Mount Tirzah Grandfather Clock

Marion Reade Thompson (Mrs. Frederick E. Thompson) of Madison, CT, is one of our kin and was at the Stephen Moore Reunion at West Point in 1991. She now owns the Grandfather Clock, and wrote to me on September 9, 1991 and included the above pictures. Her father, Percy Reade grew up in the Mt. Tirzah house.  She says, "Daddy told me that it had been in the barn at Mt. Tirzah and that he had had it refinished. He thought that it must have been moved from West Point.  The man, Kirt Crump (Madison), who replaced a wire which held one of the weights said it was the only clock he'd seen with an enamel face and that it must have been ordered especially by the man who had the clock made.  He said he had seen one other clock made by the same man -- Samuel Toulmin, London (Strand) circa 1775. It has 2 brass finials, but our ceilings are only 8 ft., so they do not fit on top of clock." 

(Editors note:  If the clock was made circa 1775, it would be doubtful that it would have been at West Point before being at Mt. Tirzah.)

Discussion: "Is John Moore Buried in the Center Aisle of Christ Church, Philadelphia?"

As you will recall from my last post on Christ Church, Philadelphia, John Hopkins, the Burial Ground Coordinator said the following:

I am in charge of the grave yard and much research here at Christ Church.I found a listing for the burial of John Moor Esq. on Dec 7th, 1732. The only listing I found for Rebecca was in April of 1765, probably not the same person you were looking for.As far as we know John Moor is not buried in the aisle of the church but there is no way of knowing for sure.In 1864 the warden of the church wrote down all inscriptions at the church and 5th st. graveyard. Moore’s name is not found in that book. His gravestone like thousands of others faded away. But we do know he is buried here since his name appears in our burial book, the book doesn’t indicate the location of his burial. He could be buried at the church or at 5th st where Ben Franklin is buried.

__________________________________________

In response, Terri Bradshaw O'Neill added the following commentary and also emailed it to Mr. Hopkins:

I've been rummaging through my Christ Church Philadelphia, Hon. John Moore, Episcopal Archives, and general Philadelphia files trying to track down what I know about the grave of Hon. John Moore. I have a certified copy of the burial register of Christ Church from the church archives, and a copy of the 1864 "Record of the Inscriptions on the Tablets and Gravestones of Christ Church" by Edward L. Clark, Church Warden that Mr. Hopkins referred to. I visited Christ Church Archives in 1993, and the resulting report is attached below. Between Clark's 1864 booklet, the archives records, and David Moore Hall's description in "Six Centuries of Moores of Fawley," and a letter between Alexander Campbell & Capt. H H Bellas in 1894, I concluded that "John Moor, Esq" was buried (according to Clark's tablet numbers) either under #XLII (42) or #XLIV (44), both of which have no discernible inscription. The Campbell to Bellas 1894 letter states: Thomas William Channing Moore on the 6th July, 1852, wrote a letter, a copy of which is before me, to the Rector, Churchwardens and vestrymen of Christ's Church, in reference to John Moore, his various offices and his grave opposite his pew, in the middle aisle. Mr. Moore said, in part, 'The inscription on the stone over his grave had become so effaced that it could not be deciphered when the present floor was laid down, and as, in consequence thereof, no memorial of him exists in the church, I think a sufficient reason exists for the request I now make to place one therein.' This letter was returned to Mr. Moore the 3rd Sept 1852, by J. Bacon, who stated it was laid before the vestry, 1st Sept and returned because their decision was against it.

While researching at Christ Church archives, and later at the Episcopal Archives in Austin, TX, I could find no record of this communication & request in the vestry minutes. But according to vestry minutes, John Moore's pew was #17. How that compares to today's configuration, I have no idea, but it may be helpful in locating his burial site. Rebecca (Axtell) Moore, wife of Hon. John Moore, as noted by Steve, is buried at St. Peter's Church in the Valley in Chester county, PA. There is no memorial stone for her, either.

Two other tidbits from Christ Church/Episcopal archives: Peter Evans, John & Rebecca Moore's son-in-law, represented the vestry in a petition to the Bishop of London in 1725. Victor Moore has written a very good interpretation of the memorial of Peter Evans. And the other tidbit is this entry in the vestry minutes of 6 Oct 1732 (two months before the death of John Moore): A Letter from [Rev.] Doctor Thomas Moore of Great Brittain, informing them that a gift of £300 was being considered to augment the salary of the minister of Christ Church. This Dr. Thomas Moore, of course, was the son of Hon. John Moore; he served at St. Botolph Aldersgate & Little Britain in London, and Chislehurst in Kent. Hon. John Moore did have a brother also named Thomas; he was the librarian at Westminster Abbey, and he had no children.

