Porch Swings, Fireflies, and Jelly Jars

Joseph Barber and the Moore Family

Col. James S. Piper, 1861

Col. James S. Piper, 1862

Saturday, June 21, 2025

Samuel Moore's Connections

The next step in my research of the Moore siblings was to place them in the same county at the same time. What was their origin? I found the following Moore siblings married in Jefferson County, Alabama:

Wiley Moore married Nancy Pierce on 29 April 1823

Bryant Moore married Rebecca Anderton on 11 April 1826

Abel Moore married Sarah Morris on 14 January 1827

I could also place the majority of them in Alabama in 1850. They had removed from their various places of residence in the 1830s - Pulaski County, Georgia; Dooly County, Georgia, and Jefferson County, Georgia - to move to Russell County, Alabama.

The 1850 census sheds some light on their ages, their birthplaces, migration patterns, and possible naming patterns.

Russell County, Alabama -

738 - 738

Joseph Barber 44 M Farmer $100 b. NC

Arsena Barber 38 F b. NC

Rebecca Barber 15 F b. NC

William Barber 12 M b. NC

Samuel Barber 9 M b. AL

Sarah Barber 7 F b. AL

George Barber 4 M b. AL

Mary Barber 3 F b. AL

Robert Barber 1 M b. AL

Edward Barber 1 M b. AL

740 - 740

Samuel Moore 40 M Farmer $300 b. NC

Ann Moore 36 F b. NC

Lorenza Moore 13 M b. GA

Elizabeth Moore 11 F b. GA

Mary Moore 8 F b. AL

747-747

Abel Moore 48 M Farmer $1200 b. NC

Caroline Moore 34 F b. NC

Amanda Moore 3 F b. AL

John Moore 1 M b. AL

754-756

Bryant Moore 51 M Farmer $500 b. NC

Rebecca Moore 43 F b. GA

Cintha Moore 23 F b. GA

Pulaski County, Georgia -

532-532

Mathias Moor 27 M. Farmer $1,000 b. GA

Nancy Moor 47 F b. GA

Abel T Moor 19 M Laborer b. GA

W. R. Moor 17 Laborer b. GA

The 1850 census reveals that these Moore siblings were born in North Carolina. I know from other research that Joseph Barber's two eldest children were born in Georgia, not Alabama. The Pulaski County, Georgia household with Mathias Moor as head of household is the household of deceased brother Wiley Moore. Lorenzo D. Moore was deceased long before 1850. Mary Ann Moore is missing from this group. It is likely that she married, and her surname is unknown. In reviewing the census records for these families, I noticed a discrepancy between Bryant Moore's household in 1850 and 1860, which needs to be researched further.

The Moore marriages in Jefferson County, Alabama, suggest to me a group of siblings coming of age. Would they have moved from North Carolina to Georgia as young adults or with their parents? With that in mind, I moved to the nearest census that might show them still living in Jefferson County after they had married, and which might contain an older Moore's household.

On the 1830 census for Jefferson County, Georgia, these Moore households were living near each other:

Abel Moore 00001-00011

Samuel Moore 0112001-210101

Briant Moore 00001-10001

Within two households of Abel Moore:

Caswell Moore 1100001-000001

Within two households of Briant Moore:

Clementina Barrow 00002-00201001

1830 Jefferson Co., GA Census

Wiley Moore does not seem to be on the 1830 census, so he may have been living in another household.

Of the elder Moores, Samuel Moore is a better candidate than Caswell Moore to be the father of the Moore siblings. Even though they are in the same age range, Samuel's household includes individuals in the right age range to be some of the Moore siblings. Arsena (Moore) Barber, born in about 1812, would have been 18 years old in 1830. Samuel's household has a female in that age range, but Caswell's does not. Samuel B. Moore was born about 1810 and would have been about 20 years old in 1830. Samuel has two males in that age range, while Caswell has none. There are also additional children in Samuel's household who may have been Lorenzo D. Moore and Mary Ann Moore. However, nothing definitively links Samuel to the Moore siblings. My goal right now is to research Moores who appear in records with the Moore siblings or with Samuel Moore in order to create additional Moore family groups that will hopefully connect to each other.

