William Moore

Background

William Moore was born on May 6, 1699, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was the son of John Moore, collector of the port of Philadelphia, and his wife, Rebecca Axtell of South Carolina.

Education

According to family tradition, he was educated in England and graduated at Oxford in 1719, but he does not appear in the list of matriculates of the institution.

Career

Then his father gave him a large tract of land in Chester County, a few miles from Valley Forge, and he lived there for more than fifty years. The stone house that he built on this estate is still called Moore Hall.

During the French and Indian War, he was colonel of a Chester County militia regiment. He was a devout churchman and was a vestryman of St. James Church on the Perkiomen and later of the church at Radnor in Delaware County. He was a member of the Provincial Assembly for Chester County from 1733 until 1740, when he refused to be a candidate for reelection.

He was a justice of the peace from 1741 to 1783 and was the presiding judge of the Chester County court during most of the period from 1750 to 1776. It is believed that he was associated with the Quaker or anti-proprietary party until 1755, when he became involved in a controversy with them over the question of military defense.

The frontier settlements of Pennsylvania were ravaged by the Indians, after Braddock's defeat, and on November 5, 1755, a petition was sent to the Assembly from Chester County demanding security and protection. Moore's name heads the list of signatures and he probably wrote the petition itself. This made him obnoxious to the Quaker majority in the Assembly and they organized an attack upon his integrity as a judge. They were helped by Isaac Wayne, the father of Anthony Wayne, who lived near Moore Hall and was one of Moore's personal enemies. Through Wayne's efforts, twenty-eight petitions were presented to the Assembly in 1757 urging Moore's removal as presiding judge on the ground that he had been tyrannical, unjust, and extortionate in the performance of his duties. Moore denied the jurisdiction of the Assembly, but an ex parte investigation was conducted and a formal address was sent to Gov. William Denny praying that he should be removed from office. As this document was printed and widely circulated, Moore decided that his answer, in which he referred to the conduct of the Assembly as "virulent and slanderous, " should be given equal publicity.

On January 6, 1758, he was arrested for libel and for violating the privileges of the Assembly and was imprisoned in the common jail in Philadelphia. The Rev. William Smith, the principal of the Academy of Philadelphia, who had opposed the Assembly on the defense issue, was also imprisoned on the charge of assisting Moore in the preparation of his address. The Assembly forbade the courts to issue a writ of habeas corpus and both of the prisoners remained in jail for almost three months, when the house adjourned and they were released by the governor. The governor and council also investigated the judicial charges that had been brought against Moore and he was completely exonerated.

After this episode, Moore returned to his home and his duties as a judge and led an uneventful life until the beginning of the American Revolution. He was too old to take an active part in that movement, but his sympathies were obviously with the Loyalists. He died at Moore Hall on May 30, 1783, and was buried in the churchyard at Radnor.

Achievements

• William Moore was a noted judge and magistrate, who presided in the Common Pleas, Quarter Sessions and Orphans Court in the County of Chester for a great length of time.

Views

Quotations: "I also further declare that I have of late encouraged and will continue to encourage learning the military art, apprehending that the time is not far distant when there may be occasion for it. "

Connections

About 1722 William Moore married Williamina Wemyss, a relative of the Earl of Wemyss in the peerage of Scotland. The couple had twelve children.

Father:

John Moore

Mother:

Rebecca Moore (Axtell)

opponent:

Isaac Wayne

Isaac Wayne was a Pennsylvania tanner and father of American Revolutionary War General "Mad" Anthony Wayne and grandfather of United States Congressman Isaac Wayne.

Wife:

Williamina Moore (Wemyss)

Brother:

John Moore, Jr.

Brother:

Thomas Moore, I