__________________________________________

Mr. John Hopkins of Christ Church responds:

There is no way to ever know for certain where John Moore is buried. Of the two blank markers in the Clark book referred to in your letter, the one is believed to be that of Rev. Evan. The other is unknown. I also know that there are over 400 people buried in and around the church before the burial ground was purchased in 1719, and only around 30 markers. There are many people that could be buried in the churchyard in unknown locations.

It would be great if we knew the locations of one of our founder’s graves but at this point it is hard to say.

________________________________________

Terri continues the discussion with a reply to Mr. Hopkins:

I agree, there's no way of knowing for certain where John Moore is buried. It seems to me that the best clue is the 1852 letter to the vestry from Thomas William Channing Moore mentioning "his grave opposite his pew, in the middle aisle." As I mentioned, the vestry minutes indicate that John Moore's pew was #17, which would seem to be farther back from the alter & the stones I originally thought might be his burial site. On my 1993 visit, I don't recall whether there were any other blank markers in the center aisle in the vicinity of pew #17, and the key word there is "opposite" which may have had a different meaning in the 18th or 19th century from our understanding of it today.
I appreciate your taking the time to respond to our enquiries. You must get a lot of them. It’s certainly an overwhelming thought that there are over 400 persons buried in and around the church, with only a small fraction marked. I haven’t given much thought to the burial site of John Moore in a decade or so, but today’s emails have renewed my interest & brought a question to the forefront of my mind. Why would the vestry decide against placing a memorial to John Moore at the request of TWC Moore? The expense? If TWC Moore didn’t offer to pay the cost of the memorial, did he demand that Christ Church pay for it? Just wondering, & if you have any thoughts on the matter, I’d love to hear them. Thanks again for your information.

CHRIST CHURCH – PHILADELPHIA

By David Jeffreys, photographs by David Jeffreys - ©August, 2009

Honorable John Moore landed in Charles Town in the Province of Carolina from England and was Secretary of the Province. Soon he became disillusioned with the Lord’s Proprietor and decided to move on. Penn’s colony Pennsylvania meaning “Penn’s Woods” was John Moore’s next stop. But unlike William Penn who was a Quaker, Moore was an Anglican from the Church of England. As a result, he was a founding member of Christ Church, Philadelphia

along with Robert Quary who had also relocated along with him from Charles Town. John Moore died in 1732 just as the main part (Phase I) of the present edifice was being completed. Family lore says that John Moore was buried in the center aisle of the church. In a search to confirm this, an answer to my query to Christ Church follows:

I am in charge of the grave yard and much research here at Christ Church.
I found a listing for the burial of John Moor Esq. on Dec 7th, 1732. The only listing I found for Rebecca was in April of 1765, probably not the same person you were looking for.
As far as we know John Moor is not buried in the aisle of the church but there is no way of knowing for sure.
In 1864 the warden of the church wrote down all inscriptions at the church and 5th st. graveyard. Moore’s name is not found in that book. His gravestone like thousands of others faded away. But we do know he is buried here since his name appears in our burial book, the book doesn’t indicate the location of his burial. He could be buried at the church or at 5th st where Ben Franklin is buried.
John Hopkins, Burial Ground Coordinator

Construction would continue on the church as it was later enlarged and the steeple tower was built.

The following excerpts are taken from the book THE COLONIAL HOUSES OF WORKSHIP IN AMERICA Built in the English Colonies before the Republic, 1607-1789, and still standing by Harold Wickliffe Rose published by Hastings House, Publishers, New York:

Christ Church, the first Anglican church in the province, was gathered by laymen and organized in 1695, under a provision of the original charter of Charles II to William Penn. For the next sixty-six years it was the only Episcopal church in Philadelphia. No church is more intimately connected with the founding of both the United States of America and the Protestant Episcopal Church of America. Governors and officials of the State of Pennsylvania and the United States, worshipped here.

List of vestrymen - "John Moore" at the bottom of second column.

A deed of 1695 covered most of the present site, and the first church was built of logs within a year. In 1711 the building was enlarged and rebuilt, to the extent that it is referred to as “the second church.” An adjoining lot was purchased in 1725, and in 1727 work was begun on the present beautiful building.

The design was drawn by a vestryman, Dr. John Kearsley, a physician and amateur architect, who served also on the committee for building the State House (Independence Hall). On the same committee was the architect of that building, Andrew Hamilton, who also was a vestryman of Christ Church, and the able lawyer who defended Peter Zenger to establish the principle of freedom of the press. In 1737 the building was completed, except the tower, which was added in 1754.

