. 75 links to a small post oak thence north 37 ch. and 88 links to a pine knoll thence east 55 ch. and 54 links to a black oak thence north 26 chains to a pine Clixbys corner thence east 30 chains to Deep Creek thence south down the creek 15 chains thence south 60° east 1 ½ chs. Thence north 60° east 2 1/1 chains thence north 45° east 2 chs. thence south 38° east 4 1/1 chs. thence south 9° east 6 chs. thence south 9° west 8 chs. to the ford of the great road on Deep Creek at a sweet gum corner thence the various courses of the great road as represented by the above plan to the beginning containing 315 acres of land more or less. Surveyd the 31st of Novbr 1803.
Chas. Holeman

Person County March T. 1804

This plott of land was duly exhibited in open court and ordered to be recorded.

Jesse Dickins

March Term 1804

[Plat of land allotted to Frances Dickins]

This plan represents a lott of land drawn for Frances Dickins out of the land of Stephen Moore deceased. Beginning in the great road [Hillsboro Road] running thence east 48 ch + 60 links to a pine in Persons line thence north 13 ½ chs to Persons corner thence east on Persons line 53 chs to his corner black oak thence north 54 chs to a post oak thence west 23 chs. To a red oak thence south 14 chains to a post oak thence west 35 chs. To Deep Creek thence down the creek as the meanders to the public road to a sweet gum corner of Robt Moores lott thence the various courses of said road to the beginning containing 336 acres of land more or less. Surveyed the 31st of November 1803.

Chas. Holeman

Person County March Term 1804

The foregoing plott of land was duly exhibited in open court and ordered to be recorded.

Test.

Jesse Dickins

Attachment K

1806 division of SM’s estate

March Term 1806 Book 4, p 103-114

State of North Carolina

In obedience to an order of the Court of Person County December Term 1805 for Commissioners to divide and allot off the real estate of Gen’l Stephen Moore Decd agreeable to his last will and testament among the following legatees. We the undersigned met on the 26th and 27th days of Decr 1805 and did apportion off the following:

No. 1 to Phillips More – 292 acres valued @ 19/6 V. money per acre $949 – to pay $322.92

No. 2 to Frances Dickins – 282 acres do 4/6 do do $211.50 – to receive $414.52

No. 3 to Sidney Moore – 301 acres valued @ 18 V. money per acre - $903 – to pay $276.98

4 to Samuel Moore – 285 acres @ 10 do do - $475 – to receive $151.2

5 to Mary Stanford – 247 acres @13/6 do do - $555.75 – to receive $70.27

6 to Ann Moore Jr. – 292 acres @ 12 do do - $584 – to receive $42.2

7 to Robert Moore – 307 acres @ 18 do do - $921 – to pay $294.98

8 to Portius Moore – 138 acres @ 21 do do $483 – to receive $143.2

9 to Ann Moore Sen – 221 acres @ 15 do do $552.50 – to receive $73.52

Nine legatees 9 / $5634.25

Proportion $626.2 7.9

As will be seen by Plotts accompanying this report given under our hand the day and date above written. Sam. Smith

R. Vanhook

Nath. Norflett

The foregoing division of lands was exhibited in Open Court and ordered to be recorded.

Test. Jesse Dickins

p. 104

Person County North Carolina

This plan represents a tract of land surveyed by me bounded as follows. Beginning at a pine Sidney Moore corner runing south 53 ch. to a sassafras Jno Gooche’s line thence west 57 ½ ch. to a red oak on R. Cates line thence No. 38 ch. to a stake thence east 8 ch. 50 links to a hickory thence No. 15 ch. to a red oak thence east 49 ch. to the first station containing in all 292 acres more or less. October 10th, 1805

Phillips Moore D.S. [Deputy Surveyor]

For Herndon Haralson

Which is allotted to Phillips Moore by the Commissioners under an Order of Court of December Term 1805 directing them to divide the real estate of Stephen Moore Dec’d.

Person County March Term 1806

The foregoing allotment was duly exhibited in open court and ordered to be recorded.

Test. Jesse Dickins

p. 105

[Plat of lot2]

Person County North Carolina

This plan represents a tract of land surveyed out of the lands of Stephen Moore Dec’d on the waters of Deep Creek of Flat River – Beginning at a dogwood on Phillips Moores line runing east 64 ch. to a black oak Cozzarts line thence south 6 ch. thirty links to a white oak thence west four ch. fifty links to a pine thence south forty one ch. seventy links to a red oak stump thence west on Gooches line fifty nine ch. fifty links to a sassafras Phillips Moore corner thence north forty eight ch. to the first station containing two hundred and eighty eight acres and 4/10 more or less. October 10th, 1805

Phillips Moore D.S.

For Herndon Haralson

Which is allotted to Frances Dickins by the commissioners under an Order of Court of December 1805 directing them to divide the real estate of Gen’l Stephen Moore Dec’d.

Person County March Term 1806

The foregoing allotment of land was exhibited in open court and ordered to be recorded.

Test. Jesse Dickins

p. 106

[Plat of lot 3]

Person County No. Carolina

This plan represents a tract of land surveyed out of the land of Stephen Moore Dec’d on the waters of Flat River and Deep Creek beginning at a pine southeast of Homestead runing north five ch. twenty links to a black oak thence east forty six ch. to a stake Swineys line thence south on said line thirty one ch. seventy links to a black oak thence west 64 ch. to a dogwood on Phillips Moores line thence north on said line five ch. fifty links to a pine thence west on Phillips Moores line forty nine ch. to a red oak in Cothrans line thence north on said line 18 ch. to a stake in the road thence north 53 deg. west thirteen ch. on the road to a stake thence east ten ch. 50 links to a stake in the field thence south two ch. fifty links to a stake at the fence thence south 84 deg. East 26 chains to a locust thence east forty one ch. to the beginning containing three hundred and one acres and 9/10 more or less.

October 10th, 1805

Phillips Moore D.S.

For Herndon Haralson

Which is allotted to Sidney Moore by the commissioners under an order of the court of December term 1805 directing them to divide the real estate of Gen’l Stephen Moore Dec’d.

Person County March Term 1806

The foregoing allotment was exhibited in open court and ordered to be recorded.

Test. Jesse Dickins

p. 107

[Plat of lot 4]

Person County No. Carolina

This plan represents a tract of land surveyed out of the lands of Stephen Moore Dec’d on the waters of Deep Creek of Flat River beginning at a red oak on the east end of homestead runing north sixty two ch. ten links to a pine thence east forty six ch. to a dogwood Person’s line thence south sixty two ch. ten links to a stake on Swiney’s line thence west on Sidney Moore line forty six ch. to the first station containing 285 6/10 acres more or less.

October 11th, 1805 Phillips Moore D.S.

For Herndon Haralson

Which is allotted to Samuel Moore by the commissioners under an order of the Court of December 1805 directing them to divide the real estate of Gen’l Stephen Moore Dec’d.

Person County March Term 1806

The foregoing allotment was exhibited in open court and ordered to be recorded.

Test. Jesse Dickins p. 108

[Plat of lot 5]

Person County No. Carolina

This plan represents a tract surveyed out of the lands of Stephen Moore Dec’d on the waters of Flat River 11th October 1805

Beginning at a post oak on John Cothran’s line runing north 36 ch 65 links to a hickory thence east seven ch. fifty links to a red oak thence north seventy three ch. fifty links to a pine Robert Moores line thence west fifteen ch. fifty links to a post oak thence north seven ch. fifty links to a pine thence west thirteen ch. fifty links to a pine thence south fifty four ch. eighty two links to a pine thence east ten ch. to a post oak thence south on Micajah Nichols line sixty four ch. to a stake thence east twelve ch. eight links to the first station containing two hundred forty seven acres and 3/10 more or less.

Phillips Moore

For Herndon Haralson

Which is allotted to Mary Stanford by the commissioners under an order of court of Dec. Term 1805 directing them to divide the real estate of Gen’l Stephen Moore Dec’d.

Person County March Term 1806

The foregoing allotment was exhibited in court and ordered to be recorded.

Test. Jesse Dickins

p. 109

[Plat of lot 6]

Person County No. Carolina

This plan represents a tract of land surveyed out of the lands of Stephen Moore Dec’d on the waters of Flat River beginning at the road [south ?] of the lane runing north 43 deg. west twenty one ch. sixty links to a pine thence west twenty one ch. twenty links to a red oak thence north seventy three ch. 50 links to a pine in Robert Moores line thence east thirty four ch. twenty six links to a stake thence south forty seven ch. thirty eight links to a white oak thence south 30o east twenty four ch. ten links to a white oak on the Hillsb. Road thence the road south fourteen deg. west fifteen ch. thence south 33o west five ch. thence south 45o west five ch. to the first station containing two hundred & ninety two acres & 2/10 more or less. October 11th, 1805.

Phillips Moore

For Herndon Haralson

Which is allotted to Ann Moore Junr by the commissioners under an order of Court of Dec. Term 1805 directing them to divide the real estate of Gen’l Stephen Moore Dec’d.

Person County March Term 1806

The foregoing allotment was exhibited in court and ordered to be recorded.

Test. Jesse Dickins

p. 110

Person County No. Carolina

This plan represents a tract of land surveyed out of the lands of Stephen Moore Dec’d. on the waters of Deep Creek beginning at a sweet gum road ford runing nearly north on the creek sixteen ch. to the [crook?] of the creek thence north two ch. fifty links to the line of Abner Williams to a dogwood thence west to the creek seven ch. to an ash thence north on the creek fifteen ch. to a horn beam [tree] thence west thirty ch. to a pine thence south twenty six ch. to a stake in Robert Moores field thence west thirty nine ch. forty five links to a red oak thence south thirty seven ch. eighty eight links to a black oak thence east twenty three ch. to a pine at the road thence the road north 44 o east five ch. thence north 51 o east fifteen ch. thence 79 o east nine ch. thence north 74 o east five ch. thence north 54 o east five ch. thence north 35 o east twenty ch. thence north 55 o east three ch. thence south 83 o east eight ch. to the first station containing three hundred seven and 8/10 acres more or less.

October 11th, 1805 Phillips Moore D.S.
For Herndon Haralson

Which is allotted to Robert Moore by the commissioners under an order of Court of Dec. Term 1805 directing them to divide the real estate of Gen’l Stephen Moore Dec’d.

Person County March Term 1806

The above allotment was exhibited in open court and ordered to be recorded.

Jesse Dickins

p. 111

[Plat of lot 8]

Person County No. Carolina

This plan represents a tract of land surveyed out of the lands of Stephen Moore Dec’d on the west side of Deep Creek beginning at a pine on the Hillsb. Road runing east one ch. seventy five links to a pine thence south ten ch. to a pine thence east forty six ch. to a dogwood thence north twenty three ch. fifty links to a black oak Person’s corner thence east six ch. fifty links to the creek corner on a white oak thence up the course of the creek twenty one ch. fifty links to a sweet gum at the road ford Robert Moore’s corner thence north 85 o west eight ch. thence south 55 o west three ch. thence south 35 o west twenty ch. thence south 54 o west five ch. thence south 74 o west five ch thence south 79 o west nine ch. thence south 51 o west fifteen ch. thence south 44 o west three ch. to the first station containing one hundred & thirty eight 3/10 acres more or less.

October 11th, 1805 Phillips Moore D.S.

For Herndon Haralson

Which is allotted to Portius Moore by the commissioners under an order of Court of Dec. Term 1805 directing them to divide the real estate of Gen’l Stephen Moore Dec’d.

Person County March Term 1806

This allotment of land was exhibited in open court and ordered to be recorded.

Test. Jesse Dickins

p. 112

[Plat of lot 9]

Person County No. Carolina

This plan represents a tract of land surveyed out of the lands of Stephen Moore Dec’d. on Deep Creek of Flat River beginning on Person’s line at an ash on the creek runing east forty six ch. fifty links to [?] thence north fifty four ch. to a pine thence west twenty three ch. to a red oak Abner William’s line thence south fourteen ch. to a post oak William’s corner thence west on William’s line twenty five ch. to a dogwood Robert Moore’s corner thence south on Robert Moore’s line two ch. fifty links to the creek thence [south]

The creek thirty seven ch. fifty links to the first station containing two hundred & twenty one acres & 1/5 more or less.

October 11th, 1805 Philips Moore D.S.

For Herndon Haralson

Which is allotted to Ann Moore Senr. By the commissioners under an order of the Court of Decembr Term 1805 directing them to divide the real estate of Gen’l Stephen Moore Dec’d.

Person County March Term 1806

The above allotment was exhibited in open court and ordered to be recorded.

Test. Jesse Dickins

p. 113
[Plat of Grizey’s parcel]

This plan represents a tract of land surveyed out of the lands of Stephen Moore Dec’d on the waters of Flat River & Deep Creek for Grizey Moore. October 11th, 1805. Beginning at a pine in Sidney Moore’s land runing north seventy seven ch. thirty links to a pine near the cross of Hillsb. & Tapp roads thence west on Robert Moore’s line twenty five ch. to a black oak thence north twenty seven ch. eighty eight links to a black oak on Robert Moore’s line he bought of Cocke thence west sixteen ch. 10 links to a stake thence south forty seven ch. 38 links to a white oak thence south 30o east 24 ch. ten links to a white oak on the road thence the road south 14 o west fifteen ch. thence south 33 o west five ch. thence south 45 o west 5 ch. to the foot of the lane thence north 43 o W. twenty one ch. sixty links to a pine thence west 28 ch. 70 links to a hickory thence south thirty six ch. sixty five links to a post oak on Jn. Cothran’s line thence east fourteen ch. to a stake in the field thence south two ch. 50 links to a stake at the fence thence south 84o E. twenty six ch. to a locust thence east forty one ch. to the first station containing four hundred & ninety seven 6/10 acres more or less.

Phillips Moore

For Herndon Haralson

Which was examined by the commissioners under an order of Court of December Term 1805 directing them to divide the real estate of

Gen’l Stephen Moore Dec’d.

Person County March Term 1806

The foregoing allotment was exhibited in open court and ordered to be recorded.

Test.

Jesse Dickins

p. 114

June Term 1806

May 24th, 1806 We the undernamed legatees of Gen’l Stephen Moore Dec’d then

on settlement acknowledged the receipt of one thousand thirty eight dollars & twenty six cents in lands and other property our full apportionment of two thirds of the estate of the Dec’d which we each and severally received.

Jesse Dickins

Robert Moore

Phillips Moore

The aforesaid acknowledgement was ackd in open court and ordered to be recorded.

Test. Jesse Dickins

May 24th, 1806 We the undernamed legatees of Gen’l Stephen Moore dec’d then received from Phillips Moore acting Ex. of the dec’d our several balances remaining due upon one thousand thirty eight dollars and twenty six cents the proportion of each of two thirds of the estate of the Dec’d in certain notes of land, which when discharged & not till then will be in full of such dividend of said estate.

Ann Moore Junr

R. Stanford

Portius Moore

Person County June Term 1806

The [terms?] of the foregoing receipt was ackd in open court and ordered to be recorded.

Test.

Jesse Dickins

Attachment L

Rev. Thomas Moore, Vicar of Chislehurst, Kent, England

2009-09-15T17:51:00.003-04:00

Editor's note: Rev. Thomas Moore was the son of Hon. John Moore of Charles Town/Philadelphia and the brother of Col. John Moore of New York. Therefore, he would have been Stephen's uncle. Thomas chose to return to England for his education at Cambridge, and remained in England for the rest of his life. Thanks to Terri O'Neill and Mike Andrus for tracking down the information that follows. A special note of thanks to Martin Tomlinson, Mike's friend in Kent, England, who spent time doing the investigative work in England for us.
____________________________________________

Initially, Terri provided this information that she had on Thomas Moore, along with his family sheet:

He is buried at Chiselhurst. Here is the entry for Thomas Moore in the Alumni Cantabrigienses, Part 1:

Moore, Thomas Adm. pens. (age 18) at TRINITY, June 24, 1702. S. of John, lawyer, of Philadelphia, America. B. Sept. 9, 1689. School, Westminster. Matric. 1709; Scholar, 1710; B.A. 1712-13; M.A. 1716; D.D. 1733. Fellow, 1715. Incorp. at Oxford, 1753. Ord. deacon (Rochester) July 19; priest, July 25, 1719. V. of Chiselhurst, Kent, 1719-69. P.C. of St. Botolph, Aldersgate, 1722-69. Chaplain to Bishop Atterbury. President of Sion College 1743-4. He edited Bishop Atterbury's works. Died 19 July 1769. Buried at Chiselhurst. M.I. Will, P.C.C. (Al. Westmon., 252) [This last part means he has a will filed in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury. I have a copy of it.]
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Family Group Sheet Page 1 of 1
Last Modified: 10 Sep 2009 Created 10 Sep 2009 using Reunion for Macintosh

Name Thomas MOORE
Birth 9 Sep 1689 SC
Death 19 Jul 1769 Eng
Burial 1769 Chislehurst, Kent, Eng
Burial Memo St Nicholas Church, M I

Occupation Doctor of Divinity
Education Westminster School, London; Trinity College, Cambridge
Religion Church of England

Father John MOORE (1659-1732)
Mother Rebecca AXTELL (ca1665-1749)

Marriage 4 Dec 1735 St. Alban's, Wood St., London, Eng
Spouse Elizabeth MAUD
Birth 1711
Birth Memo M I
Death 23 Nov 1776 Chislehurst, Kent, Eng
Death Memo Monumental inscription
Burial St Nicholas Ch, Chilselhurst, Kent, Eng
Burial Memo M I

Children
1 F Elizabeth MOORE
Birth 1736 London, Eng
Birth Memo IGI
Death 22 Sep 1776 Chislehurst, Kent, Eng
Death Memo M I

2 M Thomas MOORE
Birth 1737 London, Eng
Death 1823
Death Memo Oxford Alumni list
Spouse Mary MARTIN
Marriage 16 Nov 1773 North Cray, Kent, England
Marr Memo IGI

3 F Rebecca MOORE
Birth 1738 London, Eng

4 M Charles MOORE
Birth 1743 London, Eng1
Death 1811
Spouse Latitia LAMBRECHT
Marriage 15 Sep 1772 North Cray, Kent, England
Marr Memo IGI
Children Charles (1776-1865)

5 M William MOORE
Birth 1744 London, Eng

6 F Anna Maria MOORE
Birth 1746 London, Eng

7 M John MOORE
Birth 1749 London, Eng
Spouse Catherine GARDNER
Marriage 25 Nov 1784 London, England
Marr Memo IGI-St Botolph w/o Aldersgate

8 M Daniel MOORE
Birth 1753 London, Eng

Notes for Thomas MOORE
Little Britain; St Botolph Aldersgate; Vicar of Chislehurst, Kent
Sources
1. Alumni Cantabrigienses, Part II from 1752 to 1900, p450
__________________________________________

Mike Andrus then sent the above information to his friend in Kent, England, Martin Tomlinson, who made a trip to Chislehurst. Martin responded:

"Somewhat to my surprise I found the correct church. http://www.stnicholas-chislehurst.org.uk/history.htm with a plaque to Thomas More on the wall just to the right of the alter. The plaque also mentions his wife and daughter and gives their dates. The plaque reads that there is a vault on the south side of the church, that is the view of the church yard that I took, unfortunately there is no pattern to the graves, ie. 1970 is next to 1800 also half the stones are unreadable. If you like I could ask the church directly if they know the position of the grave.

