William Moore

William Moore was born in a fortified blockhouse on the Green River in Kentucky to early immigrants William Moore Sr. and Olivia Free. William Moore came to Lincoln County, Tennessee, around 1806. He first married Nancy Holman, by whom he had one daughter. His second wife, Elizabeth Lawson Moore, daughter of Lawson Moore, bore him ten daughters and three sons. On September 3, 1811, after raising a company of volunteers at Fayetteville, Moore was commissioned as captain, Thirty-ninth Regiment of the Tennessee Militia; he later rose to the rank of major. His company, which included Davy Crockett, fought under Andrew Jackson in the Creek Indian Wars and the War of 1812. A staunch supporter of both Jackson and James K. Polk, Moore served in the Tennessee House of Representatives from Lincoln County from 1825 to 1829 and represented Lincoln and Giles Counties in the Tennessee Senate from 1833 to 1837. On January 1, 1840, Governor Polk appointed Moore as adjutant general of the State of Tennessee. In 1850 William Moore and three other men formed the Town Company which developed Tullahoma. In other civic endeavors, he served as justice of the peace; president of the Fayetteville, Lynchburg, and Mulberry Turnpike Company; president of the Lincoln County Democratic Committee; and delegate to the 1851 Democratic National Convention. He died in Tullahoma on March 9, 1871. In December of that year, the Tennessee legislature created a new county and honored Moore by posthumously naming it for him.

Citation Information

The following information is provided for citations.

  • Article Title William Moore
  • Author
  • Website Name Tennessee Encyclopedia
  • URL
  • Access Date November 24, 2024
  • Publisher Tennessee Historical Society
  • Original Published Date
  • Date of Last Update March 1, 2018