MEMORIES OF THE RUCKER COMMUNITY BY THEODORE MOORE
INTRODUCTION: I remember Uncle "Doad", as he was called by family, only in the infirmity and decline of his senior years. Theodore Roosevelt Moore was the last male heir born to Civil War and Plains Wars soldier Daniel Moore, by his last marriage to Susan Ann Tarlton. Ted Moore had two sisters by this marriage, Bessie Edith Moore Wilson and Essie Anna Moore Dees.
He recalls a pretty thorough list of all the families living in the general Rucker and Moore Communities in the early 1900's. But of special interest to the reader might be the anecdotes he recalls of Rucker School, working a cowhide for shoestrings, and meeting at a neighbors house to make tasty treats.
His contributions to the Rucker Cemetery and improvements he personally undertook are recalled but in no measure reflect the weeks, days, and hours he personally devoted, the sweat and manual labor, that were expended, to improve the cemetery in large part to what we know today. It was a labor of nostalgia, love of community, and pride in the place where he grew to manhood.
Keith Wayne Ragan
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Memories of the Rucker Community
Wayne County Journal-Banner
By Theodore Ted Moore[1]
transcription, photos, and footnotes by Keith Wayne Ragan
I was born in the community in 1901, lived there until 1920 and came back in 1966. I went to St. Louis, got a job and worked there until I retired.
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| L-R Theodore, and sisters Bessie and Anna circa 1915 |
My father was Daniel Moore and my mother was Susan. My father lived 92 years, my mother 72 years.[2]
I went to the Rucker School till I graduated then I went to Williamsville High School. In the early spring they let the boys go home and farm. I did most of the feeding. We had cattle, hogs, sheep and chickens. We had a basket made of bark. I would fill it up with corn to feed the sheep but I would not get very far until the sheep would get me down and take possession of the corn.
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| Theodore Roosevelt Moore circa 1917 |
One day my dad went to town. We had a cowhide we were tanning for leather to repair the harness and for shoestrings. He told me and my older sister[3], “One get on one side of the fence and the other to get on the other side and pull the hide across a board on the fence and try to pull it in two.” Well we pulled and pulled but we couldn’t get it in two. I went to the house and asked my mother for that old razor we kept on the fire-board over the fireplace. She wanted to know what I wanted with it. I told her Dad told us to tear the hide in two and we could not so I was going to cut it in two because I wanted to have that hide in two when he got back. We also used the razor to cut our shoestrings.
I got the janitor job at school. I worked at it all fall and winter. I would get up early in the morning, feed the stock, eat breakfast and go in a run to school to make a fire, sweep the floor and dust off the desks before the teacher and other students got there. I expected to get a quarter or maybe a half dollar, but I didn’t get anything for it. But, I enjoyed it; seeing those little children coming in the warm building with that smile when they got in.
Our sport was ball. Sometimes our teacher would play with us. When he got to bat he would hit it over the school house. It took us the rest of the time to find the ball, as it went into a weedy field, and we only had the one ball. Our teachers were Alf Haddock, Mabel King, Virgil Estes, Arza Estes and LaVern Estes.
The Daniel Moore family[4]: he was married three times – The children of his first two wives were Henry, Bob, John, William, Mary, Lizzie, Jennie, Hattie and Lucille. Children of last, my mother, Susan Tarleton Moore. Children: Bessie, Theodore and Anna. Bessie was married to Clarence Wilson. They had nine children[5], Francis[6], Clarence, Jr., Marie, Herbert, Delorus[7], Mary, Beverly, Silvia, Cecil: Theodore’s wife was Lois Snodgrass. Children Theodore, Jr., Betty and Lois. All living except my dear wife, Lois. Anna married Oda Dees. Children: Wilburn, May, Don, Hilda, Ruth. (Dec.) Wilburn was killed in World War II in Germany. (Dec.) Wilburn, Oda and Don. My father had three brothers, Bob, Doc, and Boot.[8]
We went to visit uncle Bob who lived in Patterson. We got up early, put some hay in the back end of the wagon, threw a quilt on top and that is where we kids rode. We started early and got to Patterson in the late afternoon. Uncle Doc lived on Asher Creek. Uncle Boot lived near us.
