 |
Voice Over IP |  |
Call Centers | |
| Network Operations |  |
Installation |  |
Jared SmithRead My Book
|
JOHN W. MOORE/ REBECCA MIZE OF ESTILL COUNTY, KENTUCKYOur ancestor, John W. Moore was born about 1771, a son of John Moore and his wife, Susannah. At this time, we don't know much about John Moore or Susannah, and indeed we are not even certain where John W. was born. We have no record of any brothers and sisters for John W. either, but almost certainly there were both brothers and sisters, because of the custom of large families in those days. As a young person, John W. Moore probably moved to eastern Madison County, Kentucky with his parents, settling the country as pioneers. Madison County is located about 25 miles South of the city of Lexington in central Kentucky. The Kentucky River flows through what is now Estill County northward into the Ohio River, at a point about 40 miles downstream from Cincinnati, Ohio. During the lifetime of John W., Madison County was divided, with the eastern half becoming present day Estill County. So while records refer to John W. being in Madison County and then dying in Estill County, it is quite likely that John W. never moved during his adult lifetime. I conclude that John W. and his parents were probably pioneers in the settlement of Kentucky, even though we have no specific record, because the first European settlers arrived in Kentucky in 1774. We know that John W. was in Madison County, Kentucky no later than 18 years after the very first settlement, and before 1792, because on June 24, 1792, John W. married Rebecca Mize, who was a daughter of a well known pioneer of Madison County, Isaac Mize. When John W. arrived in Kentucky it was almost certainly "inhabited by savage indians and wild animals" as described by Daniel Boone. The era in which John W. arrived in Kentucky is the era described in the adventures of Daniel Boone. Daniel Boone explored and first settled the area around the Kentucky River where John W. ended up.....so I think we can fairly imagine that our John W. may have had some experiences similar to Daniel Boone and may have even looked/dressed like him. At any rate, we should think about our ancestor when we read stories about Daniel Boone. (http://www.earlyamerica.com/lives/boone/chapt1/index.html, provides a brief history and we also have evidence of John W. 's father-in-law owning Estill Springs where Daniel Boone used to camp.) June 1792 must have been an exciting and lifelong memorable month for John W..........not only was he married, and no doubt there was a big family celebration for that, there almost certainly had been a second big family party three weeks earlier on June 1, 1792 when Kentucky became the 15th state admitted to the union. John W. chose wisely in his choice of a wife, as best we can tell, when he married Rebecca Mize. Rebecca was the daughter and 5th child of twelve of Isaac Mize and Elizabeth Mize. Rebecca was born the 9th day of July, 1776 and was thus 15 years old when she married. Our records indicate that Rebecca was born in what is now Estill County, Kentucky and if that is correct, she and her family were some of the original pioneers and contemporaries of Daniel Boone. Because Isaac Mize was born in Lunenburg, Virginia, it seems likely that the Mize family immigrated from Virginia into Kentucky. In due time, John W. and Rebecca had seven children, six boys and one girl:
All the children were born in Estill County, Kentucky. Tragedy struck this family on the 2nd day of May 1814 when Rebecca died at age 37. Poor little one year old baby Patsy was left without a mother, and four of the Moore boys were not yet teenagers, and no doubt their mother was especially and sorely missed by them. Indeed, in pioneer times in Kentucky, not only was a mother a beloved figure, but she was almost an economic necessity for a farm family to survive.......cooking, cleaning, food storage etc, was equally important to family survival as the masculine role of planting and hunting. On the 23rd of November 1814, about six months after Rebecca's death, John W. married for the second time, marrying Mary (Polly) Reed in Estill County, Kentucky. Polly was born about 1799, so she was about 15 when she married John W........but in the society of the time, that was an appropriate marriageable age, and many marriages occurred about the brides 15th birthday. I do not know how common the age disparity between husband and wife would have been on average during that era.....I note that John W. was about 43 and his second wife was about 15 years of age. In due time, John W. and Polly had five children:
