Frederick Pettes Moore

 

   

AMERICA THE GREAT MELTING POT

Contact information on HOME page

Direct descendant is highlighted in red

Frederick Pettes Moore see FAMILY TREE  
Born: 15 Feb 1859 Rochester, Monroe Co., NY

Married: 26 Oct 1880 Rochester, Monroe Co., NY

Died: 17 Mar 1942 at St. Johns Hospital in Pittsburgh
Residence 34 S. Bryant Ave, Bellevue, PA

FATHER

Edward Mott Moore

MOTHER

Lucy Richards Prescott

WIFE

Frances Hall Whiting 

 

CHILDREN

Frederick Pettes Moore  

1. Louise Pettes Moore
    b. 14 Aug 1881 NY
    m. Abt. 1903 Malcomb Poole
    d. Oct 1971

   

2. Frederic Pettes Moore, Jr.
    b. 01 Feb 1883 NY 
    m. 22 Feb 1918 Mary Jane Atwell
    d. 16 Jul 1918 in France in WWII

 








Frederick Pettes Moore, Jr
3. Lucy Prescott Moore
    b. 14 July 1884 NY
    m. 17 Oct 1912 John Ernest Shaw
    d. 5 Mar 1970

Lucy Prescott Moore

 

4.  Edward McCutcheon. Moore
     b.08 Dec 1890 CA
     m. Bessie Lena Foote
     d. 18 Dec 1965

 

 

 
5.  Elizabeth Moore
     b. June 1892 CA
     D. 28 Aug 1901


Edward McCutcheon Moore





6. Albert Mott Moore
     b. 12 Dec 1893 IL
     m. 1 Apr 1913 Martha Auton
     m. 26 May 1720 Elizabeth Mayo Norton
     divorced: 2 Dec 1921
     d. 18 Aug 1954
  

Albert Mott Moore

Frederick Pettes Moore
by Chase Brooke
Oct 2023

 

Frederick Pettes Moore was born 15 Feb 1859 in Rochester, NY. (1) He was the youngest of the seven surviving children of Edward Mott Moore and Lucy Prescott Moore.  His father was a very successful surgeon and they lived in a large home on South Fitzhugh St.  His parents were loving and attentive and believed in disciplining their children through rewards rather than punishment.  Each evening their mother rewarded them with the appropriate number of kisses as determined by their behavior for the day. Abbie, being the only girl, strived to be perfect and mostly got her 10 kisses every night. However, the boys were a little more mischievous. Freddy was the youngest, only 6 when these letters started being written. On Feb 15, 1867, on his 8th birthday, he wrote, “Dear Mama, I was studying and heard you call Murray and after I had come into the ( ) again I asked him what you wanted him for and he didn’t say a thing. From Freddie.” Cousin Lottie must have had a hard time getting him to write his weekly letter on this day. On the bottom of this letter someone wrote, “Freddie’s letter written on his 8th Birthday. To be shown to is wife. He says, ‘if that is what’s to be done with it, I won’t have a wife.’ “ You can get a glimpse into their daily life by reading excerpts from some letters the children wrote to their mother. (2)  See page for his sister, Abbie Joy Moore.

Frederick Pettes Moore married Frances Whiting on 26 Oct 1880 in Rochester, NY.  (3) In the 1880 City Directory for Rochester, NY he is listed with an occupation of "heating apparatus" on 53 West Main and he was living with his parents at 63 Fitzhugh. (4)   This fits with the information from the Cleveland genealogy of 1899 that says Frederick was a "furnace maker." (5)  By 1882, however, he had gone into business with his brother, Lindley Murray Moore, making "Splint and Bamboo Baskets."  Their daughter, Louise had been born in 1881 and they were still living with Frederick's parents in Rochester at 63 Fitzhugh. (6) In the 1884 and 1885 City Directories for Rochester Frederick P Moore is listed as a "dry plate manufacturer" on State and he was residing at 270 Lake Ave. in Rochester. (7)  Fred must have gone into partnership with George H. Monroe on the Monroe Dry Plate Company. George Monroe supervised the factory while Fred P Moore was in "charge of the commercial department." This partnership was dissolved on Oct 29, 1884 with George H. Monroe continuing the manufacture of his dry plate.  However, George Eastman had come to Rochester in 1880 and started his own dry plate company which later became Eastman Kodak. 

