Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Tombstone Tuesday ~ Henry Moor, M. A., d. 1798 Londonderry, New Hampshire

This tombstone was photographed at the Valley Cemetery in Londonderry, New Hampshire




Henry Moor, M. A. 
departed this life Feb 14, 1798 
AEtat 34

A lecture silent, but of sovereign power
To vice, confusion; and to virtue, peace
Virtue alone has majesty in death

Henry Moor was the son of William Moor and Martha Mack of Londonderry.  He graduated from Phillips Andover Academy in 1787, and from Dartmouth College in 1793.  He was the first preceptor of Groton Academy (now known as the Lawrence Academy at Groton) from 1793 – 1796 for a salary of $745.83.   Following his brief teaching career Henry Moor was a merchant in Londonderry, and died unmarried at age 34. Obviously, he must have been a Freemason.

The St. Marks Lodge of the Free and Accepted Masons is located at 58 Broadway in Derry, New Hampshire. According to their website, they were granted their charter in 1826, and met above James Thom’s grocery store in East Derry, which at that time was still Londonderry.  This is too late to have been the lodge where Henry Moor belonged. I wondered where he became a Freemason?

The New England Historic Genealogical Society’s subscription website www.americanancestors.org has a data base of Massachusetts membership cards from 1733 – 1990.  I didn't find Henry Moor listed there.

According to the website of the Grand Lodge of New Hampshire, the first meeting of New Hampshire Freemasons was on 8 July 1789 in Portsmouth, New Hampshire to create a Grand Lodge for the state.  Many local lodges were involved in this decision, so I’m sure that there must have been a lodge near Londonderry, or perhaps near Dartmouth College, where he became a member.   For example, St. John’s Lodge, No. 1 in Portsmouth was gathered in 1736, one of the oldest Masonic Lodges in the USA.
 
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Copyright 2013, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

2 comments:

  1. My goodness! That is a huge tombstone!!

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    Replies
    1. Yes, there are some very big gravestones here in Londonderry. Some are taller than me, and made of slate!

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