I attach photos of the church and plaques."

Mount Tirzah Grandfather Clock

2009-08-26T15:59:00.003-04:00

Marion Reade Thompson (Mrs. Frederick E. Thompson) of Madison, CT, is one of our kin and was at the Stephen Moore Reunion at West Point in 1991. She now owns the Grandfather Clock, and wrote to me on September 9, 1991 and included the above pictures. Her father, Percy Reade grew up in the Mt. Tirzah house. She says, "Daddy told me that it had been in the barn at Mt. Tirzah and that he had had it refinished. He thought that it must have been moved from West Point. The man, Kirt Crump (Madison), who replaced a wire which held one of the weights said it was the only clock he'd seen with an enamel face and that it must have been ordered especially by the man who had the clock made. He said he had seen one other clock made by the same man -- Samuel Toulmin, London (Strand) circa 1775. It has 2 brass finials, but our ceilings are only 8 ft., so they do not fit on top of clock."

(Editors note: If the clock was made circa 1775, it would be doubtful that it would have been at West Point before being at Mt. Tirzah.)

Discussion: "Is John Moore Buried in the Center Aisle of Christ Church, Philadelphia?"

2009-08-12T17:57:00.008-04:00

As you will recall from my last post on Christ Church, Philadelphia, John Hopkins, the Burial Ground Coordinator said the following:

I am in charge of the grave yard and much research here at Christ Church.I found a listing for the burial of John Moor Esq. on Dec 7th, 1732. The only listing I found for Rebecca was in April of 1765, probably not the same person you were looking for.As far as we know John Moor is not buried in the aisle of the church but there is no way of knowing for sure.In 1864 the warden of the church wrote down all inscriptions at the church and 5th st. graveyard. Moore’s name is not found in that book. His gravestone like thousands of others faded away. But we do know he is buried here since his name appears in our burial book, the book doesn’t indicate the location of his burial. He could be buried at the church or at 5th st where Ben Franklin is buried.

__________________________________________

In response, Terri Bradshaw O'Neill added the following commentary and also emailed it to Mr. Hopkins:

I've been rummaging through my Christ Church Philadelphia, Hon. John Moore, Episcopal Archives, and general Philadelphia files trying to track down what I know about the grave of Hon. John Moore. I have a certified copy of the burial register of Christ Church from the church archives, and a copy of the 1864 "Record of the Inscriptions on the Tablets and Gravestones of Christ Church" by Edward L. Clark, Church Warden that Mr. Hopkins referred to. I visited Christ Church Archives in 1993, and the resulting report is attached below. Between Clark's 1864 booklet, the archives records, and David Moore Hall's description in "Six Centuries of Moores of Fawley," and a letter between Alexander Campbell & Capt. H H Bellas in 1894, I concluded that "John Moor, Esq" was buried (according to Clark's tablet numbers) either under #XLII (42) or #XLIV (44), both of which have no discernible inscription. The Campbell to Bellas 1894 letter states: Thomas William Channing Moore on the 6th July, 1852, wrote a letter, a copy of which is before me, to the Rector, Churchwardens and vestrymen of Christ's Church, in reference to John Moore, his various offices and his grave opposite his pew, in the middle aisle. Mr. Moore said, in part, 'The inscription on the stone over his grave had become so effaced that it could not be deciphered when the present floor was laid down, and as, in consequence thereof, no memorial of him exists in the church, I think a sufficient reason exists for the request I now make to place one therein.' This letter was returned to Mr. Moore the 3rd Sept 1852, by J. Bacon, who stated it was laid before the vestry, 1st Sept and returned because their decision was against it.

While researching at Christ Church archives, and later at the Episcopal Archives in Austin, TX, I could find no record of this communication & request in the vestry minutes. But according to vestry minutes, John Moore's pew was #17. How that compares to today's configuration, I have no idea, but it may be helpful in locating his burial site. Rebecca (Axtell) Moore, wife of Hon. John Moore, as noted by Steve, is buried at St. Peter's Church in the Valley in Chester county, PA. There is no memorial stone for her, either.

Two other tidbits from Christ Church/Episcopal archives: Peter Evans, John & Rebecca Moore's son-in-law, represented the vestry in a petition to the Bishop of London in 1725. Victor Moore has written a very good interpretation of the memorial of Peter Evans. And the other tidbit is this entry in the vestry minutes of 6 Oct 1732 (two months before the death of John Moore): A Letter from [Rev.] Doctor Thomas Moore of Great Brittain, informing them that a gift of £300 was being considered to augment the salary of the minister of Christ Church. This Dr. Thomas Moore, of course, was the son of Hon. John Moore; he served at St. Botolph Aldersgate & Little Britain in London, and Chislehurst in Kent. Hon. John Moore did have a brother also named Thomas; he was the librarian at Westminster Abbey, and he had no children.

__________________________________________

Mr. John Hopkins of Christ Church responds:

There is no way to ever know for certain where John Moore is buried. Of the two blank markers in the Clark book referred to in your letter, the one is believed to be that of Rev. Evan. The other is unknown. I also know that there are over 400 people buried in and around the church before the burial ground was purchased in 1719, and only around 30 markers. There are many people that could be buried in the churchyard in unknown locations.

It would be great if we knew the locations of one of our founder’s graves but at this point it is hard to say.

________________________________________

Terri continues the discussion with a reply to Mr. Hopkins:

I agree, there's no way of knowing for certain where John Moore is buried. It seems to me that the best clue is the 1852 letter to the vestry from Thomas William Channing Moore mentioning "his grave opposite his pew, in the middle aisle." As I mentioned, the vestry minutes indicate that John Moore's pew was #17, which would seem to be farther back from the alter & the stones I originally thought might be his burial site. On my 1993 visit, I don't recall whether there were any other blank markers in the center aisle in the vicinity of pew #17, and the key word there is "opposite" which may have had a different meaning in the 18th or 19th century from our understanding of it today.
I appreciate your taking the time to respond to our enquiries. You must get a lot of them. It’s certainly an overwhelming thought that there are over 400 persons buried in and around the church, with only a small fraction marked. I haven’t given much thought to the burial site of John Moore in a decade or so, but today’s emails have renewed my interest & brought a question to the forefront of my mind. Why would the vestry decide against placing a memorial to John Moore at the request of TWC Moore? The expense? If TWC Moore didn’t offer to pay the cost of the memorial, did he demand that Christ Church pay for it? Just wondering, & if you have any thoughts on the matter, I’d love to hear them. Thanks again for your information.

CHRIST CHURCH – PHILADELPHIA

2009-08-04T16:16:00.014-04:00

By David Jeffreys, photographs by David Jeffreys - ©August, 2009

Honorable John Moore landed in Charles Town in the Province of Carolina from England and was Secretary of the Province. Soon he became disillusioned with the Lord’s Proprietor and decided to move on. Penn’s colony Pennsylvania meaning “Penn’s Woods” was John Moore’s next stop. But unlike William Penn who was a Quaker, Moore was an Anglican from the Church of England. As a result, he was a founding member of Christ Church, Philadelphia

along with Robert Quary who had also relocated along with him from Charles Town. John Moore died in 1732 just as the main part (Phase I) of the present edifice was being completed. Family lore says that John Moore was buried in the center aisle of the church. In a search to confirm this, an answer to my query to Christ Church follows:

I am in charge of the grave yard and much research here at Christ Church.
I found a listing for the burial of John Moor Esq. on Dec 7th, 1732. The only listing I found for Rebecca was in April of 1765, probably not the same person you were looking for.
As far as we know John Moor is not buried in the aisle of the church but there is no way of knowing for sure.
In 1864 the warden of the church wrote down all inscriptions at the church and 5th st. graveyard. Moore’s name is not found in that book. His gravestone like thousands of others faded away. But we do know he is buried here since his name appears in our burial book, the book doesn’t indicate the location of his burial. He could be buried at the church or at 5th st where Ben Franklin is buried.
John Hopkins, Burial Ground Coordinator

Construction would continue on the church as it was later enlarged and the steeple tower was built.

The following excerpts are taken from the book THE COLONIAL HOUSES OF WORKSHIP IN AMERICA Built in the English Colonies before the Republic, 1607-1789, and still standing by Harold Wickliffe Rose published by Hastings House, Publishers, New York:

Christ Church, the first Anglican church in the province, was gathered by laymen and organized in 1695, under a provision of the original charter of Charles II to William Penn. For the next sixty-six years it was the only Episcopal church in Philadelphia. No church is more intimately connected with the founding of both the United States of America and the Protestant Episcopal Church of America. Governors and officials of the State of Pennsylvania and the United States, worshipped here.

List of vestrymen - "John Moore" at the bottom of second column.

A deed of 1695 covered most of the present site, and the first church was built of logs within a year. In 1711 the building was enlarged and rebuilt, to the extent that it is referred to as “the second church.” An adjoining lot was purchased in 1725, and in 1727 work was begun on the present beautiful building.

The design was drawn by a vestryman, Dr. John Kearsley, a physician and amateur architect, who served also on the committee for building the State House (Independence Hall). On the same committee was the architect of that building, Andrew Hamilton, who also was a vestryman of Christ Church, and the able lawyer who defended Peter Zenger to establish the principle of freedom of the press. In 1737 the building was completed, except the tower, which was added in 1754.

The organ dates from 1765 and the pulpit from 1769. During the 1800’s several alterations were made; it was lengthened two or three times, but the building is essentially the original structure.

Among the many treasures of the church are the communion silver, which was given by Queen Anne about 1708, and the bells. The first bell dates from 1702; the peal of eight bells was brought from London, in 1754, and placed in the tower, which had been finished the year before. They were bought with funds raised by the “Philadelphia Steeple Lottery,” which was run by Benjamin Franklin. These bells and the Liberty Bell were cast in England by Lester and Pack, and they pealed with the Liberty Bell to proclaim the Declaration of Independence.

Among the scores of distinguished people who were baptized at the historic baptismal font, which dates from 1695

and has served for most of the life of Christ Church, was William White, who was to become a rector of the parish. He served as chaplain to the Continental congress, as the first Bishop of Pennsylvania, and as the Presiding Bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church of America, from 1795 until his death in 1836, when he was buried before the chancel rail. He was the prime mover in organizing the Episcopal Church, after the Revolution had put an end of the jurisdiction of the Church of England and the Bishop of London over the American churches.

Among the many prominent people who attended services here were General Lafayette, as a guest of the Washingtons, and President John Adams, who used the same pew during his administration. Other pew holders included Robert Morris, treasurer of the Revolution; Francis Hopkinson, signer of the Declaration of Independence and designer of the national flag; his son, Judge Joseph Hopkinson, author of the hymn “Hail Columbia;” and Betsy Ross, who made the first flag. On July 20, 1775, the Continental Congress attended services in a body.

In the two cemeteries of Christ Church many prominent people were buried. Seven of them were signers of the Declaration – Benjamin Franklin, Joseph Hewes, Stephen Hopkins, Robert Morris, George Ross, Benjamin Rush,

and James Wilson. The funeral of Benjamin Franklin was attended by 20,000 people, and he was buried in the corner of Christ Church Burial Ground at Fifth and Arch Streets.

John Penn, a grandson of William Penn and a governor of Pennsylvania, who had signed the church charter in 1765, was buried near the pulpit.

Because of its intimate association with the founders of the nation, Christ Church was designated a national shrine, in 1952, by an Act of Congress.

_________________________________________________

Visit http://www.christchurchphila.org/Historic_Christ_Church/Collections_Genealogy/Genealogy/Genealogy_Search/Search_Results/55/lastName__Moore/
To research the Baptismal Records and the Marriage Records of Moore family members. Unfortunately the Burial Records are not available in the online search.

Go to

http://www.christchurchphila.org/Historic_Christ_Church/Collections_Genealogy/61/ and see Christ Church’s webpage referring to the Archives of Collections and Genealogy.

Trinity Church, New York City

2009-07-23T14:58:00.028-04:00

by David Jeffreys - ©July, 2009
When I became interested in Moore genealogy back in 1976, I began looking to Stephen's ancestors, and in particular his father, Col. John Moore of New York City. Thus, I wrote to Trinity Church for information in 1977 and this was the reply:

(click on images to make them more readable)

With more research, I found:

John Moore, Esq. (1745-1828), the grandson of Col. John Moore of New York City, wrote on 29th April 1821:

“My Grandfather was . . . .born in South Carolina 11 August, 1686, and died at New York the 29th October in 1749, and was the first corpse interred in the Family vault, south side of Trinity church-yard. I had the stone with his name cut at full length placed over it. Uncle Lambert Moore paid the expense.”

During the Stephen Moore Reunion at West Point in 1991, some of us took a side trip into New York City, worshipped at Trinity Church on 28 July 1991, and walked around the area including Moore Street.

Also, I was able to gather some more information about the history of Trinity Church and the churchyard.

The John Moore vault is in the Sec. S.3.

According to the green brochure above "a city ordinance prohibiting any further burials in lower Manhattan . . . [about] 1843. During the first decades of the 19th century all of the city's burial grounds had become overcrowded and unsanitary as recurrent epidemics raged, and mortality soared yearly."

Approximately 1983, Terri O'Neill copied from the Trinity Burial Register the following information about the John Moore vault:

"John Moore Vault 11 feet south of L Reade vault, south side of Church"-
1) John Moore, Esq. died 29 Oct 1749...was the first corpse interred in family vault South side of Trinity Church.
2) His wife Frances Lambert died 1782 March
3) Rebecca Moore [daughter of John & Frances]
4) Susannah (Moore) wife of John Smyth of NY
5) Lambert Moore
6) Thomas Moore 1784
7) Elizabeth (Channing) Moore 1805
8) Daniel Moore, Capt of British man of war, killed at sea 1777
9) Judith (Livingston) Moore, daughter of James Livingston, Esq. of Poughkeepsie, 1813
10) John Moore died 1828
11) Magdalen M. Onderdonk, died Oct 1836. Moved from St. Ann's Ground, Brooklyn, 3/16/1860. [She was a daughter of Lambert Moore.]
12) Jane (Holland) Moore died 14 June 1767. [First wife of Lambert Moore]

The last burial in the vault, according to Trinity Church records, parish burial register, vol. 2:482, was the son of John Moore, Esq., Thomas William Channing Moore, d. 7 Dec 1872, burial-10 Dec.

The Organ

When we were in New York City in 1991 worshipping as the descendants of John Moore, we heard the magnificent 1823 Skinner Organ. Just ten years later and 600 feet away, the World Trade Center collapsed on 9-11-2001. See the first postcard picture of the church above with the World Trade Center tower in the background. The Trinity Church building and its facade were left relatively unhurt; however, the resulting dust all but destroyed the organ. The Aeolian-Skinner organ was taken apart and stored, perhaps awaiting restoration or perhaps replaced by a new pipe organ, either of which will be very expensive. For the interim, a digital organ, was built and installed there in 2003 by Marshall & Ogletree of Needham Heights, Massachusetts. For an electronic digital organ, it is at the cutting edge of technology especially with its sampling of organ notes. Owen Burdick, the organist, insists that as fine as this interim instrument sounds, a pipe organ will be back.

Portraits of the Col. John Moore Family

2009-07-19T12:48:00.020-04:00

by David E. Jeffreys - ©July, 2009

In 1966, Margaret Simons Middleton wrote a book published by the University of South Carolina Press entitled Henrietta Johnston of Charles Town, South Carolina – America’s First Pastellist. The book has long been out of print and I first found out about it reading an article in the February, 1978 issue of Smithsonian magazine. The portraits themselves appear to be in the public domain. Upon my inquiry, the author of the article, Miriam Troop wrote to me:

I was lucky enough then to get one of the remainders from the press itself, as Ms. Troop suggested.
Included among the many portraits that Henrietta Johnston painted are four portraits of members of the Col. John Moore Family. Margaret Middleton writes:
Then in 1725, portraits were signed and dated in “New York.” Several depict the members of the family of John Moore, Secretary of South Carolina, who had moved to New York from St. Thomas Parish.¹
Perhaps there may have been some confusion regarding the two generations of John Moores – Hon. John Moore who had been the Secretary of the Province in Charles Town who later moved to Philadelphia, and his son, Col. John Moore of New York, whose family is depicted in the Portraits. Of interest since the elder Hon. John Moore had been Secretary of the Province is a drawing (which is not attributed) of the Office building:

John Moore, Esq. (1745-1828), the grandson of Col. John Moore of New York City, wrote the following account on his birthday the 29th April 1821:

My Grandfather was . . . .born in South Carolina 11 August, 1686, and died at New York the 29th October in 1749, and was the first corpse interred in the Family vault, south side of Trinity church-yard. I had the stone with his name cut at full length placed over it. Uncle Lambert Moore paid the expense.
FRANCES MOORE, his wife. Her maiden name was Lambert---they were married at New York the 9th of December 1713. She was descended from a respectable Family in France, which fled from that country on the revocation of the Edict of Nantz---born in New York the 17th April 1692, and died 21 March 1782 and interred in the Family vault.
Names of their children, beside which there were several premature births.
1st. Daughter Frances, born 1715 --- married Samuel Bayard; died at Throgs Neck.
2nd. Rebecca, born 1717, died unmarried; interred in family vault.
3rd. Son John, born 1719, died unmarried in Jamaica in early life.
4th. Daughter Susanah, born 1720; died in infancy before the vault was made.
5th. Son Thomas & 6th. Son Peter, Twins. Died 1721, as infants before the vault was made.
7th. Son Thomas, twin - My Father
8th. Peter, twin, This second Peter died also an infant before vault was made.
9th. Son Richard, born 1724, died at Barbadoes about 1784.
10th. Daughter Susanah, born 1725, married John Smyth died at N. Y. Interred in the vault.
11th. Son Lambert, twin born 1727, married twice; interred in vault.
12th Son Daniel, twin born 1727, Died an infant before vault was made.
13th. Daniel, born 1728. Died an infant.
14th. Daniel, born 1729, died unmarried at Jamaica, in advanced life
15th. William, born 1730, died unmarried at Coracoa in early life.
16th. Charles, born 1732, married Eve Hall, died in North Carolina
17th. Stephen, born 1734, married Grizzy Philips, died in North Carolina, aged [65]
18th. Ann, born 1738, unmarried and still living in perfect health and very active in the 85th year of age.
(spelling left intact--editor)

From this account, the reader finds that Col. John’s wife, Frances Lambert Moore, bore 18 children in 15 pregnancies over 23 years in which 12 lived beyond infancy. There were 3 sets of twins. She was pregnant almost every year after their marriage until she was 44 years old. Those years of childbearing seemed to have strengthened her, rather than weakening her, as she lived to be almost 90 years old.