With that in mind, I jumped-started my research using the Family Search full-text search. I entered "Samuel Moore" in the name search box and "Jefferson County" in the keyword search box. Then I narrowed my search down to North Carolina as the place. Two entries for Samuel Moore of Jefferson County, Georgia, turned up in Pitt County, North Carolina.

On 16 January 1824, Samuel Moore of Jefferson County, Georgia, sold 45 acres of land in Pitt County, North Carolina, to William Moore. That land was located north of the Tar River in the middle of land owned by other Moores. Adjacent properties belonged to William Moore, Stanley Moore, Martin Moore, and Abel Moore. I do not think that this Abel Moore is the same Abel Moore who was a newlywed, living next to Samuel Moore in Jefferson County, Georgia, in 1830. I do, however, think that it is significant that the name Abel was repeated. The most important part of this deed is difficult to read. That 45 acres was part of a piece of land that belonged to the heirs of? Moore dec'd. Ack! The name could be David or something else. It's buried in the binding of the deed book.

These individuals turn up in the 1823 division of the lands of Richard Moore dec'd. Those named are Henry Moore, Martin Moore, Samuel Moore, whose land is by the Speir and Barrow tracts, Elizabeth Moore (daughter or widow?), Stanley Moore, Ellis Moore, William Moore, Churchwell Moore, Patience Cowan. References are made to Abel Moore and Allen Moore, but they do not seem to be heirs.

In 1824, Samuel Moore of Jefferson County, Georgia, acted as power of attorney to sell property in Pitt County, North Carolina on behalf of Caswell Moore and Clemmy Barrow, widow of William Barrow - both of them were also residents of Jefferson County, Georgia. The property in question was Caswell Moore and Clemmy (Moore) Barrow's inheritance from their brother James Stewart Moore of Pitt County, North Carolina. They were the children of Obediah Moore. Samuel Moore was not a child of Obediah's. These Moores are likely to be his cousins.

That gives me a lot to play with. I had previously thought that Samuel Moore might be the son of Samuel Moore Sr., so this is unexpected, but pleasantly so. Now it's time to stop and build out the tree branch for Richard Moore and his family on Family Search and see what turns up.

Moore Siblings

Thursday, June 12, 2025

Moore Siblings

In my search for the family of Joseph Barber's wife Arsena, I found a tentative group of Moores who were all selling the same 40 acres of land to Armistead Richardson of Richmond County, Georgia, in 1836. All the deeds were filed in Floyd County, Georgia. That group includes Samuel B. Moore, Mary Ann Moore, and Joseph Barber of Dooly County, Georgia; Abel Moore and Bryant Moore of Sumter County, Georgia; and Wiley Moore of Pulaski County, Georgia.

Samuel B. Moore, Mary Ann Moore, and Joseph Barber sold their portion of Lot no. 860 for $100, so they each received $33. Abel Moore and Bryant Moore sold their share for $50, or $25 each. Wiley Moore sold his share for $20. Armstead or Armistead Richardson paid a total of $170 for Lot no. 860. In 1839, Richardson sold Lot no. 860 along with other lots to his son-in-law William S. Simmons. The Williams S. Simmons Plantation house, also known as the Montgomery Farm, of Cave Springs, Georgia, was built in 1840 on Lot no. 870 and is on the National Register of Historic Places.

This potential group of siblings likely inherited 40 acres of land from either their father or a bachelor brother. Who was that person? I had two clues about that piece of land: 1.) it was 40 acres, and 2.) it was Lot no. 860. Those clues suggested that the land might have been as part of a Georgia Land Lottery. I quickly found that the 1832 Georgia Gold Lottery consisted of 40-acre lots, which were available to bachelors over 18 years old (1 draw); widows (1 draw); a family of orphans (2 draws); married men, who were heads of a family (2 draws). In addition, participants were required to be three-year residents of Georgia and U.S. citizens.

Then I looked for Lot no. 860 in the Gold Lottery, which I found on Family Search, along with the name of the original owner.

