Biographical and historical memoirs of Mississippi, embracing an authentic and comprehensive account of the chief events in the history of the state and a record of the lives of many of the most worthy and illustrious families and individuals, Vol. II, Part 72

Author: Goodspeed Brothers
Publication date: 1891
Publisher: Chicago, Goodspeed
Number of Pages: 1314

USA > Mississippi > Biographical and historical memoirs of Mississippi, embracing an authentic and comprehensive account of the chief events in the history of the state and a record of the lives of many of the most worthy and illustrious families and individuals, Vol. II > Part 72

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

John R. Moore, planter, Holly Springs, Miss. The subject of this sketch needs no introduction to the people of Marshall county, for he is well and favorably known all over the same. His birth occurred in this county in April, 1840, and he is the eighth in order of birth of twelve children born to Austin E. and Elizabeth (Reeves) Moore, the father a native of North Carolina and the mother of South Carolina. The Moores are of Irish and the Reeves of Scotch descent. The parents were married in Tennessee, and there resided until 1837, when they moved to the wilds of Marshall county, Miss. They were among the earliest settlers, and the father bought his land from the government. His estate was near Holly Springs, and he followed farming on the same the remainder of his days, his death occurring there in 1874, at the age of seventy years. The mother died in 1878. Both were consistent members of the Methodist church, Of the large family of children born to this union there are only six now living, John R. being the only son surviving. The daughters are: Mary, wife of W. T. Cooper; Zenobia; Nannie, wife of James McAlexander; Elizabeth, wife of F. E. Waller; and Donia, wife of Dr. G. E. Kelsey. John R. Moore and two brothers enlisted in the Confederate army, and one of the brothers was killed at the battle of Chickamauga. The other died in the evacuation of Atlanta, John R. alone surviving the

465

MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI.

bloody struggle. He was wounded by a minie-ball in the right side at Hernando, Miss., and was so disabled from his wound that he was unfit for active service from that time on. He remained in the army until the close and surrendered at Memphis. Returning home he resumed his former occupation, farming, and was married in 1882 to Miss Sophia H. Lord, daughter of William and Ellen D. (Smith) Lord. The result of this union was one son, Warren, who died when nearly two years old. Mr. Moore is the owner of one thousand one hundred acres of land, has four hundred acres under cultivation, and has a nice frame resi- dence situated four miles from Holly Springs. He is a practical farmer, is advanced and progressive in his ideas, and is one of the county's thoroughgoing citizens. Mrs. Moore is a member of the Methodist church. Both she and her husband obtained their education in the common schools of the county. They are held in high estimation by all who know them.

Joseph F. Moore, M. D., of Estabutchie, Miss., was born in Fairfield district, S. C. December 16, 1829. His parents were William F. and Lydia A. (Stanton) Moore, both also natives of Fairfield district, S. C., where they were reared and married and lived until they moved to Sumter county, Ala., where the father died in 1881 and the mother in 1883. Of their six children Doctor Moore was the eldest except one. He moved to Alabama with his parents when quite young, and was educated at Oxford, Ala., and Marion, Miss. Early in the spring of 1853 he began to read medicine under the direction of W. C. Silliman and John Gambrell, of what was then Payneville, Ala. In the winter of 1853-4 he attended medical lectures at the Tulane university of New Orleans, La. After availing himself of this course of lectures, he went to Enterprise, Miss., and entered the office of Dr. J. L. George. Under his instructions he read and practiced medicine until the winter of 1854-5, when he took his second course of lectures at the University of Louisiana, graduating with the degree of M. D. March 15, 1855. Returning to Enterprise, he began the practice of medicine, entering upon a partnership with his old preceptor, Dr. J. L. George, which con- tinued until the beginning of the war, in 1861. In the years 1856 and 1857-8 he attended two courses of lectures as a post-graduate in the Tulane university of Louisiana. Dr. Moore then gave up his practice and accepted a position as surgeon in the Eighth Mississippi regiment, and received his commission as such from Gov. John J. Pettus, August 7, 1861. When the regiment was transferred to the service of the Confederate States, he was commis- sioned by Secretary Judah T. Benjamin as surgeon of the Confederate States army, October 11, 1861, after an examination by the army medical board, and as such served during the remainder of the war, acting as chief inspector of recruits for the state of Mississippi, with headquarters at Enterprise, also having charge of the hospitals there at the same time. During this period he served as surgeon at Pensacola, Fla., for one year, and was in charge of the hospitals at that place. During the last year of the war he was surgeon of General Lowering's division of General Johnston's army in northern Georgia. He was paroled at Meridian, Miss., May 13, 1865, and immediately returned to Enterprise, Miss., and resumed the practice of his profession. In 1882 he was one of five commissioners, and being the only physician of the board he was given charge of the erection of the insane asylum at Meridian, Miss., Col. H. M. Street directing its financial department, everything connected with its style of construction left practically to his dictation. Early in 1889 he removed to Esta- butchie, Miss., where he has since lived. Under his supervision the Estabutchie Lumber Manufacturing company was chartered and organized in 1889, and he still retains an inter- est in it. Dr. Moore was married at Shubuta, Miss., in 1859, to Matilda D., daughter of Gen. A. Carr, of Shubuta, Miss., who died in 1880, having borne him .five children:

