In The Beginning....The Brickwalls

For over 30 years I have searched the Moore Family History. In the beginning I had one name, Vernon Doak Moore Sr., my grandfather. As a little girl, I was told that the Moore History ran deep in the heart of Texas. There were great-cousins in the Alamo, Moore’s that helped settle Texas, and even a county named after an ancestor. As I began my journey I came to my first road block, the 1880 census did not have my grandfather’s information (I would later learn he was born in 1884) and without that information I could not search further until the 1900 census was released. When that census was released I did find him, with his brothers and sister living with their Grandparents. Next came finding a probate and the real dead end hit. No Minverva Forehand that would link them with the Moore’s. What should have been a matter of following a path became a sequence of frustrations. I would dig out the history and then put it away when I couldn’t get past that hurdle of finding My Great-Grandparents.

In 2008 I began to think outside the box and started to search for my Grandfather’s siblings, it was there the roads were open and I began to find the Moore History. I found the path by searching for my Grandfather’s Sister, Ellen Moore Erving and found her living with a brother in South Dakota. I realized this was not going to be an easy task, but as I have journeyed along I have had many smiles creep across my face. Thanks to my cousin Verne and his Father Ed, who supplied many pictures and documents that were crucial to my research.

This history is the documentation and information I have gathered along the way. It is meant to continuously be added to. To the generations to come, it is my hope they add their family branch. To generations that are past and found, it is my hope they may be added to this history. To the stories that are told here, it is my hope that all may descend from this line may grow a greater knowledge of where they came from and a great love for those who came before us.

One of my greatest finds (for me) was seeing the picture of my Great Grandmother Carrie Valls Schoenbohm – she no longer was just a name on a piece of paper but a “real person”.

I know there is much to be added to in this incredible story of our ancestors. It is my hope that others will gain an interest in our heritage, dig out the old photos, stories and documents, and add to this! In time a hard bound book will be produced for many generations to come.