This meant that John W. Moore was the father of a total of 12 children, the first child being born when he was about 22 and his last child being born when he was about 59. All of his children were born in Estill County, Kentucky. While we don't have a family Bible, family letters or personal records, we can glean something about the personality of the family members through Court records of Estill County, Kentucky. This first entry speaks to the kindness and generosity of John W. Moore. "12 Oct 1827, John W. Moore, deed of gift to John C. Lane, Wm C Lane, Wm G. Lane, Catherine Lane and Thomas L. Lane, infants of Thomas G. Lane, consisting of the following property: Sorrel horse, cow, $350 worth of leather, which leather I delivered to the father Thomas G. Lane in my tanyard, for the benefit of those children to school and raise them, for the love and affection I have for them and their parents which have lived with me on my land. Book D p 226". (There was a previous speculation made that this Lane family represents an unnamed first child and daughter of John W. Moore, but such a conclusion is in direct conflict with Court records, and I include other reasons for concluding this entry is evidence of a kind gift to friends here.) This certainly describes a very kind and generous man, one who is concerned with children and their education. It also provides a little more insight be letting us know that John W. Moore ran a tannery during his lifetime. Evidently, the Lanes remained close friends of the Moore family, because John C. Lane was involved in the purchasing some of the estate of John W. Moore, as late as 1860. The Lanes did not inherit anything from John W. Moore however. Thomas G. Lane, the father of the above mentioned children, bought 600 acres of land on Drowning Creek from John W. Moore on 12 May 1832 for $200.00. John C. Lane did buy some of the estate land from the heirs in 1860 though-120 acres of dower land on Hoys Fork on Crooked Creek, being the land that Polly had a dower interest. (David Moore formerly of St. Cloud, Jackson County, Missouri in 1843 and now of Parker Co, Texas on 10 Jan 1860 deeded his 1/11th interest, Book L p 403 and Hardin D. Moore's wife and 4 daughters with their husbands deeded their 1/11th interest 8 Feb 1860-Book L p 400.....David received $40 and Hardin's heirs received a total of $53.33.) There is another entry that shows John W. Moore's appreciation of education and community involvement (and his status in the community) dated "28 July 1826, Thomas White, John W. Moore, Absolum Oldham, Benjamin Straugham and William McCreey, trustees for Estill Seminary, received $160 from Daniel Henderson for acres on the KY River, Bk D p 151" Estill Seminary was the first school built in Estill County, and it certainly speaks well of our ancestor that 1). he was interested in education and 2). that he was so well respected in the community to be one of five school trustees of the first school there. Another example of generosity and community involvement is found in that entry of "30 Aug 1834, Aquilla Riddle rec $400 from John W. Moore, Samuel Kelly, Benjamin Straugham, Sampson Walters, Joseph Scriviner, Patterson B. Clark, Nicholas Merrill, Jesse Cobb, Daniel Lyle, David Snowden, Hiram McGuire, Samuel Tipton, and David Bullock, Justices of the Peace for 86 acres on White Oak. (Poor House Farm) Bk E p 479." John W. Moore's contribution to the community poor, in the form of a Poor House farm, is also commendable and again speaks to a kind and generous man. One should remember that $400 was a very substantial sum for the time, and that in this era, $1 per day or less was a common wage. This entry may also provide evidence that John W. had been elected Justice of the Peace, which again speaks of the respect he must have been held in his community. John W. Moore became a successful farmer in Kentucky, and died owning quite a bit of land (at least 550 acres I think, and some of the land is particularly described as 60 acres on Drowning Creek as described in Order Book G p 8, 90 acres on Hoys Fork on Station Camp Creek, 181 acres on Hoys Ford, two tracts of 80 and 15 acres on Crooked Creek described in Court records filed in Row 1 Drawer 6 Box 2) and also owning at his death two slaves, a Negro man valued at $50.00 and a Negro woman valued at $230.00 (estate inventory on page 76, February 1837). While slavery is certainly a bad thing, in this era it should be noted that most likely the Negro male slave was an old man, and that was why he had so little value.....but in one sense it also speaks to John W. Moore's nature that he was still caring for an old slave, who had most probably lost the ability to work. There was a dispute after John W. Moore's death concerning