PORTRAIT OF COL. JOHN MOORE of NEW YORK CITY

Pastel Portrait by Henrietta Johnston, 1725

Colonel John Moore (1686-1749)
Colonel John Moore, who portrait is signed and dated 1725, was born in St. Thomas Parish, South Carolina, the son of John Moore (c. 1659-1732) and Rebecca Axtell. John Moore, the father, was Secretary of the Province of South Carolina but about 1695/6, with his family, he moved to Philadelphia. From Philadelphia the son went on to New York City where he attained distinction as an alderman; a member of the Provincial Council; and of the legislature; he was also colonel of the New York City Regiment of Foot. He was a vestryman and warden of Trinity Church and is believed to be the first person buried in the graveyard of that Church. The story of of his homes is interesting. In New York City he owned Whitehall . . ., and in the country he owned Moore’s Folly on the Hudson River which was later purchased for the site of the United States Military Academy, now known as West Point.
The ownership of this pastel is not known and only the previous ownership can be given.
Owned for many years by the late Luke Vincent Lockwood, New York City.²

PORTRAIT OF MRS. JOHN MOORE

Pastel Portrait by Henrietta Johnston, 1725

Mrs. John Moore (1692-1782)
Mrs. John Moore was born Frances Lambert. She was of Huguenot ancestry and came to this country as a small child to escape persecution. She had many children besides the two whose pastels were drawn by Henrietta Johnston, and she lived to a good old are.
Mrs. Samuel Schwartz, the owner of this portrait, has given the following description: “Mrs. John Moore (Frances Lambert), has dark brown hair, and brown eyes. Her dress is yellow with orange highlights. The stole she wears over her left arm (on right side of the picture) is a lavender taupe.” ³

PORTRAIT OF FRANCES LAMBERT MOORE

Pastel Portrait by Henrietta Johnston: 1725

Frances Lambert Moore (1715-1805)
Frances Lambert Moore was the eldest daughter of Colonel John Moore and Frances Lambert Moore. She was born in New York in 1715. She married Samuel Bayard, Esquire, of Throg’s Neck, New York, the grand nephew of Peter Stuyvesant. Inscribed on the back of this pastel is: “Henrietta Johnston Fecit, New York. Ano 1725.” The subject was ten years of age when this pastel was done.
Also on the back of the pastel is a long list of ownerships, all of the Bayard family. Owned by Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Schwartz.⁴

PORTRAIT OF THOMAS MOORE

Pastel Portrait by Henrietta Johnston: 1725

Thomas Moore (fl. 1725)
This painting is usually referred to as “The Portrait of Bishop Moore’s Father, as a Child.” Several affidavits testify to the fact that this is the pastel of little Thomas Moore, so of Colonel John Moore and his wife Frances Lambert Moore. Thomas Moore became the father of Bishop Moore, the Right Reverend Richard Channing Moore, D.D., (1782-1841), Bishop of Virginia (1814-1841).
The pastel represents a very young child of perhaps four years and this description was furnished by Mr. George M. McClancy, Jr., of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts: “The predominating dark-light effect of this portrait is immediately offset by the bright reddish brown sash, the red belt and the red feathers of the arrows. The flesh is mostly white, touched with pink, and with blue for shadows and modeling. The eyes are blue; the lips are red; and the hair is brown though greyed almost to a neutral. The dress is bluish-white and the background is black and white with faint suggestions of blue and brown. With the exception of the reds, the colors are very faint.”
This pastel of Thomas Moore was given by Alexander W. Weddell to The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, Virginia.⁵

Of course, these pastels were painted some 9 years before Stephen was born; therefore, he and a number of the other children are not included. More to come on Trinity Church, New York City, and the burial vault in a future post. Of interest also is that Stephen was named godfather of Thomas Moore’s (depicted above as a child) son and his nephew, Richard Channing Moore, and he returned to New York City from Quebec in August, 1762 for the baptism.

____________________________________

¹Henrietta Johnston of Charles Town, South Carolina – America’s First Pastellist by Margaret Simons Middleton, p. 47. University of South Carolina Press, 1966. Out of print.
²Ibid, p. 64.
³Ibid, p. 64.
⁴Ibid, p. 64-65.
⁵Ibid, p. 65.

Hon. John Moore (1659-1732) of SC & PA

2009-07-17T15:16:00.006-04:00

Editor’s note: For so long, indeed more than a couple of centuries, we have relied on previous genealogists to believe that we are descended from the Moores of Fawley, Berkshire County, England. This research by Terri O’Neill corrects this mistaken lineage. A somewhat enhanced and different version appears in the Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine Vol. 44 (2005) entitled “A Corrected Lineage of Hon. John Moore of South Carolina and Pennsylvania” by Terri Bradshaw O’Neill.

Hon. John Moore (1659-1732) of SC & PA
By Terri Bradshaw O’Neill, © as previously published in the Moore/Stanford/Webb Chronicles, Vol. 4, No. 1, 1996

John Moore's memoirs report the ancestry of his great-grandfather, Hon. John Moore, as being descended from the Moores of Fawley in Berkshire, England. This lineage was repeated in various publications over the ensuing 175 years, and was virtually unchallenged until 1990 when an attempt was made to obtain the coat-of-arms of the Moores of Fawley from the College of Arms in London as a gift for a purported descendant of that family. Some explanation of the origins of the research conducted over the past five years is in order here. In the process of validating the lineage, the Lancaster Herald noted some discrepancies and set off a flurry of correspondence among several researchers and descendants of Hon. John Moore. The College of Arms in London, unlike the companies in this country that routinely produce generic surname, computer generated coats-of-arms on request, could not verify the lineage as it was presented. The question was, which was the correct coat-of-arms: ten crosses, crosslet (the only device used by the American Moores) or the moorcock of the Moores of Fawley? The Herald at the College of Arms asked for any proof that could be supplied from this country and wanted to know what sources were used to make the claim of connection to the Moores of Fawley. When I was contacted at that point, I had to admit that I had been relying on the information provided by David Moore Hall's book, Six Centuries of Moores of Fawley, published in 1904, and had never checked the sources or tried to obtain primary evidence to support the claims therein. I agreed to help in locating any proof available in this country to substantiate the reported ancestry of John Moore, which quest sent me to repositories of manuscript collections in North Carolina, South Carolina, Pennsylvania and New York.
The emigrant ancestor and subject of this study is often referred to as Hon. John Moore, a title no doubt acquired as a result of some of his many appointments in Colonial Pennsylvania. He was Deputy-judge of the Vice-Admiralty and Attorney General of Pennsylvania.¹ The title also serves to distinguish among the several men of the same name in four generations: Hon. John Moore of South Carolina & Pennsylvania; his eldest son, Col. John Moore of NY; eldest son of Col. John Moore, John; and John Moore, Esq. of NY, the author of the Memoirs.

Discrepancies Begin to Surface
One of the strongest arguments for the connection between Hon. John Moore and the Moores of Fawley, other than John Moore's Memoirs, was Hall's Six Centuries. David Moore Hall had obviously used John Moore's Memoirs in compiling his work as well [as] information supplied by other family historians of Moore descent. He cited these sources as authorities and also included several editions of Sir John Bernard Burke's work, such as Extinct Baronetcies (1844), Peerage (1834), Peerage (18 52), Commoners (1833-38), Landed Gentry (1847 & 1886) and Extinct Peerage (18 3 1). Today, Burke's works are considered somewhat unreliable on their own, must be regarded with a degree of skepticism and substantiated with other records. One source in particular that Hall used, Horace Wemyss Smith's The Life and Correspondence of Dr. William Smith, D. D., is rife with errors regarding the Moore lineage and is the source of a particularly virulent piece of misinformation: that Hon. John Moore and Gov. James Moore of South Carolina were brothers. That they were not is proven by a letter (circa 1850) from Thomas William Channing Moore to Rev. Dr. Francis Lister Hawks, who was compiling a history of the Carolinas, in which he states: "I did not find any evidence to show that this John Moore was related to Gov. James Moore. He [John] was of English, and not Irish family."² David Moore Hall in his discussion of the differing coats of arms, states: "our descent .. is abundantly proved by the impalement of arms in Christ Church deeds in 1695 ... from the seal of the Hon. John Moore" and "In 1770, Captain Thomas William Moore, British Army, upon one of his frequent visits to England, brought from the Herald's College, a document containing the arms, crest and motto of Sir John Moore [of Fawley], the then baronet, and possibly the pedigree filed by Nicholas Moore in 1569, and Ashmole's Visitation of Berks, in 1664, used later by Mr. Burke. These arms corresponded in every detail with those already in use by the family in America, and the impalement in Christ Church deeds in 1695." That sounds thoroughly authoritative and convincing. However, neither the "impalement of arms in Christ Church deeds" nor the 1770 visit of Thomas William Moore to the College of Arms can be verified, despite extensive efforts to do so. I have personally inspected two of the original parchment deeds of Christ Church, Philadelphia, dated 1702. They contain the signature of John Moore as a witness to the conveyance, but there was no seal affixed by John Moore. The text of one of the deeds bears the dates of earlier transactions concerning the property, namely 1688, 1689, and 1695/6. There is no way of knowing if David M. Hall actually saw these deeds, but I suspect he did not. They are the only original deeds extant at Christ Church Archives. In addition to seeing those deeds in person, I have also read and transcribed the microfilmed copies of those deeds and several other conveyances of Christ Church property. The person selling or transferring the land affixes a seal with his signature. John Moore was never the seller in any of the conveyances, but was a witness and therefore only his signature appears. Mr. Hall apparently explained away the discrepancies of the coats of arms to his own satisfaction, but his documentation doesn't stand up to scrutiny.

What's Wrong With This Picture?
The Lancaster Herald of the College of Arms in London, Mr. Peter Gwynn-Jones, reported that the parish records of Fawley and several probate jurisdictions were searched for verification of the lineage. The result of those searches was that not a shred of evidence was found to support a connection between the families of John Moore in America and the Moores of Fawley. Additionally, the research led to the exposure of a glaring error in the lineage, namely the assertion of a marriage between one Francis Moore of Fawley and Mary Cary daughter of Edward, supposed to have occurred in 1655. This Francis Moore and Mary Cary were supposed to be the parents of our emigrant ancestor, John Moore, born in 1659. However, the Herald pointed out the impossibility of this marriage. The Cary lineage indeed shows a Mary, daughter of Edward, but she was born 50 years after the alleged marriage. This error along with the Herald's inability to reconcile the use of two different coats of arms in two branches of supposedly the same family indicated some serious mistakes had been made in the American Moore's genealogy. John Moore's memoirs state that "Sir John Moore was created Knight by King Charles the 1st on 21st May 1627". This is incorrect. The dignity of Baronet was conferred on one Henry Moore at that time and indeed, the Moores of Fawley were granted arms: Argent, a moorcock, sable, combed and warded, gules. However, the descendants of Hon. John Moore of South Carolina and Pennsylvania used as their coat of arms: ten crosses, crosslet. The Herald reported that "no Moores have ever been granted ten crosses, crosslet, leading to the speculation that the American branch simply assumed the use of that coat of arms without authority. As Mr. Gwynn-Jones put it, "...Thomas Moore [brother of Hon. John Moore] himself evidently made no claim to belong to that [Moores of Fawley] family, because when he erected the memorial to his wife in the Cloisters of Westminster Abbey, he displayed on it not the arms of Moore of Fawley but a modified version (apparently) of those of a Lancashire family of Moore." This was an important discrepancy, the implications of which were completely lost on me at first, being unfamiliar with the protocols of Heraldry. Mr. Gwynn-Jones patiently and diplomatically pointed out that, if they were the same family, they would use the same coat of arms with a difference, marks used to denote different sons or different branches. Several attempts have been made to locate a family that was granted ten crosses, crosslet as their coat of arms and then link them to a Moore family, including the Lancashire Moore family mentioned, but none has been successful. No example of Hon. John Moore ever having used the device of ten crosses, crosslet has been located, but as noted by the Herald, his brother in England and subsequent generations in America did. And, of course, John Moore's memoirs mention that his grandfather's "plate" carried a coat of arms. These are the examples of Moores using ten crosses, crosslet as their coat of arms that have been located:
~In 1720, John's brother, Thomas, the Librarian at Westminster Abbey in London, used it on a monumental inscription for his wife, Elizabeth, which can still be seen in the Little Cloisters.
~In 1738, Richard Moore (c. 1709-1738), a son of John Moore and his wife Rebecca (Axtell) Moore, died in Jamaica. In St. Andrew's Parish, Kingston, Jamaica, there is a monumental inscription engraved with the names of Richard Moore, Frances Martin and her husband John Martin, and a coat of arms showing the ten crosses, crosslet impaled with the arms of Martin (3 bendlets, a chief erm.).³ John Martin died in 1710 age 32, and Frances died 1714 age 33. Who were John and Frances Martin, and why were they memorialized with Richard Moore? Until this monumental inscription was located, Frances was unknown to Moore family historians, but the inscription connects her to the family in two ways: the coat of arms is the same as that being used by the American Moores, and she is memorialized with a known son of John & Rebecca. The prevailing theory (as yet unsubstantiated with primary evidence) is that Frances Martin was the daughter of John Moore by a first marriage, and thus Richard's half-sister. There is evidence that John Moore arrived in the Province of South Carolina in 1683 with a wife named Katherine.⁴ It is presumed that she died shortly after their arrival and John subsequently married Rebecca Axtell in about 1685. There are no extant parish records to provide evidence of Katherine's death or the marriage of John & Rebecca, but the proof of their marriage is in the Wills of John Moore and Rebecca's sister, Ann Boone.⁵ The monumental inscription in Jamaica indicates that Frances was born circa 1681. Records have been searched in England and Barbados for a marriage between John Moore and Katherine, a baptism of Frances or a marriage between Frances and John Martin, without success. Barbados was included in the search because it is believed that John Moore may have been there some time before his arrival in South Carolina. Richard Moore was born in 1709, a mere 5 years before the death of Frances Martin, but when he reached adulthood and went to Jamaica to seek his livelihood as a merchant and trader, one may suppose his father asked him to see to the grave of his long-dead kinswoman. In the process, perhaps he saw to his own mortal remains in arranging for the monumental inscription.
~In 1758, William Moore (1699-1783) of Moore Hall, Chester County, Pennsylvania, son of John & Rebecca, used ten crosses, crosslet on a seal for letters and documents. His father used two different seals on documents that have survived, but they are both ornamental rather than heraldic, and they depict neither ten crosses, crosslet nor the moorcock of the Moores of Fawley.⁶
~Lambert Moore (1727-1805) and Stephen Moore (1734-1799), both grandsons of John Moore and sons of Col. John Moore of NY, each had engraved bookplates depicting ten crosses, crosslet.
~John Moore, Esq. (1745-1828), the author of the Memoirs, had the same device on his bookplate.

A Case of Mistaken Lineage, or The 225-Year-Old Hoax
The Lancaster Herald was asked to verify the visit of Thomas William Moore to the "Herald's Office" in 1770. His report was as follows: "...I can confirm that such visits were (and still are) recorded and the records preserved. I have examined those for 1770, but I find that only two enquiries were received that year relating to persons or families of the name of Moore: the first, in July related to one Giles Moore of Middleton, co. Westmorland, no record of whom could be found, and the second, in August, to the family of Moore of Appleby, co. Leicester, whose pedigree had already been registered.", and "...I have examined the Waiting Books for the period from July 1767 to December 1776 without however finding any record of an enquiry relating to the Moores of Fawley.". If Thomas William Moore ever visited the College of Arms, he didn't ask for or receive the ancestry of Hon. John Moore of South Carolina and Pennsylvania, or indeed, even the lineage of the Moores of Fawley.

Another Small Problem
In the course of studying the Moores of Fawley, it became clear that the Moores in America⁷ did not adhere to traditional naming patterns prevalent in the early 18th century, if indeed they were connected to the Moores of Fawley. While there were many males of subsequent generations named Francis and Henry among the Moores of Fawley, the names do not appear among the Moores in America. Conversely, John, Thomas and Charles were frequently used names by the American Moores that do not appear among the Moores of Fawley. This was a small detail, but one of nagging concern.

Parallel Search or, If Not Moores of Fawley, Then Who?
Meanwhile, another search was being conducted in England by Bridget Lakin, a genealogist. After the 1992 Moore Family Reunion at West Point, at which many Moore descendants met for the first time, I was privileged to do some research in the Special Collections of the USMA Library. There was a Moore genealogy and a copy of the JM Pyne version of the Memoirs, submitted by Mr. Richard C. Moore of Mt. Kisco, NY. No one of his line had been at the Reunion for the simple reason that the organizers were not in contact with that branch of the family. As soon as I found his genealogy papers, I wrote to him. Unfortunately, he had died in the year prior to the Reunion, but his widow, Marjorie soon replied to my letter and a gracious exchange of information ensued. Her husband had seriously pursued the Moore lineage for many years and had engaged professional genealogists in Pennsylvania and England for the study. Marjorie Moore put me in contact with Bridget Lakin in London and thus made about a four-way research bridge between Moore descendants in the U.S., the Herald and Ms. Lakin. Her painstaking search of the parish records of St. Bride's, Fleet Street and St. Margaret's, Westminster in London resulted in the reconstruction of a Moore family which was consistent with the known facts of the life of Hon. John Moore (1659-1732). The following baptisms were registered, all children of John and Dorothy Moore:
John-1659, St. Bride's
Mary-1660, St. Bride's
Thomas-1662, St. Bride's
Richard-1664/5, St. Bride's
Dorothy-1666, St. Margaret's
Somerset-1670, St. Margaret's
[Ann-c.1675] No record was found among the records of either parish for this child but later Wills establish her as a sibling. No Will or probate has been located for the parents, John or Dorothy Moore. Wills of Thomas Moore, Ann (Moore) Sear and her husband, Richard Sear probated in England all serve to establish John, Thomas & Ann as siblings.⁸ The child with the distinctive name of Somerset provided the key link of circumstantial evidence to connect this family of Moores in London to the family of Hon. John Moore of Philadelphia. The baptismal and burial registers of Christ Church, Philadelphia record the baptism of "Somerset Moor, 19 July 1711, aged 5 days, son to John Moor" and the burial of "Sommersett, 4 Oct 1712, son of John & Rebecca Moore". This slender thread indicates that John Moore of Philadelphia named a son after his younger brother, as indeed, he had named other children after siblings Mary, Thomas and Richard. While this is not considered irrefutable proof, all taken together these facts present a solid case of the preponderance of the evidence that Hon. John Moore of South Carolina and Pennsylvania was the son of John and Dorothy Moore of London, and not a Moore of Fawley, co. Berkshire.

Is That All There Is?
Since this recent research has resulted in the loss of a long and rather distinguished lineage, and the substitution of an ancestry that extends only one generation beyond the emigrant ancestor, Hon. John Moore, what is left to do? One would hope to be able to find further information relating to John and Dorothy Moore, whose maiden name remains a mystery, in order to take the family back several more generations. Several leads have been followed in that pursuit without any positive results, but it should not be abandoned as a hopeless cause. Going in the opposite direction, that is, filling in the blanks of bringing all branches of descendants into the present time is an on-going project, as well. But there are a few other minor misconceptions that should be addressed to clean up the family history.