Fred's brother, Lindley, was still manufacturing the baskets, and he was still living at his parents home.   Then in 1888, Frederick P. Moore was back in his brother's business and living at 147 Meigs. (8)

Fred again only stayed in his brother's business for one year.  In 1889 he is found in the City Directory for Alameda, CA working as a cashier for the Equitable Life Insurance Co in San Francisco.  His residence was 2204 Alameda Ave., Alameda, CA (9)  His children, Edward McCutcheon Moore and Elizabeth Moore were born while residing in Alameda.  He then had a family five children.

The family then moved to Evanston, IL.  From the 1893 Evanston, IL Directory, "Moore, Fred P (Frances W wife) r 114 Bensen Av r, life insurance, 202 Chamber of Commerce Bldg, Chicago." (10) Bensen is now a business district and all the old homes are gone.  Their son Albert Mott Moore was born in Evanston bringing the family to six children. 

Fred had continued working for the Equitable Life Insurance Co and in 1895 they were again transferred to Memphis, TN.  (11)  They didn't stay long in Memphis, however, because by 1897 the family was living in Bellevue, Allegheny Co., PA. (12)  In the 1900 census for Bellevue, Fred is listed as cashier for Life Insurance Co.  Fred P. Moore is listed in the 1909, 1912 and 1913 City Directories for Pittsburgh, PA as either "agent" or "solr" working at 2nd fl Frick bldg., Pittsburgh, PA.  The name of the insurance company was not listed however. 

This decade was especially stressful for the Fred Moore family.  Their daughter, Elizabeth, aged 9, tragically burned to death in a fire in 1901. (13)  Her brother, Edward McCutcheon Moore, was supposed to have been watching her and must have been blamed for the accident.  The oral history from his descendants is that he was sent to California and never saw his father again.  His mother, however, did come to visit him from time to time.  Edward M. Moore's uncle was Edward McCutcheon, married to Elizabeth Whiting, a sister of Frances Whiting Moore.  It seems likely that 11 year old Edward was sent off to live with his uncle.  However, the WWI Draft card for Edward McCutcheon Moore states in 1917 that he was a sergeant in the Pennsylvania National Guard and had been in the Guard for 5 years.  That would indicate that Edward had been back to Pennsylvania at some time after the fire. (14)

There was even more tragedy for this family after the fire.  Louise Moore married Malcolm Poole about 1904 and had two daughters with him.  However, he disappeared in Mexico during the Mexican Revolution and when Louise and her sister, Lucy Moore, went to Mexico looking for him, they supposedly came home thinking he had disappeared or died.  However, Malcolm Poole had not died.  He had another "wife" and a son who was born in 1908, the same year he fathered a daughter, Doris Poole, with Louise.  (See page for Malcolm Poole)

In 1907 their son Albert Mott Moore "disappeared" for three days leading the parents to think he had been kidnapped.  (15) He did resurface, marrying twice and divorcing his second wife a year and half after the marriage. 

In 1904 his son  Fred P. Moore, Jr. went off to Cornell to study engineering.  He transferred to Cal Berkley after a couple of years and was a senior at Berkeley in 1908.  Fred Jr joined up with his brother Edward McCutcheon Moore and the two of them were working for the Goldfield gold miles in Goldfield, Esmeralda, Nevada in 1910.  Fred Jr and Albert Mott Moore served in WWI against their parents wishes as Frederick Petteres Moore had been raised as a Quaker and a pacifist. Edward McCutcheon Moore had a draft card and may have served.   And Fred. P. Moore Jr. was killed in action in 1918.

Lucy Moore had met a Canadian engineer while down searching for Malcolm Poole in Mexico.  She married John Ernest Shaw in Grass Valley, CA in 1913.  Her brother Frederick P. Moore was a witness.  She later moved to Chile and then Mexico and does not seem to have been back in Pennsylvania very much after her marriage.

The family seems to have been living at  210 Euclid Ave, Bellevue, PA in 1917 when son, Albert Mott Moore, registered for the draft for WWI in 1917. (16)  Fred was working for the Edward A Wood agency in Pittsburgh selling insurance through the Equitable Life Ins co.  The agency occupied the entire second floor of the Frick Building. He was successful within the company.  In July 1911 he was eligible for The Woods Agency Annual Outing , a twelve day trip to Niagara Falls and Ontario.   In November of 1915 he was chosen to speak on "salesmanship" at a two day seminar by Equitable Life Ins.  (17) He was listed as living at 34 S. Bryant Ave in Bellevue in all the city directories after 1930.  (18)   His wife, Frances, died in 1938 after 47 years of marriage.  Fred was 79 but he continued to work through 1940 earning $1200 in 1940. (19)  However, he was "retired" according to his death certificate in 1942.  The death certificate also states that he had fallen on the street on March 11, 1942 in front of 509 Penn Ave and as a result gotten Hypostatic Pneumonia following fractures of the left humerus.  The cause of death was ruled accidental. (20) 

