VERDICT: William G. Bryant--NOT My Ancestor

I started this project to determine if William G. Bryant (1765-1840), son of James and Jane (Guerrant) Bryant of Powhatan County, Virginia, was the same William Bryant who married Barbara Alspaugh on 13 Mar 1799 in Lincoln County, Kentucky. William and Barbara (Alspaugh) Bryant were the parents of my 4x great-grandmother Susannah Bryant who married Edward Windsor Moore. I wrote a series on this couple and the effects of the Civil War on their lives beginning with this post.

Preliminary information suggested these two men were one and the same. William G. Bryant received land from his father in Lincoln County, and appeared on tax lists there around the 1799 marriage date. He was of the right age to be married. However, I will show through several documents left behind by William G. Bryant that he could not have been the husband of Barbara Alspaugh. 

William G. Bryant was born in 1765 in Cumberland County, Virginia to James and Jane (Guerrant) Bryant, descendants of French Huguenots. In 1777, this part of Cumberland became Powhatan County. This birthdate and place information comes from William’s application for a pension for service during the American Revolution. This is an example of the handwriting from the application:

William G. Bryant testifies as to his birth. Click to enlarge.

William’s father James Bryant wrote a will which was entered into probate in Powhatan County, Virginia on 16 Dec 1807 (Book 1, p. 88). In it, he wrote: “Having already given to my son William Bryant a moiety of my lands in the state of Kentucky…”  Moiety means part or portion. The lands referred to are found in the deed books of Lincoln County, Kentucky. The deed was for 260 acres in Lincoln County on the waters of Boone’s Mill Seat Creek, a branch of Dick’s River, and was written in 1793. This is important to help follow the correct William through tax records.

William G. Bryant first appeared in his father’s tax record in Powhatan County in 1784. He was listed by name as age 16-21, and was also taxed the same in 1785. In 1786, however, he was still in his father’s list but age 21 and over, which correlates with his 1765 birth year. He was still in his father’s list in 1787.

1784 Powhatan County, Virginia Tax List
Click to enlarge

In 1788, William and his brother John are found in the tax lists of Lincoln County, which was still a part of Virginia until Kentucky became a state in 1792. John Bryant, born in 1760 and his father’s oldest son, may have been in Lincoln County as early as 1785, when his father gave him power of attorney to act on his behalf to sell land located there.

The easiest way to verify these two were the same would be to find the deed where William sold the land. I believe William and Barbara (Alspaugh) Bryant moved to Orange County, Indiana around 1816, so I thought that would be a good time frame to check. I looked through the entire deed index for Lincoln County, Kentucky and never found the entry for the sale of the Boones Mill Seat Creek land. That was odd, but not much I could do about it. 

I made a timeline for all the facts I had about William Bryant, to help sort out his movements. This helped keep track of where he was, and also showed gaps where I needed to find more information. At this point, I could still believe the two men might be the same person.

However, on a research trip to the Library of Virginia in Richmond, I found a deed that convinced me otherwise.  On 17 July 1811, John Bryant and Mary his wife of Garrard County, Kentucky and William G. Bryant and Mary his wife of Putnam County, Georgia sold any interest they had in their father James Bryant’s land in Powhatan County, Virginia to Peter Dupuy (Powhatan County, Virginia Deed Book 4, pp. 277-278). In 1811, my William and Barbara his wife were still living in Lincoln County, Kentucky with my seven-year-old 4x great-grandmother Susannah. Still trying to make the theory work, I ran through scenarios where William divorced Barbara, or just left her and ran off to Georgia.

Researching in Putnam County, Georgia, I learned that William Bryant had married the widow Mary Flournoy on 26 February 1811. She was the former Mary Ashurst who had married John Francis Flournoy in Goochland County, Virginia on 24 Dec 1787. John Flournoy had died just a year before she married William Bryant. There is much more to tell about this marriage, but I will just note here that a John Flournoy witnessed the 1794 deed in which James Bryant sold the Boon’s Mill Seat Creek land to William.

So, William was married in 1811. But by this time he was 45. Had he been married before? Online trees suggested he had but were mostly unsourced. The FamilySearch family tree had an intriguing set of transcriptions though. They showed that William G. Bryant had a daughter who had been accused and acquitted of murdering her husband, in Alabama of all places. I knew from his pension application that William G. Bryant was living in Marion County, Indiana shortly before he made the application in 1834 from Ripley County, Indiana. This daughter, Ann Minerva Higginbotham, moved to Indianapolis (Marion County) after the acquittal, and William G. Bryant is mentioned in her probate that took place there in 1833.

