Category: Moore Family

How I found William Moore in 1875

Posted on by Kathleen

After looking over my timeline of William H Moore, I became determined to check Brooklyn in the 1875 New York State Census. For me, finding William in 1875 would be a big help. This way I would be able to tell whether he had made it back from Chicago yet. I didn’t like having that huge gap between 1871 and 1880.

The first thing I did was check the Brooklyn city directory for 1875. I figured if I could find William at one of his usual addresses, then my job would be that much easier!

Analysis:

  1. There are two William H Moores in the directory. One is a basketmaker and the other a carpenter. The carpenter makes me happy, but I don’t recognize the address, so it’s going down as my first possibility.
  2. There are 3 other carpenters that are just listed as William Moore. I’ve added them to the list under the other William H Moores. If I find the other two, and still haven’t found my William, then I’ll check them.

My next step was to plot the first William H Moore into Google Earth to see where exactly he was located in 1875. From there I can see how far he was from the later addresses I’ve documented for William’s family.

It might be a little hard to tell in the scaled down version, but Stockton Street is not far at all from William H Moore‘s 1880-1886 address.

My next step was to find out where to start. FamilySearch has the 1875 New York State Census, but not an index. There is a website that has a great list of the 1876 Election Districts of Brooklyn.

Now the hard part comes. I have a little clue in the fact that I have never found William H Moore in a Ward under 20. So I decided to start at the highest ward numbers and work my way backwards.

Ward 25, District 4, doesn’t exactly work. I used the polygon tool in Google Earth to see the area covered by each district. The red thumb tack is where the William H Moore in the city directory is located. With this, I know I can probably jump to another ward, and check to see if that’s a little closer to where I need to be.

So I looked around where I want to find William in the census, and tried to find a boundary street in the district listings that matched. I hit pay dirt in the 21st ward. All the districts in the 21st ward have boundary street combinations of Lafayette Avenue, Nostrand Ave, and Myrtle Avenue.

Jackpot! This is the 21st Ward, District 6. While it took a little while to plot the different districts. I was able to keep them plotted and turned off in Google Earth in case I needed to check them for the other William Moores.

As it turns out, I won’t need to because this is in fact my William on Stockton Street. So I’m now able to confirm another address for William between 1870 and 1880. I also know that his family made the trek between Chicago and Brooklyn sometime between 1871 and 1875. Despite what it says on the census, the three boys were all born in Illinois.

So this is how I found my William H Moore in 1875 without an index to search!

Timeline: William H Moore

Posted on by Kathleen

One of my fellow geneabloggers, Tonia Kendrick, gave me the idea a long time ago to make timelines for my ancestors. This weekend I also watched a webinar presented by Marian Pierre-Louis about breaking down your brick walls. These two things are going hand in hand when I bring up William H Moore. I have so much yet to learn about my earliest known Moore ancestor. I’m hoping that by having a clear timelime I can pinpoint the gaps in information, of which I’m sure there are many.

 William H Moore

(1836-1928)

July 1836 – William H Moore is born in Northern Ireland. I get this date from the 1900 census. However, when looking for William I often let the date go between 1835 and 1840. I say Northern Ireland because in 1930, after William had passed away, ALL of his children listed their parents as being born in Northern Ireland. This is important because it was in 1921 that Northern Ireland was established as it’s own entity. The 1930 census is the first US Census that would reflect this change.

1858-1859 – It is sometime in this period that William immigrated to the United States from Ireland. I have no entry date for him, or even an entry point. Just the two separate years William gives in 1900 and 1910 as his immigration years.

Around 1863 – married Mary E Starret. Also in the 1900 Census, William gave a statement that he was married for 37 years. Doing a little math, that dates back to around 1863. This makes sense because their first child was born in 1864.

September 1865 – William and Mary’s first child, Mary J Moore, is born in New York.

Around 1867 – moved to Chicago, Illinois. 1867 is the first year that William appears in the Chicago city directories, that I know of. The only address I am positive of in Chicago is 56 Foster. He is listed as a stair builder/carpenter.

February 1868 – William and Mary’s second child, William H Moore Jr., is born in Chicago.

December 1869 – William and Mary’s third child, John R Moore, is born in Chicago.

1870 – William’s family appears in the census, living at 56 Foster, in Chicago Illinois. I used the neighbors on the census, to confirm my William in the city directories.

October 1871 – William and Mary’s fourth and final child (my 2nd Great Grandfather), Robert James Moore, is born in Illinois. I am unsure if he was actually born in Chicago. I wrote to Chicago about a birth record and they couldn’t find one. They said it was just around that time that they started to record birth records, so that didn’t mean that Robert wasn’t born there, just that there wasn’t an official birth record.