a dead horse that reveals more of John W. Moore's nature too.....it seems that about 1820 John W. took a stud to William Mize in Logan County, Kentucky to "make a season with said horse. But the horse died shortly afterwards. Moore never claimed the horse. He paid his debts." This testimony illustrates, I think, that John W. Moore was not a litigious person, and tried to get along with his neighbors and this testimony adds the additional comment, that "he paid his debts"....all admirable qualities in my opinion. John W. Moore's material success in life is also illustrated by the entry that he owned 4 clocks at his death, valued at $9.00, $11.00, $12.50 and $5.00. That had to have been very unusual in the 1830's to own so many clocks....heck my grandfather who died almost 135 years later never had that many clocks at one time. The records also reflect that John W. Moore had personal property worth $689.63 at the time of his death..... my estimate is that would be a current value of about $40,000, but that is not really a fair comparison, because money was so much harder to come by then than now. John W. Moore's life came to an end on 21 June 1836 in Estill County, Kentucky at the age of about 65. He left a widow about 37 years old, and 12 children, three of which were still minors, the youngest being about 6 years old (technically 5 children were under 21, but two were in their late teens and almost grown). John W. died without a will, so it may be that his death was unexpected and sudden. Things did not go smoothly for the family after John W. Moore's death. There were at least four lawsuits filed in Estill County, Kentucky pertaining to John W. Moore's estate. It seems clear that the children of the first marriage did not get along well with the second wife.......and it also seems clear that the second wife, Polly, was not a completely "straight shooter" with the family management of assets. The first lawsuit by the Heirs of John W. Moore was filed on 16 July 1838 to sell the lands owned by John W. Moore at his death. Evidently the family could not agree on divisions or values among themselves. The lands were sold at public auction on the 13th and 14th of June 1839 to 6 people for a total of $651.37. Book G p 305. John W.'s son-in-law William Benton bought 90 acres described as the Grisham tract, and John W.'s son William Moore bought 50 acres of the home place. The second lawsuit was one filed 3 April 1839 by William P. Noland and Asbel Washburn vs. James W. Moore and John W. Moore, both deceased.. James W. Moore was the oldest son of John W. Moore. Noland and Washburn claimed that John W. Moore owed them $64.00 and cost of $9.89. The reluctance to pay this bill might be explained by noting that Noland and Washburn were medical doctors and that this was their bill for the OBVIOUSLY UNSUCCESSFUL medical treatment of James W. Moore just before he died. I also speculate that $64.00 was a pretty high medical fee for the time. I do not know how James' father ended up to be responsible for his son's bill (but a jury said so), maybe he had promised to pay it. Anyway, John W. Moore's estate eventually paid the bill, but there could have been some understandably hard feeling about that debt. The third lawsuit lawsuit was filed 18 May 1843 by William Moore and Evan Moore vs. Polly Moore. These two sons of the first marriage charged that estate property was sold 29 October 1838 at auction by Polly Moore as Administrator and that Polly Moore herself bought the property in at less than the appraised value. She bought horses, cows, sheep and furniture for $136.50 when the property was valued at $254.25. They also charged that Polly was to pay a $125.00 debt of her husband, but she had failed to do so. They additionally charged that Polly was not properly accounting for estate property and that she was paying improper support moneys for the infants, Susan and Nancy. They claimed each of the heirs was entitled to $34.20 from Polly. This lawsuit particularly is very valuable to family research because it lists all the heirs and spouses and children etc This lawsuit also described the cost of maintaining minor children at the time ($40-50/year), stated that the minor children were "destitute" under Polly's care etc. The minor children worked some and went to school some. (Taught by Eli Benton). Finally another Administrator was appointed and even other guardians for the minor children (Thomas R. Moore guardian for David Moore, Josiah Park guardian for Sydney Moore, Joseph Scrivner guardian for Susan Moore and Polly was guardian for Nancy Moore in 1839, Later, J.W. Moore appointed his bro-in-law, William Benton as his attorney. The