466

BIOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL

Pinkie, Terrio L., Joseph F., Bessie F. and James A. In 1884 the doctor married for his second wife Kate Virginia, daughter of William Griffin, of Moss Point, Miss. They have no children. The doctor is a member of the State Medical association and of Lauderdale Medical association, and he also is a Mason. He is a man of more than ordinary enterprise, and during his whole life has been prominently connected with many of the most important interests of the communities in which he has lived. At Estabutchie he ranks among the leading business men, and there are few who have done more than he in the assistance of the public welfare.

Lod Moore was born in Alabama in July, 1821. Robert Moore, his father, was born in Kentucky in 1790, and moved to Tennessee with his parents in 1805, and his wife, Ladocia Hamilton, was born in Tennessee in 1800. His parents were married in Tennessee in 1816, and had nine children, of whom our subject is the third in order of birth. His father removed from Tennessee to Greene county, Ala., in 1819, and located where Greensboro now stands, and was there engaged in a mercantile business, with Mr. Peck as a partner, and was one of the early settlers in that part of the country. In 1824 he moved to Marengo county, of the same state. He followed planting for a livelihood, and in 1831 located in the rich portion of Sumter county, Ala. In 1834 he moved to Kemper county, Miss., where he died in 1836. After the death of his father our subject returned to Alabama with his mother, and grew to manhood there. His mother married, for her second husband, Robert Allison, of North Carolina, then resident in Alabama, by whom she had one child. His father served under General Jackson in the War of 1812, and took part in that useless battle- New Orleans. In 1842 Lod Moore married Elizabeth Thompson, a daughter of Daniel and Sarah Thompson, of Georgia. Lod Moore is a prominent planter, who has a family of twelve children. His daughters Sarah, Fannie, Margaret, Ellen, Donna and Kate were educated at Whitworth college, Mississippi. Mr. Moore and his family, as were his parents before him, are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. Moore is connected with the Masonic fraternity. He is the owner of two thousand acres of land, about one-fourth of which is improved and under cultivation, and of three store buildings in Forest, where he is interested in the mercantile establishment of the local Farmers' Alliance. In 1863 Mr. Moore enlisted in the state militia, under Capt. J. C. Harper, and served until the close of the war, when he returned home, and engaged energetically in planting and business opera- tions. Although obliged to work against many disadvantages and discouragements, he has met with satisfactory success, and ranks among the well-to-do planters and business men of this county.

The subject of this sketch, Dr. L. R. Moore, was born in Sumter county, Ala., in 1833. He was one of a family of thirteen children who sprang from the union of his parents and lived to smooth the declining years of the old couple. His father was Alfred Moore and his mother Catherine (Hamilton) Moore, who were natives of Tennessee and Kentucky respectively. Alfred Moore was born in 1792, and was a veteran of the War of 1812. He was a planter by occupation, at which he proved himself very successful. Dr. Moore came to Scott county, Miss., when he was thirteen years of age and has continued to live here the most of the time ever since. In 1862 he obeyed the patriotic impulses of his heart and enlisted in the army, but his will being stronger than his body, he was placed in hospital service instead of active duty in the field. This opened up an opportunity for him to study medicine, which he at once embraced, and after the war continued his studies by attending a series of lectures at the University of Louisiana, New Orleans. He located in Morton in the year 1866, where he has ever since plied his profession with untir-

467

MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI.

ing zeal. The Doctor first took unto himself a wife in the person of Miss Virginia Simms, who presented him with two children, all of whom died during the war. Later he again married, this time to a Miss Patti Pettus. Dr. Moore is a member of the Masonic frater- nity. He is also an active member of the Methodist Episcopal Church South, of which he is an acknowledged leader, having been steward in the church for twenty-two years.