Research on Ann Minerva Bryant showed she married Caleb Higginbotham in 1812 in Elbert County, Georgia. From this, I estimated she was born around 1791, indicating at least one other wife for William G. Bryant. Online research has not yet uncovered a marriage record. 

I needed to find the deed for when William G. Bryant sold the Boon’s Mill Seat Creek land. If he had a wife alive at the time he sold it, she would have to be mentioned. I went back to Kentucky records. I hadn’t done a thorough workup on the tax records yet, so I started there. The last year I found William in the Lincoln County lists with his acreage on Boon’s Mill was 1796. There were entries for a William after that, but never with the land. I remembered that William’s brother John had moved to Garrard County, so I thought I might check there to see if William followed.

BINGO! They didn’t move at all, the boundaries changed. Garrard County was formed from parts of Lincoln, Madison, and Mercer counties in 1797! 

Once I knew that, it was a snap to find William and his land in Garrard County tax lists. Then in the deed records, I found the sale of the land. On 3 June 1799, William Bryant and his wife Frances sold the land to William Dunn. My ancestor William Bryant married Barbara Alspaugh in Lincoln County, Kentucky on 13 Mar 1799, three months before this deed mentioning a wife named Frances. 

Garrard County, Kentucky Deed Book A, p. 225
Click to enlarge

I still have much to do regarding this family. Since I’ve done all the work to trace William G. Bryant, I’m going to transcribe the documents I’ve found and post them to FamilySearch. I have tried in vain to find a probate that I’m fairly certain exists for him. There is one reference to an "executrix" in his pension file.

I still feel that my William Bryant may be related to this family. There are very few Bryants in Lincoln County in the 1790s, and in 1792 there are two William Bryants listed consecutively. The first is William G.; is the second one my ancestor? Are they connected? Also, Ancestry suggests a few ThruLines that might connect me to James Bryant of Powhatan County, though that far back the segments are very small and could be false.

1792 Tax List Lincoln County, Kentucky
Click to enlarge.

Will the REAL Parents of Samuel Glenn Please Stand Up?

Mary Glenn Moore, granddaughter of this blog post's subject

For many years, the Glenn branch of my tree stopped at Samuel Glenn, who died July 1, 1841, in Clermont County, Ohio.  I was never tempted by the many-times-copied trees on Ancestry that showed his line extending back to Robert the Bruce, the most awesome king Scotland ever had.

Well, maybe a little tempted. I'd love to descend from Robert the Bruce. But these trees were all lacking one key ingredient: Proof.

I decided to work on this line a bit to see if I could make a breakthrough. I've been slowly entering proven information into a Rootsmagic database, and began putting in what facts I knew about Samuel. I had the following already:

• A photocopied Bible record belonging to Samuel's son Elias Glenn, stating that "Samuel Glenn My father died on the first day of July 1841."
• U.S. Federal Census records from Clermont County, Ohio for the years 1820, 1830, and 1840. By using the age data in these records, I narrowed Samuel's birth year to somewhere between 1776 and 1780.
• From Ancestry, I also had three records from the Ohio Early Census Index for the years 1801, 1809, and 1810. The first one was for the Virginia Military District, and the other two for Clermont County.

The Virginia Military District was a part of what would later be southwest Ohio. It was bounty land set aside for veterans of the Revolutionary War, who received payment for their service in land rather than money. Why was Samuel Glenn, who was born during the revolution, paying taxes on land there?

I was able to locate the original tax record on FamilySearch¹.  

1801 Tax List for Virginia Military District, image from FamilySearch

Samuel Glen was taxed for 200 acres of 2nd rate land
No. of Warrant 4939
Date of Entry with Surveyor 19 Jul 1800
Water Course and County: lower side Trakles Creek, Ross
Amount of tax: 70 cents

According to the book Revolutionary War Land Grants by Lloyd DeWitt Bockstruck², 200 acres was the amount awarded to a non-commissioned officer who served a three-year term. However, if the soldier died or was killed in service, his heirs were entitled to the same amount of land. On page 202 of this book, Samuel Glen is listed as receiving 200 acres.