The organ dates from 1765 and the pulpit from 1769. During the 1800’s several alterations were made; it was lengthened two or three times, but the building is essentially the original structure.

Among the many treasures of the church are the communion silver, which was given by Queen Anne about 1708, and the bells. The first bell dates from 1702; the peal of eight bells was brought from London, in 1754, and placed in the tower, which had been finished the year before. They were bought with funds raised by the “Philadelphia Steeple Lottery,” which was run by Benjamin Franklin. These bells and the Liberty Bell were cast in England by Lester and Pack, and they pealed with the Liberty Bell to proclaim the Declaration of Independence.

Among the scores of distinguished people who were baptized at the historic baptismal font, which dates from 1695

and has served for most of the life of Christ Church, was William White, who was to become a rector of the parish. He served as chaplain to the Continental congress, as the first Bishop of Pennsylvania, and as the Presiding Bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church of America, from 1795 until his death in 1836, when he was buried before the chancel rail. He was the prime mover in organizing the Episcopal Church, after the Revolution had put an end of the jurisdiction of the Church of England and the Bishop of London over the American churches.

Among the many prominent people who attended services here were General Lafayette, as a guest of the Washingtons, and President John Adams, who used the same pew during his administration. Other pew holders included Robert Morris, treasurer of the Revolution; Francis Hopkinson, signer of the Declaration of Independence and designer of the national flag; his son, Judge Joseph Hopkinson, author of the hymn “Hail Columbia;” and Betsy Ross, who made the first flag. On July 20, 1775, the Continental Congress attended services in a body.

In the two cemeteries of Christ Church many prominent people were buried. Seven of them were signers of the Declaration – Benjamin Franklin, Joseph Hewes, Stephen Hopkins, Robert Morris, George Ross, Benjamin Rush,

and James Wilson. The funeral of Benjamin Franklin was attended by 20,000 people, and he was buried in the corner of Christ Church Burial Ground at Fifth and Arch Streets.

John Penn, a grandson of William Penn and a governor of Pennsylvania, who had signed the church charter in 1765, was buried near the pulpit.

Because of its intimate association with the founders of the nation, Christ Church was designated a national shrine, in 1952, by an Act of Congress.

_________________________________________________

Visit http://www.christchurchphila.org/Historic_Christ_Church/Collections_Genealogy/Genealogy/Genealogy_Search/Search_Results/55/lastName__Moore/
To research the Baptismal Records and the Marriage Records of Moore family members. Unfortunately the Burial Records are not available in the online search.

Go to

http://www.christchurchphila.org/Historic_Christ_Church/Collections_Genealogy/61/ and see Christ Church’s webpage referring to the Archives of Collections and Genealogy.

Trinity Church, New York City

by David Jeffreys - ©July, 2009
When I became interested in Moore genealogy back in 1976, I began looking to Stephen's ancestors, and in particular his father, Col. John Moore of New York City. Thus, I wrote to Trinity Church for information in 1977 and this was the reply:

(click on images to make them more readable)

With more research, I found:

John Moore, Esq. (1745-1828), the grandson of Col. John Moore of New York City, wrote on 29th April 1821:

“My Grandfather was . . . .born in South Carolina 11 August, 1686, and died at New York the 29th October in 1749, and was the first corpse interred in the Family vault, south side of Trinity church-yard. I had the stone with his name cut at full length placed over it. Uncle Lambert Moore paid the expense.”

During the Stephen Moore Reunion at West Point in 1991, some of us took a side trip into New York City, worshipped at Trinity Church on 28 July 1991, and walked around the area including Moore Street.

Also, I was able to gather some more information about the history of Trinity Church and the churchyard.

The John Moore vault is in the Sec. S.3.

According to the green brochure above "a city ordinance prohibiting any further burials in lower Manhattan . . . [about] 1843. During the first decades of the 19th century all of the city's burial grounds had become overcrowded and unsanitary as recurrent epidemics raged, and mortality soared yearly."

Approximately 1983, Terri O'Neill copied from the Trinity Burial Register the following information about the John Moore vault:

"John Moore Vault 11 feet south of L Reade vault, south side of Church"-
1) John Moore, Esq. died 29 Oct 1749...was the first corpse interred in family vault South side of Trinity Church.
2) His wife Frances Lambert died 1782 March
3) Rebecca Moore [daughter of John & Frances]
4) Susannah (Moore) wife of John Smyth of NY
5) Lambert Moore
6) Thomas Moore 1784
7) Elizabeth (Channing) Moore 1805
8) Daniel Moore, Capt of British man of war, killed at sea 1777
9) Judith (Livingston) Moore, daughter of James Livingston, Esq. of Poughkeepsie, 1813
10) John Moore died 1828
11) Magdalen M. Onderdonk, died Oct 1836. Moved from St. Ann's Ground, Brooklyn, 3/16/1860. [She was a daughter of Lambert Moore.]
12) Jane (Holland) Moore died 14 June 1767. [First wife of Lambert Moore]

The last burial in the vault, according to Trinity Church records, parish burial register, vol. 2:482, was the son of John Moore, Esq., Thomas William Channing Moore, d. 7 Dec 1872, burial-10 Dec.

