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AMERICA THE GREAT MELTING POT Contact information on HOME page Direct descendant is highlighted in red
FATHER MOTHER WIFE
Biography by Susan Brooke May 2012 Freddie 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. You can get a glimpse into their daily life by reading excerpts from some letters the children wrote to their mother. See page for his sister, Abbie Joy Moore. Frederick Pettes Moore married Frances Whiting on Oct. 26, 1880 in Rochester, NY. 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. This fits with the information from the Cleveland genealogy of 1899 that says Frederick was a "furnace maker." (1) 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. (2) In the 1884 and 1885 City Directories for Rochester Frederick P Moore is listed as a "dry plate manufacturer" on State and he is residing at 270 Lake Ave. in Rochester. 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. (4) 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 (5) 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." 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. (6) They didn't stay long in Memphis, however, because by 1897 the family was living in Bellevue, Allegheny Co., PA (7) 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 is 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. 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 is sergeant in the Pennsylvania National Guard and has been in the Guard for 5 years. That would indicate that Edward had been back to Pennsylvania at some time after the fire. (8) 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. (9) In 1904 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. Edward McCutcheon Moore had a draft card and may have served. And Fred. P. Moore Jr. was killed in action in 1917. 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 be living at 210 Euclid Ave, Bellevue, PA in 1917 when son, Albert Mott Moore, registered for the draft for WWI in 1917. (10) 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. (11) He is listed as living at 34 S. Bryant Ave in Bellevue in all the city directories after 1930. (12) 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. 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. (13)
Sources
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| (7) 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 |
| (8) Oral history of Edward McCutcheon Moore supplied by Suzie Bierman. |
 WWI Draft card for Edward McCutcheon Moore |
(9) 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.
| (10) 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 |
| (11) Articles from The Spectator, a journal devoted to promoting insurance. |
 The Spectator, July 13, 1911 |
.jpg) The Spectator, Nov 11, 1915 |
| (12) 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.
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| (13) 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 |
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