For
Muscatine County Iowa
1911
| Biographies For Muscatine County Iowa 1911 | |
Source: History of Muscatine County Iowa, Volume II, Biographical, 1911, page 5
HENRY WATERMAN MOORE. The names of some are indelibly written upon the pages of Muscatine's history, but none shine with brighter lustre than that of Henry Waterman Moore, who in every relation of life measured up to the highest standards of manhood and citizenship. As a merchant he was enterprising, progressive and reliable, and his keen insight into possibilities and opportunities enabled him to become a factor in the promotion of business interests which were of inestimable worth in the development of this part of the state. His consideration, however, was not given merely to material things, for intellectual and moral progress also awakened his interest and received his substantial support and cooperation. He was as kindly in spirit as he was honorable in purpose, and as loyal in friend-ship as he was devoted to his family. He was a man earnest, honest and modest to a degree rare indeed, who led a life mainly for others and left to his sons and his friends a memory sweet and abiding.The Moore family is of English origin, but the ancestral history of Henry Waterman Moore is one of long connection with America, for in the year 1639 John Moore and his wife Elizabeth left their old home at Barchamstead, Hartfordshire, England, and with their four children took passage on one of the old time sailing vessels that were weeks and months crossing the Atlantic. At length, however, the voyage was over and they settled in the colony of Massachusetts, becoming residents of Sudbury, Middlesex county. Some land was assigned to him in 1639 and 1640, and a few years later, in 1642 and 1645, he purchased other farms. The line of descent to Henry W. Moore is traced down through Jacob Moore, who was the sixth child of the original American ancestors. He was born in Sudbury, November 28, 1645, and was there married, residing in his native town until his death in 1690. His second son, Richard Moore, was born September 12, 1671 and following his marriage went with his wife and children to Oxford, Worcester county, Massachusetts, establishing his home there about the year 1711. He was the first to fill the position of town clerk in Oxford, and was also one of the first selectmen. He acted as town clerk at intervals for a period of ten years, and was selectman for about fifteen years. He also acted as moderator and town treasurer for several years and in 1721 was chosen the first representative from his town to the general colonial assembly. For a long period he was proprietor of an inn and his third son, Elijah Moore, who was born March 14, 1702, became his successor in business, being licensed as an innkeeper from 1734 until 1759. He, too, filled the office of selectman for several years, and was well known and prominent in the community. He married Dorothy Larned, a daughter of Colonel Ebenezer Larned, who with his brother Isaac founded the town of Oxford in 1713.
Ebenezer Moore, the fourth son of Elijah and Dorothy Moore, was born September 7, 1751, and soon after attaining his majority followed his cousin, Nathan Moore, to the town of Vassalboro, in what was then the province of Maine. He settled at Browns Corners, where he engaged in farming and soon afterward he completed his arrangements for having a home of his own by his marriage to Mrs. Sarah, daughter of Nathan Moore. His prominence in the community is indicated in the fact that he was called to a number of public offices in Vassalboro, including that of selectman, and for twenty-four years, from 1776 until 1800, he took an active and helpful part in establishing the welfare and progress of his city. He also acted as steward for Governor James Bowdoin, of Massachusetts, who was the owner of much land in the province. His son and namesake, Ebenezer Moore, Jr., was born in Vassalboro, October 7, 1777, and in 1800 became a resident of Gardiner, Kennebec county, Maine. There he joined the Gardiner militia company, which in 1804 was divided and a new company formed, of which Mr, Moore served for seven years as first lieutenant. In 1814 the regiment to which he belonged was called to active service to resist a threatened invasion by the British near the north of Sheep-scot river. The troops were on duty for several weeks at Wiscasset and Edgecomb. About 1812 he began the manufacture of paper at Gardiner, Maine, as a member of the firm of Springer, Moore & Company, which afterward became Moore, Savels & Company. Ebenezer Moore was connected with this undertaking for thirty years and his sound business judgment was an element in the success of the business. In 1808 he was married to Miss Lucy Smith, a native of Wiscasset, Maine. Their family numbered three sons and five daughters, and two elder sons, Ebenezer and Asahel, were graduates of Bowdoin College of Maine, one of the oldest and most prominent of the collegiate institutions of New England. The elder son adopted the profession of law and the latter became a minister of the Methodist church.
Henry W. Moore, who was born at Gardiner, Kennebec county, Maine, on the 12th of October, 1818, was reared to manhood in his native town and there acquired an academic education. Seeking the broader opportunities for business offered in the city, he went to New York in the spring of 1836 and secured a position in the wholesale hat and cap store of W. P. Lyon, with whom he remained until his employer failed, during the widespread financial panic of 1837. Mr. Moore then returned to his old home in Maine, but in the spring of 1838 started for Mississippi valley, influenced by his brother Ebenezer, then of Quincy, Illinois, who was the first mayor of that city. In June of the same year he went to Burlington, Iowa, which was then a part of the territory of Wisconsin. Believing that there was a bright future before the enterprising little village and recognizing that its location gave it many natural advantages, he there embarked in business as a general merchant, forming a partnership with his brother-in-law, Silas Page. He was also engaged in the forwarding and commission business under the firm name of H. W. Moore & Company for three years, but in 1841 the firm failed and Mr. Moore spent the three succeeding years in settling up his old accounts, and also acting as bookkeeper for different merchants of Burlington. He the reentered trade circles in connection with the wholesale dry-goods and grocery establishment of W. F. Coolbaugh, late president of the Union National Bank of Chicago, with whom he was connected from 1844 until April 1848.
