GOVERNOR JAMES MOORE
WHO MARRIED HIS OWN MOTHER-IN-LAW
By EARL DEAN
OF all North Carolina's royal
governors, few are more in¬
teresting than James Moore,
who was Governor of the Province
of Carolina from 1700 to 1703.
He married his own mother-in-
law. And. according to all accounts,
she must have had a tender heart,
for it is recorded in early Colonial
records that "Upon the request and
earnest solicitation of Margaret.
Lady Yeamans, later Lady Mar¬
garet Moore, it is resolved that the
execution of two criminals be sus¬
pended."
Governor James Moore, who
also served as Chief Justice for a
year, came to Carolina from Bar¬
bados. in the British West Indies,
where he already had had a dis¬
tinguished career in the service of
the Royal Government. Even
though he was accused of selling
Indians from North Carolina as
slaves in Jamaica while he was in
office, his "slave trade” was well-
known in court circles where it
was looked upon with as much ap¬
proval as it was in the Colony of
Carolina. For at that time savage
Indians were a frightful scourge
to the Colonists in what is now New
Hanover County. Nobody objected
when the Governor had them
rounded up and shipped in sailing
vessels to the West Indies, espe¬
cially as he is said to have usual¬
ly put the proceeds from the sale
of Indians into the public treas¬
ury.
Born in England in 1641. Moore
S»t to know Sir John Yeamans,
avernor of Barbados, quite well.
When the latter came to Carolina
in 1665 bringing with him many
Englishmen as settlers and the
first Negro slaves ever to set foot
on North Carolina soil. James
Moore is said to have been his
guest at "Yeamans’ Hall." the
great house Sir John built at Goose
Creek while he himself was gov¬
ernor of the province from 1671
to 1674.
According to earliest colonial
records "Yeamans’ Hall" must
have been quite a place in its day,
and the incipient Governor James
Moore must have been as greatly
impressed with it as he was with
Sir John’s daughter, Margaret,
whom he later married.
The house was surrounded by
earthworks as a defense against
Indian raids, and had port holes
in the walls for taking pot shots
at the savages. In the cellar was a
deep fresh-water well for supply¬
ing the house — and a garrison, if
necessary — with drinking water in
event of a prolonged seige. A
subterranean passageway led out
under the garden to nearby Goose
Creek where boats were kept in
readiness for a hasty departure.
Inside the house the walls were
painted in landscapes with gilded
cherubs spreading their wings over
the arches. The guest chamber was
hung with priceless gobelin
tapestry. The floors were tessel¬
lated and the apartments adorned
with handsome statues.
Colonial records indicate that
Sir John Yeamans. as well as
Governor Moore, his son-in-law.
governed the Cape Fear colony
from this house. Sir John’s wife.
Margaret, the daughter of Sir
Philip Gibbes, of Barbados, also
lived here and it was here that
their daughter, also named
Margaret, was wooed and won by
James Moore. When Sir John
Yeamans died after a voyage to
the West Indies, he left a large
estate in Carolina consisting of
cattle, jewels, silver plate, a
private sailing vessel, coach and
four and hundreds of thousands of
acres of land all to "His welle and
beloved wife, Ye Layde Margaret."
who contemporary historians say
Governor James Moore married
soon after the death of his young
wife.
Roger Moore, the son of Gover¬
nor James Moore by Sir John
Yeamans' fair daughter. Margaret,
was the first owner of what is now
known as Orton plantation, near
Wilmington. He died on October
20. 1759. after having been re¬
ferred to in old records as "King
Roger" and "The Honorable Roger
Moore. Esquire. Member of Ye
Council," in which he is said to
have served almost continuously
from 1734 to 1749. His grand¬
mother was his stepmother, and
We may be wrong about this,
but we believe it's the longest
swinging bridge you can find any¬
where in the mountains of western
North Carolina.
There are quite a number of
these bridges up in that section,
but we never have seen one that
is as sturdily built or as long as
this one. It is 200 feet in length and
crosses the Toe River near the
community of Red Hill. Mitchell
County.
By the way. when we got back
to Raleigh we called up Nathan
Yelton and told him that we had
been visiting his birthplace. Seems
that he first saw the light of day
at Red Hill and still owns a home
up there. We asked him about the
bridge and he said that he was re¬
sponsible for its construction. Said
it was built while he was with the
public school system up there. It
was erected chiefly for the pur¬
pose of permitting school children
to cross the Toe and catching the
school bus on the other side.
his father, once removed, was
Governor James Moore.
THE STATE. July 9. 1949
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