Court eventually ruled that Polly had to "pay up" to the other heirs as alleged in the lawsuit. This case was VERY helpful to me in Mississippi family research, because my ancestor, Hardin D. Moore one of John W. Moore's sons, died in Mississippi during this lengthy lawsuit and a guardianship in Kentucky was set up to receive Hardin's minor children's share of the inheritance....thus all of Hardin D. Moore's heirs were listed and residence provided. The final judgment in this case requiring Polly to pay was entered in May 1851, but the guardianship for Hardin D. Moore's children continued until 1860. Polly continued some agitation because she later claimed that William Benton, her son-in-law and one time follow Administrator of the estate, did not pay her the share of inheritance she was entitled to in at the estate closing in 1851. No doubt the family was relieved when this estate business was finally over. The fourth lawsuit was Squire Finney vs. Polly Moore filed 23 August 1843. On November 2, 1836 Squire Finney was the security (bondsman) for John W. Moore's estate, where William Benton (son-in-law) and Polly Moore (widow) were the Administrators. William Moore and Evan Moore both claimed that Polly was planning on leaving the state of Kentucky and planning on taking estate property with her. Squire Finney filed a lawsuit, "attaching" Polly's dower land (120 acres) and estate property to prevent her from selling land without paying debts or from running off with other estate property. The Court did attach the property and the last filing in that case was by Squire Finney saying that Polly had left the state of Kentucky after he had filed the case. Other records reveal that Polly Moore left Kentucky in 1843, went to Bath County for a short time, returned to Estill County and then went to Lawrence County, Indiana and there married a Vincent Williams (Wilham?). There is one additional entry about Mary Moore, which I assume is our Polly. On 6 April 1841 Mary Moore charged William Riddell of loading a gun and attempting to shoot her dog. She also claimed that William Riddell beat her. Evidently there was a trial and Riddell had two witnesses on his behalf. I do not know the result of the trial however. Moore's son, William Moore (the one filing these lawsuits, but in fairness, it seems that all of the children of the first marriage were in agreement with him)....anyway this William Moore was a preacher and was of very strong opinion against the Mormon Church. I understand that he disowned his daughter Martha when she joined the Mormon Church. There is a court entry in about 1841 in regard to appointment of Administrators for the estate I think, that says that "William Moore insolvent and Evan Moore doubtful". This may have been filed by Polly when she wanted to be Administrator herself and may be both biased and inaccurate, remember William had purchased the 50 acre homeplace in 1839, so he should have had assets....I note that later William Moore and Evan Moore were the ones who filed the family lawsuit against Polly. I notice that John W. Moore's son-in-law, Col William Benton--Patsy's husband, seems to be respected by all.....he was one of the estate Administrators, he spent $40 and went to Mississippi after Hardin D. Moore died in about 1845 and he heard the family there was in straitened circumstances, his wife was the one who had written several letters to Hardin D. Moore in Mississippi, he bought some of the estate property at public auction without controversy, he was appointed attorney-in-fact for several of the other heirs in their business dealings and guardian for some of the minor children etc. As a personal speculation, I figure that if John W. Moore left a family Bible that it would probably have passed down this family line.....John W. Moore's only daughter by his first marriage. While as in all families, there are good and bad qualities, as far as John W. Moore is concerned, it seems to me that his good qualities far outweigh his weaknesses. He lived with an honorable name and left an honorable legacy to his children and grandchildren. We know that the children of John W. Moore all loved each other, and that too speaks well of John W. as a father. This story is by no means fully complete and perhaps someone in the family can add to and correct this summary of John W. Moore's life......I am confident that there is more that could be found. Nevertheless, I hope the reader enjoys this attempt at writing the story of the life of John W. Moore of Estill County, Kentucky. October 22, 2002 Last Update: Friday, Oct. 25, 2002 Email Jared Smith | Jared's Resume | Asterisk Consultant
|
| Copyright, 2005 Jared Smith | |
