Thomas Moore, Sr. - Crack in a Brick Wall? Part I of III (Because this posting is lengthy, it is being posted in three parts. See also Parts II and III.) Thomas Moore, Sr. of Rockbridge County, Virginia, one of my ancestors, has been a "brick wall" for a number of people, including me, for many years. Little has been known about him or his wife, and not a lot has been known about most of his children. And some of the published information stating who his children were has been incorrect. I have done considerable research on Thomas Moore, Sr. and his family and background and the fates of his children, and believe I have developed some new information. The source of much of my research was the personal property tax lists (PPTLs) and land tax lists for Virginia which commenced in 1782 (and continued to the mid-1800s). First, a review of what has been known and said about Thomas. It has been said he appeared in Rockbridge about 1810. He appears in the 1810 federal census with a household consisting of males, 1 under age 10, 1 age bracket 10-16, 2 age bracket 16-26 and 1 age over age 45; and females, 3 under age 10, 2 age bracket 10-16, 2 age bracket 16-26 and 1 over age 45. It has also been said that his wife has never been identified and that he had at least eight children, namely, John, Thomas, Nancy, Samuel, Margaret, Lucy, James Madison and Hannah. His death is said to have been about 1827. No place of burial for either him or his wife has been identified. I have examined and analysed all of the PPTLs for the SW tax district of Rockbridge (the Collierstown - Kerrs Creek - House Mountain area) from 1800 through at least 1838, and most of them before 1800 and after 1838. No "Thomas Moore" appeared on any Rockbridge PPTL in the period 1800-1809. One Thomas Moore appears in 1810 under date of March 20, 1810. Every year from 1811 through 1828, with the sole exception of 1814, two persons bearing the name "Thomas Moore" appear on the PPTLs for that district, in most years designated by the tax commissioner as "Thomas Moore, Sr". and "Thomas Moore, Jr." Also during this period, at no time were more than two persons listed with the name "Thomas." The men listed each year were clearly father and son. Thomas Moore, Jr., born about 1790, had married Mary Crouse August 16, 1810, and properly started appearing on the tax rolls in 1811. For 1828, Thomas Moore, Sr. was listed under date of May 12, 1828. In 1829, only one Thomas Moore appeared on the PPTL under the date of February 2. Both Thomas's appear in the 1820 federal census for Rockbridge, but only one appears in the 1830 census, and judged by the composition of his household in 1830, it seems clear that this was "Thomas Moore, Jr." (although by this time the designation "Jr." had been dropped for most purposes. See note below.) These facts strongly suggest that the death of Thomas Moore, Sr. occurred sometime between February 12, 1828 and early 1829. ( The PPTL for the SW district of Rockbridge for 1829 was compiled from about February 1 through about May 15.) (For completeness, let me note this anomaly: The "Thomas Moore" listed in the 1830 PPTL was designated by the tax commissioner as "Thomas Moore, Senr." Since no "Thomas Moore" was listed in the 1830 federal census in the age bracket of the person previously listed as "Thomas, Sr.," and one Thomas Moore is listed with a household profile consistent with that of Thomas Moore, Jr. (4 males ages from under 5 to 20, 1 male age 40-50, 7 females ages from under 5 to 30 and 1 female age 30-40), it is fair to suspect that the tax commissioner's designation of "Thomas Moore, Senr." referred to the person previously called "Thomas Moore, Jr.", since, with the death of his father, might appropriately have been referred to in 1830 as "Thomas, Sr.", and that it was he who was taxed in 1830. In all later years through 1834 only one "Thomas Moore" appears in the PPTLs of the SW district of Rockbridge, and he is designated simply as "Thomas Moore 'C.T'." C.T. was the tax commissioner's designation meaning "Collierstown." Go to Part II for continuation of this posting in three parts. William R. Moore