Featured Family Friday: The Family of Samuel Moore of Greenville County, South Carolina

Samuel Moore
b. Between 1756 and 1765
d. 1828
& UNNAMED
b. bet 1766 and 1774
d. bef 1828
|--Bud Mathis Moore*
|----b. 5 Aug 1800
|----d. 7 Sep 1856, Greenville, South Carolina
|---& Elizabeth Brashier
|----d. 29 Dec 1824, Greenville, South Carolina
|----m. 20 Nov 1823
|--Bud Mathis Moore*
|----b. 5 Aug 1800
|---- d. 7 Sep 1856, Greenville, South Carolina
|---& Martha Brown Coulter
|----b. 1793
|----d. 11 Dec 1887
|----m. 20 Nov 1826
|--Susannah Moore
|----b. 1810, South Carolina
|----d. bef 1870
|--Elizabeth Moore
|-----b. 1812, South Carolina
|-----d. bef 1870
|--William Spencer Moore
|----b. 1813, South Carolina
|----d. 31 Oct 1871, Anderson Co., South Carolina
|---& Emily Tarrant
|----b. 1813, South Carolina
|----d. bef 1880

This is the family of my great-great-great grandfather, Samuel Moore of Greenville County, South Carolina, or at least as much as I know about this family, which is not a great deal. This is as far as I have been able to take the Moore line at this point.

I found Samuel Moore after I found a message left by my fourth cousin Mary on a Rootsweb Message Board. She descends from Bud Mathis Moore, the brother of my great-great-grandfather William Spencer Moore. She quoted from an old family history that went back to Bud Mathis Moore, who was said to have had a brother named Spencer over in Anderson County. This was enough to make me think that this referred to my gg-grandfather, but what followed convinced me: Spencer had a son named Commie who used to come visit the Greenville Moores. My Spencer had a son named Commodore Worth Moore. In addition, the author of the history said that these Moores were most likely buried in the cemetery of Big Creek Baptist Church. That was one of the churches attended by my Moores.

With the knowledge that Spencer must have come over to Anderson County from Greenville, I once again searched the wonderful website of the South Carolina Department of Archives and History, this time inputting “Moore” and “Greenville” as the search parameters. This brought up a number of items, one of which was a summary of names mentioned in a will for a Samuel Moore of Greenville. Among the other names mentioned were “Spencar” Moore (so I wouldn’t have found this by searching using “Spencer”), Elizabeth Moore, and Susannah Moore – Spencer and his two sisters who are shown living with him and Emily on the 1850 and 1860 censuses for Anderson County. I ordered a copy of the typescript of the will (this was before they had the digital images online) and later was able to download an image of the handwritten copy of the will that was on file. Bud’s name looks like Hanson or Manson (or even Marion) on these copies, but I figure this was a mistake made in transcription. “B. M. Moore” can be made out on the digital images of materials from the probate packet that can be viewed on the Greenville County SC Historical Records Search website.

Thanks to Mary and several other relatives descended from Bud Mathis Moore, we have a good amount of information on Bud Mathis’ descendants as well as on my own Spencer Moore line. Of course, there are still gaps and mysteries, but we’re working on those. For the sisters Elizabeth and Susannah there is very little:

- The 1810 through 1860 censuses on which they appear (though their ages are reversed on the 1850 and 1860 censuses, each having a different sister being two years older; I have chosen to follow the age given on the 1850 census since it is the one that seems to give the correct ages for Spencer and Emily, whereas the 1860 census does not).

- Some information provided by researcher Kim Wilson on their reception into Washington Baptist Church 14 March 1840, RBL (received by letter).

- Their mention in their father Samuel’s will.

Early Greenville censuses (1800-1820) indicate additional persons in the Samuel Moore household who may have been other children (but none are mentioned in his 1828 will) or other relatives.

Before I attempt to find out who Samuel Moore’s parents were and where he came from, the big question is: Who was his wife? I have a few leads I am following. Samuel Moore’s will has two witnesses from the Long family (Alfred and George) and Spencer Moore’s will has a witness named W. B. Long, so there may be a Long family connection (I know that Thomas Long was a neighbor in Greenville).

For now my Moore research plan consists of two main elements: (1) to identify as many descendants of Samuel Moore as possible and (2) to locate, index, and plot on a detailed map of Greenville as many Greenville Moores as I can find mentioned in wills, land records, and so forth to sort out Greenville Moores much as I will be doing for the Greenville Tarrants (Madness Monday: Emily Tarrant).

If you are reading this and believe that you are related to this family I would really like to hear from you (you can find my e-mail if you click on View my complete profile under the section at the left entitled “About Me”).