Lot no. 860, consisting of 40 acres, was granted to L. D. Moore of Mashburn's District in Pulaski County, Georgia.

I went back through my documentation for Joseph Barber and found someone I had forgotten about: Lorenzo D. Moore. In 1833, Joseph Barber of Pulaski County, Georgia, granted a power of attorney to Lorenzo D. Moore of Pulaski County, Georgia, to act as Joseph's representative in his claim to his grandfather, Thomas Mashburn's estate in Onslow County, North Carolina. That document was filed in Onslow County, North Carolina.

The Floyd County, Georgia land that Lorenzo D. Moore won in the Gold Lottery ended up with his heirs: Samuel B. Moore, Mary Ann Moore, the wife of Joseph Barber, Abel Moore, Bryant Moore, and Wiley Moore. Of these heirs, Bryant Moore, born c. 1799, was one of the eldest. Joseph Barber's wife Arcena Barber was born c. 1812. A rough idea of the siblings' birthdate range gives me a clue as to whether Lorenzo D. Moore was their brother or their father. The real clue, however, is in Lorenzo's name. He, like hundreds of baby boys born in that period, was named after the Methodist itinerant minister, Lorenzo Dow. Dow traveled from Georgia and North Carolina back to New England in 1810. A brief search of North Carolina newspapers in Genealogybank reveals that Dow had extensive preaching engagements in 1811. His itineraries were published several times. I would say that Lorenzo D. Moore would not have been born much earlier than this and was probably born a little later. Therefore, Lorenzo D. Moore would have been one of the siblings. Lorenzo's name also gives me a clue as to possible church denomination records for the Moore family - Methodist.

Now I have a large group of siblings in various locations to connect to potential parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. It's actually a lot to work with.

Joseph Barber and the Moore Family

Samuel Moore's Connections

Sunday, June 8, 2025

Joseph Barber and the Moore Family

When George Washington Barber, son of Joseph and Arcenia Barber, died in Fannin County, Texas in 1920, his son George Washington Barber Jr., was the informant for George Sr.'s death certificate. The question has long been, how much did George Jr. get right? Under consideration today is the information about George Sr's mother. George Barber Jr. believed that she was Amelia Moor [sic]. Nothing indicates that her first name was Amelia, which would make looking for her easier. Instead, she was Arcenia - with many spelling variants - in all records about Joseph Barber's wife. Was she a Moore? It's very possible that George Sr. knew his mother's family and told his son about them, so the surname may have been reported accurately.

The problem has been connecting Joseph and Arcenia Barber to anyone named Moore. That is until the full-text search on Family Search provided a significant clue in Floyd County, Georgia, dated 1836.

In 1836, Samuel Barber, Mary Ann Barber, and Joseph Barber of Dooly County, Georgia, deeded 40 acres of land, lot no 860, located in Cherokee County, Georgia to Armstead Richardson. In this record, my best guess is that Joseph Barber is acting in right of his wife Arcenia Barber, and that Samuel and Mary Ann Barber are probably her siblings. On the next page, Abel Moore and Bryant Moore of Sumter County, Georgia deeded the same piece of land to Armstead Richardson. On the next page, Wiley Moore of Pulaski County, Georgia deeded the same piece of land to Armstead Richardson.

It appears that Samuel Moore, Mary Ann Moore, Arcenia Barber, Abel Moore, Bryant Moore, and Wiley Moore are all heirs to the same piece of property and are likely to be siblings. They have probably inherited from a bachelor brother, their father, or their grandfather. More needs to be discovered about this 40-acre piece of property.

More also needs to be uncovered about each of these Moore siblings.

Moore Siblings

Samuel Moore's Connections

Monday, June 2, 2025

James S Piper, 1845

In 1845, James S. Piper of Baltimore was being taken to court for being insolvent:

Besides having cash flow issues, this little notice provides a wealth of additional information about James S. Piper. It's the first reference that I have found that indicates James S. Piper was working in construction. It also provides a street address for either his business or his household although they may have been one and the same.