At the latter date Mr. Moore came to Muscatine, then known as the village of Bloomington, and here opened a wholesale and retail hardware and iron store, the capital being furnished by his intimate friend, Lyman Cook, president of the First National Bank of Burlington, who together with W. F. Coolbaugh, his former employer, also supplied him with letters of unlimited credit. Mr. Cook's interest was purchased in 1852, for the business had been established upon a substantial basis and the profits were such as to enable Mr. Moore to become sole proprietor of the business, which steadily increased under his systematic methods and careful control. He was recognized as a man of unfaltering purpose, and his sagacity and energy in business affairs brought substantial success. He remained in the hardware business about forty-seven years, selling out to the firm of Bartemeier & Fulliam only a short time prior to his death. He had but recently completed the building for the Van Nostrand Saddlery Company on Front street between Sycamore and Cedar, which they are still occupying. He was prominently identified with the commission and other business interests of Muscatine from the time of his arrival in the city until he was called to his final home. He aided materially in encouraging the establishment of manufacturing enterprises, the building of railways, the organization of banks and the advancement of the educational and religious interests of the county. He became one of the incorporators of the Merchants Exchange Bank, the predecessor of the First National Bank, in 1866, and was chosen a member of its first board of directors. Two years later he was elected vive president and filled that office most acceptably for many years, his wise counsel proving a potent element in the successful conduct of the institution. He was also president of the Muscatine Savings Bank for many years following its organization in 1880, and from 1892 until 1894 was president of the First National Bank as well as of the Muscatine Savings Bank, His resourceful business ability made him a cooperant factor in the successful conduct of many important business concerns whereon has been builded the progress and present prosperity of the county. He was president of the Muscatine Insurance Company from 1852 until 1860. He was the treasurer of the Iowa Construction Company, which built the Muscatine Western Railway in 1873 and 1874. He became one of the original stockholders of the Muscatine Waterworks Company, which was organized in 1875, Mr. Moore continuing in office for many years, and acting as treasurer of that institution from its inception until his death. He became a stockholder and director of the Hershey Lumber Company upon its organization in 1875, and in 1879 was one of the incorporators of the Muscatine Oat Meal Company, with which he was actively connected until the spring of 1888, being numbered with those who had voice in its management and control. In 1879 he also became one of the organizers and directors of the Muscatine Island Canning Company, which was the first industry of this kind established in the county.
Along lines which contributed most directly to his own benefit and were important sources of public progress and improvement, Mr. Moore was also active. When the Muscatine Fair Ground and Park Association was organized on the 13th of October, 1886, he was elected its president and so continued until early in the year 1888, when he resigned, preferring to remain simply as one of its directors. In January, 1892, H. W. Moore, associated with Charles Page, I. A. Kerr, N. W. Hine and W. M. Molis, formed the Muscatine Pearl Button Company, which was the first organized company to promote the pearl button industry in Muscatine, which is now the largest pearl button center in the world. What Muscatine would have been without the labors and efforts of Mr. Moore it is impossible to determine. He remained for many years a central figure on the stage of action here and no man contributed in larger or more substantial measure of the growth and upbuilding of the city and county. His efforts were by no means confined to his activities which brought him individual return. His aid could always be counted upon to further movements for the public good, and his influence was always on the side of progress and improvement. In 1852 he became one of the promoters in the building of Trinity Episcopal church, and for many years served as one of its vestrymen. In 1864 he was chosen a member of the school board, acting as its president for the ensuing two years, and about the same time spent two years as a member of the city council, during which period he exercised his official preogatives in support of many legislative measures for municipal welfare.
On the 12th of September, 1853, Henry W. Moore was married in Muscatine to Miss Ellen Stone, a daughter of Calvin R. and Susan (Fitch) Stone, and they were the first couple to be married in Trinity church. Mrs. Moore was born in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, March 21, 1839, and arrived in Muscatine in company with her brother, Charles Stone, in the fall of 1852. Her death occurred February 5, 1859. Two sons survived her: Henry Stone, born December 21, 1855; and George, who was born January 27, 1859, and died February 8, 1895. A daughter born November 17, 1854, had died in infancy. Mrs. Moore was a devoted Christian woman, holding membership in the Episcopal church, and her many kindly deeds won her the love of all.
The death of Henry W, Moore occurred on the 26th of February, 1894, when he was in his seventy-sixth year. He had been a resident of Muscatine for forty-four years and at first visited the city in 1838. From April 1845, until May, 1846, he had lived in Wapello, Iowa, and two years afterward he took up his permanent residence in Muscatine. The life record of no resident of Muscatine has been more faultless in honor, fearless in conduct, and stainless in reputation then Henry Waterman Moore. His name is inseparably associated with the history of the city, and no record would be complete without extended mention of what he did for its upbuilding and progress.
Henry S. Moore, now the only surviving member of the family, resides at No. 716 West Third street. He was reared in Muscatine and pursued his education in the public schools and in Thomas Brown Academy. On the 7th of October, 1897, he married Miss Genes Johnson, a daughter of Walter and Sarah Frances (Watts) Johnson. Her grandfather, Robert Johnson, emigrated from the north of Ireland to American. He married Margaret Best, who was of Irish parentage although her birth occurred in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania. Their son, Walter Johnson, was born in Harrison county, Ohio, in 1838. The maternal grandparents of Mrs. Moore were John and Elizabeth (Ringsby) Watts. John Watts, despite the slight variation in name, was a direct descendant of James Watt, 1736-1819, the famous Scottish steam engine expert. The parents of Mrs. Moore are still living in this county, their home being now about four miles north of Muscatine. Mrs. Moore was born on her grandfather's farm in this county and by her marriage has become the mother of three sons: Henry Wallace, who was born December 3, 1898; Frank Beckerman, born January 17, 1902; and Maurice Watts, born September 12, 1906.
Back to Biographical Index Page