Sources 

(1) Death Certificate
Fred P Moore
Birth date of deceased: 15 Feb 1859
Age: 83 years, 1 month, 2 days
father: Edward M Moore
mother: Lucy Prescott
date of death: 17 Mar 1942 at 12.25 p.m.

(2) The letters of four of the children of Edward Mott Moore and Lucy Prescott Moore have been preserved at the University of Rochester in the Rare Books Division. These letters were written between 1865 and 1869 under the supervision of their teacher, cousin Lottie. Their school was within their home and they saw their parents most every night, but part of their schooling was to sit down once a week and write to their mother. From reading these letters we can determine a lot about their family life. Their parents were loving. Dr. Edward Mott Moore had been brought up as a Quaker. Lucy belonged to St. Luke’s Episcopalian Church. They believed that rewarding their children for good behavior was preferable to punishment. 
Each evening their mother rewarded them with the appropriate number of kisses as determined by their behavior for the day. Abbie, being the only girl, strived to be perfect and mostly got her 10 kisses every night. However, the boys were a little more mischievous.

Freddy was the youngest, only 6 when these letters started being written. On Feb 15, 1867, on his 8th birthday, he wrote, “Dear Mama, I was studying and heard you call Murray and after I had come into the again I asked him what you wanted him for and he didn’t say a thing. From Freddie.” Cousin Lottie must have had a hard time getting him to write his weekly letter on this day. On the bottom of this letter someone wrote, “Freddie’s letter written on his 8th Birthday. To be shown to is wife. He says, ‘if that is what’s to be done with it, I won’t have a wife.’ “ He must have been a sweet little boy. Dickie, in one of is letters, says he is fixing Freddie’s ink bottle. Murray writes that Frank Gay got five valentines and gave one to Freddie. Dickie wrote about how he and Freddie made a house out of matting. On May 14, 1869 Freddie wrote, “Dear Mama, Just before I came into the house Dickie, Abbie and I were playing engine and we had Mottie’s sleigh for a horse-cart and the wheelbarrow for the engine and when Dickie gave four calls we had to run around the ring a few times then we had to go the lane; When Dickie gave three calls we had to go to the grapevine; When he gave two calls we had to go to the kitchen steps. Good bye from Freddie”

(3) Marriage of Frederick Pettes Moore to Frances Hall Whiting
St. Lukes Church, Rochester, NY
26 Oct 1880 
Marriage of Frederick Pettes Moore

(4) 1880 Rochester City Directory

(5) The Genealogy of Cleveland and Cleavland Families by Edmund James Cleveland
 
(6) In the 1882 City Directory for Rochester, Frederick P. Moore is working for "L. Murray Moore & Bro."  In previous directories the company had been called just "L Murray Moore," basket manufacturer.  The company was located at 27 Pinnacle Ave
1881 City Directory for Rochester, NY

1882 City Directory for Rochester

Ad placed in Rochester City Directory of 1882

(7)  Dry Plate manufacturer The Industrial Advance of Rochester, 1884
"Monroe Dry Plate Co. 192 State Street
"The principals of the concern are Messrs. G. E. Monroe who devotes his practical and personal supervision to the factor, and Fred. P. Moore, who takes charge of the commercial department.  A trade is thus quietly transacted embracing this country and Canada, which is annually and steadily increasing."
  Photographic Times and American Photographer
Volume  XIV 1884
"The partnership existing between Geo. H. Monroe and Frederick P. Moore was dissolved on the 29th ult.  Mr. Monroe continues the manufacture of the dry plate bearing his name, and became responsible for the firm's liabilities, and is empowered to collect all money due."
 

(8) In the 1888 City Directory of Rochester, Frederick P. Moore is back working with his brother.   
1888 City Directory for Rochester, NY

(9)  In the 1889 City Directory Fred P. Moore is a cashier for the Equitable Life Insurance Co in S.F.  His residence is 2204 Alameda, Ave., Alameda, CA  
1889-89 City Directory Oakland, Alameda and Berkeley City

Map of Alameda, CA from the 1889 City Directory.  The red mark indicates where Fred was living in 1889.