I knew I had to see information about this bounty warrant. Since the land was located in the Virginia Military District, it would not be located at the National Archives with federal land grants. A little sleuthing revealed these records were at the Library of Virginia on microfilm. And wonder of wonders, FamilySearch had copies of these microfilms! The particular one I wanted to see has been digitized, but must be viewed at a family history center or an affiliate library. I was off the day I discovered this, but my car was in the shop. Drat!

My next available day off, I was at the Indiana State Library first thing to check out this microfilm. The entry for Samuel Glen consisted of one index card and one handwritten document, front and back.³

Samuel Glen Bounty Warrant Index Card and Front of Supporting Document

Samuel Glen Bounty Warrant Index Card and Back of Supporting Document

The document says: 

"Corporation of Winchester, Sct May 31st 1799
   On the motion of Samuel Glen and it being proved to the satisfaction of the Court It is ordered to be certified that he is the only child and heir of Samuel Glen deceased an american soldier who was killed in the war between this country and Great Britain.
           A Copy Test,    J. Peyton CWH"

Winchester, Virginia is located in Frederick County. As of yet, I have not located any court records there that pertain to this document.

Shortly after this revelation, I found myself at the Allen County Public Library, and found this abstract from the Frederick County Minute Books⁴:

GLINN ELIZABETH WIFE OF (SOLDIER); MINUTES 1773-1780, p. 255, Elizabeth Glinn, whose husband is soldier in Morgnan Regiment in Continental Service, pension for herself and a child."

I was able to locate the Compiled Service Records for Samuel Glen on Fold3, but they did not shed any further light on his age or death date. 

In summary, Samuel Glenn b. 1776-1780, d. 1841 in Clermont County, Ohio was the only son and heir of Samuel Glen, a soldier who served from Frederick County, Virginia and died during the American Revolution, and his wife Elizabeth.

I have more information to share on Samuel Glenn (Jr.) and Samuel Glen (Sr.) in future blog posts. There is also more research to be done, and I hope to uncover more.

Sources:

¹ Tax records of Ohio, 1801-1814, "Book entries of the lands of non-residents situated between the Scioto & Little Miami Rivers commonly known by the name of the Virginia Army Lands (Virginia Military District ), v. 1, 1801," entry for Samuel Glen, image 51, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org : accessed 7 Sep 2018).

² Revolutionary War Bounty Land Grants [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006. Original data: Bockstruck, Lloyd DeWitt. Revolutionary War Bounty Land Grants. Baltimore, MD, USA: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1998.

³ Virginia, Office of the Governor, "Bounty warrants, 1779-1860," Box 58, Given, John to Goodrum, Thomas, FHL film 008140688 Item 4

⁴ Daughter of the American Revolution, Virginia, Series 2, v. 35, Abstracts of court records, Frederick County, Virginia, 1763-1830, (Virginia: Virginia DAR, 1994).

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.

52.8: Heirloom; Cherry Chest of Drawers

This post is part of a project called "52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks" created by Amy Johnson Crow.

My favorite heirloom is also my biggest.

Moore Family Chest of Drawers

This chest of drawers is made of cherry and is over 200 years old. It sits quietly in the corner of my spare room, waiting for me to come in and admire it from time to time (which I do quite frequently).

I saw a very similar chest on Antiques Roadshow once. According to the appraiser, they are quite common and not of great monetary value. This cherry chest, though, is priceless to me.

Family lore says this chest was made by my Moore ancestors and came with them on a wagon from North Carolina to Indiana. It has been handed down each generation to the oldest male child ever since.

Sounds simple enough, right? Maybe, but look a little more closely.

First, at when and how it was made.  The family that made the trip to Indiana was that of Edward and Pharaba (Pearce) Moore.  I estimate they were married about 1788 in North Carolina, based on the birth of their first child Martha in late 1789. The family moved to Indiana sometime after the birth of their last child Thomas in early 1811, and in time for Edward to appear on the Militia Roster for Harrison County, Indiana Territory in 1812.

The construction of the chest is interesting to my modern eyes. Of course there were no power tools then. The nails are square; each drawer has dovetailed joints.

Square nails and board salvaged from repair work needed on the chest

Closeup of dovetail joint

I admire the craftsmanship for each step of its construction. Did they use stain then? What is the finish? 

