THROUGH
MOUNTAIN MISTS
Early Settlers of Union
County, Georgia
Their
Descendants...Their Stories...Their Achievements
Lifting the
Mists of History on Their Way of Life
By: Ethelene Dyer Jones
Moore
Families in Union County in 1850
Last week’s introductory column
to early
settlers with the last name of Moore
in Union
County in 1840
listed the households of
Abraham, Joseph, Samuel and Ransom Moore, with nineteen people as the
total Moore
population. An examination of the next
census, 1850,
reveals nine households of Moores
with a total of forty-six people with the Moore
surname. The
1850 census was the first to list names
of children. I was hard-pressed to find
households in 1850 that carried through with age and constituency that
might
have been from those living in Union
in
1840. But let us see the 1850 listing
with names and ages:
Household 141: Robert Clark, head
of household, age 49, born
in Georgia
was listed as head-of-household whose occupation was wagonwright. Last name, Clark? But then go further in this listing. In the household with him was Milly Moore,
age 55, born in Virginia, and Amanda Moore, age 24, born in North Carolina,
and a baby, Marion Moore,
age 8 months (census-taker did not specify whether the baby was male or
female;
the name Marion
was often used for either sex). When I
examined the early Union
County marriage
records,
I found that a Robert Moore (or Moon—writing not easily deciphered)
married a
Matila C. Carroll on October 12, 1856, with G. Hughes, Minister of the
Gospel, performing their
ceremony. Could Matila have been
rendered Milly Moore in the 1850 census, and was the wagonwright, head
of her
household, a Moore
incorrectly listed in the census as Clark?
This is just one of many problems of examining early records to
try to
decipher ancestral puzzles.
Household 177: Samuel Moore, age
38, farmer, born in South
Carolina, with wife Elizabeth, age 25, born in North Carolina, and
children
Eliza 9, Alonzo, 7, Clarinda, 5, James, 3, and Rebecca, 8 months—with
all children
born in Georgia. This household matches
up with the Samuel Moore of the 1840 census (see last week’s column). However, marriage records lead us to believe
that Samuel’s wife, Elizabeth,
may have died and Samuel (or a Samuel
Moore) married (again) on August 25, 1857 to Naomi Clements.
Household
234: Albert Moore, age 30, born in North
Carolina, farmer, with his wife, Sarah, age 31, also born in North
Carolina,
and children Tillitha, 11; Nancy, 8: Christopher, 7; Altha, 5; Andrew,
4;
Sarah, 2; and Mercilla, 2 months. From
subsequent records, we learn that this family of Moores became residents of Towns County
when that county was formed from Union
in
1856. Later, Albert and Sarah had two
more children, Tursey born in 1852 and Clarissa Melvina born in 1854. Union County
marriage records show that daughter Tillitha Moore married John N.
Parker on May 15,
1856; she would
have been 17 at the time of her marriage.
A Nancy Moore married J. K. Moot on September 2, 1875 in Union County.
We can assume these two marriages were of children of Albert and Sarah
Moore.
Household 290: Burton Moore, age
32, born in South Carolina,
a farmer, his wife, Martha, age 22, born in North Carolina, and
children, all
born in Georgia: Mary, 7; Jehu, 5; and James, 2.
Household 291: Joseph Moore, age
63, born in South Carolina
and his
wife, Rebecca Moore, 63, also born in South Carolina.
There was a Joseph Moore in Union’s
1840 census, but he was young, between the age of 20 and 30. I am wondering if the Burton Moore could be
Joseph Burton Moore, listed as the young man Joseph in the 1840 census,
and if
the 63 year-old Joseph could be his father, since their households were
close
together. More unanswered questions!
Household 293: William Moore, age
25, a farmer born in South
Carolina, his wife, Easter Moore, 22, born in North Carolina, and
children
John, 5; Lydia, 4; and Joseph, 2. I
found a marriage record for Esther Muriel Beasley and William Moore,
dated June 19, 1844,
with Rev.
Elisha Hedden performing the ceremony. A Civil War record shows that a
William
H. Moore of Union
County served in
the 23rd
Regiment of the Georgia Infantry Volunteers, Army of Tennessee, Company
B.
Household 341: Hugh Moore, age 26,
farmer, born in South
Carolina, his wife, Margaret, 23, born in South Carolina, and children,
all
born in South Carolina; Mary Ann, 6;
Edy, 3; and Burton, 1. In this household
was Mary Moore, age 70, born in South Carolina, whom I am assuming
is Hugh Moore’s mother
now living with her son. In
that household
is also a young man named Joseph Bryson, age 21, born in South Carolina. Could he be the brother of Margaret Moore?
Household 374: Thornton Moore, age
45, born in South
Carolina, a farmer, with wife, Rebecca, age 48, born in North Carolina,
and
five children, all born in North Carolina:
Mary Ann, 19; Benjamin, 18; William, 16: Elisha, 15; and Samuel,
13.
Household 627: James Moore, age 70,
born in North Carolina
and his
wife, June, age 67, born in North
Carolina.
Many questions remain about the early Moore families of Union County
through the 1850 census. I did not find
cemetery records matching names from the listings of Moores in Union
in 1840 and 1850. Either they were
buried in unmarked graves or they left the county before they died. I hope this research is of value to Moore
descendants who are
trying to find their ancestral roots.
c2011 by
Ethelene Dyer
Jones; published Jan. 27, 2011 in The Union Sentinel, Blairsville,
GA.
Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
[Ethelene Dyer
Jones is a retired educator,
freelance writer, poet, and historian. She may be reached at
e-mail edj0513@windstream.net;
phone 478-453-8751; or mail 1708 Cedarwood Road, Milledgeville, GA
31061-2411.]
Updated May 27, 2018
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