Miles Conway Moore (April 17, 1845 – December 18, 1919) was an American politician who served as the 14th and last Territorial Governor of

Washington Territory The Washington Territory was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1853, until November 11, 1889, when the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Washington. It was created from the ...

. He served seven months in office as governor, his two-year term ending prematurely when

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

attained statehood in November 1889.

Biography

Born in 1845, in Rix Mills, Ohio, Moore moved to

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

with his parents in 1857 and attended the Bronson Institute in Point Bluff, Wisconsin.

Career

In 1863, Moore moved to Blackfoot, Montana and then to

Walla Walla, Washington Walla Walla ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Walla Walla County, Washington, United States. It had a population of 34,060 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, estimated to have decreased to 33,339 as of 2023. The combined populat ...

. Arriving penniless, he took a job as a clerk in a general store. In 1869, he partnered with H. E. Johnson and Company to form Paine Brothers and Moore, where he worked until 1877 as a dealer of general merchandise and farm supplies. He married Mary Elizabeth "Molly" Baker on March 26, 1873, and the couple had three sons, Frank Allen, Walter Baker, and Robert L. Moore served two terms as a member of the Walla Walla City Council, 1877 and 1878. He was elected to the office of Mayor of Walla Walla in 1877. In March 1889, Moore was appointed by President

Benjamin Harrison Benjamin Harrison (August 20, 1833March 13, 1901) was the 23rd president of the United States, serving from 1889 to 1893. He was a member of the Harrison family of Virginia—a grandson of the ninth president, William Henry Harrison, and a ...

as the final Governor of

. Taking office in April 1889, he dealt with major fire disasters in Seattle, Spokane, and Ellensburg while preparing for the transition from territory to statehood on November 11, 1889. Moore served as vice-president and president of the Baker-Boyer National Bank, and three years on the executive council of the American Bankers Association. In 1913, he was elected president of the board of overseers for

Whitman College Whitman College is a private liberal arts college in Walla Walla, Washington. The school offers 53 majors and 33 minors in the liberal arts and sciences, and it has a student-to-faculty ratio of 9:1. Founded as a seminary by a territorial l ...

in Walla Walla.

Death

Moore died December 18, 1919, in Walla Walla and is interred at Mountain View Cemetery,

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Moore, Miles Conway 1845 births 1919 deaths American Bankers Association Governors of Washington Territory

Biography

Career

Death

References

Further reading

External links