Tying Up Some Loose Ends
John Moore states in his memoirs that William Moore of Moore Hall, Pennsylvania, had two daughters who married Drs. Phineas and Thomas Bond. It is true that one of his daughters, Williamina, married Dr. Phineas Bond, but no evidence has been found of another daughter marrying Thomas Bond. William Moore wrote at least three versions of his Will. In one version dated 1773, he names all his living children and the children of his deceased sons, John and James W., but nowhere is there a mention of a daughter married to Dr. Thomas Bond.⁹
The next item of interest is John Moore's uncertainty about whether his grandfather, Col. John Moore, had any sisters. He had two: Rebecca, who in 1709 married John Evans, Lt. Governor of Pennsylvania; and Mary, who married circa 1715 Peter Evans, a cousin of John Evans, and Sheriff of Philadelphia. Rebecca and John Evans eventually left Philadelphia and lived in England & Wales.
In writing about his grandmother, Frances Lambert Moore, wife of Col. John Moore of New York, John Moore states that he thinks she was born in France and brought to New York as an infant. Records of the French Church indicate that her maternal granduncle, Gabriel Minveille, was in New York by 1691. Her father, Daniel (or Denis-a possible mistake in transcription) Lambert, died in September of 1691. Frances was born posthumously to her father's death, in April 1692. Curiously, Frances's baptism is not recorded in the French Church records, but all indications are she was born in New York. The Barberie connection mentioned in John Moore's memoirs occurs when her widowed mother, Frances (Brinkman) Lambert marries John Barberie in 1694.¹⁰

While we're making corrections, we might as well take a look at some of the educational claims of our American Moores. It seems as if every generation after the Hon. John Moore claims to have two or three offspring attending Oxford. First, let's examine Hon. John Moore himself. He was obviously a literate man to have obtained the appointments of Secretary of the Province of South Carolina, Prothonotary of SC, Deputy Judge of the Vice-Admiralty, and Attorney General of Pennsylvania, Register of Wills of PA, and Collector of Customs of the Port of Philadelphia. The fact that he is listed in Martin's Bench and Bar of Philadelphia as one of the earliest lawyers in the Province (1698) and an Advocate for the Crown implies an education at the Inns of Court in London. But no such records have been located. Perhaps a clue lies in the appointment of Prothonotary, which is defined as a chief clerk of any of various courts of law. Alumni lists of Oxford and Cambridge contain no record of his having attended either institution. He appears to have had powerful patronage to have been appointed to so many responsible positions, but his education remains shrouded in mystery. Educational records for some Moores have been located:
At Westminster School (Prep)
Thomas Moore, son of John, lawyer of Philadelphia
Thomas Moore, son of Col. John Moore of NY, and father of the author of the memoirs. The information given in the school records is inconclusive as to the identity of this student. Making allowances for John Moore's imperfect recall, it's likely the record refers to his father.
At Cambridge-
Thomas Moore, son of John, lawyer of Philadelphia, admitted Trinity Coll. 1709, age 18; B.A.-1712-13; M.A--1716; D.D.-1733; incorp. at Oxford-1753.
Charles Moore, son of Rev. Thomas Moore (above), admitted to Trinity Coll. 1759, age 16
At Oxford-
John Moore, son of Daniel of Great Marlow, Bucks, Merton Coll. 1755, age 18 (This is a grandson of Hon. John Moore)
Lambert Moore, son of Daniel of Kingston, Jamaica, University Coll. 1808, age 17 (a great-great grandson of Hon. John Moore)
Thomas, son of Thomas of London, doctor, Worcester Coll. 1753, age 15 (nephew of Hon. John Moore)
Thomas William Moore, son of Thomas William of New York, Worcester Coll. 1788, age 19 (the son of the alleged 1770 visitor to the College of Arms & great-grandson of Hon. John Moore)

Notable by Their Absence
These Moores were said to have been educated in England but do not appear in the alumni lists of Oxford, Cambridge, Westminster School or St. Paul's (both prepatory schools): Daniel Moore, son of Hon. John Moore, and later Member of Parliament for Great Marlow, Bucks.
William Moore, son of Hon. John Moore
Stephen Moore, son of Col. John Moore of NY
Once again, it is obvious that both these men were well educated. William was a Member of the Provincial Assembly of Pennsylvania, Justice of the Peace and President of the County Courts of Chester. His Will, written in his own hand, is almost lyrical in his tribute to his wife, Williamina. As for Stephen Moore, his many extant letters show a literary style of writing as well as a beautiful hand indicating a classical education. I suspect that he was taught at home or privately tutored. Searches of alumni lists of the colleges in existence during the pertinent time period, such as Harvard, Yale, Princeton, etc. have produced no record of his having attended any of those schools. There are certainly hundreds of other schools in England whose records are difficult to access, if they survive, so the search is by no means complete.

In Tribute to John Moore, Esquire, of New York
Using a variety of other sources, listed in the Selected Bibliography, many of the facts stated in John Moore's memoirs have been confirmed, while others have been found to be slightly off the mark. In my judgment, other than the English ancestry of Hon. John Moore, the majority of the memoirs are remarkably accurate & without exaggeration or embellishment. Nearly 175 years after John Moore, near the end of his life, penned the history of his family as he knew it, the descendants of Hon. John Moore must assuredly be grateful that he took the time to leave us this legacy. It is now incumbent upon us to make the alterations to set the record straight for future generations.
_____________________
^lPennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 3, p. 211n; Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Cadwallader Collection, Bond Papers

²New-York Historical Society Library, manuscript section, microfilm
³Phillip Wright, Monumental Inscriptions of Jamaica (Society of Genealogists, 1966), p. 64; Capt. J.H. Lawrence-Archer, Monumental Inscriptions of the British West Indies (London: Chatto & Windus, 1875), p. 252-3.
⁴Alexander S. Salley, Ed. Warrants for land in South Carolina, 1680-1692, Vol. 2, p. 194 (1915)
⁵Hon. John Moore's Will-Register of Wills, Philadelphia-W272 (Will Book C, p. 201); Ann (Axtell) Boone's Will-Records of Probate Court, Charleston, SC, Book 1747-52, P. 460.
⁶Documents containing the seals of Hon. John Moore and his son, William Moore at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Manuscript Section, Cadwallader Collection, Bond Papers.
⁷In referring to the Moores in America, I refer only to the descendants of Hon. John Moore of SC & PA.
⁸Public Record Office, London-Thomas Moore (d. 1733) Prob. II-663; Ann (Moore) Sear (proved 1758) Prob. 11-839; Richard Sear (proved 1743) Prob. 11-726.
⁹HSP, Cadwallader Collection, Bond Papers, Wm. Moore folder
¹⁰Alfred V. Wittmeyer, ed. Registers of the Births, Marriages, and Deaths, of the "Eglise Francoise a la Nouvelle York" from 1688 to 1804 (Baltimore, GPC, 1968)

Selected Bibliography and Resources
England
Joseph L. Chester, ed. The Marriage, Baptismal, and Burial Registers of the Collegiate Church or Abbey of St. Peter, Westminster (London: 1876)
G.F. Russell Barker and Alan H. Stenning, compilers The Record of Old Westminsters, Vol. 11, Chiswick Press (London: 1929)
Joseph Foster, ed. Alumni Oxonienses: The Members of the University of Oxford, multiple volumes, Krause Reprint Unlimited (Liechtenstein: 1968)
John Venn and J. A- Venn, compilers Alumni Cantabrigienses (Cambridge University), multiple volumes, Krause Reprint (Liechtenstein: 1974)
Parish Records of St. Bride's, Fleet Street, London, 1653-1714, microfilm #0380155 ordered from the LDS Family History Library, Salt Lake City
Lawrence E. Tanner, ed. The Register of St. Margaret's, Westminster, 1660-1675, printed in Publications of the Harleian Society, Vol. 64 (1934)
West Indies
Capt. J. H. Lawrence-Archer, comp. Monumental Inscriptions of the British West Indies, Chatto and Windus (London: 1875)
South Carolina
Records in the British Public Record Office Relating to South Carolina printed for The Historical Commission of South Carolina, Foote & Davis Co. (Atlanta: 1928) Vol. 1-1663-1684, Vol. 11-1685-1690, Vol. 111-1691-1697
South Carolina Historical and Genealogical Magazine, Vols.1 through 42 (1900-1941)
A. S. Salley, ed. Warrants for Land in South Carolina (np, 1915)
A. S. Salley, ed. Journal of the Grand Council of South Carolina The State Company (Columbia: 1907)
Agnes L. Baldwin, First Settlers of South Carolina, 1670-1700 Southern Historical Press (1985)
South Caroliniana Library, Manuscript Collections, University of SC, Columbia (for Colleton/Moore correspondence)
Anne King Gregorie, ed. Records of the Court of Chancery of South Carolina 1671-1779 American Historical Assoc. (Washington, DC: 1950)
M. Eugene Sirmans, "Politics in Colonial South Carolina, The Failure of Proprietary Reform, 1682-1694", William &Mary Quarterly, Third Series, Vol. 23 (1966)
Pennsylvania
Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Manuscript Section, various collections-primarily the Cadwallader and Gratz Collections for Hon. John Moore and William Moore of Moore Hall documents.
John Frederick Lewis, The History of an Old Philadelphia Land Title: 208 South Fourth
Street (Philadelphia: 1934)
Scharf & Westcott, History of Philadelphia, Vol. 3
Charles Keith, Chronicles of Pennsylvania (1917)
Charles Keith, "The Founding of Christ Church, Philadelphia", Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 54 (1930)
Christ Church Archives, Philadelphia-Registers of Birth, Marriage, Burial; original Deeds; microfilm of early Church records & Vestry minutes. Surviving Registers date from 1709, Vestry minutes date from April 1717.
Edward L. Clark, A Record of the Inscriptions on the Tablets and Grave-stones in the Burial Grounds of Christ Church, Philadelphia, Collins, Printer (Philadelphia: 1864)
William H. Egle, Early Pennsylvania Land Records Minutes of the Board of Property of
The Province of Pennsylvania, reprint (1976)
Lawrence Lewis, "The Courts of Pennsylvania in the Seventeenth Century", Pennsylvania Mag. of Hist. & Biog., Vol. 5 (188 1)
John Hill Martin, Bench and Bar of Philadelphia, Rees Welsh & Co. (Philadelphia: 1883)

...And Moore
These books contain valuable genealogical data but must be read very carefully to separate fact from fancy.
David Moore Hall, comp. Six Centuries of Moores of Fawley (Richmond: 1904)
Horace Wemyss Smith, The Life and Correspondence of the Rev. William Smith, D. D., S. .A. George & Co. (Philadelphia: 1879)

______________________________________

To the Reader: Since the information I have presented in this issue is contrary to what has always been believed to be true of the ancestry of Hon. John Moore of South Carolina and Pennsylvania, I encourage comment, questions, debate and thoughtful criticism. Any carefully documented challenge to the lineage as I have presented it will be considered, verified and published in a future issue of the Chronicles.

Stephen Moore, scribe

2009-07-11T13:43:00.004-04:00

Stephen Moore’s birth, 30 Oct 1734, is noted in daughter Mary Moore Stanford’s bible but little else is known of his early childhood or adolescence until the death of his father, Col. John Moore, when Stephen inherited the West Point property bequeathed to him at the age of fifteen. The memoirs of John Moore, Esq., Stephen’s nephew, recount that Stephen was “brought up in business” by the Hon. John Watts. This apprenticeship may have spanned Stephen’s mid- to late teen years. Stephen Moore’s name does not appear in the alumni lists of Oxford or Cambridge. He may have been tutored for his early education. But well-educated he assuredly was, as evidenced by his many letters, ledgers, petitions, memorials and account books. His handwriting is beautiful, legible and quite distinctive, making it instantly recognizable.

While searching for the deeds to all the properties mentioned in the last will and testament of Col. John Moore of New York City, I came across a deed for a house and lot that Col. John Moore sold to Elizabeth Johnston before he made his will. New York City deeds are recorded in three different record groups: NYC Conveyances 1654-1866, includes deeds for New York City and New York County; Deeds in the Secretary of State’s Office, 1659-1846; and Patents of the State of New York in the Secretary of State’s Office, 1708-1973. These are all accessible on microfilm, available in various repositories or through Family History Centers of the LDS Church (Mormons). A fourth record group is presently only available at the New York Municipal Archives in NYC: City Grants Libers 1686-1907. Liber B 1701-1752, pages 109-113, records the grant/deed for the lot on which Col. John Moore built his “mansion” called Whitehall. This was not the same Whitehall that belonged to Peter Stuyvesant almost a century before. That Whitehall was destroyed by fire in 1717. Presumably, Col. John Moore named his house Whitehall because the lot was very near Whitehall Slip. The house was hardly a mansion by today’s standards but when it was built, it would have been considered grand. It was a three story house on a lot measuring 31’ 6” by 168’. It served as the Custom House from May 1769 until the fire of September 1776.

The search for deeds to properties owned by Col. John Moore entailed reading deed books from the above named records groups, aided by indexes for the most part. In the Secretary of State Deeds, Vol. 16:42, is a power of attorney recorded for Lambert Moore, Stephen Moore’s brother, dated 1757. It was written in the familiar, distinctive hand of Stephen Moore himself. Subsequent study of other deed books revealed that Stephen was the scribe on all or part of 3 different Secretary of State Deed volumes, and 3 of the Secretary of State Patent Books spanning dates from about 1757 to 1786. But how had he accomplished this? He had been in New York, Quebec and North Carolina during that span of years. Apparently, Stephen Moore began his work as a scribe or clerk as a young adult or while he was apprenticed to Hon. John Watts. He joined the New York Provincial Troops as a Lieutenant in 1757, possibly retaining his position with John Watts who served as a provision contractor for the Army. Eventually, Stephen was appointed Deputy Paymaster for the British Army in Canada about 1760. He remained in Canada until 1770, but made frequent trips to New York. He resided at his West Point estate from 1770 until sometime in late 1775 or early 1776, when he moved his family to North Carolina. In December, 1779 Stephen Moore first petitioned Congress, sitting at Philadelphia, for compensation for the loss of income as well as damages done to his West Point estate. This was the first of many petitions and memorials that ultimately led to the sale of the West Point estate to the US government in 1790, requiring Stephen to make many trips to New York to press his case. The explanation for how he accomplished the task of transcribing the records spanning all these years when he was residing elsewhere is found in the Patent Books. Volumes 5, 6 & 7 were all transcribed entirely by Stephen Moore. At the beginning of each of the volumes is “An Act for transcribing Certain Records of Patents passed the 23rd February 1786” detailing the need to copy all the old deed and patent books that were deteriorating from use. Stephen Moore used the time he was in New York well and supplemented his income, too. Some of the volumes have notations in the margin of the dollar amount each transcription was worth.

Submitted by Terri B. O’Neill, 2009 ©

Letter from J.B. Moore to Uncle Gilbert dated 6 Feb 1865

2009-07-10T14:40:00.010-04:00

by David Jeffreys - July, 2009 ©

Like all families, the War Between The States impacted the Moore Family. Members of our family have researched and written stories about this devastating civil war.

In my possession, passed down from my great-great grandfather, Gilbert Moore, is a letter from his nephew, J. B. Moore in Tennessee, who discusses is some detail the war's impact. Gilbert was Robert's son, and his brother, Yancey, had moved to Tennessee.

In the letter, J. B. apologizes for not visiting his NC relatives and says General Sherman got in the way. Later in the letter, he says, "Uncle, you don't know how glad I was to get home and find things in as good condition as they wer. The Yankees have raided & plunderd this country a great deal but father has escaped finely so fare very well."

Here is the letter itself which is now quite fragile, but I have scanned it for you. It is written on both sides of faintly ruled paper, which is 7.5" x 12." Transcribing the letter seems unnecessary since J. B.'s handwriting is so legible and beautiful. Clicking on the images themselves will enable much easier reading of the document.

The Ante-Bellum Mount Tirzah Plantation

2009-07-09T00:00:00.011-04:00

By David E. Jeffreys, written in July, 2009 ©
The ante-bellum period is defined as being that time between the Revolutionary War and the War Between The States or from 1800-1860. What was life like during this period at Mt. Tirzah? Though Stephen had died at the very end of the previous century (29 December 1799), his widow, Grizey, lived well into the new century, along with her brother, Thomas, and her sister-in-law, Ann. Most of the children still lived at the plantation, although some of the grandchildren would start to move away and even out of North Carolina, beginning the spread of the descendants.

Charles was listed as the postmaster of the Mt. Tirzah post office. Phillips, along with his uncle Thomas Phillips, would manage the store.

[Southern Historical Collection]
Phillips son, Stephen, would move to Hillsborough where he owned a shoe store. Many letters between Phillips and his son are collected in the Southern Historical Collection in Chapel Hill.

Also preserved are many letters between Ann Moore, Grizey Moore and Throg’s Neck, N.Y., where much of the rest of the Moore family resided, as they remained in touch with the greater family at large. An example:

[Southern Historical Collection]

A wonderful book about this period, Ante-Bellum North Carolina – A Social History, by Guion Griffis Johnson was published by the University of North Carolina Press in 1937. Vicky Wells of the UNC press has kindly given me permission to quote sections of the book, which has long been out of print. Contained in this book are many excellent references about the Mt. Tirzah plantation life, as Johnson used Moore collections in the Southern Historical Collection extensively:

THE OVERSEER
Upon the skilful management of the slaves often depended much of the success of a plantation. Surly hands could defy an overseer, break a vast amount of equipment, and otherwise interrupt the plantation routine without seeming to do so.
Most of the large plantation owners employed overseers to assist in the management of the Negroes and the crops. . . .
An excellent overseer, or superintendent, as he was sometimes called, was difficult to find. The work was strenuous, the pay small, and the requisite personal qualities usually above those of the person willing to engage in such a profession. It was customary to furnish an overseer lodging and to pay him in one of three ways: a money wage payable in notes which might be converted into cash at a discount, a smaller money wage supplemented with a specific amount of provisions, or a share in the crop and certain specified provisions. The customary money wage in the last half of the ante-bellum period varied from $125 to $250.
The relation between Phillips Moore of Mount Tirzah in Person County and his overseer, Nathaniel Smith, during the planting year of 1819-1820 was typical of conditions on many a small plantation. In November, 1819, owner and overseer entered into the following agreement:

Said Smith undertakes to perform the duties of Overseer for said Moore under his particular advise & direction, to take charge of the hands, the work with them diligently, to assist in feeding the stock of every kind, with all care of the same that is requisite in all seasons of the year, to see that there is plenty of fire wood always provided at the door for the house fires, to take care of all the farming utensils of every description, and have them housed except when immediately in use, to repair fences, take care to prevent any damage or loss of any kind whatever, and to make up all loss time whatever, & find himself.