The Boot Moore family: Uncle Boot, Aunt Marthy[9] his wife, and children, Pat, Bob, John, Ella, Amos, George and Lora. Pat was married to Lou Chatman. They had three children, Jewell, Cecil and Opal. Bob married Melinda Chapman. They had six children, Pearl, Raymond, Blanche, Lindel, Amiel, and Floyd. John married Lotta Barnhart. They had six children, Ethel, Eunice, Walter, Mabel, Roy and Gene. Ella was married to Dave Powers. They had two children, Lucille and Luther. Amos married Pearl Dees. They had three children, Bertha, Charley and Gladys. George married Joshia. They had one child, Cortez. Dad’s other children, Henry and wife who had five children, Martin, Jim, Willie, Herbert and Lillie. All deceased but Willie. John Moore family: Alfred, William, Henry, Sarah, Telley his second wife. Children, Walter, Grace, Claud and Bid.
The Bob Moore family: Bob and his wife, children, Gladys, Ruth, Marjorie, all deceased except Gladys and Ruth. Mary married Neal Stroup. Their children, Cary, Bob, Leonard, all deceased. Leonard was killed in action in World War I. Hattie married Bill Morgan. They had three children, Louise, Irene and Hazel. Deceased, Hattie, Bill and Hazel. Lizzie married Lish Hastings. They had five children, Louie, John, Alice, Sheridan and Jim. William married Cora Mayberry. Their children are Letha, Lodell and some younger all deceased except Lodell. Jennie had three children, Roy, Isaac and Leslie, all deceased. John and first wife had four children, Alfred, William, Henry and Dan, who was killed by lightening when young. All are deceased except William. Sarah Tilley later became his wife. She had four children, Walter, Grace, Claude and Bid, all deceased. Lucille married Henry Pugh. They had no children and are deceased. Henry Neighbors family: Asper Chapman, Jane his wife, five children, John, Lou, Melinda, Mary and Alger. John was married to Jenny. They had two children, Walter and Elmer who was sheriff of Wayne Co., all deceased except Walter. Mary was married to Oda Shenks. Alger was married to Grace Selvidge.
Phillip Estes family: Phillip, Lavana his wife, and their four children, Virgil, Anna, Arza and Lavern. Virgil, Arza and Lavern taught school at Rucker. Lavern had four children, Paul, Larie, Kenneth and Audrey. Lavern is deceased.
The John Keele family: John, Martha his wife, children, Edith, Clarence, Ernest, and Earl, Howard, Chester. Chester is deceased.
The Henry Bailey family: Henry, Navena his wife, and their six children, Mary, Columbus, George, Jack, Anna, Howard. Howard is deceased.
The Ida Mayberry family: Ida, children, Charlie, Raymond, Bessie. All deceased except Bessie.
The Lon Meloy family: Lon, wife, and five children, Lydia, Ora, Blanch, Ruth, Grace. All deceased except Blanch and Ruth.
The Pollard family: Mrs. Pollard had five children, Eva, Lee, Kathleen, Walter, and Hughes.
The Dave Whitt family: They had seven children, Virgie, Nellie, Flossie, Troy, Betty, Jewell and Bus.
The Bob Dees family: Bob, Elenor his wife, their eight children, Brock, Pearl, Edna, Ollie, Oda, Myrtle, Ira. All deceased except Pearl and Edna. Ollie married Dewey Deruse. Myrtle married Raymond Moore. Edna married Walter Cattron. Lee married Eunice Moore.
Missouri Williams[10] family: Mesh[11], Bed[12], Lizzie,, Bed’s wife was Lora. Mesh married Mary Bailey. They had one child Cortez. All are deceased except Cortez. Also Shade[13] was one of the boys. Lizzie married Bill Rucker. Their children are Claude, Maud, and Nadine.
The Charlie Nolge family: Sarah his wife, one child Mary.
The John Dawson family: Children: Alta, Grace, Albert and Leatha.
The Andy Foster family: His wife, Children, Victoria and Theodore.
The Sam Woolard family: Asa, his wife, children, Lonnie and Francis.
The Bill Woolard family: Lizzie, his wife, Children, Ida, Nelly, Mary, Evert and Roy.
The Bird Casey family: wife, children, Pauline, Maxine, Sible, James and Lester.
The Frank Nelson family: Zettie his wife, children, Marie, Clifford and Zella.
The Earl Nelson family: Pearl his wife, children, Zella, Mabel, Milburn and Grover.
The Asa Estes family: his wife, children, Alva, Walter, Marvin and Franklin.
The Hightower family:[14]
The Jim Woods family: His wife, Lula, children, Earnest, Marie, Clyde, Lenora, Earl, Jettie, Loretta, Molly and Opal. Marie had one child that I know, May, who married Kenneth Estes.