Other published activities indicate that James S. Piper was in Ward 12. This 1844 street map of Baltimore narrows down which section of Mulberry St. was in Ward 12:

One month prior to the publication of this notice, James S. Piper and his wife Mary O'Hara had lost their little son Henry Clay Piper. They still had at least one surviving child, Horatio N. Piper.

Although cash flow was an issue, James S. Piper was working on two construction sites at the end of the year. This article appeared in The Sun on December 8, 1845, instead of a follow-up to the outcome of the insolvency court:

Col. James S. Piper, 1861

Col. James S. Piper, 1862

Thursday, March 20, 2025

Col. J. S. Piper, 1862

In 1862, the wife of Col. J. S. Piper of the Confederate army was arrested in Washington DC and held by the Provost Marshall. The newspapers misreported his name as Col. T. S. Piper, which made her arrest a challenge to find in period newspapers. Plus, the newspapers of 1863 misreported this event as having happened in 1861.

A similar newspaper article published in The New York Herald added the tidbit that "at the time of her arrest several letters from her husband were seized." Based on the events of 1863, this leaves no doubt that the woman arrested was Elizabeth Piper, wife of Col. J. S. Piper. This also confirms that he was with the Confederate army.

It would be interesting to know why Elizabeth Piper had fallen under enough suspicion to arrest her. By August 1862, women were no longer regarded by the military as harmless innocents. Rose O'Neal Greenhow, who operated a spy network of supposedly 48 women in Washington DC, had been released from the Old Capitol prison and sent beyond the Confederate line a couple of months earlier in May 1862. Women in her network had been attending teas and dinners throughout Washington DC, listening carefully, and sending the information they gleaned south to the Confederate army. Elizabeth Piper was certainly in a position to be one of those participants. However, information about the specific women in Greenhow's network is elusive.

To date, I have not found the Provost Marshall's records regarding Elizabeth Piper's arrest - specifically the documents that were generated in 1862. I also don't know how long she was held or the conditions of her release although she was allowed to remain in Washington DC and not sent beyond the Confederate line. Col. William Emile Doster was the Provost Marshal of Washington DC at this time.

The Washington DC City Directory of 1862 shows the Pipers still in residence at 506 E south. James S. Piper's 14 or 15-year-old son William Piper is listed as the resident. Note that James S. Piper's brother Dr. John R. Piper was living at 373 D north.

Col. James S. Piper, 1861

Col. James S. Piper, 1861

The American Civil War began on 12 April 1861 when the Confederates opened fire on Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina.

Col. James S. Piper was in Alabama at the time.

When Maryland Governor Hicks answered Lincoln's call for troops, Marylanders in Alabama were aghast. Among them was Col. James S. Piper. Again, he was talking to newspapermen, and he expressed the desire to join the Confederate army. The question of whether he joined the army would play an important role two years later.

This particular newspaper clipping makes an important connection in the chain of evidence that links the events of Capt. James S. Piper's life. It clearly, references James S. Piper as being both the Captain of Company B in the Mexican War and the Colonel who served under General Walker in Nicaragua. Additionally, it identifies him as a Confederate sympathizer willing to serve in the military. In 1861, James S. Piper would have been 43 years old. While not a young man, he was not too old to serve.

Within two days, Col. James S. Piper was back in Baltimore, Maryland, where he promptly spoke to yet another newspaperman.

The affray referred to is now known as the Baltimore Riot of 1861. It is also referred to as the Pratt Street Riots or the Pratt Street Massacre. In 1861, Baltimore was largely a city of southern sympathizers. On Friday, 19 April 1861, a riot broke out when members of the Massachusetts and Pennsylvania state militias, who had been called up for service, were en route to Washington DC. Their route took them through Baltimore, where they were attacked by Confederate sympathizers. A riot ensued that resulted in the first deaths of Union volunteers in the Civil War.

Why Col. James S. Piper traveled to Baltimore instead of Washington DC is yet another question. There is reason to believe that his wife and son were still residence at 506 E south in Washington DC. Of course, at this time, Col. James S. Piper's sisters were probably still living in Baltimore, so he may have wanted to see them. Alternately, he may have preferred a city with southern sympathies as his destination.