And said Moore for this part to pay unto said Smith two hundred Dollars or its value for the term of one Year.

To this agreement Smith added a proviso of his own, to which the owner agreed:

And we further agree that if any dispute does arrise which cannot be mutually settled we bind ourselves to leave it to three persons to be chosen by ourselves. . . .

Accustomed to keeping strict accounts at his country store, Moore also kept strict account of his overseer’s activities, charging him at the end of the year with having lost twenty-two and a third days from work. He set down each offense as it occurred so that at the end of the year he had an imposing list with which to confront the overseer: “Nathaniel Smith lost this day, his wife being sick. This day away about your pork. . . . Went away at a time I wanted you to work at tobacco . . . fatening hogs got out, you unconcerned, came & set down by fire. No care taken of tobacco stript the other night, at night a horse verry sick, paid no attention to him. Went to the Court house. . . . Went to muster. . . . Went to Mother in Law’s. . . . . Went fishing, left the plow & horse, & neglected the hands (corn verry foul .ch.d you $1). . . . . Thursday went to the Election . . . went to sale . . . went to General Muster. . . .” Taking out $14 for lost time, about $12 for provisions advanced, chiefly brandy, shoe repairing, and a barrel of flour, Moore discharged his part of the agreement by giving the overseer three notes for $58 each, and set about looking for another manager.
But the new overseer was little better. He was sick much of the time; he went to town on court days and attended elections; often he neglected to go to the remote fields when the people were at work there; and he finally moved away ten days before the expiration of his contract, leaving “my fences down in several places”
[Phillips Moore Papers, November 13, 1819 – December 20, 1821]
[Above taken from Ante-Bellum North Carolina, pp. 489-492]

In the same vein, Richard Stanford wrote on 15 February 1815 from Washington, DC to his wife, Mary, at Mt. Tirzah:
“Can you make some arrangement with your mother for the succeeding crop-I want to do something in that way, but I want an even, & equal one. I pay a large rent, you know, for the place.
Suppose I send down 2 or 3 hands & repair the fences, trim the orchard, etc. & then have a hand with Scipio to go on with the crop, what will be right in the division? If I had an overseer I would rather, but if a suitable overseer cannot be had, I would rather have none.”
[Richard Stanford Papers, North Carolina State Archives]

[Southern Historical Collection]

LIVING CONDITIONS OF THE SLAVES
“Negro cloth” was either plain, homespun, cotton for summer and wool for winter, dyed blue or brown and made on the plantation, or blue checked, osnaburgs bought from a local merchant or in Petersburg, Norfolk, or some northern city. . . .
On some plantations, the spinning, weaving, and sewing were done by slave women unable to do field work, but on others the master employed white women to do the work and the mistress herself sometimes helped. Phillips Moore of Person County regularly employed a white woman to spin, weave, and sew for his Negroes and a man to make their shoes. In 1803, for instance, he paid a Mrs. Hogue £3 for making Scipio “overalls and Jacoat.”
[Phillips Moore Papers: Memorandum Book, December 2, 1803]
Most Negroes were not content with the simple clothes their masters provided, and sought, whenever possible, to obtain a “Sunday best” with their own money. . . .
The Negro cabins, grouped together in a single or double row back of the master’s house, were made of clapboards or of poles chinked with clay. Each had a large fireplace and stone hearth where the family cooking was done, a table, some shelves, and perhaps a rude bed, a chest, and a few plantation-made chairs. It was a common practice for Negroes to sleep in a heap of rags or on a corn shuck mattress on the floor, or on a plank or chair.
[R.W. Gibbs, “Southern Slave Life,” North Carolina Standard, June 30, 1858.]

SLAVE HEALTH
On most plantations the young and the sick received special attention. Enceinte women usually worked at half task until the last few months of pregnancy when only a fourth task was required of them. Phillips Moore, of Person County, employed a Mrs. Bumpass in Chatham County to attend his slave Annica. He paid the midwife her expenses and 10 shillings. As a rule, no work was required of the mother until the infant was a month old. From that time until the child was two or three months old the mother returned to the quarters to suckle the infant. Later the nurse, usually a child, carried the baby into the field to the mother.
[Waste Book, January, 1796-December, 1803, in Phillips Moore Papers.]

THE SLAVE AND HIS MONEY
Since the slave had money in his pocket, he was a potential buyer, and slave money was as good as master’s money. Indeed, unless the planter kept his own store and required his slaves to buy of him, as did Ebenezer Pettigrew of Phelps Lake, the slave was more likely to patronize the small tradesman than was the planter, who frequently bought his supplies in large quantities at a distant market. The accounts of merchants frequently show, as did those of Phillips Moore of Person County, that the neighborhood slaves were in the habit of buying small articles. The Moore Account Book, 1810-1816, records, for instance, that “on the 26th. of Sept. Old Jim had little better than ½ pint of [of liquor] for white onions” and that on April 17 Scipio had “Shoe Leather, supposed to be abt. a balance for Tobacco bot. of him.”
[Moore Account Book, 1810-1816, in Phillips Moore Papers.]

SLAVE FAMILY LIFE
As important as money in the pocket in building up a wholesome morale among slaves was the master’s observance of family life among his black people. He gave each family a place to live; he issued rations by families; he encouraged slave marriages and respected the grief of a family when a member died. Some families built up a strong feel of solidarity and loyalty. . . .
In 1823 L. V. Hargis of Point Pleasant in Person County wrote the following note to Phillips Moore, giving permission for Ben to marry:
D.r Sir Your note by Ben the 25th Instant is before me stating – Ben had communicated to you his desire to take a wife among your negro women. If it meets my approbation. As it appears the boy wants a wife I make no objections & if he undertakes I hope he will not disgrace his Station.
[Phillips Moore Papers: L.V. Hargis to Phillips Moore, August 27, 1823.]

When slaves decided to marry, they went to their master, or to the overseer in the absence of the master, and signified their intention. The master might immediately ask the couple to join hands while he pronounced them man and wife or he might set a day for the ceremony. The wedding might take place in the quarters, the yard, or in the master’s kitchen, and the master might himself perform the ceremony or yield his place to a minister or to a religious leader from among the slaves. After a simple celebration with sweetened water and a meat stew, singing and dancing, the couple went to their new home, a cabin which the master assigned them.
Separation was equally casual. The marriage might be dissolved at the pleasure of either party or by the sale of one or both, being dependent, therefore, upon caprice or the necessity of their owners. The master, however, found it to his advantage to encourage marriage stability and to insist that his slaves abandon their African tradition of polygamy in favor of monogamy. After a certain slave named Samuel of a near-by plantation had lived with Mina, the slave of A. M. Lea of Caswell County, and had had five children by her, he quarreled with her, and bundling up his clothes, he started away, saying that he intended to part with her. Lea, however, compelled Samuel to leave the clothes until he obtained a written permit from his master sanctioning the separation.
[Above taken from Ante-Bellum North Carolina, pp. 524-525, 527, 532-536]

Much more information on slave life on the neighboring Stagville Plantation to the south on the Flat, Little and Eno Rivers is available at http://www.stagville.org/. Examples of two-story, four-room slave dwellings in Horton Grove can be toured as well as the Bennehan home. By 1860, the Bennehan-Cameron family owned almost 30,000 acres and nearly 900 slaves.

During the ante-bellum period, a free Negro named Thomas Day lived in nearby Milton, which is near the Person County – Caswell County – Virginia line. He was renowned far and wide as the best furniture and cabinet maker. For more information on Thomas Day, see the website:

http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~ncccha/biographies/thomasday.html.

SANITATION AND HEALTH: NATIVE SIMPLES
The average ante-bellum family called a doctor only in an emergency or when every other curative means had failed. In 1832, for instance, when a certain child became ill Monday “with a puking and a severe pain in her head, I had her bled and sweated,” wrote her mother. But she still complained of a severe pain in her head and her mother put a blister on the back of the child’s neck. When the blister did not draw well and the child fell into a coma, her parents became alarmed and called a doctor Saturday afternoon, five days after her first attack.
Many a head of a family knew as well how to bleed or draw a blister as did a physician, and his wife, as has already been pointed out, was usually well informed in the knowledge of household remedies. Almost any account book of the ante-bellum period shows that the owner kept on hand a supply of the usual medicines. The Phillips Moore Account Book kept between 1805 and 1811 shows that the following medicines were purchased in Petersburg at various times: two bottles of essence of mustard, a asafetida, senna, opium, two ounces of sal ammonia, blistering plasters and salve, two bottles of sweet oil, and two pounds of copperas. Here was a variety of medicines sufficient to cure almost any ante-bellum complaint.
A great many families, however, could not send abroad for medicines; neither did they obtain them from the supply which every doctor always kept on hand. They relied, instead, upon herbs which grew in the fields and woods. Every granny and a great many housewives, as well, knew the various plants and their properties; knew how to gather and dry them, brew them into decoctions or pulverize them to be taken as powders. These were the “native simples,” so called because of the belief that every country produced a simple remedy for its diseases. A knowledge of their use still exists in a great many families today, especially among the Negroes and the rural whites. Almost any adult can recall having seen his grandmother gathering sage to be used in a tea to cure winter colds or catnip to brew for the baby’s colic.
[Above taken from Ante-Bellum North Carolina, pp. 752-753.]

Of course, we know that Stephen’s son, Portius Moore, was a physician. More research needs to be done to find out if he, too, used the medicines that were stocked in the Moore store and if he used the “native simples.” We do know that the Moores consulted with the famous Dr. Benjamin Rush in Philadelphia on several occasions, particularly regarding the paralysis of Ann Moore.

MOORE RESEARCH QUESTIONS

2009-07-06T13:50:00.010-04:00

Doing research always leads to questions as well as answers. Below you will find questions that we would like the answers to. If you have an answer or a source, please leave it in the comments section below or email the answer to me (see Email your editor in the left sidebar). I will be pleased to enter additional questions you may have to this list, if you email me.

1-What is the origin of the Stephen Moore in uniform miniature?
2-Who was Julia, the actress, who may have been the mother of Robert?
3-Information on Dr. Portius Moore, the physician. Details about his education and practice. Supposedly, the chimney of his office has survived.
4-What was family life like among the children and grandchildren of Stephen Moore, Charles Moore, and Thomas Phillips from 1800 on, and did they live in a community still working together around Mt. Tirzah? We have some clues from the ledgers of the store. Was there also a community around Moore’s Mill, which had previously been Gibbons’s Mill, as folks tended to gather around a mill for news, help, and shared experiences? A lot of the answers to these questions may still be found in the Southern Historical Collection at the Wilson Library on the UNC Chapel Hill campus.
5-Who were the families around Mt. Tirzah that interacted with the Moores? For example, the Reades and the Dickins. There was an Osborne Jeffreys, and a Paul Jeffreys that frequently traded at the Mt. Tirzah store recorded in the ledgers; who were they?
6-How many slaves lived on the Mt. Tirzah plantation after 1800? What jobs did they perform? Where did they live? Who were they, by name, and were any given their freedom early?
7-Does anyone have a copy of the presentation that Dr. Bailey Webb gave on Ann Moore, who was the invalid sister of Stephen, that she gave at the 1991 Moore Reunion at West Point?
8-Is there a member of the Webb family that was sufficiently close to Dr. Bailey Webb that they could give us a biographical sketch? I remember her practicing in Durham when I was a child. Did one of you inherit her effects or papers? If not, do you know what happened to them?
ANSWER: I have found the papers in the Special Collections at Duke Univerisity Perkins Library. The papers have not been cataloged and are not available on microfilm. At the present time the collection is closed, pending cataloging. The collection is huge consisting of 5416 items (9.7 lin. ft.). David Jeffreys, 7-28-2009.
Author Webb, Bailey Daniel. Title Bailey Daniel Webb papers, 1845-2001 (bulk 1950s-2001) Location/Request Special Collections Library: Manuscripts 6th 24:B Location/Request Special Collections Library: Library Service Center, Manuscripts (Reading Room only) Library Service Center LSC
9-When was Moore’s mill operated by the Moores? Was it after Stephen’s death in 1799 and during the antebellum period? The Stephen Moore plantation did NOT extend far south enough to be on the Flat River, where the mill was located. Research project: Search deeds where mill was located between 1780 and 1850 to determine owners of the mill site at the Person County Courthouse Register of Deeds office.
10-Stephen Moore has hundreds and maybe thousands of descendants by now; there were several hundred in attendance at the West Point Reunion in 1991. The descendants live all over the country and perhaps the world, and certainly there are a number still in Person County. However, I am not aware of any descendants that live today on the original Stephen Moore Plantation property as it was in 1799. Perhaps some of the Reade family members still live on the northwestern part of the property, but I’m not sure. The Reade family occupied the Mt. Tirzah house into the 1970s and maybe the 1980s, before it was sold to Stephen Cox, the present owner, who has renovated it. QUESTION: Does any blood descendant live on the original plantation TODAY?
11-Was Stephen Moore, his estate, or members of his family ever paid for the West Point Property by the United States government and/or the North Carolina government?
12-Regarding Stephen Moore, I had written in 1983 "At the end of the century, on December 29, 1799, he died at Stagville at the home of Richard Bennehan. It is interesting to speculate why he was there when he died. Had he gone there during the festive season between Christmas and New Year’s and fallen suddenly ill? Was he there on business? Or perhaps Stephen was already ill and had gone to Stagville in search of a doctor since Stagville was a larger plantation than his own and may have had a doctor in residence." This may be true or it may be family folklore, but I've always thought it rang true. So far, I don't know of any documentation in the Bennehan-Cameron Papers around 1799, that are located in the "Southern Historical Collection" and the "North Carolina State Archives" or anywhere else for that matter, as proof.
13-Would you and/or other members of your family be interested in learning more about our Moore ancestry using DNA testing? If so, let me know, and perhaps we could get together for a lower cost group rate. For example, it might solve the question: did Robert have a different mother from all the other children of Stephen Moore? You might remember the recent interest inquiry and interest by the descendants of Thomas Jefferson. For more information, see: http://dna.ancestry.com/learnMore.aspx. There are other services for DNA heritage testing as well.

Active Moore research continues among several of our family members leading to new discoveries and knowledge. Won’t you join them?

David E. Jeffreys

Stanford Family Cemetery in Orange County

2009-07-02T14:33:00.008-04:00

STANFORD (MARY MOORE STANFORD) FAMILY CEMETERY

Location - In Bingham Township west of White Cross Road (SR #1951) in a remote and heavily wooded area on private land. On a rise 500 ft west of a field on the Atwater farm, which is at 804 White Cross Road. The cemetery is listed on the Orange County GIS system as PIN 9737-73-9241.Coordinates: 35d 52m 28.0s N; 79d 12m 35.0s W (See location map below.)

Survey - Date of 1970s visit not given. Milton Forsyth visited and photographed the cemetery in February 2005 courtesy of Don and Warren Atwater who allowed him access across their land and provided directions.

Graves, Marked [1970s]

- There were 3 or 4 marked graves.

Graves, Unmarked [1970s]

- There were 7 or 8 unmarked graves.

Status [2005]

- The cemetery originally stood near an old house, the remains of which was not readily evident in the current heavy woodland, but it is to the east of an old, now overgrown, roadbed. It had at one time been enclosed by a barbed-wire fence which is now almost gone. Unattended and covered with periwinkle, pinestraw and leaves with some small trees growing on the cemetery. A fine monument and some new stones were erected in the mid-1900s.

Comment: In 2009 Terri Bradshaw O'Neill of Colleyville, TX provided information that the cemetery was established by a 1909 deed from Thomas A. Atwater & wife, Isa, to James O. Webb, Trustee, and his successor for a consideration of $1.00, setting off 6/100's of an acre "for the purpose of preserving the Burial Ground of his ancestors." The description says, "This Cemetery is situated on Great Uncle Saurin Stanford's place." [Orange Co. Deed Book 107:220] She noted that the monument was dedicated on 17 July 1949 and was probably arranged for by Ralph H. Stanford of Burlington, NC. She furnished several photographs of the ceremony.

Above information courtesy of http://cemeterycensus.com/nc/orng/cem275.htm. Go to the website for the names of those interred and the photographs of their tombstones and monument.

Map Location of Stanford Family Cemetery

Editors Note: Honorable Richard Stanford, member of Congress, and husband of Mary Moore Stanford, died in office in Washington, DC on April 9, 1816, and was buried there in the Historic Congressional Cemetery.

The Richard Stanford “Silver Dollar” Story

2009-07-01T17:47:00.001-04:00

Analysis of a Family Tradition:
The Richard Stanford “Silver Dollar” Story
by Terri Bradshaw O’Neill, 1999 ©

The story has been passed down in one branch of the family from the time of Mary Moore Stanford (1778-1851), daughter of Stephen Moore and wife of the Hon. Richard Stanford (1767-1816). Some of the salient points of the story are that Congressman Richard Stanford, having been elected to the first Congress, was Chairman of the Finance Committee and as a result, was instrumental in the design and first coining of the U. S. silver dollar, and determined the weight of the silver content by collecting specimens of the Spanish milled dollar in circulation from all thirteen colonies. He had them weighed and the average silver content was found to be 374 1/4 grains of silver and that is what he decided the weight of our silver dollars should be, though others argued that evening out the weight to 370 would simplify matters. The story continues to relate that, being a Quaker, Stanford’s principles caused him to declare, “Pay what thou owest”, and his estimation of the worth of the dollar prevailed.

The problems are in the time line.
· The First Congress was held in New York City in 1789.
· The Mint was established in Philadelphia in 1792. No silver dollars were struck until 1794.
· Richard Stanford was first elected to the House in 1797, and he took his seat in the Fifth Congress in May, 1797, at Philadelphia. While the Senate had what was called a Finance Committee, the House had a Ways and Means Committee. Richard Stanford’s name does not appear on that committee in the Annals of Congress. It seems unlikely that a freshman congressman would attain such a position.

In addition to the problems of the time line, there is the assertion that Richard Stanford was a Quaker. While he must surely have counted Quakers among his friends, acquaintances and constituents, it is not likely that he was a Quaker himself, for these reasons:
· Richard Stanford left many letters, some of which discussed his religious beliefs and even his doubts regarding religion
· It was the practice of Quakers to use the pronouns “thee” and “thou”; they also expressed dates by saying “the 4th day of the 3rd month...” rather than using the name of the months. Richard Stanford never did this.
· He was a slave owner
· He gave sworn testimony as a member of Congress, Quakers affirmed
· His will begins “In the name of God, Amen...”, a form not used by Quakers

I suspect that the story is apocryphal and was used to illustrate the fundamental integrity of our honorable forebear, Richard Stanford. If we consider the time and place that Congressman Stanford took his seat in the House of Representatives, and recall the names of his contemporaries and the leaders of government, we can begin to understand how such a family legend could have been polished and embellished over the ensuing generations. The mere mention of the names of Washington, Jefferson, Hamilton and so many others of the galaxy then assembled in Philadelphia in those early years of Richard Stanford’s career in the House, would have struck awe in his listeners. They must have been enthusiastically discussed and celebrated in every generation following him. Congressman Stanford’s tales of Philadelphia and Washington would have been told and retold with the pride of knowing that their father or grandfather had been there in those formative years. He had known, worked, socialized and had mutual interests with the most important and influential men of their time. He grew in experience and statesmanship and reputation in his own right. It was surely at the time of his first term of office in Philadelphia that Richard Stanford made the acquaintance of Dr. Benjamin Rush, from whom he later sought medical advice for his sister-in-law, Ann Moore. Dr. Rush was a Signer of the Declaration of Independence and had treated another member of the Moore clan in 1793. During Philadelphia’s Yellow Fever epidemic of that year, Dr. Rush treated Rebecca Moore Smith, daughter of William Moore and wife of Rev. William Smith, Provost of the College of Philadelphia. From 1797 until his death in 1813, Benjamin Rush was the treasurer of the U. S. Mint in Philadelphia. Is this obscure connection the grain of sand that became the pearl of family lore?