That is all the people I can remember. Some names may be misspelled but I did my best to remember right. Some I may have left out but 76 years is a long time to remember everybody.
One more thing we would do in younger years. We would meet at a family’s house and make popcorn balls or sorghum molasses candy. The molasses would have to be cooked down, then we would let it cool until we could handle it, then we would work and pull till it was the right consistency. Then we would start eating molasses candy. “Oh Boy” was it good. When we got our fill we would decide where we would meet the next time.
After I retired the first thing I did was to get a mail route established. Some of the people would have to go four miles to their mailboxes on the highway. It took me two years, but “Uncle” finally gave in. We got mail delivery.
The next thing I did was to start improving our cemetery. The land was donated by my great-grandfather[15] to the community for the cemetery. His wife was first to be buried there[16] in the year 1885. It was a small cemetery getting pretty well filled up, so I enlarged it. I made a drive through it. Before this they would have to run over graves getting the vault and body to its gravesite. Of course the people would not like that, so now the undertaker does not have to do that. Mr. Bowles told me that road was a wonderful improvement. He is the undertaker. Now we have a large cemetery built for the community. Let’s take advantage of it. We can have a beautiful cemetery if we will work together. When I was young we would take our brush hooks, carry them to the cemetery, cut off the brush as there was very little grass. I built an outhouse and carried and hauled hundreds of tons of rocks from the cemetery. I also built a parking space for about fifty cars. We used to park along the road almost blocking the road. Then we would have to walk a long ways to our tables. Now we can park near the tables and when someone wants to go or leave they pull in, drive on through the cemetery onto the road and on and on their way.
I am glad I could have been so much help in the improvement of the cemetery.[17]
If there are elderly people in my community that have no transportation, I will gladly pick them up and take them to Williamsville for lunch. Yes. I will pick up the tab. Telephone 224-3746, Theodore Ted Moore, Star Rt., Box 40, Greenville.
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| Theodore Roosevelt Moore |
Faithfully transcribed as it appeared in print, by Keith Wayne Ragan, August 10, 2010, from a copy of original newspaper article provided by Aunt Mary Louise Wilson (Bazzell). This is one of a series of bi-centennial articles written especially for the Wayne County Journal-Banner by its readers. I believe, since Ted made reference to 76 years as a “long time to remember everyone”, that this article appeared circa 1977.
Footnotes
[1] Theodore Roosevelt Moore (B: 16 April 1901 in the old Moore Community in Rucker/Ojibway); D: 12 July, 1994 in Greenville’s Health Care Center, Wayne County, Missouri.
[2] Either Ted was mistaken on Susan (Tarlton) Moore’s age at time of death or the newspaper was in error. She was actually 85 years and 8 months old at the time of her death, and Daniel would have been 92 in 11 days at the time of his death.
[3] Bessie Edith Moore
[4] Daniel Moore had 11 children with Margaret Sutton, 4 with Lewella Rucker Alman, and 3 with Susan Tarlton that are documented.
[5] Clarence Madison and Bessie Wilson actually had 10 children. Russell Roy Wilson only lived one year and is buried in Rucker.
[6] Francis Marion “Hank” Wilson
[7] Iva Delores Wilson (Ragan)
[8] Daniel had 10 brothers and 3 sisters, so perhaps Ted actually only knew 3 of his Dad’s brothers. Several died young, and John (Daniel’s brother) died during the Civil War at the battle of Stone Mountain, Georgia.
[9] Martha Alice Whitt
[10] Missouri Williams was born Missouri Johnson. She married first to John Toller (Toler) (Tolar) and had one child Leoto Gardalia Toler by this marriage. Leoto became the second wife of Madison Wilson and the mother of Clarence Madison and Eliza “Dolly” Wilson. Missouri’s second marriage
was to Harbert Williams, a widower.
[11] Meshack Williams. Often also called by the name of “Shack.”
[12] Abednigo Williams. Nicknamed “Bed.”
[13] Shadrack Williams. Also commonly called “Shad.”
[14] No names provided.
[15] Meshack Ward, father of Ted’s grandmother Mahala Ward (Tarlton). Mahala Ward (Tarlton) was Ted’s mother’s mother, Susan Tarlton (Moore).
[16] Elizabeth Wilson (Ward).
[17] Ted Moore, appropriately, was buried in Rucker Cemetery
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