Jacob Moore (November 21, 1829 – December 13, 1886) was

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

of the state of

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...

from 1864 through 1869."JACOB MOORE: Sudden Death of One of the Leading Lawyers of the State", ''The Wilmington Morning News'' (December 15, 1886), p. 3.Delaware Department of Justice - Previous Attorneys General
Born in

Laurel, Delaware Laurel is a town in Sussex County, Delaware, United States. The population was 3,865 at the time of the 2020 census. Laurel is part of the Salisbury, Maryland-Delaware Metropolitan Statistical Area. It once hosted the Laurel Blue Hens of the Ea ...

, Moore was the oldest of twelve children of Lowther Taylor Moore, a storekeeper. After taking a preparatory course, Moore entered

Union College Union College is a Private university, private liberal arts college in Schenectady, New York, United States. Founded in 1795, it was the first institution of higher learning chartered by the New York State Board of Regents, and second in the s ...

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, in 1846, and graduated after a full course in 1850. The following three years he spent at

Georgetown, Delaware Georgetown is a town in and the county seat of Sussex County, Delaware, United States. According to the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, the population of the town is 6,422, an increase of 38.3% over the previous decade. Georgetown is pa ...

, in the office of the Hon. Edward Wootten of the Superior Court of Delaware, and in 1853 Moore opened a law office in Georgetown. Moore was initially a Democrat, having cast his first vote for President

Franklin Pierce Franklin Pierce (November 23, 1804October 8, 1869) was the 14th president of the United States, serving from 1853 to 1857. A northern Democratic Party (United States), Democrat who believed that the Abolitionism in the United States, abolitio ...

in 1852, but switched to the Republican Party after the

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in 1861, and was thereafter a vocal organizer and advocate of the party. On September 3, 1863, Moore was appointed attorney-general of the state by the Governor William Cannon, the only political office that Moore held in his life. Upon Moore's retirement, Chief Justice Edward Gilpin said: "He has made a good officer and has tried more important capital cases than any other attorney general in the state; and during his term of office the law of murder has been firmly settled". After his term as attorney general, Moore returned to his practice, giving much of his time to the affairs of the Junction and Breakwater and the Breakwater and Frankford Railroad Companies and the Old Dominion Steamship Company, whose local counsel he was. He frequently appeared before the United States District Courts in Delaware and Philadelphia, and before the

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. Moore died at his home at Georgetown after a short sickness. His trouble was of a gastric nature and he had only been ill a few hours. He had frequently been troubled with this ailment and he had apprehended for years that some time, sooner or later, it would result fatally, but his death was wholly unexpected, as he had enjoyed excellent health up to that evening.

References

Delaware attorneys general 1829 births 1886 deaths {{Delaware-politician-stub