The Honorable Richard Stanford, Congressman

2009-06-30T14:14:00.013-04:00

The Honorable Richard Stanford, Congressman
By Terri Bradshaw O’Neill ©

Remarkably little has been written about Richard Stanford (1767-1816), who represented the citizens of Orange county, North Carolina, in the United States House of Representatives from 1797 until his death in 1816. His ten terms in office spanned the Presidencies of John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and James Monroe. During the period he was a Congressman, momentous events were occurring on the world stage as well as in the United States, most notable being the War of 1812. There is, of course, a paragraph in the Biographical Directory of Members of Congress. A few newspaper articles detail his political career. A fairly long sketch of Richard Stanford appeared in the Greensboro Daily News of 13 July 1941, written by Archibald Henderson. Samuel L. Adams of South Boston, VA, was a member of the Virginia Senate and a great-grandson of Richard Stanford’s. Adams took an early interest in his ancestor and wrote a series of letters to editors of newspapers, and biographical sketches beginning in 1901 and culminating in a sketch written in 1915. Most of these articles feature highlights of Richard Stanford’s career and accomplishments in Congress. These articles furnish a reasonable idea of his character and his political philosophy, indicating a strong belief in fiscal responsibility by Congress and the relatively new government. Richard Stanford was certainly in some measure instrumental in the formative years of our country’s development, but the details of his life and career for too long have been neglected.

Probably the most reliable source concerning Stanford’s early life and forebears is Henry Howland Crapo’s Certain Comeoverers, a well-written and entertaining family history published in 1912.¹ There are, however, some gaps and discrepancies in the combined material which beg examination. Further, Richard Stanford’s letters reveal much more of his personality than has previously been shown, and relate some insight into his opinions regarding events large and small.

Some of what has been written about Richard Stanford and the Stanford family in Dorchester county, Maryland, is certainly in error. An oft-repeated story is that Hon. Richard Stanford was the third of the name in successive generations, the first Richard arriving in Maryland from Scotland in 1633 aboard the Primrose. The second Richard was a plantation owner, and according to Crapo’s Certain Comeoverers, was born 18 Jan 1743. The span of 90 years makes it highly unlikely that the second Richard was the son of the immigrant Richard. However, it is probable that the second Richard was the father of Hon. Richard Stanford who was born 2 March 1767.² Mr. Crapo makes a strong case for the elder Richard Stanford’s parents to have been William and Elizabeth Stanford. Dorchester county land records and the 1759 will of Elizabeth Stanford seem to corroborate Mr. Crapo’s speculation.

Dorchester county land records show that a William Stanford and both Richard Stanford and Richard Stanford, jr. witnessed the sale of some land in July of 1785. Then, according to Certain Comeoverers, in the fall of 1785, the elder Stanford loaded a ship with the produce of his plantation. Taking his two young sons, Algernon S. and Clement, Richard set out for the market at Baltimore. A storm carried the ship out to sea, where Richard Stanford died, then the ship made the port of Norfolk, Virginia, where he was buried. The unscrupulous captain confiscated the cargo for himself and stranded the two Stanford boys there until their older half-brother, Richard, retrieved them.

It is unclear where young Richard Stanford was educated, but he apparently attended college. The name Richard Stanford of Dorchester county appears on the subscription list for the establishment of Washington College in Kent county in 1782.³ Perhaps this is where Richard received his education. It’s certainly an enticing possibility.

Young Richard Stanford first appears in Orange county, NC, records in 1788⁴ and he opened his academy in the Hawfields area in 1789. It has been well established that one of his pupils was Thomas Hart Benton who later became a Senator from Missouri. Another of Stanford’s pupils was John Taylor, Clerk of the Superior Court for Orange county for 40 years.⁵ The Hawfields area is also where Stanford’s future father-in-law, Alexander Mebane was a substantial landholder. Gen. Mebane had been a very prominent figure during the Revolutionary War and continued to take an active roll in Orange county affairs after the war ended. Alexander Mebane was elected to the US Congress and served from 1793 to 1795. Richard Stanford married Gen. Mebane’s daughter, Jennette, on March 17th, 1791.⁶ To this union, two daughters were born: Ariana, born 19 Jun 1792 and Mary Mebane, born 1 Nov 1794.⁷ Alexander Mebane died 5 Jul 1795 and named his daughter, Jennette Stanford, in his will, along with all his other children and grandchildren.

Orange county’s Deed and Land records were disrupted during the Revolutionary War, but extant records show that Richard Stanford began acquiring land in Orange county in February of 1795 when he bought 81 acres along the waters of Collins Creek. Over the next six years, he purchased a total of 1353 acres on Collins Creek. Although her death is not recorded in the Moore family bible, Jennette died about 1796 leaving Richard with two little girls to raise and a campaign for Congress to mount. Stanford’s opponent, the incumbent Absalom Tatom, apparently did not take Stanford’s opposition for office seriously. Tatom had been elected to Alexander Mebane’s seat, and dismissed Stanford as “an upstart school master.” Heavy rains for several days prior to the election prevented many of Tatom’s constituents from reaching the polling place. Stanford narrowly won the election, Tatom refused to serve out his unexpired term, and William Francis Strudwick served until Richard Stanford took his seat in the Fifth Congress, in May 1797.⁸ That session of Congress was held in Philadelphia, where the freshman Congressman from North Carolina first met Dr. Benjamin Rush, whose medical advice he would seek some four years later. Dr. Rush was a Signer of the Declaration of Independence, and in 1797 was the Treasurer of the Mint in Philadelphia.⁹
Other than the official record of Congress, little is known of Richard Stanford between the time of Jennette’s death and his subsequent marriage to Mary Moore, daughter of Stephen Moore of Mt. Tirzah in Person county. Stephen Moore had died in 1799, but Richard Stanford undoubtedly passed through Mt. Tirzah on his way to and from the Congressional sessions and developed a strong attachment to the Moore family. It was in 1801 that Dr. Benjamin Rush sent his recommendations to Richard Stanford for the treatment of Ann Moore’s medical condition, said to be nerve damage and partial paralysis.¹⁰ Ann Moore was universally called “Nancy.” Two years later, Richard married Mary Moore, Ann Moore’s younger sister, on September 11, 1803.¹¹ A biographical sketch of Richard Stanford written in the early 1900’s by Stanford descendant, Samuel L. Adams of Halifax county, VA, states that Stanford used to travel through Person county, NC, and Halifax county, VA, in a gig, accompanied by a servant, going as far as Roanoke, VA, the home of John Randolph. From there, he and Mr. Randolph would usually take the stage to Washington. Mr. Adams related in his sketch that he had interviewed Mr. Jacob Blane, Sr. of Halifax county, several years previous to writing the sketch. Mr. Blane, the oldest resident of Halifax county living at the time, said that he had frequently seen Mr. Stanford as he passed through the village of Black Walnut on his way to and from Congress.¹²

The first of the many extant letters between Mary and Richard Stanford, and preserved in collections at Duke University, the Southern Historical Collection at the Wilson Library at UNC-Chapel Hill, and the North Carolina State Archives, is written by Mary and dated 1 January 1804, a scant 4 months after their marriage. She writes from Mt. Tirzah and laments the fact that she has not heard from Richard in over a week, but blames the weather for the mails not getting through. Their letters to each other are often playful and lighthearted, or serious and reflective, depending on the circumstances. He called her “Polly”, once even calling her “Polly Moore” in a letter. Richard and Mary Moore Stanford had four children: Saurin was born 6 May 1806; Cornelia Adeline was born 3 July 1811, Richard Algernon Sidney was born 4 July 1814, and Caroline was born 11 February 1816.¹³ Ariana and Mary Mebane, called “Polly Mebane” came to think of Mary as their mother, as letters written by Ariana to Mary were addressed as “Dear Mama.” One of the most informative and interesting letters that Richard Stanford wrote, was written to his mother-in-law, Grizey Moore. In it, he resignedly describes himself as the father who is last to know of his eldest daughter’s impending marriage.

Washington city
May 24 1812
Dear Madam
I have just had the pleasure of your favour of the 12th inst & am glad to hear Polly has been to see you- the more so if this is the first visit she has paid you since I left home. She had not writ [page torn] she has been to see you this winter at all, tho I had requested her to go whenever she so inclined.
I am also glad to hear you think Adeline so fine a baby. It is so long since I saw her I have forgotten her looks, & have to see & have her in my arms. That Saurin's trial at school should have failed I can well imagine. His whims & his plays, I fear, will not allow him to do any good soon. I have thought the Lanconst [page torn-possibly “Lancastrian”] school here would do him better than ----- I have ever seen.
The young man who teaches this school here, came from England last fall, is not much older than Sydney, has about 400 children under his tuition now, & expects 600 in the course of the summer. And so extraordinary is his method that I believe he can teach them more in three months than common teaching could effect in a year & all without a [page torn] their hands. The enclosed paper contains a short piece on the subject.
As to Ariana's marriage- the family with which she has become connected, or any particulars in relation to them or their circumstances, I knew nothing, till the receipt of your very friendly letter, other than that such a thing was in contemplation-- no one corresponded with me on that subject nor was it necessary they should, as on the first suggestion I referred the business to her Hawfield friends, determining to place the condition of my trust upon theirs. I hope it will prove as happy as you are pleased to anticipate, yet my mind has been long since made up upon these occasions, to acquiesce in silence; to acquiesce at any rate.
As to our deliberations & doings here, the party-spirit which prevails & the war which you [page torn] & deprecate are justly to be deprecated-- the [page torn] to produce calamities in our hap [page torn] , I fear, which it was sincerely my wish you would never again have [page torn]-tness-- & which if it should not be your lot, it must be the lot of many thousand mothers besides, to mourn their sons that are gone, never again to return to gladden their mother's affectionate bosom. As you justly observe the signs of the times, speak it. Heaven's judgments seem to have gone abroad in our land-- & if ripe for his farther visitations, where is the means to avert it?- where the hope to avoid it? At present I feel none expect more & am now waiting-- looking on upon this infatuation of our councils as the forerunner of the coming evil! It must [page torn] & most sincerely do I comment & dread the consequences!--
I hope Sydney's care & management will more than equal your expectations in your plantation affairs, of his industry. I feel no doubt of his steadiness some. But perhaps it would be a helpful encouragement to him, if you were to let him apply your hands at convenient times of the year to some small improvements of his own [page torn-very fragmented] -----a little------repairing-------the trees & the like. All this ----be done which would---helpful & --------to him, at no ---- injurious to your------
I am very sorry to hear of sister Nancy's ill health. I hope she is better, that her pal [smudged-illegible] up & that she is nursing their growth. A lady here (& one too -----ly as afflicted as herself) has a rose bush in her window, that blooms every day in the year. I have been often there this winter, & never without seeing a rose blooming, or in bloom- -& never without thinking of her & secretly wishing I knew a way to contrive one to her. The fancy & novelty of a daily rose would assure her more than anything I know.
For you both my sincerest best wishes as[page torn]
RStanford¹⁴

It is interesting to note that Richard Stanford took his young son, Saurin, with him to Washington at least once, in order for Saurin to attend school or be tutored there, and the same letter reveals Stanford’s concerns for his country’s recovery after the War of 1812:

Washington City
17 Feb 1815
My Dear Girl
Once more it has pleased overruling [page torn] to bless us with the return of peace. The joy which the occasion has spread thro’ the town this way exceeds the powers of my description. I trust in our time we shall know war no more, nor its calamities. This has loaded the country with 150 millions of debt, & will oppress us with taxes for many years to come. But we can work out of it all in time, if like madness should not again seize upon our rulers.
I apprized you that I thought I should reach Mr. Forteman’s on the 10th of March. I still hope to do so, but if I fail thro’ the weather, or other difficulties in the way, don’t lose patience for a day, or even two, if I should not reach them on the appointed day—I may have to wait a day or two for the stage.
Saurin is bad off with a cough & cold. I bathed his feet last night & gave him some balsam tea. He slept well & has gone to school today.
Your “own”
RStanford¹⁵
Having passed through Halifax county with his father, probably on numerous occasions, something must have impressed young Saurin Stanford, for he would return in later years to marry. He married there on 13 September 1827, Susan Rebecca Wade, daughter of Richard and Sarah (Chappell) Wade.¹⁶
In Congress, Richard was forming strong friendships with colleagues Nathaniel Macon and William Gaston of North Carolina and John Randolph of Virginia. He was reportedly a resident of Crawford’s Hotel in Georgetown¹⁷when Congress was in session in Washington City, and among his fellow lodgers there were William Gaston, John Randolph and Francis Scott Key. That Stanford and Key were well acquainted is attested to by the letter of John Randolph to Richard Stanford dated Baltimore, 13 October 1814:
If Frank Key be with you, salute him cordially. Yours truly, J R of Roanoke¹⁸

Throughout his career in Congress, Richard Stanford wrote reports on the state of affairs in Washington, sometimes addressing them to a constituent, in other years using the report as a campaign letter. Frequently, his letters to Mary were instructions on running the plantations in his absence, other times he remarks on events of the day, or the business of government. The last known letter that Richard Stanford wrote to his wife indicates his enthusiasm for a new mode of travel, the steam boat, and his determination to undertake the business of Congress in a timely manner:

Washington City
4 Dec 1815
My Dear Girl
I have arrived in good health, & I hope this will find you much recovered. The next day after parting with Yancy [page torn] 130 miles, a day sooner at least, than he will reach the carriage, but today or tomorrow I expect he will arrive at home. I came in the steamboat half the distance, the greatest improvement in traveling that ever has been discovered. Heaven’s goodness is poured out upon man in a thousand ways, & he continues the ungrateful receiver!
We shall repeal some, & reduce other taxes, & may, I presume, get over the business of the session sooner than we have done, tho’ it is not often that Congress does what it might in that way—
Can you make some arrangement with your mother for the succeeding crop-I want to do something in that way, but I want an even, & equal one. I pay a large rent, you know, for the place.
Suppose I send down 2 or 3 hands & repair the fences, trim the orchard, etc. & then have a hand with Scipio to go on with the crop, what will be right in the division? If I had an overseer I would rather, but if a suitable overseer cannot be had, I would rather have none.
I am sorry I have not got Saurin here, for company. Everybody is asking after him—and I reckon he adds to your trouble. I have not yet enquired for a young man to teach him, but shall do it this week.
My best love to you all
RStanford¹⁹
Richard Stanford, the Congressman, was a strong proponent for a fiscally responsible federal government, and he vigorously opposed a pay raise for Congressmen. It was John Randolph, in making his point about the propriety of an appointment before the House, who referred to Richard Stanford as the “Father of the House.” He asked his colleagues to consult the “older” members, in terms of service rather than age, to interpret the intent of an earlier Congress’s rule in the matter. This discussion took place during the Fourteenth Congress, and indeed, Richard Stanford was serving his tenth term in office; thus, he could justifiably be considered the Father of the House. These proceedings in Congress had begun on the 4th of December, 1815, the date of the preceding letter. In February, 1816, Caroline Stanford was born at Mt. Tirzah. Richard Stanford never saw his youngest daughter. He appears in the records of Congress until Saturday, the 30th of March. Then on Tuesday, April 9th, William Gaston announced the death of Richard Stanford to the House. He wrote to Mary Stanford the following letter, informing her of the death of her husband:

Washington
10 April 1816
I know not, my dear Madam, how to perform the melancholy duty which has devolved upon me. I am unable to find expressions which are suited to a communication of the terrible calamity which has befallen you. My hope, my trust is that the fortitude and resignation which are inspired by religion will sustain you in this awful visitation of Providence.
On the evening of Sunday, the 31st of March, Mr. Stanford was attacked by a seemingly slight cold and fever. The succeeding day he took a little medicine, kept his room and got better. On Tuesday he imprudently went to the House, and on his return was seized with a violent chill and fever: on Wednesday the Erysipelas, or St. Anthony’s Fire made its appearance on his face, and learning from him that he had been formerly plagued by the same disease, we had no fear as to the result. It continued, however, to be very severe for several days, an on the day before yesterday, (Monday) it became apparent that his brain was highly affected by it. Apprehending then a disastrous termination, I wrote on the following morning to Mr. Peck entreating him that he would appraise you of Mr. Stanford’s alarming situation, by way of preparing you for the fatal event we dreaded. Our worst fears Madam, have been realized. All efforts to remove the inflammation of his brain failed and at half past three o’clock last evening his soul forsook its mortal tenement.
I neglected no attention which during his illness I could believe useful. The last night of his existence, I watched with him and I witnessed his expiring groan. After his illness became severe, he was entirely unconscious of this situation and insensible to pain.
No man esteemed Mr. Stanford more sincerely than myself---none more cordially sympathizes in the distresses of his bereaved widow and children. I shall esteem it my bounden duty to take care of his effects here, and in all things coming under my view to manifest by my cares and exertions, the strength and fidelity of my friendship.
With the highest respects and the most cordial sympathy in your calamity,
I have the honor to be Madam,
Your most Obedient Servant,
William Gaston²⁰

Richard Stanford was buried at Congressional Cemetery. It should be noted that one biographer of John Randolph states that he, Randolph, was at his bedside at the time of his death. Perhaps they both were. The year 1816 was to be doubly devastating for Mary Stanford, for in September, the seven month old Caroline died, too. Though Mary was severely tested in that year, she persevered and lived another 35 years. She died in 1851 at the age of 72. The 1850 census of Alamance county (Alamance had been formed out of Orange county in 1849) shows that Mary was living next door to her daughter, Cornelia Adeline Webb, who was herself a widow of 2 years.

Of Richard Stanford’s other children, Ariana married the Rev. Elijah Graves and died in Texas in 1864. Mary Mebane married Andrew Stith and died in Marshall county, Mississippi, in 1840. Saurin stayed in Orange county and died in 1876. He is buried at his homeplace in the southwest corner of Orange county, as is his wife, Susan Rebecca (Wade) Stanford and mother, Mary (Moore) Stanford. Richard Algernon Stanford also stayed in Orange county, and married twice; first to Elizabeth Ann Thompson, and second to Ann Patillo. He died in 1860.