Col. O. J. Moore, one among the pioneer settlers of Montgomery county, was origi- nally from the Old Dominion, born in Mecklenburg county in April, 1812, and his father, Capt. Warren Moore, was also a native of that state. The elder Moore was a man of fair education and commanded a company in the War of 1812. He contracted disease in the army and died from the effects. He married Miss Elizabeth Worthington, a native also of Meck- lenburg county, Va., and a descendant of an old and prominent family of that state. Our subject's paternal grandfather was an Englishman. Colonel Moore was one of four sons and one daughter born to the above mentioned union who grew to mature years, and he is the only one now liviog. After the age of nine years he was reared by his guardian and received a fair business education at a private school. After arriving at mature years Mr. Moore moved to Greenville county, Va., where he bought an interest in a tannery and followed this business for about four years. He was married in Virginia in 1834 to Miss Rebecca N. Gee, daughter of Benjamin Gee, of a prominent Virginia family. After his marriage Colonel Moore located in Brunswick county, Va., and engaged in farming, which he carried on for about ten years. In 1844 he moved to Mississippi and located in what is now Montgomery county, about one mile from the present town of Winona. In 1848 he bought the place where he now resides, which was then but partially improved, and he now has a fine planta- tion. On the building of the Illinois Central railroad, in 1860, Colonel Moore laid out the town of Winona, which was incorporated about four or five years later and now is the county seat of Montgomery county, and a town of about two thousand inhabitants. The Colonel has been an active planter all his life and is one of the successful ones of this county. He has always espoused the principles of the democratic party and has held several local posi- tions of honor and trust. He was a member of the old Virginia cavalry, commanded a com- pany, and was afterward made colonel of a regiment. After coming to Mississippi he was made colonel of the Mississippi militia, which was organized during the war for home protection. He served on the old board of police jury, was a member of the town board and was treasurer of same for a number of terms. Colonel Moore's residence, which once stood isolated and alone, is now surrounded on every side, the town gradually growing up around it. He is a prominent member of the Methodist church and has been an officer in the same since 1834, serving as recorder and steward for a number of years. He was a delegate to the Memphis general conference in 1870 and also to the Louisville conference, in 1874, and is still active and foremost in church matters. He is a Knight Templar in the Masonic fraternity, which organization he joined in 1856, and he has represented his lodge in the grand lodge of Mississippi. Mr. and Mrs. Moore have reared five children: Benja- min died in the fall of 1860, just after reaching his twenty-first year; Dr. E. D. graduated in medicine and practiced his profession for a few years; his death occurred in 1889 in Nor- folk, Va .; L. N. is a prominent merchant of Winona, Ella A. is the wife of J. T. Lay, of Winona, and Laura J. is the widow of Dr. D. B. Turner. The last named daughter resides with her parents. She is the mother of four children, one of her daughters being the wife of A. A. Green, of Jackson, Miss. One of her sons is a student of medicine at New Orleans and another son is attending the Memphis Commercial college. The youngest child, a miss of fourteen, is at home.