The Organ

When we were in New York City in 1991 worshipping as the descendants of John Moore, we heard the magnificent 1823 Skinner Organ. Just ten years later and 600 feet away, the World Trade Center collapsed on 9-11-2001. See the first postcard picture of the church above with the World Trade Center tower in the background. The Trinity Church building and its facade were left relatively unhurt; however, the resulting dust all but destroyed the organ. The Aeolian-Skinner organ was taken apart and stored, perhaps awaiting restoration or perhaps replaced by a new pipe organ, either of which will be very expensive. For the interim, a digital organ, was built and installed there in 2003 by Marshall & Ogletree of Needham Heights, Massachusetts. For an electronic digital organ, it is at the cutting edge of technology especially with its sampling of organ notes. Owen Burdick, the organist, insists that as fine as this interim instrument sounds, a pipe organ will be back.

Portraits of the Col. John Moore Family

by David E. Jeffreys - ©July, 2009

In 1966, Margaret Simons Middleton wrote a book published by the University of South Carolina Press entitled Henrietta Johnston of Charles Town, South Carolina – America’s First Pastellist. The book has long been out of print and I first found out about it reading an article in the February, 1978 issue of Smithsonian magazine. The portraits themselves appear to be in the public domain. Upon my inquiry, the author of the article, Miriam Troop wrote to me:

I was lucky enough then to get one of the remainders from the press itself, as Ms. Troop suggested.
Included among the many portraits that Henrietta Johnston painted are four portraits of members of the Col. John Moore Family. Margaret Middleton writes:
Then in 1725, portraits were signed and dated in “New York.” Several depict the members of the family of John Moore, Secretary of South Carolina, who had moved to New York from St. Thomas Parish.¹
Perhaps there may have been some confusion regarding the two generations of John Moores – Hon. John Moore who had been the Secretary of the Province in Charles Town who later moved to Philadelphia, and his son, Col. John Moore of New York, whose family is depicted in the Portraits. Of interest since the elder Hon. John Moore had been Secretary of the Province is a drawing (which is not attributed) of the Office building:

John Moore, Esq. (1745-1828), the grandson of Col. John Moore of New York City, wrote the following account on his birthday the 29th April 1821:


My Grandfather was . . . .born in South Carolina 11 August, 1686, and died at New York the 29th October in 1749, and was the first corpse interred in the Family vault, south side of Trinity church-yard. I had the stone with his name cut at full length placed over it. Uncle Lambert Moore paid the expense.
FRANCES MOORE, his wife. Her maiden name was Lambert---they were married at New York the 9th of December 1713. She was descended from a respectable Family in France, which fled from that country on the revocation of the Edict of Nantz---born in New York the 17th April 1692, and died 21 March 1782 and interred in the Family vault.
Names of their children, beside which there were several premature births.
1st. Daughter Frances, born 1715 --- married Samuel Bayard; died at Throgs Neck.
2nd. Rebecca, born 1717, died unmarried; interred in family vault.
3rd. Son John, born 1719, died unmarried in Jamaica in early life.
4th. Daughter Susanah, born 1720; died in infancy before the vault was made.
5th. Son Thomas & 6th. Son Peter, Twins. Died 1721, as infants before the vault was made.
7th. Son Thomas, twin - My Father
8th. Peter, twin, This second Peter died also an infant before vault was made.
9th. Son Richard, born 1724, died at Barbadoes about 1784.
10th. Daughter Susanah, born 1725, married John Smyth died at N. Y. Interred in the vault.
11th. Son Lambert, twin born 1727, married twice; interred in vault.
12th Son Daniel, twin born 1727, Died an infant before vault was made.
13th. Daniel, born 1728. Died an infant.
14th. Daniel, born 1729, died unmarried at Jamaica, in advanced life
15th. William, born 1730, died unmarried at Coracoa in early life.
16th. Charles, born 1732, married Eve Hall, died in North Carolina
17th. Stephen, born 1734, married Grizzy Philips, died in North Carolina, aged [65]
18th. Ann, born 1738, unmarried and still living in perfect health and very active in the 85th year of age.
(spelling left intact--editor)

From this account, the reader finds that Col. John’s wife, Frances Lambert Moore, bore 18 children in 15 pregnancies over 23 years in which 12 lived beyond infancy. There were 3 sets of twins. She was pregnant almost every year after their marriage until she was 44 years old. Those years of childbearing seemed to have strengthened her, rather than weakening her, as she lived to be almost 90 years old.


