The Moore Homestead has stood in Marshall County for nearly two centuries, its story beginning sometime in the 1820s or 1830s. William Depriest Moore built it for his bride, Hannah Leonard not long after the two were wed in 1817. He was a Virginian by birth, the son of David Dower Moore, a captain in the Revolutionary War. He carried that same sense of duty into his own life. At just twenty years old, William served in the War of 1812 and earned the rank of Captain himself.
Hannah Leonard was born in South Carolina to Thomas Leonard and Hannah Elizabeth James. They were early settlers to the Cane Creek area having moved to Petersburg from South Carolina in 1806.
The following quote is about Hannah Leonard from a biography written about the Leonard family by Thomas Dunlap Leonard in 1883:
Hannah was the only daughter of Thomas and Hannah Leonard. Language fails me to portray the excellencies of this good
woman neither can her neighbors or children do her justice. She has lived for seventy five years near where she now lives.
Saw Lincoln County when it was a cane brake infested with bear, wolves, deer and many other wild animals. Right around
Petersburg and Cane Creek all of her age have gone across the river. She is left as a lone tree of the forest but must soon
fall, and go to join her loved ones that have gone before and must follow after. She has an inheritance awaiting her that is
far better than anything she has ever realised on earth. I rejoice to know that kindred blood course my veins, that I can say
she is my aunt, my father’s sister. I rejoice to know she has left such a noble posterity that acted well their parts in life. I
rejoice to know that I as their biographers of William D. and Hannah Moore gives me such pleasure to speak of their maerits
without a stain on their character. I rejoice to know that the hand and heart of their daughter have been sought by the
noblest sons of Tenn.; also that their sons sought and obtained their equals in the daughters of Tenn.
This same biography had this to say about William Depriest Moore:
Hannah Leonard married William D. Moore of Kentucky in the year 1817. He was a house painter and cabinet workman,
equal to any of his day. He was a man of superior genious of mind, his natural endowments were above the average. He
cutivated it to a general usefulness in practical science. He was a good farmer, fine judge of stock, which he had a fine
taste for and cultivated successfully. He was truthful, honest, and reliable in every sense of the term. He accumulated a
good living, raised a family of six children, vis., Angeline, Thomas D., Alpha, Alitha, William G. Margaret, and Amanda. He
died in November in 1855, leaving Hannah with a competency and with her most amiable of children to take care of her in
old age, which duty they have performed, to credit to themselves and satisfaction to their aged mother, who still survives
and is now 89 years of age, now living with her son-in-law and daughter, Jo. J. S. and Angelina Gill.
After their wedding, William and Hannah took a trip on horseback through Kentucky for their honeymoon. They eventually settled near Petersburg on roughly 300 acres of land. It was there that their homestead took shape. Hannah’s parents lived just down the road, where her father Thomas operated a mill.
William was a house painted and cabinet maker. That skill found its way into their home with the interior reflecting his eye for detail and skilled woodworking.
Outside, the land supported a large and busy farm. By 1850, the census records show a working operation with livestock filling the fields. Horses, cattle, sheep, and hundreds of pigs. They grew crops that rotated with the seasons like wheat, rye, corn, and oats.
The 1850 census also records 13 slaves living and working on the property. In 1860, records show there were 8 enslaved here. I tried to locate names without any luck.
William and Hannah had seven children, two sons and five daughters. The house became a gathering place as those children grew, married and had children of their own.
Anniston, Alabama
Thu, Jan 23, 1947 · Page 6
Weddings, receptions, and events galore took place on these very grounds.
Willam Depriest Moore passed away at just 63 years old in 1856. By 1870, Hannah had been a widow for a while and is listed as head of the home on the census. And in 1880, Hannah was 84 years old and no longer listed as the head. Their daughter Angeline and husband Joseph Jonathan Skidmore Gill took care of the estate along with their adult children.
Early photographs show a simpler version of the home, just a story and a half tall. It remained that way through the years when the family was first raised within its walls.
The second story came later, added during the ownership of William’s grandson, Thomas D. Moore, sometime before his death in 1953. It was an expansion that certainly changed the silhouette but not the foundation of the home. The home became one of the most admired homes in Petersburg.
In 1899, the estate appears on a map of Marshall County under the name of A. H. Wert. Arthur Henry Wert was married to William’s great great granddaughter Tommie A. Moore. That same year, Tommie died of pneumonia.
If you look to the left of the A. H. Wert Home, you can also see J. J. S. Gill’s home which is where Angeline Moore Gill (mentioned above) was living with her husband Joseph Jonathan Skidmore Gill in 1899.
Another great great granddaughter, Adelaide Moore Moss, and her husband, managed the farm for many years.
The Moore Homestead remained in the family for more than eight generations, with much of the original acreage remaining with it. This is quite an accomplishment these days as development often divides and conquers farms like this one.
Not far from the house, a small private cemetery holds three generations of Moores. Just a short walk from the house.
This is a place where just driving by, you can see and almost feel the history there.
It’s FOR SALE! Want to be the next steward of this beautiful piece of Petersburg history? Check out the listing link below!
This listing is courtesy of Anthony Parker at This Land powered by eXp Realty. I am grateful Anthony and his wife Brittany invited me to come out to learn about, capture, and tour this historic home! From the beautiful land, to the creek, to the modern cabin, to the historic home itself, this property has so much to offer!
3138 Richmond Road – Petersburg, TN
4 bed | 2bath
3148 sq ft
276.22 acres
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