468

BIOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL

Capt. R. J. Moore, farmer, Hazel Dell, Miss. In the early settlement of Mississippi, and among the families who were closely identified with its material affairs and associated with its progress and development, were the Moores. The respected representative of this family is found in the subject of this sketch, who was born in Itawamba county, Miss., on the 16th of March, 1837, and who was the fourth in order of birth of seven children born to Stephen R. and Lucy (McDougal) Moore, both natives of the Old North state. The paternal grandfather was of Irish descent, and lived to be ninety years of age. He removed to Alabama at an early date, thence to Mississippi in 1838, and settled in Tishomingo county, where he died in 1860. The maternal grandparents also moved from North Carolina to Alabama at an early date. The parents of Captain Moore were reared in Alabama, and were married in Lauderdale county of that state. There they resided for sev- eral years, and then in 1836 moved to Itawamba county, Miss., bought land, and were among the first settlers. The father was a plain, practical farmer and never aspired to any official positions. He removed from Itawamba to Tishomingo county in 1844, and resided there until the breaking out of the war. He was then taken from his home by the Union troops, placed in prison at Alton, Ill., and there his death occurred in 1863, four months after being imprisoned. His wife had died in 1845. Their family consisted of five sons and two daughters: Sarah, wife of G. T. Millican; Horatio R., resides at Huntland, Tenn .; John J., resides at Iuka, Miss. ; Capt. R. J .; Rebecca, wife of William Young, of Dallas, Texas; Hugh B., makes his home at Marietta, Miss .; and James K., resides at Huntland, Tenn. All the sons enlisted in the Confederate army in 1861, went direct to the front and were in all the engagements of their command. Capt. R. J. Moore was elected second lieutenant of his company at its organization, and in 1863 was promoted to the rank of captain, and filled that position ably and well until peace was declared. He was at the battle of Fort Donel- son, Baker's creek, siege of Petersburg, and was wounded and captured at the last named engagement. He was taken to Johnson's island prison, retained there about three months, and was captured again at Fort Donelson. He was placed in the same prison and remained there six months, nine months in all at Johnson's island, being there at the final surrender. He was paroled in June, 1865, and then returned to his home in Tishomingo county, Miss., where he engaged in farming. He was married in 1864 to Miss Nancy S. Gaines, daughter of John S. and Eliza (Patton) Gaines, who came from Alabama to Mississippi in 1838, and were among the early settlers of the country. Mr. and Mrs. Gaines were the parents of thirteen children, five of whom are now living, Mrs. Moore being third in order of birth of the children. Mr. Gaines was a successful farmer and had accumulated con- siderable property before the war, being the owner of a large number of slaves. He died in Prentiss county, Miss., in 1879, at the age of sixty-five years. Captain Moore was elected county surveyor in 1888, and is the present incumbent of that position. He was a candi- date for representative in 1878, but was defeated. He has made farming and milling his chief occupations during life, and has been quite successful in his chosen callings. Socially he is a member of the Masonic fraternity and the Knights of Honor organizations. He is public-spirited and enterprising, and extends a liberal hand to all laudable public enterprises. He and Mrs. Moore are members of the Christian church. To their marriage were born . two children: Minnie, and Eddie (deceased).

Nelson Moore. The gentleman whose name heads this sketch is one of the oldest and most highly esteemed residents of Lauderdale county, Miss., for he was born in Darlington district of the Palmetto state in the month of January, 1808, the second in a family of nine children born to John and Betsey (King) Moore, both natives of North Carolina and of Rev-

469

MEMOIRS OF MISSISSIPPI.

olutionary descent. They afterward became residents of South Carolina, where the father followed the calling of a farmer and for some time filled the position of justice of the peace. He and his wife were members of the Methodist Episcopal church at the time of their deaths. In 1838 Nelson Moore removed from South Carolina to Mississippi and located in Lauderdale county, where he is now living, before the Indians had gone from the country. Prior to leaving his native state he was married to Miss Icie Delt, by whom he became the father of four sons and three daughters: James, who died in Virginia in 1862 while in the Confederate service; Elias, who died in 1861; Mary, wife of John R. Cocke; Sarah, wife of William A. Rogers; John B., Thomas J., and Eliza, wife of William A. Rogers. Mr. Moore was among the very earliest settlers of this county and has been a resi- dent of the county longer than any man now residing in it. His long residence here and his many noble qualities of mind and heart, have made him well and favorably known, and he is regarded by all as a high-minded old gentleman and as a useful, upright and worthy citizen. He has made farming his exclusive business through life, and is now the owner of one thousand five hundred acres of land, of which about four hundred acres are under cultivation and well improved. He is plain, practical and unassuming, and prior to the war was an extensive slaveowner. His wife, who died at her home in Lauderdale county in 1851, was a consistent member of the Methodist Episcopal church. Thomas J. Moore, their son, was educated in the common schools of the country and also attended Summerville college, of Noxubee county, Miss. , for about three years. In 1863 he dropped his books and enlisted in company C, of the Second Mississippi cavalry, in Capt. William A. Roger's company, under General Forrest, and was with him throughout the various raids, and also with Hood in his Tennessee campaign, taking part in the battle of Franklin. He was wounded at Pulaski on the 25th of December, 1864, being shot through the left arm, after which he returned home and did not again enter the service. He was married in 1869 to Miss Sudie Twiley, a daughter of George Twiley, of Lauderdale county, and to their union three sons and two daughters have been born: Zadie (deceased), Jeffie B., George N., Heustis and an infant not named. Thomas J. Moore resides on his father's plantation, and looks after the interest of the place, as his father is quite feeble. He and his worthy wife are highly esteemed in the community in which they reside and she is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church.