PORTRAIT OF COL. JOHN MOORE of NEW YORK CITY

Pastel Portrait by Henrietta Johnston, 1725

Colonel John Moore (1686-1749)
Colonel John Moore, who portrait is signed and dated 1725, was born in St. Thomas Parish, South Carolina, the son of John Moore (c. 1659-1732) and Rebecca Axtell. John Moore, the father, was Secretary of the Province of South Carolina but about 1695/6, with his family, he moved to Philadelphia. From Philadelphia the son went on to New York City where he attained distinction as an alderman; a member of the Provincial Council; and of the legislature; he was also colonel of the New York City Regiment of Foot. He was a vestryman and warden of Trinity Church and is believed to be the first person buried in the graveyard of that Church. The story of of his homes is interesting. In New York City he owned Whitehall . . ., and in the country he owned Moore’s Folly on the Hudson River which was later purchased for the site of the United States Military Academy, now known as West Point.
The ownership of this pastel is not known and only the previous ownership can be given.
Owned for many years by the late Luke Vincent Lockwood, New York City.²


PORTRAIT OF MRS. JOHN MOORE

Pastel Portrait by Henrietta Johnston, 1725

Mrs. John Moore (1692-1782)
Mrs. John Moore was born Frances Lambert. She was of Huguenot ancestry and came to this country as a small child to escape persecution. She had many children besides the two whose pastels were drawn by Henrietta Johnston, and she lived to a good old are.
Mrs. Samuel Schwartz, the owner of this portrait, has given the following description: “Mrs. John Moore (Frances Lambert), has dark brown hair, and brown eyes. Her dress is yellow with orange highlights. The stole she wears over her left arm (on right side of the picture) is a lavender taupe.” ³


PORTRAIT OF FRANCES LAMBERT MOORE

Pastel Portrait by Henrietta Johnston: 1725

Frances Lambert Moore (1715-1805)
Frances Lambert Moore was the eldest daughter of Colonel John Moore and Frances Lambert Moore. She was born in New York in 1715. She married Samuel Bayard, Esquire, of Throg’s Neck, New York, the grand nephew of Peter Stuyvesant. Inscribed on the back of this pastel is: “Henrietta Johnston Fecit, New York. Ano 1725.” The subject was ten years of age when this pastel was done.
Also on the back of the pastel is a long list of ownerships, all of the Bayard family. Owned by Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Schwartz.⁴


PORTRAIT OF THOMAS MOORE

Pastel Portrait by Henrietta Johnston: 1725

Thomas Moore (fl. 1725)
This painting is usually referred to as “The Portrait of Bishop Moore’s Father, as a Child.” Several affidavits testify to the fact that this is the pastel of little Thomas Moore, so of Colonel John Moore and his wife Frances Lambert Moore. Thomas Moore became the father of Bishop Moore, the Right Reverend Richard Channing Moore, D.D., (1782-1841), Bishop of Virginia (1814-1841).
The pastel represents a very young child of perhaps four years and this description was furnished by Mr. George M. McClancy, Jr., of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts: “The predominating dark-light effect of this portrait is immediately offset by the bright reddish brown sash, the red belt and the red feathers of the arrows. The flesh is mostly white, touched with pink, and with blue for shadows and modeling. The eyes are blue; the lips are red; and the hair is brown though greyed almost to a neutral. The dress is bluish-white and the background is black and white with faint suggestions of blue and brown. With the exception of the reds, the colors are very faint.”
This pastel of Thomas Moore was given by Alexander W. Weddell to The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, Virginia.⁵

Of course, these pastels were painted some 9 years before Stephen was born; therefore, he and a number of the other children are not included. More to come on Trinity Church, New York City, and the burial vault in a future post. Of interest also is that Stephen was named godfather of Thomas Moore’s (depicted above as a child) son and his nephew, Richard Channing Moore, and he returned to New York City from Quebec in August, 1762 for the baptism.

____________________________________

¹Henrietta Johnston of Charles Town, South Carolina – America’s First Pastellist by Margaret Simons Middleton, p. 47. University of South Carolina Press, 1966. Out of print.
²Ibid, p. 64.
³Ibid, p. 64.
⁴Ibid, p. 64-65.
⁵Ibid, p. 65.