Two John Moores of New Hampshire

According to family trees found on Ancestry.com and other internet sites the parents of my ancestor Charles Moore of Chester, New Hampshire were John and Jane Morrison Moore of Londonderry, New Hampshire.  This assertion is probably based on the ancestry information found in the book "History of Old Chester" by Benjamin Chase.  He states that brothers John and Charles Moore came together from Ireland and that John brought his wife Jane Morrison with him.  John bought Gov. Wentworth's farm of 50 acres in 1738. According to Chase John and Jane Morrison Moore of Londonderry had the following children:

1.  James m. Mary Todd their children were William, Robert and James
2.  John m. dau of Andrew Jack d. 1778 in battle
3.  Henry d. unmarried 1801
4.  Charles m. Molly Whittier
5.  Polly (probably Mary)
6. Peggy (probably Margaret)
This was all well and good until today when I randomly found the wills of two men named John Moore who died in 1741 and 1747. I have written a brief synopsis of each will that includes the name of the wife and children and other persons named in the wills.


1741 Will of John Moore of Londonderry, New Hampshire
Date of Will: 19 June 1741
Wife:  Jane
Children named in Will:
     Robert
     Samuel
     William
     John
     Agnes
     Mary
     Ann
mentioned in the will: his "honored father" William Cochran, cousin Hugh Wilson, my "brother" Andrew Todd
Witness:
     David Vance
     Moses Barnett
     Robert Boyes
Proved: August 26, 1741

1747 Will of John Moore of Chester, New Hampshire
Date of Will:  22 June 1747
Wife:  Mary
Children named in Will:
     James
     Henry
     Mary Moore
     Margaret Moore
     Lidea Moore
     John Jr.
     Charles
Witnesses:
     Issac Foss
     Jean Moore
     James Wilson
Executor:
     Hugh Wilson
     James Campbell
     Charles Moore
Note: none of the daughters are married, none of the sons are over 21

The John who was the father of my ancestor Charles seems to be #2 who was married not to Jane but to Mary.   And why does the John married to Jane call William Cochran his "honored father"?This of course has set me off on an internet chase for details about the two Johns.  Here goes:

Charter John Moor includes the family legend

1. John Moor, known as Charter John was born about 1698.  He was the son of John and Mary Moore. Family legend says that he was born during the massacre of Glencoe, Scotland on Feb 13, 1692, after which the family fled to County Antrim in what is now Northern Ireland.  The story is that  his father John was killed in his garden and his widow gave birth to John, in a kiln, that very day.  She later met up with her daughters in Londonderry, Ireland. John was supposedly adopted by his uncle Samuel Moore.

John emigrated with his parents, Samuel and Mary and other families  to Londonderry, New Hampshire in 1720 and died there in 1741 at the age of 49. John married Jean (Jane) Cochran, daughter of William and Agnes Cochran, also from Ireland.  John and Jean (Jane) were married by the Rev. James McGregor on 2 April, 1723.  John's sister Beatrix was married to Andrew Todd.  John and Jean had eight children, the seven mentioned in his will, and Euphemia who died at an early age. This is the John Moore in the 1741 will.

2. John Moore lived in both Londonderry and Chester.  He also leased in Feb. 1736 a house in Boston from John Wheelwright of Boston.  His wife was named Mary, there is no record of their marriage.  He and Mary had seven children, all named in his will dated 1747. This is my ancestor, the father of Charles Moore and the writer of will number two.

This story had led me to a Capt. John Moore who also lived in New Hampshire about the same time as these two Johns.  He was born May 6th 1723 in Ireland.  He married three times to Mary Ann Clendennin, Mary Cochran and Naomi McFarland.  He had the following children: William, Andrew, John, Abraham, James, Samuel and Mary.

There was also a John Moore, married to Janet who lived "in the English range of lots". He died Jan. 24, 1774.  They had the following children:  William, Elizabeth, Robert and Daniel.

I could not find a John Moore married to a Jane Morrison.  There was however a Hugh Moore who married Janet Morrison.

So, now I'm off to ancestry.com to amend my family tree.






Sources:
Benjamin Chase, History of Old Chester 1719 to 1869, Auburn N.H., 1869
State of New Hampshire. Town Charters, Vol 33
Nutfield Genealogy
Genealogy of the Moore Family of Londonderry and Peterborough, New Hampshire, 1648-1924
Ezra Sterns, The Moore Families of Londonderry, New Hampshire, New England Historical and Genealogical Register, Vol 51.