ROBERT M. MOORE
Robert M. Moore, b 1812 in Ireland, d September 1880
at Mooreville, Falls County, Texas and buried there ‑ came to South Carolina
with his parents, where he married ca 1833 to Marguerite Wiley, b 1812 in
Abbeville, South Carolina, d 1901 at the of a son in Bruceville, Texas, and
buried by her husband in the Mooreville Cemetery.
Robert and Marguerite lived in Georgia, Alabama, and
Mississippi before emigrating to Washington County, Texas in 1848. The Moore
family was reunited with their South Carolina friends, the Kirkpatrick family,
about 1850 when Kirkpatrick journeyed to Washington County from present‑day Hill
County to sell some slaves and purchase Spanish horses and mares. In 1853, the
Moores and Kirkpatricks drove two hundred of the Spanish horses to the Cow Bayou
area of Falls County‑to establish their new homes. They settled on an
eleven‑league grant that was in dispute. Colonel Edward J. Gurley claimed the
land, going to court against Moore and several others who had also settled
there. Gurley won the lawsuit, but sold the land for four dollars an acre ‑ with
Moore purchasing several hundred acres.
Robert Moore built his log cabin in the traditional
style with dirt floors. He cut a roadway through the timber on Cow Bayou and
made a crossing across the creek up Cottonwood Ravine to North Prairie. This
road is still the most direct route from Mooreville through the Cottonwood
Community to Waco. The village that developed where Robert Moore lived was named
"Mooreville" in his honor. He was loved for his deeds of charity and kindness.
On May 6, 1880, Robert M. Moore wrote his will, which
was filed September 16, 1880. Only three of his six children were living, but
the estate was divided into six parts with Marguerite receiving one‑sixth as a
"widow's share"; the surviving children receiving onesixth part each, and
two‑sixths being divided among the six grandchildren whom he reared after their
mothers died. These included five children of Mary Ellen (Moore) Kirkpatrick,
and one child of Elizabeth N. (Moore) Kirkpatrick.
The six children of Robert M. and Marguerite (Wiley)
Moore were:
Sarah Jane Moore, b 1834 in South Carolina, d after
1880. She never married. Her estate was to revert to her siblings at her death.
Mary Ellen Moore, b 1836 in Georgia, d before 1870 in
Falls County, Texas‑married William Pinkney Kirkpatrick and had five daughters:
Mrs. Margaret (Kirkpatrick) Martin of Chilton, Texas, Mrs. Mary (Kirkpatrick)
Mickle, Mrs. Isabelle (Kirkpatrick) Shieldes, Mrs. Eugenia (Kirkpatrick)
Hoffman, and Mrs. Theodocia (Kirkpatrick) Smith.
Elizabeth N. Moore, b 1838 in Georgia, d ca 1863 ‑
married James Richard Kirkpatrick and had Victoria (Kirkpatrick) Brown.
Wiley S. Moore, b ca 1840 in Georgia, d after 1860
‑possibly during the Civil War.
John Thomas Moore, b 1841 in Mississippi, d March
1901 at Eddy, Texas ‑ married Jane ("Jenny") Williams, b 1850 in Texas ‑ a
step‑daughter of John Abney, b 1821 in South Carolina (a Methodist minister),
and a daughter of Mary (Thomas) Williams Abney, b 1822 in North Carolina, who
were living in Bosque County, Texas in 1860. John Thomas and Jenny had two
daughters. After Jenny's death, John remarried and had a third daughter,
Margaret Moore.
Robert D. Moore, b March 10, 1849 in Washington
County, Texas, d at Bruceville, Texas. He married Amanda Henrietta Carpenter
(called "Etta"), b April 12, 1853, date of death unknown, and buried in the
Mooreville Cemetery. It is not known how many children Robert and Etta had, but
a son, Herbert L. Moore, b May 8, 1874, d December 26, 1875, is buried in the
Mooreville Cemetery; and another son, Fred B. Moore,
moved to Hamlin, Texas. Robert D. Moore was given an extra $1500 from his
father's estate for the personal care and business management that he had done
when his father became too old and feeble to manage alone.
Copyright Permission granted to Theresa Carhart for printing the biographies of
these Falls County Families to this Web page.
"Families of Falls County", Compiled and Edited by the Falls County Historical
Commission, page 316 & 317.
Member of Falls County Historical Commission.