The original hardware was removed and replaced by my grandfather, Lee Moore. He was a janitor at Paoli High School and had someone in the wood shop make round wooden pulls for the drawers. I'd love to put the old hardware back in if I had it, but the wooden pulls are now part of the story.

Original hardware removed and filled

"New" wooden pulls replaced the original hardware

So how did this chest, allegedly subject to the rules of primogeniture (passing to the oldest male Moore child), make it to a female named Heverly? Let's follow it.

I traced the male Moore descendants in a previous post.  They are a rare breed indeed. Edward and Pharaba Moore made the trek to Indiana, as stated before, around 1811. They had nine children ranging in age from 22 to about 1. The oldest girl, Martha was newly married but her family came to Indiana as well.

Here's where the family lore breaks down. My next ancestor in line, Edward Windsor Moore, was not actually the oldest male child. He had an older brother John who lived to a ripe old age. So....so much for family lore? I'm not sure what to make of it.

Edward Windsor Moore, subject of many blog posts starting here, was the father of William Bryant Moore. Though he also had an older brother named John, this John died as a boy.  William Bryant Moore holds the title of my shortest-lived ancestor. He died at the age of 20 while working in the newly-constructed Orange County Courthouse.

Orange County Courthouse in Paoli, Indiana
Photo by Vonda Heverly, taken on a research trip in 2016

William Bryant left behind a 17-year old widow, Mary, and 15 month old son, William Braddock Moore. Mary remarried to Henry Pierce Breeden, and they had five children of their own.

Sadly, all six of these children were orphaned when Henry and Mary Breeden died within a few months of each other in 1862. William Braddock Moore was 13, and did not qualify for any of his stepfather's Civil War pension. He seems to have lived for a time on his grandfather Edward Windsor Moore's farm, but I think he had to grow up pretty fast. 

Someone (I would guess his grandfather) took charge of the chest until he established his own house by marrying Martha Ann Tillery in 1870. From there the chest had a mostly uneventful life, traveling to the home of William Braddock Moore's son Fred, to his son Lee, and finally to my uncle Bill.

My uncle Bill has no children. I had heard about the chest over the years and wondered what would happen to it. By this time I was grown and had my own house. My mom asked Bill about the chest, and he agreed I could have it since I was interested in it. 

One small problem:  while Bill was moving, the chest fell off the truck and suffered some minor injuries.  One drawer was busted and the back panel broken. I didn't care; I wanted it anyway!

My father took on the repair job. He had to construct a few new pieces. I believe he used some old yellow poplar to craft them.  He kept all the old pieces, which I hang on to, just because.

Board replaced by my dad

I am a historical re-enactor, and I keep much of my clothing and blankets for this hobby in the chest. It seems fitting that it holds linen and wool, like it did when it was new.  Every time I open the chest, I think of all my ancestors who have opened it, and I feel a connection to them.

52.5: In the Census

This post is part of a project called "52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks" created by Amy Johnson Crow.

The prompt for this week is "In the Census."  I know in my decades of doing genealogy, there must have been many "aha" moments while squinting at census records on the microfilm readers.  For the life of me, I can't bring any one to mind.

However, I recalled this census record had a lot to offer:

1870 Federal Census Orange County, Indiana
Jackson Township, p. 15
Found on Ancestry.com

I was trying to find my 2nd great-grandmother, Martha Ann Tillery (born 1853) before her marriage to William Braddock Moore. Here she is! Great. But who are all the people with her, and why should I care?

The 1870 census does not state how members of a household are related, so don't make any assumptions.  People with four different surnames with ages spanning several decades are all living together (I'll also note, there is a James A. Dishon age 6 on the following page included as part of this household.)

This record actually represents a family matriarch, Rebecca Hobson, with several of her children and grandchildren living together on the same farm. She was born Rebecca Turner Kearby in 1815 in Kentucky. She married her first husband John Tillery (1810-1854) on March 30, 1833 in Dubois County, Indiana. Living with her in 1870 are three children from this marriage: Martha, Alfred, and Nancy Dishon. Alfred and his wife Catherine have two children at this time. Nancy Dishon was widowed and had four children living there. As of this time, I do not know who the two Lutrel children are.