(10) Evanston, Cook, IL City Directory 1893

"Moore, Fred P (Frances W wife) r 114 Bensen Av r, life insurance, 202 Chamber of Commerce Bldg, Chicago."

 

(11) In the 1895 City Directory for Memphis, TN Frederick P. Moore is working as a cashier for the Equitable Life Ins Co of New York.  res. 378 Linden.  
1895 City Directory for Memphis, TN

 

(12) In the 1897 City Directory for Pittsburgh, Fred P. Moore is working for the Equitable Life Insurance Co and living in Bellevue.  
1897 City Directory for Pittsburgh, PA

 

(13) Oral history of Edward McCutcheon Moore supplied by Suzie Bierman.

Newspaper Obituary
The Pittsburgh Press pg 12  29 Aug 1901
Elizabeth Moore
   


(14) WWI Draft card for Edward McCutcheon Moore

(15) The Pittsburgh Press Sept 18, 1907

Detective Searches Cave High Above Jacks Run.

No Trace is Yet Found of Missing Bellevue Boy.
Piloted by a youthful guide, Detective Harry McKelvy, of Allegheny, yesterday explored an eerie cave, hidden high in the hillside above Jack's run, lower Allegheny, which has been the  rendezvous of a gang of youngsters which is believed to have had a part in the mysterious disappearance from his home on James street, Bellevue, of Albert Mott Moore.
The small cave, situated over 300 feet above the Ft. Wayne Railroad tracks, was reached after a most hazardous and fatiguing climb during which the detective and his guide, who had once been lured to the dark "hole" in the hillside, traversed slides and precipices that were like those of the Alps.
Young Moore, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Fred P. Moore, mysteriously dropped out of sight last Saturday.  His disappearance caused the heads of several Bellevue families to hold a conference and they remembered hearing the boys talk of the "cave."  It was determined to locate this "hide-out" and Detective McKelvy was secured.  He scaled the precipice above Jack's Run station, pulling himself up by roots and shrubs, while his youthful guide made better progress, but it was 30 minutes before they reached a narrow ledge, 239 feet above the railroad.  From this ledge a narrow path, not more than six inches wide, leads to the cave.  There they found every evidence of recent occupation, including the remains of fires and repasts, but not a sign of life.
In getting back it was found impractical  to descend by the same route, so they climbed over the hill top, tearing their clothes and scraping skin from their hands in doing so.
Mrs. Moore is almost heartbroken over her boy's disappearance.  He is 13 years old, very handsome and intelligent, but she scouts the idea that he has been kidnapped.

 

 (16)  The family was living at 210 Euclid Ave in 1917 according to the WWI Draft Card for Albert Mott Moore  
WWI Draft Card for Albert Mott Moore

 

(17) Articles from The Spectator,  a journal devoted to promoting insurance.
The Spectator, July 13, 1911

The Spectator, Nov 11, 1915

 

(18)  In the 1930 Pittsburgh City Directory Frederic P. Moore is listed as an underwriter for Edw. A Woods Co., with his residence at 34 S. Bryant Ave. (Bellevue). He is listed in every other subsequent city directory through 1940 and also in the Pittsburgh Telephone Directory in 1940.

 

 
34 S. Bryant Ave, Bellevue, PA

 

(19)  Frederick P Moore was still working as an insurance agent in 1940.  He worked 40 hours the week the census was taken and his yearly income was $1200.  Fred died in 1941.  See obit above.  His death certificate (seen above) indicates he was retired.  The death certificate also states that he had fallen on the street on March 11, 1942 in front of 509 Penn Ave and as a result gotten Hypostatic Pneumonia following fractures of the left humerus.  The cause of death was ruled accidental.  
1940 census Bellevue, Allegheny, PA


(20) Died: 17 March 1942 at St. Johns Hospital in Pittsburgh although his usual residence was listed as 34 S. Bryant Ave in Bellevue, PA   Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
March 18, 1942

Moore, of 34 So. Bryant ave., Bellevue, Tuesday, March 17, 1942, Fred P., husband of the late Frances Whiting, father of Mrs. Louise Poole, Mrs. John E. Shaw & Edward McCutcheon Moore Friends received at Cray Bros. Co. Funeral Home 460 Lincoln ave., Bellevue. Services at the Church of the Epiphany, California and Homes aves., Avalon. Friday at 1 p.m.
 
Death Certificate