1880 – The Moore’s show up at 583 Myrtle Avenue in Brooklyn, New York. I don’t know how long they were back in New York because I don’t have a confirmed address for them before 583 Myrtle Ave.

1888 – The Moore’s move to 263 Sumpter Avenue in Brooklyn, New York.

1895 – William H Moore shows up at a second address in addition to his home address. The address is 1567 Broadway, Brooklyn, New York. He is still listed as a carpenter. This is the only year he shows up at this address in the directory. His sons will take over this address for their printing business.

April 1896 – William’s son, Robert, marries Mary E Johnson in Brooklyn, New York.

October 1896 – William’s wife, Mary, dies in Brooklyn after a long illness.

1903 – The Moore’s move to a new household at 559 Decatur Street. They stay there for at least the next 10 years, maybe longer.

Around 1904 – William’s son, William Jr, marries.

1905 – William is still in Brooklyn, New York per the census and city directories.

1910 – William is still in Brooklyn, New York per the census and city directories.

1915 – William’s son, John, marries.

1920 – William and his daughter, Mary, are now living in Caldwell, New Jersey.

November 1925 – William’s son, Robert, dies.

July 1928 – William H Moore dies, most likely in Caldwell, New Jersey.

Personal Notes: It’s been challenging to research William H Moore. Not impossible, just challenging. If I was a little more mobile, I’d be able to travel the the Municipal Archives in NYC and possibly have many breakthroughs. However, that’s just not the case right now. I’ve been sending away for records as I’m able, but a lot of times I come up blank because I haven’t nailed down a good section of years for the events and the commonality of their names. 

After doing this timeline, I can definitely see my gaps! Now I hope to fill in the missing years before William and Mary married, and then learn the exact timeline of when and why they went to Chicago.

I have Genealogy Fog Brain

Posted on by Kathleen

I’m not sure if Genealogy Fog Brain is an actual condition or if I just have regular Fog Brain. Lately though, I find myself being a little… slower to make things click in my brain. It might be that I’m slowly but surely kicking my caffeine habit, it might be the 5 days a week of exercise I’m trying to adhere to. Who knows why it’s happening, the important thing is that it is in fact happening.

I recently had to “repair” my Windows installation. Except a “repair” doesn’t fix my recurring problem, so I ended up doing a new installation of Windows. I know it’s probably overkill on my part but when the problem spread itself to Roots Magic, I’d had enough. So now that my computer is cleaned out of most of the clutter on the main drive, I’m back to working with my family files. My only issue is that with Fog Brain, I haven’t been able to wrap my head around much. So instead of getting nothing done, I’m working on going through and searching for alternate sources on my Dad’s side of the family. Eventually, I’ll find that one clue that leads me to a discovery of something that’s going to break down the walls for me. Not brick walls, but the wooden ones that have built themselves in front of me. With a little hard work, and a hammer, I should be able to get them down!

One of the things I know is that my first known Moore ancestor, William H Moore, had three sons and a daughter. The daughter, Mary, took care of him for his whole life after her mother passed away after a lengthy illness. The logic tells me that she most likely took care of her sick mother too. The youngest son, Robert (my great-great grandfather), was a house painter. The other two boys, apparently went into the printing business. It wasn’t until I discovered the Moores in the Brooklyn City Directories that I realized the two brothers might have been working together. I knew that William H Moore Jr was a lifelong compositor/printer.  What I was unaware of, was his brother John‘s involvement in his printing business.

Today I did a Google Search for “William Moore, printer, 1567 Broadway” just for fun. It led me to a Google Book listing for “Printing Trades Blue Book for the Greater New York and Surrounding Towns Edition“. You can read the excerpt in the image above. What’s interesting is it gives an established date of 1898. It also shows the the brothers had a partnership. I had always assumed that William was the more involved of the two. That’s what I get for assuming! After combing through the Brooklyn Directories, I found something today that I should have noticed months ago.

At the end of every MOORE section in the Brooklyn Directories, there is an entry for MOORE Bros, printers, 1567 Broadway. Oops. Not only does it happen every year from 1898 to 1913, but the brothers are shown working out of that address for the previous 3 years also. So while they might not have established their partnership until 1898, they were already working in that space, as printers as early as 1895. Another fun fact is that their father, William H Moore Sr, was also doing business at that address in 1895. So maybe their father was using the space for his carpenter business, but after the death of his wife in 1896, he left the business space for his sons? I don’t know, there I go assuming again!