The widowed Rebecca Kearby Tillery married her second husband, Mark Hobson, on April 24, 1858 in Orange County, Indiana. He died ten years later, leaving her a widow once again. They had one children together, the girl Rachel seen in this census.

So what at first glance looks like a boarding house is actually a pretty solid family unit. But what else can be learned? Don't just look at your family. Check out who is on the page with them, and the pages before and after.

1870 Federal Census Orange County, Indiana
Jackson Township, p. 15
Found on Ancestry.com

You might just find a husband.

The orphaned William Braddock Moore is living right next door, working on the farm of his cousin James A. Moore. I guess this is how he met Martha Ann Tillery; they were married later that year on October 30, 1870 in Orange County, Indiana.

When searching the census records, figure out who everyone in the household is. Check out the families living nearby. A little detective work can uncover a previous generation to investigate.

52.1: Start! My Great-Uncle Ed

I'm participating in Amy Johnson Crow's "52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks" to challenge myself to blog more. Each week she provides a prompt that can be interpreted any way the writer chooses.

Week 1's prompt is "Start". Amy gives a few suggestions as to what this might mean, and I want to talk about the person who got me started in genealogy. He was my great-uncle, Ed Moore.

Ed Moore

I think my first genealogy memory was of a thick manila envelope Ed mailed to my mother around 1980. It was full of what I now know to be pedigree charts and family group sheets. I was captivated from the first glance. I was 10 years old.

There wasn't a whole lot a 10 year old in 1980 could do from a research standpoint. I checked out every genealogy book I could from my town library. I wrote my own charts. I even got bold enough to write some letters to older relatives who are now all gone. 

About a decade later, I was married and far removed from my Indiana family, living on an Air Force base in California. I picked up my genealogy again, and ran with it, thanks to Ed.

I feel like I know so little about him, so I welcome the opportunity to write down the information I do have.  Edward Stewart Moore was born in Paoli, Indiana in 1916. He was the second of a set of twins; his sister Edna was stillborn.  I discovered where his middle name came from by his birth certificate; he was delivered by a Dr. Stewart. He had two older sisters, and an older brother Lee who was my grandfather. There was another son, Robert Clarence, born after Ed, but he died at the age of two from bronchopneumonia, two days before Christmas in 1921. Robert Clarence had always been just a name and two dates to me, but I got to visit Ed once, and asked him about the boy. Even as an old man, he got a little emotional when he talked about "Little Bob".  That really personalized the child in my mind.

Ed went to school in Paoli until 8th grade, which I think was pretty common at the time. My grandfather Lee did the same.

Ed Moore as a boy

In the 1920 and 1930 censuses, Ed lived at home with his parents, Fred and Della Moore. Fred was a laborer at various jobs and Della was a homemaker. By 1940, Ed had moved to Arizona and was working on a dairy farm.

I'm not sure what took him to Arizona (perhaps it was the CCC?), but he spent the rest of his life "out West", ending his days in northern California.

**Added 8 Jan 2018**
After reading this post, my mom (Ed's niece) called her brother. He related that during the Depression Ed and his brother Lee went to join the Army. The Army physical revealed he had tuberculosis, and Ed was told if he didn't move to a different climate he would be dead in six months. The family pooled all their money to buy him a ticket. When he arrived in Arizona, he had $8.00 left to start his new life.
********************

I have from his records that he married Emily May Turner in late 1940. They never had children together, but Emily had a child or children from a previous marriage. My mother said she was a Mormon, and I think this is what sparked Ed's interest in genealogy.

Ed and Emily Moore

When World War II started, Ed enlisted in the Army. I am fortunate enough to have received some of his memorabilia from that time.

Ed Moore in uniform

Ed was a tank commander and achieved the rank of corporal.  I have his shoulder patch from the 16th Armored Division. I know he attended reunions with his unit mates until late in his life. I was unaware until very recently that Ed received the Purple Heart during his time in the war. I learned this when I found his grave marker on findagrave.

Ed Moore and his tank "Beaugeard"

Ed Moore and Crew--Ed center back
Do you know any of these men?

After the war, Ed lived in Phoenix for some years, then in northern California in the Eureka area. At the time of his death in 1997, he lived in Kelseyville.

I met Ed a time or two as a child, though I don't really have any memories of those visits. I did make contact with him in the early 1990s when I was living in southern California and taking a more serious interest in genealogy. His notes were alway terse but friendly.

