James Moore Family fonds


MG H159


Archives & Special Collections
Harriet Irving Library
University of New Brunswick
P.O. Box 7500
Fredericton, NB E3B 5H5


Table of Contents

Biographical Sketch
Custodial History
Scope and Content

Family Relationships Pertinent to Moore Family Papers
Calendar of Correspondence in the Moore Family Papers
Legal Documents in the Moore Family Fonds


James Moore Family fonds. -- 1783-1893, predominant 1783-1835. -- 10 cm. of textual records

Biographical sketch: James Moore was born July 24, 1754 at Newton, (Long Island), New York. At the end of the American Revolutionary War, James Moore went to Nova Scotia to look for a place of settlement for his Loyalist family who anticipated that they would need to leave the newly formed United States. After a brief stay in Nova Scotia, Moore moved on to Saint John, New Brunswick, where he married a young widow, Elizabeth (Hallet) Seaman. The James Moore family eventually purchased 600 acres of land at Lower St. Mary's near Fredericton from disbanded Maryland Loyalists. Several other members of James Moore's family made visits to New Brunswick but none of them relocated permanently. Late in 1798, James Moore, in poor health, visited his old home in Long Island where he died Feb. 25, 1799.

The five Moore children: John, Maria, Eliza, Jane and Hannah remained in New Brunswick with their mother after their father's death but made numerous visits to family in New York. Maria Moore married Samuel Carman, son of Loyalist Richard Carman and Sarah Horsfield Carman. W.O. Raymond, a New Brunswick historian, was the great grandson of both James Moore and Richard Carman. Detailed information on the extended Moore/Carman families can be found in

The Ancestry of the Family of William Odber Raymond, compiled by W.O. Raymond, 1920 [prepared and indexed by R.W. Hale 1983]. LC number : HIL-SPECAR CS 90 .R365 1983.

Custodial History: This fonds was acquired by UNB at a Southeby's auction in London, England on Dec. 13, 1993 with a SSHRC Fleeting Opportunities Grant.

There is evidence which strongly suggests that these papers were once in the possession of W.O. Raymond. In Raymond's genealogy (See citation above) he writes that a "considerable number of letters written by James Moore's sisters... to their relatives in New Brunswick were preserved in our old Moore mahogany bureau...". (p. 111). He describes how the bureau moved around the country, coming to rest in his daughter's home in Toronto (1920). It is unknown what happened to the letters between 1920 and their being offered at auction in London in 1993.

Scope and Content. This fonds consists mainly of correspondence exchanged between members of the Moore family in Fredericton and their relatives in New York State. The bulk of correspondence is addressed to either Maria (Moore) Carman or Eliza Moore. There are a half dozen letters from the 1830s addressed to Sarah Carman from her daughters-in-law in Bathurst, Musquash and St. Stephen. Also included in the fonds are legal documents such as deeds and estate and military papers.

The correspondence reflects the daily lives of upper class Loyalist women in New Brunswick. It also documents the ongoing connections with family in the United States and the movement back and forth for the generation growing up after the American Revolution. The women discuss their personal and social lives, as well as the lives of mutual friends and relatives. There is advice about the foolhardiness of a premature return to New York, interesting commentaries on the significance of correct spelling and grammar (written by an aunt to a schoolgirl), reports on sea travels, discussion of marital difficulties, expressions of anxiety over the possibility of renewed war between England and the United States and description of life in Bathurst, New Brunswick in 1830.

Documents have been separated into correspondence and legal papers. Each in turn has been arranged chronologically.

Notes:

Title based on content of the fonds.

Physical Condition: Small portions of some documents are missing.

Conservation: The following conservation measures were taken: the surfaces of the documents were cleaned with smoke-off sponges (archival quality); tears and splits were repaired with tabs of Manning 600 tissue and wheat starch paste; most documents were humidified between Goretex and damp capillary action matting and pressed under glass. Documents are housed in acid-free map folders and a box constructed from Neutracore acid-free corrugated board..

Arrangement: This fonds arrived in rough chronological order with legal documents interspersed with unrelated correspondence.

Availability of other formats: This fonds is also available on microfilm as part of the Loyalist Collection.

Finding aid: A calendar of the correspondence and a chronological listing of the legal documents are available.

Associated material: The Marianne Grey Otty Collection and the George Otty Collection, both at the archives of the New Brunswick Museum, hold correspondence and legal documents created by members of the James Moore family or their descendants.

Other: In addition to the Moore family correspondence, the fonds contains one letter written from the siege of Sebastopol during the Crimean War on Nov. 7, 1854 which gives a vivid account of the Battle of Inderman.


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Last Update:  2000/04/28