Samuel Bedent Moore (1835 - 1913)

Born 27 Sep 1835 in Beards Hollow, Richmondville, Schoharie, New York, United States

Descendants

Died 20 Mar 1913 at age 77 in Beards Hollow, Richmondville, Schoharie, New York, United States

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Biography

Samuel was born in 1835. He passed away in 1913.

In this quaint old family cemetery, established about 1838, the gravestone for Samuel Bedent Moore has the wrong birth year for him, making him 10 years older. According to the Moore family Bible, a copy of which is in my possession (Virginia Ginn), he was born on Sunday, September 27, 1835, to Oliver Moore, Jr. and his wife, Margaret Baird. At the age of 23, he married Aurelia Sperbeck, on January 4, 1859. They were united in marriage by Rev. J. Switcher of Summit, N.Y.

Samuel Moore served in the Civil War. He enlisted in CO M 12th Reg. NY Cavalry of NYS Volunteers at Albany, N.Y. on August 6, 1864 for one year, receiving a bounty of $33.33 for enlisting. He was described as having a dark complexion, blue eyes, dark hair, 5 feet 7 inches tall. He was imprisoned by his own officers, in Raleigh, NC in 1865, right after the war ended, for refusing to clean the latrine and was sent to the brig. The charges were dropped two months later, and he was discharged July 19, 1865 in Raleigh. Upon discharge he was described as 5 feet 8 inches tall, blue eyes, dark complexion and grey hair. (Being a prisoner turned his hair grey!) He received a pension of $22.50 per month, and after his death, his widow received $12 per month.

Samuel kept a journal of his Civil War experiences, in which he regretted not cleaning that darn latrine, and how he so hated being chained to trees at night, sleeping on work benches in barns, and being genuinely miserable. He was marched from Tarborough to Raleigh to stand trial, and was so glad to get released in Raleigh after two months of being a prisoner of his own side!

His journal is also very interesting, in that he tells of his every day experiences. Here's one excerpt: "Thursday, May 11,1865, commenced march 3 o'clock in the morning, got to Tarboro about ten o'clock feet all blistered and felt very tired a distance of 9 miles. May have been Stantonsburg, pitched tents in the afternoon. Clear and south wind."

An additional excerpt: "Friday, June 9, 1865, in Camp Tarborough, went a berrying and got a belly full of good berries, drawed a canteen, on guard stable, rainy, a good cloudy shower." He wrote often of picking berries along the railroad tracks, where huckleberries, blackberries, and mulberries grew in profusion.

He owned a 30 acre farm in the Beard's Hollow portion of Richmondville, N.Y. where he and his wife raised their 9 children. The family cemetery is located across the street from his home which is still standing, and is located in a cornfield.

At the age of 77, he stopped in at the office of the Worcester Times one day and told them he was returning from spending the day with his son Byron Moore in Barnerville, and had been making the trip on foot, a distance of 16 miles. He said he was 77, never been sick a day in his life, never had a headache, did not use tobacco, and said that for 25 cents one could buy all the liquor he had ever drank. He enjoyed his life, his family, and his farm!

In another newspaper obituary dated March 1913, the closing sentence reads:

"...Mr. Moore will be greatly missed in his home and in the community where he lived, as he was a good neighbor, always ready to lend a helping hand ..."

Sources: Moore Family Bible Samuel B. Moore Civil War Journal, and His pension records The Worcester Times, April 10, 1912 Federal Census records John Moore Family in America, by Charles B. Moore

Sources

• https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/110155676/samuel-bedent-moore