Letter from my uncle Ed prior to my visit

When I graduated from college, my mom flew out to California, and we made the drive up the state to visit her uncle. Ed was in the very early stages of Alzheimer's; a little forgetful but he still knew he was forgetting. He seemed truly glad to see his brother's daughter and granddaughter, and we had a good visit. He lived in a little trailer on his step-daughter's property that he called his wig-wam. The property had a gate, and he always opened and closed it for the cars coming and going. He struck me as a gentle, humorous, and very tall person (6'2", a full foot taller than me).

I wish I knew him better. Thank you, Ed, for introducing me to this wonderful lifetime hobby!

Brick Wall: BUSTED! The maiden name of of Pharaba Moore is...

Have you ever watched a mystery where the super sleuth is hunting diligently for a secret panel or switch to open up a passage, when the bumbling sidekick accidentally leans on it without even trying?

Enter me, the bumbling sidekick. Yesterday I stumbled on some documents on Ancestry that have solved, in my mind, a mystery that has eluded me since I started doing genealogy.

I have blogged about my ancestors Edward Windsor and Susannah Bryant Moore extensively.  Edward's parents were Edward and Pharaba Moore. This is proven by a family Bible belonging to Edward Windsor Moore's brother Thomas Moore.

Third page of Thomas Moore family Bible transcription,
listing his parents and siblings

Other than this, I can find only one other record in my possession that lists Pharaba (in its myriad number of spellings) by name. It is a deed where Edward sold a piece of land, and Pharaba, as his wife, had to be listed. This is a transcription of the deed provided many years ago by my cousin Phyllis Hill.

Deed from Edward and Pharaba Moore to William Wolfington, 1833

Beyond this, 27 years of research hasn't yielded a single clue as to who Pharaba was before becoming Mrs. Edward Moore.

Yesterday, I stumbled onto the metaphorical secret panel:

THE BRICK WALL BUSTER

This document is a petition by Reuben Pearce, who was attempting to settle the estate of his maiden aunt Kiziah Pearce. She died without children so her estate fell to her siblings and their heirs. To quote from above:

"She had a sister named Ferabee who married Edward Moore, who removed from the county with his wife some twenty years ago and neither of them has been heard of for the past twenty years and your petitioner is advised that their long absence, not being heard from by their relatives, is presumptive evidence of their deaths."

This is the magical piece of the puzzle I always hoped to find. But not only this, the great internets yielded up to me the names of Pharaba's parents as well. Ready?

Will of Windsor Pearce, Randolph County, North Carolina

Down towards the end it says this:

"and to My Daughter Pherrebee More They give one Featherbed & Furniture and Two Dollars to her or Her's".

Windsor and Mary Pearce, the parents of Pharaba Pearce Moore. Pharaba Pearce Moore, the mother of...don't forget...Edward WINDSOR Moore! Huzzah! 

In my mind, this is proof. I hope my fellow Moore researchers will read over this, and rejoice with me!

I have much more to share with you, but I'm still processing all this.

The Extinction of the Moores

It hit me on my afternoon commute. My Moore line is nearly extinct. I could think of only one living male Moore, and couldn't wait to get home to make sure I was right.

Grave of Edward Windsor Moore in Orleans, Indiana

I blogged earlier about my 4th great-grandparents, Edward Windsor and Susannah Bryant Moore, and their struggle to get a Civil War pension. You can start reading about that here if you like.

The Facts

Edward Windsor Moore was born 17 October 1802 in North Carolina. He married Susannah Bryant (born 25 July 1804 in Lincoln County, Kentucky) on 24 September 1823, in Orange County, Indiana. They lived nearly all their lives in rural Orange County except for a short stint in Kansas which did not agree with them. This couple had thirteen children. You would expect a large number of Moores to come down from them, right?

Well, you would be wrong.

Their children

Edward and Susannah Moore had seven sons. John and Joseph died in early childhood. Bartlett Coffin, their youngest, died tragically at the age of 16 serving as a bugler in the Civil War.

Sons Columbus and David only produced daughters that survived to adulthood.

This leaves only William Bryant Moore (my ancestor), and Edward Windsor Moore II. Both of these men had sons that survived adulthood.

