Lindley Moore (May 31, 1788 – August 14, 1871), was a Canadian-American

abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the political movement to end slavery and liberate enslaved individuals around the world. The first country to fully outlaw slavery was Kingdom of France, France in 1315, but it was later used ...

, educator, and farmer. With

Frederick Douglass Frederick Douglass (born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey, February 14, 1818 – February 20, 1895) was an American social reformer, Abolitionism in the United States, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman. He was the most impor ...

, he coordinated travel plans on the

Underground Railroad The Underground Railroad was an organized network of secret routes and safe houses used by freedom seekers to escape to the abolitionist Northern United States and Eastern Canada. Enslaved Africans and African Americans escaped from slavery ...

and they gave speeches at anti-slavery assemblies. Moore worked with Hiram Wilson to identify and make education available for formerly enslaved people who had made it across the United States-Canadian border. Moore operated private schools in the New York City area and was a superintendent and a teacher at

Haverford College Haverford College ( ) is a private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Haverford, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded as a men's college in 1833 by members of the Religious Society of Fr ...

. In

Rochester, New York Rochester is a city in and the county seat, seat of government of Monroe County, New York, United States. It is the List of municipalities in New York, fourth-most populous city and 10th most-populated municipality in New York, with a populati ...

, he operated a 170-acre farm in the 1830s and then returned to teaching. His wife, Abigail Mott Moore was the niece of

Lucretia Mott Lucretia Mott (née Coffin; January 3, 1793 – November 11, 1880) was an American Quakers, Quaker, Abolitionism in the United States, abolitionist, women's rights activist, and social reformer. She had formed the idea of reforming the position ...

Early life

Lindley Murray Moore was born May 31, 1788, in

Annapolis Valley The Annapolis Valley is a valley and region in the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. It is located in the western part of the Nova Scotia peninsula, formed by a Trough (geology), trough between two parallel mountain ranges along the shore of the B ...

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...

, Canada into a

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...

family. His parents were Rachel Stone and Samuel Moore. His father, born in New Jersey, named him after his friend

Lindley Murray Lindley Murray (1745 – 16 February 1826) was an American Quaker lawyer, writer, and grammarian, best known for his English-language grammar books used in schools in England and the United States. Murray practised law in New York. As the ...

. Before Lindley's birth, Samuel Moore, his wife, and their children had lived in the United States. During the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

, the family became concerned about being attacked by American soldiers and left their New Jersey home for New York City. Lindley's father was considered a

loyalist Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cr ...

and his property was confiscated by the

patriots A patriot is a person with the quality of patriotism. Patriot(s) or The Patriot(s) may also refer to: Political and military groups United States * Patriot (American Revolution), those who supported the cause of independence in the American R ...

. Samuel's wife and children were taken from their residence and sent to the British line at Amboy (in New Jersey) under a flag of truce. From there, they moved to Nova Scotia. After living in Canada, the family visited New Jersey. Lindley Murray Moore stayed in the United States while his father and siblings moved to

Upper Canada The Province of Upper Canada () was a Province, part of The Canadas, British Canada established in 1791 by the Kingdom of Great Britain, to govern the central third of the lands in British North America, formerly part of the Province of Queb ...

(

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

). At about the age of 17, Lindley attended a school in

Sandwich, Massachusetts Sandwich is a town in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States and is the oldest town on Cape Cod. The town motto is ''Post tot Naufracia Portus'', "after so many shipwrecks, a haven". The population was 20,259 at the 2020 census. Histor ...

. He then worked as a teacher so that he could save money to pay for further education.

Marriage and family

Lindley married Abigail Lydia Mott on August 19, 1813. Their son Edward Mott Moore, who became a physician, was born on July 15, 1814, in Rahway, New Jersey. He died on March 3, 1902, in Rochester, New York. Gilbert Hicks Moore was born in 1816 and died in 1868. Their daughter Ann Mott Moore was born in 1818. After living and working in the New York City area, the Moores moved to Rochester, New York in 1830. The following year, they bought a farm and built a two-story

Greek Revival style Greek Revival architecture is a architectural style, style that began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe, the United States, and Canada, ...

house on it. Moore and his wife were members of the Orthodox Farmington Quarterly Meeting by November 1836. In addition to his anti-slavery efforts, Moore was vice-president of the Rochester Temperance Society.

Career

Moore pursued a career as an educator and is also said to have been a preacher. After completing his education, he taught at Nine Partners Boarding School in New York. He and his wife, Abigail Lydia Mott, operated a Quaker school in

Rahway, New Jersey Rahway () is a city (New Jersey), city in southern Union County, New Jersey, Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. A bedroom community of New York City, it is centrally located in the Rahway River, Rahway Valley region, in the New ...

for several years. In 1815, they operated a school on Pearl Street in New York City that was administered by the Friends Monthly Meeting. In the spring of 1821, they had opened a boarding school for boys in

Flushing Flushing may refer to: Places Netherlands * Flushing, Netherlands, an English name for the city of Vlissingen, Netherlands United Kingdom * Flushing, Cornwall, a village in Cornwall, England * The Flushing, a building in Suffolk, England ...

, and in 1827 the school was moved to Westchester Village, New York. Moore purchased a 170-acre farm in what is now Rochester, New York. In 1836, he sold his farm and then lost all of his property. He returned to teaching at the Rochester high school. From 1848 to 1850, Moore was a teacher and superintendent of

Abolitionism

In 1838, Moore founded the Rochester Anti-Slavery Society with Asa Anthony. Moore was the organization's first president. Moore delivered a speech entitled ''Autographs for Freedom'' at the Independence Day celebration of 1852 in Rochester, New York. Like other instances, Moore shared the stage with

, whose topic was ''What to the slave is the Fourth of July?'' Moore wrote the essay "Religious, Moral and Political Duties" in the 1853 collection titled ''Autographs for Freedom''.

Underground Railroad

Moore helped

Madison Washington Madison Washington was an American enslaved man who led a slave rebellion in America on November 7, 1841, on board the brig '' Creole,'' which was transporting 134 other slaves from Virginia for sale in New Orleans, as part of the coastwise slave t ...

by concealing him during his flight for freedom, as did Hiram Wilson. Moore raised funds so that Washington could retrieve his wife, but he was captured in the process and was believed to be sold to a slaveholder in the

Deep South The Deep South or the Lower South is a cultural and geographic subregion of the Southern United States. The term is used to describe the states which were most economically dependent on Plantation complexes in the Southern United States, plant ...

. Moore learned about Washington through

. Moore identified formerly enslaved people (in

) who were interested in obtaining education and Rev. Hiram Wilson provided the funding.

Later years and death

Abigail died on September 4, 1846, of

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

at her home in Rochester, New York.Rochester Daily Democrat of Sept 5, 1846. About 1850, Moore retired. He lived with his son,

Edward Mott Moore Edward Mott Moore (1814–1902) was an American surgeon. He served as president of the American Medical Association and as president of the Board of Trustees of the University of Rochester. One type of radial fracture is named for him. Biograph ...

in Rochester, until his death on August 14, 1871. At the time of his death, he also had a daughter, Ann M. Haines of Buffalo, New York.

Notes

References

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Moore, Lindley Murray 1788 births 1871 deaths American Quakers People from Rahway, New Jersey American abolitionists American temperance activists Presidents of Haverford College Quaker abolitionists