Grandpa’s Stuff, Part 2

Posted on by Kathleen

With Grandpa moving to Maryland, I’m starting to get another look at some of the more interesting things in his collection. The funny thing is, my treasure is his self-professed junk. What I’m about to show almost got sold for scrap metal. Luckily my Dad saved it because he knows I’m hungry for these kinds of cool things.

North Caldwell Public Safety Center Plaque

The police chief that took over after Grandpa retired thought Grandpa might like this. I think it’s pretty cool, but boy does it weigh a lot. I have no idea how to hang something like this on the wall without it breaking whatever mount you put it on.

Here’s a note for you guys, if you have an antique seller in the family, make them aware of your interest in these things! Next time I show you some of his stuff, I’ll show you his baby blanket that his grandmother (Jennie Love-Thorward) made for him when he was born!

The 1940 Census – Part 1

Posted on by Kathleen

The genealogy community is buzzing. There’s only 1 year left before we’ll have access to the 1940 United States Federal Census. Like everyone else, I’m already trying to think about where my ancestors were at the time the census was taken.

MOORE SIDE

William L Moore & Llewellyn Thorward-Moore: These two should be at their house on Park Avenue in Caldwell NJ. This census year will be the first that my Grandpa shows up on.

Robert J Moore Jr: I expect him to be at the Moore household on Myrtle Avenue in Caldwell NJ. I don’t know if his aunt, Mary J Moore is still alive at the time of the census. According to the notes I have, she died in 1940. He was living with her on Myrtle Avenue in 1930. This census will also be crucial for me because I’m unaware of the year Robert J Moore Jr married his wife. It will be interesting to see if I can find a marriage record when I’m in New Jersey, or if I’ll finally fill that blank spot when the census is released.

Marion S Moore: Robert and William’s sister was still living in Brooklyn in 1930. According to the SSDI, her last known residence was in Suffolk County, New York. Without an index, this one might be waiting for a long, holiday weekend! There is no doubt in my mind Marion’s family was living on Long Island.

William H Moore Jr: William was last living in Essex County, NJ with his wife and three daughters. The daughters are of marriagable age by 1940, so I’m going to guess I’ll be looking for marriage records for them before I find them on the census.

John R Moore: John was living in Brooklyn in 1930 with his wife and daughter. So I’ll be looking for them on the same long weekend as Marion Moore-Schroeder.

Note: William H Moore Jr and John R Moore are the siblings of Mary J Moore and Robert James Moore Sr. Mary died in 1940 and Robert in 1925. I don’t have death dates for either brother. It’s possible they had already passed away. I just don’t know yet.


THORWARD SIDE

Lewis and Jennie Thorward: Lewis and Jennie Thorward will be living at 75 Westville Avenue in Caldwell NJ. I know his because that was their home for their whole marriage. Lewis didn’t die until 1946, after which Jennie lived above the meat market before living with her daughter Llewellyn. [1. Grandpa Moore for the first part, Dad for the second] In 1949 she is in the city directory and listed as living at the same address as the business.

George W Thorward: Llewellyn’s brother will be in Caldwell somewhere. I do know he lived on Overlook Rd from Grandpa and the 1949 city directory. So I’ll try there first.

Frank Thorward: Frank will be found living on Washburn Place. He is listed at the same address in 1949 that I found him at in 1930.

Robert M Thorward: The great grandfather of my distant cousin Brent! He married his wife in 1939, so I will find him with his new wife Laura Alice Whitehorne.

Raymond Thorward: I don’t have much information on Raymond. I know he married from his tombstone, but I don’t know the year. It will be interesting to see where he turns up in 1940.

Note: Neither Robert or Raymond are found in the 1949 Caldwell city directory. I’ll have to check for them in a surrounding city.

Dora Thorward-Plume: Most likely I will find Dora and her husband, Leslie, living on Slocum Avenue in Englewood NJ. They are living at the same address since the 1910 Census. Leslie was a plumber by trade. They ran their business out of their home from what I can tell.

Vivian Plume-Westervelt: Vivian is the daughter of Dora and Leslie. She had been married for close to 10 years already in 1930, so I don’t know if much will change for her and her husband. They were living near her parents in Bergen County, NJ. Charles VanBuskirk Westervelt was the owner of a Garage and she was the secretary.

George and Josephine Thorward: Sadly this is the last census for both George and his wife. Actually, 1930 might have been the last one for George. I only have death years for this couple, which bothers me! Their death records are #1 on my to do list when I am in New Jersey. I know George died in 1940 and Josephine in 1942.

This was great fun and stay tuned for the rest as the time ticks down!