Their grandchildren

Let me address Edward Windsor Moore II first. He died in battle during the Civil War. He has my only "loose end." He had two sons, Nelson and Edward Windsor III. Edward Windsor III is the only one listed as an heir to his grandfather's estate in 1890, meaning Nelson Moore died before this time leaving no heirs. I can find no other records for him beyond this date. If he produced any heirs I haven't yet located them.

Now on to my ancestor, William Bryant Moore. He died at the age of 20, on 10 January 1851. Fortunately he left behind one tiny baby, William Braddock Moore, my great-great grandfather.

Their great-grandchildren

William Braddock Moore was orphaned at the age of 12 when both his mother and stepfather passed away that year.  He married Martha Ann Tillery in 1870, and they reared a large family that included four boys.  Two of them, William and Charley, died in childhood.

Moore Family Portrait about 1900
Back row: Minnie, Nannie, Fred, and Ella
Front row: Ed, William Braddock, Nellie, Martha, and Opal

This left Edward Bryant Moore, who only had daughters, and my great-grandfather Frederick Thomas Moore.

Their great-great grandchildren

Fred Moore married Della Mariah Moore (a great confusion but completely separate line of Moores) in 1899. They had three sons: Lee, Ed, and Robert. Robert died just after his first birthday.

My great-uncle Ed married and helped raise his stepchildren, but never had children of his own. That just leaves my grandfather Lee, who passed away several decades ago.

Their great-great-great grandchild

Lee Moore married Lillian Wilson in in 1936, and had one son, my uncle Bill. In the 215 years since the birth of Edward Windsor Moore, it has come down to this. One man that still carries the Moore yDNA.

My uncle Bill, the last of the Moores

That's what hit me in traffic the other day. Bill is 80 now and has no children.  I immediately asked my mom to talk to him about taking a yDNA test for me, and he graciously agreed. I'm ordering the kit today, and hope that this will help solve some mysteries for me. Moore is a fairly common surname and I'm stuck at Edward Windsor Moore's grandfather William, who died in North Carolina in 1781. I can't figure out where he came from. Perhaps in a few months I'll get some more clues.

My Family in the Civil War, Part Sixteen: Aftermath

This is the sixteenth in a series on my Civil War ancestors

In these last few posts, I've looked at what effect the Civil War had on just one couple in my family tree. Edward Windsor Moore and Susannah Bryant Moore sent four sons to war. Two died in service, one of disease contracted while serving, and the fourth continued on in the military and moved hundreds of miles away.  The death of their youngest son, Bartlett Cofin Moore, whom they depended on to care for them as they aged, affected the course of the rest of their lives.

Graves of Edward and Susannah Moore from findagrave.com

The Moores had seven sons in total. Two died as children. Bartlett died in the war before having a family of his own. My ancestor, William Bryant Moore, died at age 20 having fathered only one child. This line of Moores comes down to one surviving male, my uncle Bill, who has no children.

Of the other Moore boys, I can trace down to only one other male line. Edward Windsor Moore Jr., who died at the battle of Vicksburg, had a son by the same name. The last record I can find of him is when he received his inheritance from his grandfather Edward Moore's estate in 1890. I have been able to trace no further and do not know if he married and had children.  If he didn't, the Moore line coming down from Edward and Susannah is extinct.

Of course, Edward and Susannah's daughters and granddaughters married and produced many descendants. But the war took its toll on them as well. Six sons-in-law served in the Civil War; one, William Smith Hawhee, died after being wounded at Stone River.  The other five survived: Isaac Newton Breeden, Richard A. Spaulding, Enoch E. Inman, Leonidas Ross Grigsby, and Trusten B. Wilson.

Edward and Susannah lost one grandson that I know of in the war, Edward Windsor Breeden. He contracted measles and died after his return from fighting.

I also traced several nephews of Edward and Susannah Moore affected by the war. Four men died: John A. Moore, Joseph H. Moore, Thomas Tillery, and Thomas Coulter Moore. Two others fought and returned home: Solomon Moore and William Davis Moore.

I'm sure there is more to be uncovered about this family, but I'll end my report on them here. It is reported on the Civil War Trust website that 620,000 men died in the Civil War. Until the Vietnam War, that was more than the number of men lost in all other wars combined. Even now, the total of all other wars stands at about 644,000.  If your family lived in America during the Civil War, it most certainly affected them in some way. Find out how and tell their stories.