The many descendants of the Hon. Richard Stanford of the 21st century can be justifiably proud of their ancestor, for he was truly a man of integrity and principal, who served his state and country faithfully and well. He was highly esteemed and greatly lamented by his colleagues in Congress, as well as his family and friends in North Carolina.
_____________________________________________

References:
1 Henry Howland Crapo, Certain Comeoverers (New Bedford, MA: E. Anthony & Sons, 1912)
2 Moore Family Bible record, (Philadelphia: Matthew Carey, 1802), # 1900-Webb Family Papers, Southern Historical Collection, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
3 Horace Wemyss Smith, Life and Correspondence of Rev. William Smith, D.D., Vol. 2, p81. In an interesting coincidence, Rev. William Smith was married to Rebecca Moore, daughter of William Moore of Moore Hall, Chester county, PA. Hon. Richard Stanford married Mary Moore, daughter of Stephen Moore who was the nephew of William Moore of Moore Hall. Rev. Smith had been the Provost of the College of Philadelphia but during the Revolutionary War and its ensuing chaos, had removed to Chestertown, MD, to assume the Rectorship of a church there. He became Principal of a small academy, Kent County School, which he set about improving and bringing up to the standards of the College of Philadelphia. In 1782, he applied for and was granted a charter as Washington College, for which he raised by subscription about £10,300, a remarkable feat in wartime.
4 Orange County, NC, Court Minutes, 1787-1793, vol. 3, p62-November Term 1788
5 Herbert Snipes Turner, D.D. Church in the Old Fields (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1962), p132.
6 Moore Family Bible
7 Moore Family Bible
8 Archibald Henderson, Richard Stanford’s Career Reads Like Cinderella Tale, reprinted from “Greensboro Daily News”, Greensboro, NC, Sunday 13 July, 1941; John L. Cheney, Jr., editor, North Carolina Government, 1585- 1974, A Narrative and Statistical History, (Raleigh, NC: North Carolina Department of the Secretary of State, 1974) p665
9 William Bridgewater and Seymour Kurtz, editors, The Columbia Encyclopedia, Third Edition (New York: Columbia University Press, 1963)
10 Letter dated 19 Dec 1801, Philadelphia, from Dr. Benjamin Rush to Richard Stanford, Esq. Member of Congress from North Carolina, City of Washington, typescript copy, Manuscript section, Perkins Library, Duke University, Durham, NC
11 Moore Family Bible
12 Samuel L. Adams, A Brief Sketch of the Life of Richard Stanford, Member of Congress from the Hillsboro District, State of North Carolina, undated manuscript in the hands of many Stanford descendants
13 Moore Family Bible
14 #2205-Stephen Moore Papers, Southern Historical Collection, UNC-Chapel Hill
15 Richard Stanford Papers, North Carolina State Archives
16 Moore Family Bible; Marriage Bond, Halifax County, VA, Circuit Court, Book 1, p26
17 William S. Powell, editor, Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, vol. 5, (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1990); Jack English Hightower, The Family of William Clayton Hightower and Mai Cole, Their Ancestors and Descendants, A Genealogy/Family History (self-published, Austin, TX, 1988), p124
18 Letter in the private collection of Stanford descendant, Jean Stanford Mann, Chapel Hill, NC.
19 Richard Stanford Papers, North Carolina State Archives
20 Richard Stanford Papers, North Carolina State Archives
_____________________________________________

Written for the Historic Congressional Cemetery website: http://congressionalcemetery.org/

Edwin Godwin Reade (1812-1894)

2009-06-29T13:27:00.005-04:00

Edwin Godwin Reade (1812-1894)
by Thomas R. Tillett
February, 1993

Edwin Godwin Reade, in the opinion of the author, was by far the most prominent, distinguished and benevolent of any of the Reades that ever came out of Person County.

The second son of Robert Richard Reade and his 2nd wife, Judith Anderson Gooch, Edwin G. Reade was born in the Mt. Tirzah area of Person county on 13 Nov 1812. His father had migrated to the Mt. Tirzah area from Isle of Wight county, VA, as a young man. Edwin Reade had 8 half-brothers and –sisters from his father’s first marriage. (One of these half-sisters was Mary Payne Reade who married Sidney Moore, son of Stephen Moore, and who was my great-great-grandmother.) After the death of his first wife, Robert Richard Reade married Judith Anderson Gooch, daughter of John Gooch. Edwin G. was the middle of three sons born of this marriage. His younger brother, Washington F. Reade, was my great-grandfather.

Edwin G. Reade’s father died when Edwin was 4 years old. His mother, and educated woman for her day, gave Edwin the rudiments of education at home. Some years later, Edwin G. Reade built for his mother (who was by then a cripple) a home especially designed so that she could move around in it.

At age 18, Edwin G. left his mother’s farm and started out to get an education by his own exertion. He entered the academy of George Morrow, in Orange county, and later the academy of Rev. Alexander Wilson, in Granville county, as assistant teacher. Although these academies had well prepared Edwin for college, he never became a student at a formal university. Instead, at age 21, he returned to his mother’s home and began the private study of law. He read the books of Benjamin Sumner, a retired lawyer, who kindly loaned them to him, and who occasionally examined his progress. Edwin received his license to practice law in 1835 (in the same manner that his contemporary, Abraham Lincoln was to obtain his law license a year later.) After the receipt of his license to practice law, Edwin G. Reade began a long and distinguished career in law, politics, banking, business and philanthropy that was to last for almost 60 years.

Some of the titles which Edwin G. Reade held and honors which he received consist of the following:
· Lawyer
· Magistrate
· Chief Justice of Person County Court
· Member of State Legislature
· Justice of North Carolina Supreme Court
· Representative in U.S. Congress from NC
· Senator in the Confederate Congress
· President of the State Convention to form a new constitution and return to the Union
· Recipient of an honorary LLD degree from UNC
· Grand Master of the Masons (two terms)
· President of the NC Bar Association
· Elder in the Presbyterian Church for 30 years
· President of 2 banks (I have in my possession a well-worn $5.00 bank note, dated 1862, drawn on the Bank of Roxboro and signed by Edwin G. Reade, President.)

When Abraham Lincoln was elected President in 1860, Judge Edwin Reade was asked if he would consider serving on President Lincoln’s Cabinet. Judge Reade declined but did later serve a short term as a senator in the Confederate Congress.

Judge Reade became a distinguished writer and also gained wide fame as an orator. He delivered the addresses at the laying of the cornerstones at the U.S. Post Office at Raleigh and the Oxford Orphanage in Oxford, NC. Judge Reade is also remembered for his addresses to the NC Bar Association in Asheville in 1884, and Raleigh in 1886.

Edwin G. Reade was first married in 1836 to Emily Ann L. Moore, the daughter of Phillips Moore and granddaughter of Stephen Moore. Emily died in 1871 and is buried in the Moore-Reade family cemetery at Mt. Tirzah. Later that same year, Edwin G. Reade married a widow, Mary E. Parmele. Although Judge Reade had no children of his own by either wife, his “family” became the sons and daughters of his two brother. For the education of this family, Judge Reade endowed and had built the “Readeland Academy” at Mt. Tirzah.

Just as Edwin G. Reade had been benevolent to his adopted family of nieces and nephews during his lifetime, so was he most generous to them at his death. His will designated inheritances to 49 nieces, nephews, grand-nieces and grand-nephews. Among those who inherited a token from “Uncle Ned” was my mother, Sue Bettie Reade, who was 7 years old when he died.

Edwin G. Reade died in Raleigh on 18 October 1894 at age 82. He is buried in Raleigh. A historical marker in memory of Edwin G. Reade is located along Highway 501 South in the Timberlake area.

To quote an article in a Raleigh newspaper written during Judge Reade’s later years: “Judge Reade was plain, direct, straightforward, conscientious. He has risen by the force of his own effort and will power from a humble station to distinction and eminence and wealth. His life is radiant with good deeds. To many persons in distress and need and sorrow, he has given a brightened life and his charities have always been done in secret. A God-fearing man from his youth; of simple, unostentatious manners, he has spent a long life in the performance of his duties to God and man.”
_________________________________________________
This article originally appeared in the Moore/Stanford/Webb Chronicles in volume 7, #2, 1999. Thomas Reade Tillett died on January 20, 2008, age 83, and is buried in the Mt. Tirzah United Methodist Church cemetery.

Artificers and Laborers at Mount Tirzah in Caswell County, North Carolina, 1781-1782

2009-06-28T13:15:00.007-04:00

Artificers and Laborers at Mount Tirzah in Caswell County, North Carolina, 1781-1782
by Terri Bradshaw O’Neill* - 2009©
Col. Stephen Moore moved his family from his native New York to North Carolina sometime between May of 1775 and September of 1776. (Family letters: Rebecca Moore to Stephen Moore at West Point, 10 May 1775; Stephen Moore in Philadelphia to Grizey Moore, North Carolina, 18 Sep 1776. Stephen Moore Papers, South Caroliniana Library, University of SC, Columbia, South Carolina.) He was living at his inherited estate at West Point, New York, and the “Rumor of War” was a likely reason for the move. The Moore family initially arrived in Granville County; Stephen soon set about acquiring land in the Deep Creek and Flat River area of Orange County which eventually became Caswell County, and then later, Person County. (Katherine Kendall Kerr, Caswell County, North Carolina, Deed Books 1777-1817, Easley, SC: Southern Historical Press, 1989.) He established his home, naming it Mount Tirzah, and engaged in Planting and trade, setting up a store or trading post. When Caswell County was formed Stephen Moore was appointed one of the Justices, and sometime in 1779 or 1780, he was appointed a Lieutenant Colonel in the Second Regiment of North Carolina Militia under Col. Ambrose Ramsey. (Revolutionary War Pension Application of William Ray, Sr., micropublication M804, Roll 2006, National Archives, Washington, DC) After participating in the disastrous Battle of Camden, SC, on 16 Aug 1780 and becoming a captive of the British, he was marched to Charleston where he was held until his exchange in June of 1781. Upon his return to North Carolina, Col. Stephen Moore was once again an active participant in the war effort as evidenced by the following Return, his home serving as Post Mount Tirzah. He also served as Deputy Quartermaster General of Hillsborough District. From the time of his return from captivity, through the duration of the War, Stephen Moore actively sought compensation for the damages and losses to his West Point property. On the recommendation of Gen. Henry Knox, and at the urging of Gen. George Washington, the fledgling United States government finally bought West Point from Stephen Moore in 1790.

Col. Moore’s return of artificers (which is endorsed “Artificers & Labourers employed at Post Mount Tirzah, 1781-82”) is preserved in Treasurer’s and Comptroller’s Papers, Military Papers, 1781-1782, Box 9, North Carolina State Archives, Raleigh, NC. There are 33 men named in this return. The entire list may be seen in The North Carolina Genealogical Society Journal, Vol. XXV, No. 4, November 1999: 411-17. For the purposes of this blog, only one name is being listed, that of Robert Moore. The significance of the fact that Robert Moore, son of Stephen Moore, served a term in the Militia, is that all of Robert’s descendants would qualify for membership in the Daughters or Sons of the American Revolution on his own service as well as Stephen’s. And, this further reinforces the 1762 birth date for Robert in that he could hardly have served in the militia at the age of 12, but a young man of 19 would certainly be the ideal age to serve as an express rider.

Return of Artificers & Labourers enter’d in the Q’r Masters Department under direction of Col. Stephen Moore Mount Tirzah Caswell county.
1781
persons Name Rob’t MOORE
when enter’d 11 September
occupation Expr’s [rider]
Terms M’a Tour [militia tour]
Time to serve 3 month
Job engaged for
Casual remarks

* Excerpted from The North Carolina Genealogical Society Journal, Vol. XXV, No. 4, November 1999: 411-17.

Call For Papers

2009-06-27T13:24:00.009-04:00

This Stephen Moore of Mt. Tirzah Family blog is best served when all readers consider becoming contributors of articles as well. Many of you are in a position to know particulars about family individuals, because they are in your line and perhaps you have family bibles, letters, deeds, wills, and other documents which help us know more about many of the very interesting members of the greater family. For example, I would like to post articles about Dr. Portius Moore and Dr. Bailey Webb. These can be of any era from the 1600s to the present; for example, the ante-bellum period, or the War Between the States period.

Perhaps, you live in the Triangle, NC area. Did you know that there is a wealth of information about our family in the Southern Historical Collection and the North Carolina Collection at the Wilson Library on the UNC campus in Chapel Hill. Likewise, the Stephen Moore Papers are in a collection at the Perkins Library at Duke in Durham. The North Carolina State Archives in Raleigh is also full of information. And there is undoubtably information in private hands that has never been donated to a library that you may know about.

Suggest to your children, when they next need to write an essay, to research some aspect of the Moore family that interests them in one of the resources listed above. Many libraries have Genealogy Rooms with helpful staff to find the information you need such as census records, death notices, and cemetery records.

In addition to the Moore surname, there are many other names in the family that deserve research such as Stanford, Webb, Horner, and Reade to name just a few. Though I have used Stephen Moore's name in the title of this blog because most of us associate ourselves with him, his father Col. John, and his grandfather, Hon. John should be included, as well as the collateral branches of the Moore family.

Terri Bradshaw O'Neill has without question been the foremost genealogy researcher of the Moore family. Many of you may have copies of her wonderful publication of the 1990s, the Moore / Stanford / Webb Chronicles. Some of that content may from time to time be posted here, but this blog is not a substitute for that body of work. Though Terri stopped publishing the Chronicles some 10 years ago, her interest and her research has never flagged and she has gone on to publish articles in scholarly journals. She is a great friend of mine (besides being my 5th cousin, once removed) and is already contributing to this blog.

Like other plantation owners, the Moores were also slave owners. There has been a concerted effort on research of African-American heritage at Stagville and Somerset Place. Likewise, there may be similar stories that need to be researched in connection with the Moores. Remember Roots and Chicken George? The TV program changed their name from Lea (a family on the Person-Caswell county line) to Moore, which really upset me because it was supposed to be a documentary telling a true story.

There is one caveat though that should be remembered: document, document, document. We want this blog to contain truth. Be able to back up your research from as many primary sources as possible and be careful about using secondary sources. You will note that in my original Stephen Moore Genealogy post that I have already had to retract or explain some statements that I used from secondary sources, because you the reader have been alert and made comments. Keep it up! In your articles, be sure to attribute your sources such as footnotes and/or a listing of references at the end.

Please think of this blog as an ongoing "living" book to which we all contribute. Consider me to be the editor, not the author. I also suggest that you join the blog as a "follower" in the left margin, because that will inter-connect us as the Moore cousins we are. Something about yourself and picture in your profile will further help us to get to know one another. Thanks.

To contribute your article, see Email your editor in the left sidebar. Please include your full name, your postal address, your phone number (in case I need to write or call you -- they will not be published), your email, and your relationship to Stephen Moore. The article should be in Microsoft Word webpage format (.htm). Also include pictures embedded in the document or to be added in .jpg format.

Feel free to directly comment on any article by clicking on "comments" at the bottom of each post.

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Was Robert the "Black Sheep"?

2009-06-25T20:46:00.009-04:00

by David Jeffreys & Terri O'Neill, June 2009 ©
Was Robert the "black sheep" of the Stephen Moore children? I always thought of him that way, because there is voluminous data and documentation of all the siblings, it would seem, but Robert! Duke's Perkins Library is full of information about Stephen and the Southern Historical Collection in UNC's Wilson Library has lots of information about the siblings including the now infamous bible that recorded John's birth, but not Robert's birth.

As Terri O'Neill has told you, "Over the past couple of months, there has been a flurry of activity among three of our group: Steve Moore, David Jeffreys and me, Terri O'Neill. It's kind of a long story, but essentially, Steve found a good TN website http://www.tngenweb.org/records/tn_wide/obits/nca/nca72-09.html that had a lot of information on Yancey Moore, son of Robert Moore, son of Stephen Moore. Yancey moved to Carroll county, TN, sometime in the 1830's and sort of disappeared off the radar of NC researchers. The sketch on Yancey at the TN site mentioned a family bible belonging to the sister of Yancey, Sarah Harriett Moore, who was married to Richard Henry Moore, son of Portius. Still with me so far? This family bible had a birth date for Robert Moore of 5 Nov 1762, which was 7 years EARLIER than his presumed birth year of 1769. Almost simultaneously to this discovery, I was directed to another great website called cemetery census <http://cemeterycensus.com/nc/index.htm> and while exploring that, went to the Stanford Family Cemetery page #275 in Orange county. In reading the description, I noticed that they stated the monument was placed there in the 1970's. I had pictures of the dedication of the monument which appeared to be taken in the early 1950's. I thought I also had copies of a list of attendees to that cemetery monument dedication that would tell the date. It turns out that the dedication was in 1949 & I didn't have a list for it. But in the process of searching for THAT list, I found another list of attendees for a reunion held at the home of Stephen Moore, Mt. Tirzah, that took place 3 Oct 1925. In preparation for the reunion, biographical sketches of some of the children & grandchildren of Stephen Moore were compiled. The sketch compiled for Robert Moore began: "Robert Charles Moore, only son of Gen. Stephen Moore and Julia, who was an actress." The sketch then went on to detail 4 of Robert's children including Gilbert & Sarah Harriett, but omitting Yancey. Well, once I finally connected the dots between the bible record birth date and the sketch of Robert for the reunion, I thought I'd better consult with one of Robert's descendants, David Jeffreys, to see if he had ever gotten wind of this situation. His reaction was, "Well, NO." But when we started thinking about it, we began to realize this answered some nagging questions: Why wasn't Robert mentioned in the Mary (Moore) Stanford bible, which gives birth dates for everyone EXCEPT Robert? Why wasn't Robert mentioned in any of the early letters between Moore family members, particularly one dated 1774 in which Stephen writes to Grizey & mentions Phillips & Frances? Robert witnessed an important document (a release of dower that enabled Stephen Moore to sell the West Point property) in 1784. If he was born in 1769, he would only have been 15 years old, and not qualified to witness such a document. Stephen was such a meticulous record keeper, and conscientious public servant, it's quite improbable he would have let that detail slip by.
We made a concerted effort to track down the bible that had belonged to Sarah Harriett & Richard Henry Moore to verify Robert's birth date. We got pretty close, locating Willard Moore in Gibsonville, NC, whose mother had possession of the bible in 1962. Willard did not know for sure where the bible was but sent a copy of a transcript his brother Fletcher had made. The transcript had the birth date recorded in two places, and the death date confirmed it further: born 5 Nov 1762, died 27 Nov 1827, age 65. The research is continuing..."

