Edward Moore and Martha Thompson: A Working Family Group Sheet

As I wrote in my last post, I have only within the last year discovered an error in my Moore line.  My ancestor was Edward Moore (I'm going to start referring to him as Jr.), born 17 Dec 1769 in Guilford County, North Carolina. This comes from a transcript of a Bible record. I'm working with the theory that he is the son of Edward Moore (I'll refer to him as Sr.) and Martha Thompson.

Edward Moore Sr. wrote his will in Moore County, NC on 15 Jul 1800. It entered into probate in Nov 1803 in the same county.

Edward Moore Sr.'s will; Moore County, NC Will Book A

In this will, Edward Moore Sr. mentions the following: sons William and Edward; daughters Sarah Stamper, Mary Wilson, and Johana Kannedy; grandson George Moore; and son-in-law David Kannedy. He also mentions his wife, who is alive, though not by name.

We can add to this list a son Thomas, who died 18 Sep 1794 in Moore County, NC. It doesn't seem as if a will was produced, but testimony was made about its existance here:

Testimony as to Will of  Thomas Moore; Moore County, NC County Court Minutes Aug 1784-Nov 1795

A family Bible record of Edward Moore Sr.'s son-in-law David Kennedy lists 10 children for Edward Sr. and Martha Thompson: Susey, Salley, Mary, William, Elisabeth, John, Thomas, Martha, Joaner, and Edward. Since they are not mentioned in either of the above wills, it is presumed that Susey,  Elisabeth, John, and Martha died before Thomas' will of 1794, and without children. The one exception to this is Edward Sr.'s mention of his grandson George Moore. I do not yet know who the father of this George Moore is.

Page from the family Bible of David Kennedy listing the children of Edward and Martha Thompson Moore

So, listing the children in the order given in the Bible, and filling in what few details I have, here it is:

The Children of Edward Moore Sr. and Martha Thompson, married 10 Nov 1746 in Salem, New Jersey

1. Susey Moore: born est 1747, died before 1794
2. Sarah/Salley Moore: born 9 Aug 1749, died 12 Mar 1839 in Morgan County, KY; married James W. Stamper
3. Mary Moore: born est 1751, died after father's will of 1800; married George Wilson
4. William Moore: born 16 Dec 1754 in Botetourt County, VA per his Rev War application for pension, died 15 Apr 1832 in Orange County, IN; buried in Stamper's Creek cemetery (his sister married a Stamper but doesn't seem to have settled here); wife Rachel
5. Elisabeth Moore: born est 1756, died before 1794
6. John Moore: born est 1758, died before 1794
7. Thomas Moore: born est 1760, died 18 Sep 1794 in Moore County, NC; married Phebey; appears to have no children as his siblings were subpoenaed to approve "will"
8. Martha Moore: born est 1763, died before 1794
9. Joanah Moore: born 17 Jul 1766, died 12 Oct 1857 in Lauderdale County, Alabama; married David Kennedy 24 Apr 1788
10. Edward Moore Jr.: born 17 Dec 1769 in Guilford County, NC, died 19 Jul 1848 in Parke County, Indiana; married Pharaba Pearce. [My Line]

Lastly, there is the grandson George Moore mentioned in Edward Moore Sr.'s will. I know that Edward Moore Jr. did not have a son named George. William Moore did have a son George, born about 1795.

Longstanding Errors: The parents of Edward and William Moore of Orange County, Indiana

It can be a hard blow to find out years of research were wasted on the wrong family. But the feeling that you finally have it right makes it all better again.

For me, it started with a typewritten manuscript about the Moore family that I found at the Orange County [Indiana] Genealogical Society in the 1990s. If it had a cover page, I failed to copy it. I believe it was written in the mid-20th century, and I am sorry to say I do not know who authored it. I am indebted to her for collecting so much information, including many personal stories that would be lost now, and committing them to paper.

However, I believe her link between the first and second generation to be wrong. These are the pages that led me astray:

Initial pages of Moore manuscript

My ancestor was Edward Moore, born 17 Dec 1769 in North Carolina and died 19 Jul 1848 in Parke County, Indiana. He married Pharaba Pearce (26 Jun 1769-18 Aug 1845). Pharaba is the subject of a blog post here, in which I busted the brick wall of her maiden name.

This Edward Moore moved to Indiana along with one of his brothers, William Moore (1754-1832). The above two pages claim that the father of Edward and William was William Moore Sr., who died in Wake County, North Carolina in 1780. I don't know how the author made this connection, whether from the work of others or by William's will, but I took it and ran with it. Researched it for decades, tracing the descendants of William Moore Sr. to Tennessee and North Carolina. It was a wild goose chase. 

When I discovered the maiden name and parents of Pharaba Pearce, I started uncovering information about her husband Edward Moore and who his true parents might be. The first thing that made me question it was this:

Ancestry post by user nikame1

Somehow (thank you Google, I'm sure) this led me to an incredible website called The Wallace Family of Moore County, NC. Don't be deceived, it is not strictly on the Wallace family. It documents many families from the area, including the Moores and Pearces. 

On the Wallace Family website is a family group sheet for the presumed parents of Edward Moore. You can see it here, the family group sheet of Edward Moore and Martha Thompson. What I love about this website is that it has links to actual documents. If you scroll down the page in this link you will find all their documents available right there.

The two pieces of information that convince me these are the right parents for Edward and William Moore of Orange County, Indiana are these:

1. Edward Moore (let's call him Sr.) owned land on Deep River in Moore County, NC. Windsor Pearce, father of Pharaba, also owned land on Deep River, in Randolph County, NC. Deep River spans the two counties, so they were actually fairly close to each other.  Edward Moore Jr. and Pharaba Pearce were likely "neighbors", making a match possible.

2. Edward Moore Sr.'s will lists sons William and Edward, among other children. 

This post is just breaking the surface. I look forward to further research and posts to clarify my findings.