James Moore (South Carolina politician)
| James Moore | |
|---|---|
| 13th Colonial Governor of South Carolina | |
|
In office September 11, 1700 – March 1703 |
|
| Preceded by | Joseph Blake |
| Succeeded by | Nathaniel Johnson |
| Personal details | |
| Born | c. 1650 England |
| Died | 1706 (aged 55–56) |
| Occupation | colonial administrator |
James Moore (c. 1650 – 1706) was the English governor of colonial Carolina between 1700 and 1703. He is best known for leading several invasions of Spanish Florida during Queen Anne's War, including attacks in 1704 and 1706 which wiped out most of the Spanish missions in Florida.
Little is known of James Moore's origins. During his life he was said to be a son of Roger Moore (also known as Rory O'Moore or Ruairí Óg Ó Mórdha), leader of the Irish Rebellion of 1641 and that he had supposedly inherited his father's rebellious nature. He first appears in the records of the Province of Carolina in 1675 representing Margaret Berringer Yeamans, widow of Sir John Yeamans, before the colonial council. At about the same time he married her daughter by her first husband, also named Margaret.
In 1677, 1682, and 1683, he served on the colonial council. He played a leading role in a 1690 expedition into the Carolina back country, crossing the Appalachian Mountains to investigate possibilities of trade with the local Indian population. In 1698 he was elected to the colonial assembly, and was described as the right-hand-man of proprietor Sir John Colleton. The next year he was named chief justice of the colony, a post he held until he was named governor in 1700, replacing the deceased Joseph Blake.
James Moore was a leader of one of colonial South Carolina's political factions, called the "Goose Creek Men", after Goose Creek, an outlying area of Charleston.
In 1683 Moore was granted 2,400 acres (970 ha) by the Lords Proprietors. He called his estate "Boochowee". Part of this land is known today as Liberty Hall Plantation.
From 1691 Moore was the acknowledged leader of the Goose Creek Men, the main political opposition to the ruling "Dissenter" faction. Moore's rise to governorship in 1700 signalled a major shift in the politics of the colony. The Dissenters contested Moore's "unjust election". But the Lords Proprietors saw to it that Moore remained governor, and they made it clear that the Dissenters were no longer in favor.
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