William Walton Moore, M. D., one of Pike county's most eminent physicians, was born in Amite county, Miss., August 18, 1839, being the eldest of two sons and four daughters born to his parents, Thomas L. and Elizabeth (Swearingen) Moore, worthy and honored residents of Amite county. Thomas L. Moore was a prominent and extensive planter, and was born on the plantation on which he spent his life and died, his demise occurring in December, 1868. Although he was of a quiet, retiring and modest disposition, he was well known as one of the county's most benevolent and public spirited citizens, and the good which he did in various unobtrusive ways will long be felt by those who survive him. His father, Samuel Moore, was the first of the family to settle in the county, having immigrated to this region from South Carolina about the year 1800. He, as well as his descendants, was prom- inently identified with the history and development of Amite county, and the prosperity which the rising generation are now enjoying was won by the unswerving energy and indom- itable perseverance of such sturdy pioneers as Mr. Moore. William Walton Moore spent his boyhood days upon his father's plantation and in acquiring the foundation of his educa- tion in the neighboring schools and under his mother's care and guidance. By the time he attained his eighteenth year his knowledge of books well fitted him for entrance at a higher

470

BIOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL

institution of learning, and he accordingly entered Mississippi college, at Clinton, where he pursued his studies with diligence for two years. Having acquired a taste for the study of medicine, he decided to make that his life calling, and in 1859 began the study of that science in the Eclectic Medical college at Cincinnati, Ohio, and was graduated as an M. D. in 1861. Immediately following this he attended one course of lectures, but before he could enter upon the practice of his profession to any great extent the coming clash of arms caused him to cast aside personal considerations to take up arms in defense of his home and section. In the summer of 1861 he enlisted as a member of company C, Seventh regiment of Mississippi volunteers, and was attached to the Army of Tennessee. He participated in all the engage- ments in which his command was engaged, including the battles of Shiloh, Chickamauga, Missionary Ridge, Fort Craige, Murfreesboro, Franklin and others, and at all times he bore himself in a manner becoming a soldier and gentleman. He officiated most of the time as surgeon and assistant surgeon, and at the battle of Murfreesboro he was left in charge of the wounded, and remained inside of the Federal lines for several months in the discharge of his duties. He afterward rejoined his regiment and surrendered with his command at Jonesboro, N. C., and after his return home the following fall entered the New Orleans school of medicine, and from this institution graduated in the spring of 1866. In April of that year he commenced practicing his profession at Summit, and here has since made his home, his services in a professional way being in great demand throughout the section in which he resides. In addition to this calling he is also interested in agriculture, and is the owner of plantations in Pike and Amite counties, particular attention being devoted to the raising of fine stock, in which he has wielded a wide influence through the county, the majority of plantations being well supplied with fine horses and cattle. He was the originator of the South Mississippi Fair association of Summit, of which he has been president since its organ- ization. He also assisted is organizing, and is one of the stockholders as well as president of, the Summit cottonmills, which position was tendered him in recognition of his indefati- gable efforts in securing the establishment of the industry at the town of Summit. He is a stockholder in the bank of Summit, and has always taken special interest in the upbuilding of the school system of the town, and for a number of years was a member of the board of education. To his efforts the splendid schools of Summit are largely due, and he always indorses every word and act that leads to progression and civilization, and is a man of very superior mental endowments, which have been strengthened and enriched by the highest culture. He is gentlemanly and courteous, and is very popular with all, not only profession- ally but socially, and may be said to be in a large measure a self-made man. He is a member of lodge No. 93 of the A. F. & A. M., in which order he has attained the chapter; and he also belongs to Summit lodge of the I. O. O. F., Summit lodge of the Knights of Pythias, and is a member of the Knights of Honor. In September, 1865, he was married to Miss Ary A. Felder, a native of Amite county, Miss., and daughter of James W. Felder, and grand- daughter of Rev. Charles Felder, one of the pioneer Baptist ministers of this section, and a prominent man in his day. Mrs. Moore is an honored member of the Baptist church of Summit, and is active in woman's work. The Doctor is a leading democrat of his section, and has been a delegate to both state and county conventions, and chairman of the demo- cratic executive committee of Pike county.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

Biographical and historical memoirs of Mississippi, embracing an authentic and comprehensive account of the chief events in the history of the state and a record of the lives of many of the most worthy and illustrious families and individuals, Vol. II, Part 72

Author: Goodspeed Brothers Publication date: 1891 Publisher: Chicago, Goodspeed Number of Pages: 1314

Author: Goodspeed Brothers
Publication date: 1891
Publisher: Chicago, Goodspeed
Number of Pages: 1314