KENTUCKY: A History of the State, Battle, Perrin, & Kniffin, 4th ed., 
1887 Mercer Co.

JAMES HARRISON MOORE, M.D.  The original ancestor of the numerous and
influential Southern family represented by the subject of this sketch,
was Thomas Moore, who came from the vicinity of Liverpool and Bristol, 
England, at an early period and settled on the bank of the Nomonce 
River in Westmoreland County, Va., where he began as one of the 
pioneers of that section, living in peace and friendship with the 
native Indian tribes by whom he was surrounded.  He left two sons, 
William and Thomas, to whom he devided his estate.  Thomas died on his 
portion of the old farm, leaving two sons, Thomas and James, who 
disposed of the property and moved to North Carolina, where they are 
now numerously represented by descendants.  William Moore, son of the 
pioneer, married Sarah Lawson, and passed his life on his patrimonial 
estate.  He also left two sons, Elijah and Vincent.  The latter married 
and raised a family of children in Northumberland County, Va., where he 
died.  Elijah, at the age of nineteen, married Judith Harrison, of 
Northumberland County, Va., and had three sons: Lawson, George and 
William.  Shortly after the birth of of his last son the father was 
killed by lightning at the early age of twenty-six years.  He was a
large, powerful man, of great perseverance and energy, and his sudden 
death was deeply regretted.  His wife survived him eighteen months, 
leaving the three sons mentioned, who were placed under the guardianship
of Christopher Collins, a merchant in Westmoreland County, who proved 
an efficient and trustworthy protector and guide, and whose noble traits
of character were ever cherished by his wards.  Lawson Moore, the 
eldest of the sons, married in 1704, Elizabeth Rochester, a 
representative of an old and prominent Virginia family, and four years 
later, 1798, moved with his family to Kentucky.  He purchased a large 
tract of land near Danville, Boyle Co., Ky., and there passed his life 
engaged in farming pursuits.  July 26, 1815, death deprived him of his 
wife, and January 22, 1817, he married her sister, Jane Murray 
Rochester, whom he survived some years.  Lawson Moore was upward of six 
feet in height, large frame and commanding presence, a man of strong 
native intellect, well versed in history and abreast with the spirit of 
the age.  Having a large family of sons and daughters, he fully 
appreciated the benefits of education and was one of the active workers
in the aid of erecting Centre College.  He had a large family of 
children.  By his first marriage were born Sally, who married Elijah 
Harlan; Betsy Lawson, who married Gen. William Moore, of Tennessee; 
Elijah, a lawyer by profession, residing at Little Rock, Ark., for a 
number of years and ending his career as a banker and general investor 
at St. Louis; John Rochester, a physician prominent in his profession, 
who practices successively at Danville, Ky., New Orleans, La., 
Louisville, Ky., and died at Bowling Green, Ky.; Nancy Jordan, who 
married Archibald Yell, afterward governor of Arkansas, who fell at 
Buena Vista during the Mexican war, with McKee, Hardin and the son of 
Henry Clay; George, a clergyman of the Presbyterian Church, who died in 
Mississippi, engaged in cotton planting; Jane, who married Rev. Robert 
McAfee, of the Presbyterian Church, and died at Columbus, Mo.; William, 
who was educated at West Point, settled in Texas where he was active in 
the war of independence and died at Moore's Bluff, on Trinity River; 
Lawson, who engaged in planting in Mississippi; Sophia, who married 
James F. McCaleb, a large cotton planter of Adams County, Miss., and 
died there, and Artemisia, who became the wife of Rev. John L. Sloan, 
of Tennessee.  By his second marriage Lawson Moore had five sons, of
whom Joseph Lapsley died during boyhood.  Christopher Collins Moore was
educated at Centre College, Danville, was a successful merchant at
Harrodsburg for many years, and finally located on a farm near Danville,
where he led a successful career and closed his days; he was for many
years president of the First national Bank of Harrodsburg.  Thomas 
Rochester Moore was born and educated at Danville and engaged in 
farming in Mercer County, owning the old Capt. Chaplin farm.  Charles O.
Moore was educated at Centre College, studied law and devoted his life 
to farming on the old ancestral estate near Danville; his widow and two 
sons now occupy the place.  James Harrison Moore, second son of Lawson 
Moore by his later marriage, was born on the old farm near Danville, 
October 3, 1819.  Here he passed his boyhood, receiving an excellent 
English education and subsequently entering Centre College, where he 
enjoyed the benefits of a classical course.  He subsequently commenced 
the study of medicine under Drs. Joseph Weisiger and John Fleece of 
Danville, and matriculated at Transylvania Medical College, Lexington, 
from which institution he was graduated with the degree of M.D. in 1841.
He located in Warren County, Miss., soon after, where he successfully 
practiced his profession for five years.  There he met and married Mrs. 
Mary S. Foster, daughter of Daniel T. Messinger, of Berkshire County, 
Mass., and soon afterward returned to his native county.  He first 
located at Harrodsburg, where he practiced for awhile and then joined 
his brother, Collins Moore, in trade, as Moore & Moore.  Several years 
later (1851) he purchased the Maj. William Hoard farm, a portion of the 
old Capt. Chaplin farm near Harrodsburg, and entered upon the life of a 
farmer and breeder of thoroughbred Durham cattle, and horses.  This is 
his present residence.  In addition to this he also owns a large 
plantation on Deer Creek, Miss., where he is extensively engaged in
Cotton raising.  Dr. Moore has been closely identified with the business
and social life of his section for many years and is recognized as a
useful and thoroughly trustworthy citizen.  He was one of the organizers
of the Mercer County National Bank of Harrodsburg, and is president of 
that institution.  He is also an elder in the Southern Presbyterian 
Church of Harrodsburg, and interested in other local enterprises.  In 
1856 he passed from the Whig to the Democratic party with which he is 
at present identified.  Though opposed to the secession of the States, 
the ties of interest and kinship which bound him to the South caused 
him to sympathize with that section during the civil war.  His two sons 
are Hon. Daniel L. Moore, late State senator from the capital district 
of Kentucky, and Bacon Rochester Moore, a lawyer by profession, engaged 
in planting in the South.

Lawson Harrison Collins Rochester Harlan Yell McKee Hardin Clay McAfee
McCaleb Sloan Chaplin Weisiger Fleece Foster Messinger Hoard Moore
=
Boyle-KY Westmoreland-VA Northumberland-VA Berkshire-MA Adams-MS 
Warren-MS NC TN AR LA MO England

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