Terri emailed the administrator of the website, Paulette Carpenter, with the following information: "Sorry it took so long to get this to you, but it took some time to track down the bible that had the crucial records we were seeking-the birth date of Robert Moore, father of Sarah Harriet Moore. My research partners & I managed to track down a descendant of Mattie Thompson Moore, in whose possession the bible was in 1962. He was unsure if he had the bible, which may be in a trunk in his attic. He did, however, send me a transcript that his brother made of the bible pages (undated) that confirmed the date of birth of Robert Moore: 5 Nov 1762. He promised to search for the bible as soon as he could, but for now, the transcript will have to do. This birth date for Robert certainly answers some questions that have bothered family researchers for a very long time. One of Robert's descendants thought he must have been a "black sheep", but couldn't put a finger on why. I've always sensed a sort of "apartness" for Robert, though I'm not a descendant of his line. It's just that in all the family letters that survive, no one ever mentions Robert. Yet, there is no doubt that he is Stephen Moore's son. He is one of the executors of Stephen Moore's will, and is named an heir as well."

The reader may want to view the original website regarding Yancey Moore before reading the corrections that Terri suggested:

http://www.tngenweb.org/records/tn_wide/obits/nca/nca72-09.html

Terri goes on to say: "Since this is drastically different from the accepted information concerning Robert Moore, there may be some questions about what is presented in this article."
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Some Additions and Corrections to Death Notices from the Christian Advocate, Nashville, Tennessee 1880-1882 #2, compiled by Jonathan Kennon Thompson § ¦ Smith ¦ §
Submitted by Terri Bradshaw O’Neill

The discussion following pertains to Yancey Moore of Carroll county, TN, his father, Robert Moore of Person county, NC, and Robert’s father, Stephen Moore of Person county, NC.
Pages 77-78
“Robert Moore was one of the twins born to General Stephen and Grizey Moore, according to the old Stanford family Bible (see page 80), on Nov. 12 1769. There is a discrepancy in Robert’s birth as to the day and year of his birth as given in the R. H. and S. H. Moore family Bible, i.e. Nov. 5, 1762.”
· Family researchers have long wondered at the omission of Robert Moore from the Stanford family bible record, and the wording therein: “Their son John born Novr. 12, 1769.” This is the next entry after the birth dates of Stephen Moore and Grizey Phillips were recorded, strongly suggesting that John was the first child born to Stephen and Grizey (Phillips) Moore. The omission of Robert was generally dismissed as a minor detail of the record being copied in haste, and the assumption became that Robert was the twin of John, who died before reaching the age of one year, which is also recorded in this bible. The bible goes on to record the births of son Phillips, born 12 July 1771, and daughter Frances, born 5 Nov 1773. Among the letters of Stephen Moore located in Southern Historical Collection, Wilson Library, UNC-Chapel Hill, #1060-A Howell Collection 1742-74, is a letter dated 12 Feb 1774. Stephen writes to wife Grizey (at West Point) on his way to Canada, expressing hope for a speedy return to “you and our dear little ones” and imploring her to “keep up a remembrance of me in mind of my dear little Chatter Box and give them both daily kisses in my behalf.” This letter clearly indicates that Stephen and Grizey have two small children (John having already died): Phillips, age 2 and a half, and Frances, 3 months. There is no mention of Robert.
· Of the family letters that survive between Stephen Moore and his sisters Rebecca Moore and Frances (Moore) Bayard, there is one dated 30 Apr 1763 full of family news. Two others, one dated 8 Aug 1768, the other dated 5 Apr 1769 from Rebecca made cryptic references to disappointment & ill fortune Stephen had met with, the latter also mentions the importance of taking a companion for future days. Sister Frances Bayard wrote Stephen in May, 1769 to congratulate him on his marriage, 5 months after the fact. Robert Moore is never mentioned or accounted for in these early family letters, which were found in the South Caroliniana Library of the University of South Carolina, Stephen Moore papers. In December of 1768, Stephen Moore settled his West Point property on Grizey Phillips as a marriage dower. This document is among the Papers of the Continental Congress (M247, roll 74, item 60, pp.441-2) They were married 25 Dec 1768 as recorded in the Stanford Bible. Stephen Moore moved his family from New York to North Carolina sometime between May of 1775 and September, 1776 and as early as 1779, began petitioning the Continental Congress for compensation for damages done to West Point. By 1784, he was petitioning Congress to buy the West Point property. Along with the above mentioned marriage settlement is filed a release of dower, signed by Grizey Moore, enabling Stephen to sell the property (pp. 443-4). This release of dower, dated 1784, was witnessed by Robert Moore. It is the earliest known document on which Robert Moore’s signature appears. If Robert had been born, as assumed, in 1769, he would be witnessing this important document at age 15, an improbable occurrence. Robert appeared 3 years earlier on a “Return of Artificers and Laborers at Post Mt. Tirzah, 1781-2” enrolled for a 3 month militia tour as an express rider. (NC State Archives, Treasurer’s and Comptroller’s Papers, Military Papers, 1781-1782, Box 9, or see North Carolina Genealogical Society Journal, Vol. XXV, No.4:411-17, Nov. 1999) This Robert Moore so employed could not have been a child of 12, but, using the 5 Nov. 1762 date, a young man of 19 years old is certainly plausible.
· In the Southern Historical Collection, Wilson Library, UNC-Chapel Hill, #955-Augustus W. Graham papers, Moore family folder, #257, Series 2.8 is found a “List of Descendants of General Stephen Moore Who Attended the Reunion and Picnic at Mt. Tirzah, Person County, [NC] on Saturday, Oct. 3rd, 1925”. In preparation for the reunion, biographical information was collected for some of Stephen Moore’s children and grandchildren, among them “Robert Charles Moore, only child of Gen. Stephen Moore and Julia, who was an actress.” This biographical sketch then went on to name 4 of Robert’s 8 children, omitting Yancey Moore, who had moved to Carroll county, TN, sometime in the 1830’s. Here was the explanation for why Robert was not included in the Stanford family bible record. Though there is no doubt that Robert was the son of Stephen Moore, he was not the son of Stephen and Grizey.
“In the Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, Vol. 4, edited by William S. Powell (Chapel Hill, 1991), pages 308-9, General Moore’s career is well delineated…More grievous, perhaps, is the claim that he served in the U.S. Congress in 1793.”
· This claim is, in fact, erroneous. However, North Carolina Government 1585-1974 A Narrative & Statistical History, edited by John L. Cheney, Jr., p.206 shows that Stephen Moore represented Caswell county briefly in the State Assembly of 1780, First Session, 17 Apr-10 May in the House of Commons.

(Page 79)
“…married at Quebec on Christmas Day, 1768…He thereafter had fair success as a merchant with his official residence having been Moore’s Folly on the Hudson [West Point]…
· Stephen Moore had established himself as a merchant in Quebec even before his service as deputy paymaster to the British troops ended as evidenced by the ledgers and account books he kept dating from 1761. Two of these account books are held in the special collections at the Perkins Library, Duke University, while a third is in private hands. Stephen had two business partners in Quebec. Eleazor Levy and Hugh Finlay, who would become Stephen’s brother-in-law. Hugh Finlay eventually became the Postmaster at Quebec. Stephen Moore remained in Quebec until 1770, when he moved to his estate at West Point. The failure of both the mercantile and trade enterprises of Moore & Finlay, and the partnership with Eleazor Levy are likely reasons that motivated the move to New York.
“…temporarily imprisoned on the POW ship, “Forbay”…
· The name of the prison ship has been misinterpreted, most likely due to a poor copy or illegible handwriting. The name of the ship was Torbay, as shown on the letter written by Lt. Col. Stephen Moore and Maj. John Barnwell, dated 18 May 1781, to Maj. Gen. N. Greene. (Papers of Continental Congress, R175,V.2:217-20.)
“He afterwards served in several governmental capacities, including Deputy Quartermaster General of North Carolina, from which position came his title as ‘General’ Stephen Moore.”
· Stephen Moore held the rank of Brigadier General of Militia and issued muster orders in several issues of the North Carolina Journal, a weekly publication. The 26th of January 1795 issue directed units from the counties of Randolph, Chatham, Wake, Orange, Granville, Person & Caswell to muster on specific dates. This order was issued from Mount Tirzah, Person County. In the August 1st, 1796 issue, an order to muster “for the purpose of review” was published by order of Maj. Gen. W. R. Davie & Stephen Moore, B. G. Another order to muster appeared in the Oct. 24th, 1796 issue, again from Mt. Tirzah, Person County, Stephen Moore, B. G.
“At the time he [Stephen Moore] wrote his will [27 September 1797], a son Cadmus, had died only twenty-two days previously.”
· It was son Marcus who had died 5 September 1797 at age 17. Cadmus had died 4 May 1789, almost 2 years old.

(Page 80)
“…A Stanford Family Bible…These entries were all made at one time in the same handwriting, whose is unknown.” Pictures of the birth, marriage and death pages are shown, followed by a transcript of the entries.
· This Bible is located at the Southern Historical Collection, Wilson Library, #1900 Webb Family Papers, UNC-Chapel Hill. Inside the front cover is the bookplate of Stephen Moore. The bible was published by Matthew Carey, Philadelphia, PA, in 1802. The entries shown are in the handwriting of Mary (Moore) Stanford, daughter of Stephen and Grizey Moore. The bookplate, publication date and entries in the handwriting of Mary Moore Stanford suggest that the early entries were indeed copied from an earlier bible record. Most likely, the bible was a gift from Grizey Moore to Mary on the occasion of Mary’s marriage to the Hon. Richard Stanford, 11 September 1803 at Mt. Tirzah. There are many examples of Mary Moore Stanford’s handwriting to be found in collections at the Southern Historical Collection and the North Carolina State Archives.
“Grizey Moore departed this life the 14 January 1820 at Mount Tirzah aged 72.”
· By careful examination of this entry, it is clear that the zero in the date is overwritten with a two. Grizey’s birth date is expressed using the old style Julian calendar, in which the first day of the year was 25 March, as: 13 February 1748:9. In the newer style Gregorian calendar, her birth year would be 1749. When Grizey died in 1822 she was just a month short of her 73rd birthday.

This concludes the additions and corrections to Jonathan K. T. Smith’s Death Notices from the Christian Advocate, Nashville, Tennessee 1880-1882 #2. The Bible belonging to Richard Henry & Sarah Harriet Moore, daughter of Robert Moore, was last known to be in the possession of Mrs. Mattie Thompson Moore, the wife of Charles Fletcher Moore in 1962. In order to verify Robert Moore’s birth date as recorded in the bible, an attempt was made to locate the bible by contacting descendants. An undated transcription of the bible pages was made by Charles Fletcher Moore, Jr., in which he stated, “I copy this just as it is in the bible.” The entries for Robert were: Robert Moore was born November the 5th A. D. 1762, and, Robert Moore died November 27th 1827-Age 65 years. Until the original Bible is located, this meticulously copied transcription must serve as the proof that Robert Moore was born six years before the marriage of Stephen Moore to Grizey Phillips, the son of Stephen Moore and the unidentified Julia, the step-son of Grizey, and the half-brother of Mary (Moore) Stanford.

Sources:
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, Wilson Library, Southern Historical Collections, #955 Augustus Washington Graham Papers; #1060-A Edward Vernon Howell Papers; #1900 Webb Family Papers; #2096 Richard Stanford Papers; #2205 Stephen Moore Papers.

Duke University, Perkins Library, Manuscript Collections, Stephen Moore Papers.

North Carolina State Archives, Richard Stanford Papers and Moore Family Papers.

University of South Carolina, South Caroliniana Library, Stephen Moore Papers.

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History of North Carolina by John Wheeler Moore

2009-06-25T14:15:00.009-04:00

by David Jeffreys, June, 2009
Doing a Google search this afternoon, I came across a book entitled History of North Carolina by John Wheeler Moore written in 1880. I recommend it for study of the era before the Revolutionary War, the war itself, and the antebellum period. Detailed accounts of battles such as the Battle of Camden and Guilford Courthouse as well as many others are included. Learn about many prominent individuals, especially General Gates, General Greene, and Lord Cornwallis. Our eminent elder, Stephen Moore, however is not included.

The author claims he was a relative of ours as he explains in a footnote in the book:

the government in their pardon. How have your actions contradicted your words? Out of twelve that were condemned the lives of six only were spared. Do you know Sir that your lenity on this occasion was less than that of the bloody Jeffreys in 1685? He condemned five hundred persons but saved the lives of two hundred and seventy."*
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* NOTE.-- I adopt the suggestion of one for whose taste and judgment I entertain great respect in assuring the reader that no blood relationship exists between the author of this book and the Cape Fear Moores. My ancestors of that name came from Virginia and were related to Bishop Moore and Colonel Stephen Moore of Mt Tirzah. Judge Moore figured so largely and so much in accordance with what patriotism and propriety dictated, that my commendations have been but what was fairly due him and are in no wise the result of family vindication.

This book is in the public domain and was scanned from an original in the Harvard College Library.

If you would like a copy of this eBook, you may either read it online or download it in Adobe pdf format for your library at this link:

http://books.google.com/books?id=sDQtAAAAYAAJ&dq=Stephen+Moore+Mount+Tirzah&source=gbs_navlinks_s

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Col. Moore of Caswell County, NC: Stephen or William?

2009-06-24T17:07:00.005-04:00

Please see the comment on Stephen Moore Genealogy in which Terri O'Neill calls into question where General Nathaniel Greene camped. This is the article she wrote in the Moore / Stanford / Webb Chronicles in 1994. -- David Jeffreys
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Col. Moore of Caswell County, NC:
Stephen or William?

In the course of studying Stephen Moore as he moved his family from New York to North Carolina and established himself as a planter, merchant and citizen active in local affairs, there have been several instances of a Col. Moore of Caswell County being mentioned, but it didn’t seem likely that it was Stephen Moore to whom the reference was made. Using many varied sources, it soon became apparent that there were several Moore families living in the area of Orange County that in 1777 became Caswell County, and that there were two men who later were referred to as Colonel Moore of Caswell. Some of the citations to events that were attributed to Stephen Moore are more likely to have occurred in the life of Col. William Moore.

Col. William Moore appears in the records of Caswell County from its formation in 1777. William S. Powell’s When the Past Refused to Die: History of Caswell County 1777-1977 lists six men by the name of Moore/More in the northern part of Orange County who signed a petition to Gov. Tryon in 1771 to form a new county: Arthur, James, John, George, Richard and William, and later records list Abram, Dempsey, Moses and Samuel Moore. The same book states that in 1777 William Moore served on a commission charged with finding and laying out the place where the court house, prison & stocks would be built, was appointed one of the first Justices of the County (as was Stephen Moore), and was chosen Clerk of the Court. In addition, William Moore was appointed as an overseer of certain roads, and was designated a Lt. Col. of the state militia. These offices closely parallel the offices and appointments of Stephen Moore. Examination of the tax lists and deed records helps to distinguish between the two men. William Moore’s land holdings were in the western part of the county, while Stephen Moore’s were in the south east corner of the county which was eventually incorporated into Person County in 1792. According to the Revolutionary War pension applications of several different men, William Moore was already an active Militiaman when Stephen Moore arrived in North Carolina in late 1775 or early 1776. The pension application of James Turner states that he served two tours of duty in 1776 under Col. William Moore, one of 2 months duration from April to June, the other from July to September. This second tour was an expedition against the Indians on the western NC frontier. James Turner’s third tour commenced 29 May 1780 under Col. Stephen Moore, and he then participated in the Battle of Camden.

The Battle of Camden, SC, occurred on 16 Aug 1780, and both Col. Stephen Moore and Col. William Moore were there with their respective North Carolina Militia units. The key fact is that Col. Stephen Moore was captured and sent to Charlestown as a prisoner of war, but Col. William Moore escaped capture and returned home. Col. Stephen Moore was not exchanged until the following June, 1781.

From various other pension applications, it is possible to determine that William Moore participated in many expeditions, skirmishes and battles of the war:
Apr 1776-J Turner’s application
Jul 1776-J Turner, J Ray
1778 or 9-Indian expedition-McBroom
Camden-Aug 1780-J Dollar, B Long, J Clayton
Pyle’s Defeat-Feb 1781-T Miles
Guilford CH-Mar 1781W McMenemy, A McBroome

There are three specific instances in which the records concerning “Col. Moore of Caswell” can be easily confused. Since all three are during or very near the time of Stephen Moore’s captivity, it is very likely that the three events refer to William Moore. According to North Carolina State Records, Vol. 19, p. 383, Stephen Moore served in the May 1780 session of the Assembly which took place in New Bern from April 17th to May 10th. Allowing for travel time, Stephen was surely back in Caswell county by May 20th at which time he was probably engaged in Militia activities. The pension declaration of James Turner states that by the end of May or beginning of June, their march toward Camden had begun. The battle took place on 16 August 1780. Again citing NC State Records, Vol. 14, p. 384, on the 21st of September 1780, the Board of War wrote to Gen. Butler, who had escaped capture at Camden: “Inclosed is a list of the Articles taken by Colonel Moore of Caswell, out of a Waggon belonging to this State, on its way here. [Hillsborough in Orange County] You will direct Colonel Moore to produce the Potts, Kettles, &c for the use of your Brigade; also to account for the Bar Iron. Two Hundred and Seventy Weight appears to be too large a Quantity for any use he could have; it is an Article much wanted by the public, and Colo. Moore ought to produce it.” William Moore had been at the Battle of Camden, too, but he also escaped capture. It was apparently he who took “Articles” out of the “Waggon” since Stephen Moore was on his way to, or already at Charlestown during this period of time.

The second event takes the form of a letter dated 26 February 1781, from Gen. Nathanael Greene written from “Headquarters, Col. Moore’s” in Caswell County to Col. Campbell. At this time, Stephen Moore was a prisoner in Charlestown, SC. The date of the letter is just prior to Greene’s engagement with Lord Cornwallis at Guilford Court House, 15 March 1781. Given the fact that Greene used Troublesome Creek in southern Rockingham County as a base of operations both before and after the Battle, and William Moore’s home was in the western part of Caswell County next to Rockingham County, while Stephen Moore’s home was in the southeast part of Caswell County, it is more likely that Greene was using William Moore’s place as his Headquarters when he wrote the letter.

The third item for consideration is taken from NC State Records, Vol. 15, p. 585: a letter from Maj. Reading Blount to Gen. Jethro Sumner dated 29th July 1781 says that “by Express from Col. Moore, Caswell County we are informed, that it’s thought in Virginia that the Enemy are about to embark for New York, occasioned by the arrival of a French Fleet at that place.” Stephen Moore had just been exchanged in June and according to his itinerary, he reached Tarboro on July 12th, 1781. William Moore’s movements during this time are only partially known. The early part of 1781 is well documented by pension applications. He had been wounded in February at an engagement called “Pyles’ Defeat”, and he had participated in the Battle of Guilford. After Guilford, Gen. Greene turned over pursuit of Cornwallis, who headed towards Wilmington, to the Militia, so it is possible that he was engaged in that activity. While it is uncertain what William Moore was doing while Stephen Moore was making his way back home, it seems unlikely that Stephen could have been reporting enemy troop movements and the sentiments of Virginians although it is possible that he picked up that intelligence on his journey home. William Moore is the more logical choice to have been the bearer of that news.

Eventually, William Moore moved to Smith Co., TN, and was living there in 1823, according to his own pension file. He was born about 1750, making him about 16 years younger than Stephen Moore.

Terri Bradshaw O’Neill, 1994 ©