Guide to the Papers of Robert Moore, 1783-1837 (bulk 1797-1816)
- Repository
- Heinz History Center
- Title
- Papers of Robert Moore
- Creator
- Moore, Robert
- Collection Number
- MSS#303
- Extent
- 1.75 cubic feet (3 Boxes and 1 Volume)
- Date
- 1783-1837
- Date
- 1797-1816
- Abstract
- Robert Moore was born to John and Ann Moore on March 12, 1760, in York County, Pa. Between November 1783 and February 1784 he moved to Union Township (present day Uniontown) in Fayette County, Pa. In 1798 Robert was appointed as a Justice of the Peace for Fayette County, a post he would hold until 1804. The collection consists of personal and public papers, including diaries, arrest warrants, IOU's, contracts, inventories, land grants, receipts, subpoenas, poems, town meeting notes, notes on public debts and correspondence.
- Language
- The material in this collection is in English.
- Sponsor
- This finding aid has been encoded as a part of the Historic Pittsburgh project a joint effort of the University of Pittsburgh and the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania. Funding for this portion of the project has been donated by the Hillman Foundation.
- Publisher
- Heinz History Center
- Address
- 1212 Smallman St.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15222
library@heinzhistorycenter.org
URL: https://www.heinzhistorycenter.org
Biographical Sketch of Robert Moore (1760-1816)
Robert Moore was born to John and Ann Moore on March 12, 1760, in York County, Pennsylvania. Not until he was in his early twenties did he live elsewhere, first in Baltimore, where he lived for a short period of time as "A Joiner to Trade," a woodworking job that involves joining together pieces of wood. Between November 1783 and February 1784 he moved to Union Township (present day Uniontown) in Fayette County, PA, where he continued his trade as a joiner.
He married Mary Hosack, also from York County, and brought her to Uniontown in 1788. They had six children in their twenty eight years of marriage.
Robert was appointed as a Justice of the Peace for Fayette County in 1798. He held this post until 1804. During this time he also functioned as clerk for the town meetings of Union. Many of the papers that he signed and which were sent to him during this period include items ranging from IOU's to arrest warrants, to lists of weddings he presided over.
He and his wife eventually resettled in Champaign County, Ohio, at Stony Creek after his six year tenure was up. There, he was to die on April 29, 1816, at the age of fifty six after contracting the flu.
Scope and Content Notes
The Robert Moore Papers are housed in three archival boxes and consist of personal and public papers, including diaries, arrest warrants, IOU's, contracts, inventories, land grants, receipts, subpoenas, poems, town meeting notes, notes on public debts and correspondence of Robert Moore and his family. Box 3 has photocopies and transcriptions of the original papers that can be found in the previous two boxes.
The original public and private papers found in Box 1 include arrest warrants, subpoenas, fines, receipts, IOU's, wedding lists, personal writings, deeds, diaries, estate records, inventories, contracts and records of court cases. Records concerning numerous legal matters that came before Justice Moore span the years of 1797-1803 and include a comprehensive listing of all the marriages that Moore presided over. There is a folder that includes the records of Moore's estate upon his passing, in addition to the papers of the estate of his father, John Moore, and a relative named Ann Moore. Of note, is a folder containing the journals and diaries that Moore kept whenever he went on a trip, including his visits to Gettysburg and Ohio, as well as several others.
Box 2 contains the correspondence of Moore and some of the members of his family. Please note that the collection contains numerous letters written by children of Robert and Mary Moore, as well as letters received by them. Some of the letters in the collection do not pertain directly to Justice Moore, nor were they written by or sent to him. The majority of the correspondence in this box are letters that Justice Moore either wrote or received. The majority of the letters are between him and his family.
The third box contains photocopies of original letters and diaries. The public papers that Moore saved are generally not photocopied. Three plastic bound volumes of transcriptions are included in this box. Volume I consists of transcriptions of Moore's diaries, Volume II consists of transcriptions of his letters and personal papers, and Volume III contains transcriptions of public papers from his time as Justice of the Peace. Please note that these transcriptions do not include all of the original papers that are in the collection, and are therefore not a complete record. A typed listing of the marriages that Justice Moore presided over is housed in its own folder.
An original bound trial ledger documenting court cases which came before Moore from 1798 to 1802 is not in a box and is marked Volume I.
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for research.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
These materials were received in one accession.
Acc # 1994.0129 Gift of David Moore Schrader on behalf of the Moore Family in 1994.
Preferred Citation
Papers of Robert Moore, 1783-1837, (bulk 1797-1816), MSS#303, Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania
Processing Information
This collection was processed by Daniel Ozdinec on September 29, 1999.
Revision and rearrangement for the encoded version of the finding aid provided by Susan M. Allen on November 12, 1999.
Conditions Governing Use
Property rights reside with the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania. Literary rights are retained by the creators of the records and their heirs. For permissions to reproduce or publish, please contact the curator of the Archives.