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Moore

The Matthew G. Moore Family

Matthew G. Moore was born about 1783 in Virginia. His wife Mary, was born about 1789, also in Virginia. They were married sometime around 1810, probably in Tennessee, as their daughters report Tennessee as their birthplace in census records. About 1820 the family appears in records of White County, Tennessee. Matthew and Mary were the parents of eight or nine daughters and two sons, born between 1810 and 1830.

Recent developments:

I received an email from Sue Elfving telling me Mary's maiden name is Norvell. She knows this because of a complex court case over a number of slaves that had been left in a will by their grandfather, James Norvell. The case was filed in Rogersville, TN in 1828 between several siblings of the Norvell family who were children of William Norvell and his first wife, Rebecca of Botetourt County, VA. One of those siblings is named Mary, and her husband is named Mathew Moore. The Norvell family moved from Virginia to Claiborne County, TN about 1803.

The most compelling evidence I have that this is the same Mary is that one of her grandsons is named William Narvel Rutledge, with "Narval" assumed to be a corruption of "Norvell." It is also supported by the large numbers of Rebeccas in the family, although these may also be in tribute to Rebecca Moore who married Jacob Owens, as three of the sisters named sons Jacob or Jacob Owen.

In White County, TN there is a marriage record for William N. Moore, who appears in the 1850 census, aged 27, suggesting a birthdate around 1823. His wife was a widow with a young daughter, and is listed as a widow in subsequent censuses. He is not known to have had any children. It is tempting to think that his middle name could have been Norvell, and that he might be one of the Moore's sons, but I have no proof.

In the 1850 census for Madison County, Arkansas, there is a James F. Moore, born in Tennessee, enumerated next to Rebecca Moore and Jacob Owens. James F. Moore, whose age suggests he was most likely born between 1818 and 1829, is later found in Douglas County, KS. His oldest three daughters are named Julia Ann, Sarah, and Rebecca. Other researchers have concluded that he is the other Moore son. I'm almost certain he is, but cannot actually prove it. I am actively researching his descendants and hope to find one among my DNA matches.

Their eldest daughter, Elizabeth, was born about 1810, followed by Sarah, Anna, Mary, and Minerva. In 1820 they appear in the census in White County, Tennessee with six girls under the age of 10, suggesting that they also had another daughter during this time. Tax records show Matthew purchased 80 acres of land about 1828. In 1830 the Moores are enumerated in the census with ten children, 8 girls and 2 boys. By 1832 he owned 164 acres. Matthew's daughter Elizabeth married an Arch... Gardenhire, and around 1832 Sarah married Lewis Bohannon, whose family came from Henry County, Virginia. Anna married Gilbert Hudson sometime before 1834. In 1835 Matthew had 144 acres, a horse, and a slave, though the next year the horse and slave are not listed in the tax records.

Matthew's house was the election location for the local district in 1835, with the boundary description including the County line, Plumb Creek, the Mount crossing the Calf Killer, Usery's Gap, and Rose's turnpike at Doe Creek.

Anna married Gilbert Hudson about 1838, Rebecca married Jacob Owens in July 1839, and two months later Mary married John Wilson Parker. Most of them headed west to Arkansas.

In 1840 the census records the family having two members who cannot read or write. There were six children, two boys and four girls, one of whom may be the unknown daughter. There was also a woman aged between 80 and 90 living with them. As Matthew was about 57 years old, perhaps it was his mother.

In 1843 Minerva married Charles Rutledge. Her younger sister Melissa married Alexander C. Robinson in 1848. By the time of the 1850 census, only Julia Ann remained at home. In October of that year, Matthew granted power of attorney to his son-in-law Alexander Robinson to sell his land. Then he and Mary headed to Arkansas to join the family. Minerva followed with her husband, young children and the Rutledges. Once the Moore's land was sold, and loose ends tied up, the Robinsons followed their kinfolks to Arkansas.

Shortly after his arrival in Arkansas, Matthew died, and was buried in Lower Campground Cemetery in Madison County. Mary died in 1854, and they share a headstone which proclaims "They came from Tennessee in 1850".

The following chart of the Moores and their children is based partly on census research, and should be verified where possible with other sources. No further information has been found on Elizabeth and Julia Ann.

Children of Matthew G. and Mary Moore
Elizabeth	Sarah	Anna	Mary	Minerva	Melissa	Rebecca	Julia Ann	Unknown son (William N.?)	Presumed son James F.
Spouses
Arch___ Gardenhire	Lewis Bohannon	Gilbert Hudson	John Wilson Parker	Charles J. Rutledge	Alexander C. Robinson	Jacob Owens	(?)		Roda Gage
Children
(?)	Matthew G.	Emeline	Madison	William Narval	John M.	(none)	(?)		Julia Ann
	Sarah A.	Mary Jane	Mary	James	Elvira Tennessee				Sarah
	Elijah H.	J___(?)	John	Mary J.	Rebecca A.				Rebecca
	John J.	Isabella Melissa	Rebecca	Sarah Lewis	Louisa Eliza				Eldora
	Lewis J.	M____(?) Adaline	Martha J.	Rebecca Ann	Martha Emma				Martha Allen
	Isaac N.	James F.	Jacob	Jacob Owen	Mandy J.				Margaret E.
	Mary A.	Rebecca J.							Lillie
	Rebecca C.	Lewis Wilson							Theodore Franklin
	James Wilson	Sarah E.
	Francis M.	Jacob Owen
	Hannah

Many thanks to Sue Elfving and Edward K. Hudson for sharing information that was crucial to identify and document this Moore family.

Links:

Rhonda Steedman's Family History Page

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