Genealogy of Captain William Graff Moore and his wife Elmira Seltzer
of Womelsdorf, Pennsylvania and Redlands, California
American Ancestors
The primary purpose of this website is to identify all the direct American ancestors of Captain William Graff Moore and his wife Elmira Seltzer.
Direct ancestors are marked with a tree symbol, making it easier to navigate through children.
The main Moore surname line consists of:
- William Moore of Reading, immigrant (1747-1823)
- Thomas Moore of Reading (1789-1849)
- Doctor William Moore of Womelsdorf (1810-1872)
- Captain William G. Moore of Womelsdorf (1841-1899)
Please contact me if you are particularly interested in any of these families.
Website status
- The ancestries have been completed.
- Newly added
- Elmira Seltzer's maternal line - Hain, Hain, Gushwa, Ruth & Epler, along with the directs' grandchildren.
Previously added- Anna Maria Ruth and her Ruth, Laurer and Epler families.
- Immigrant Ancestors and Dead Ends pages
- Michael Seltzer and his children.
- Immigrant Jacob Seltzer, his son Jacob, and their children.
- Doctor William Moore, and all his descendants to the 1900s.
- Thomas Moore , with extensive notes.
- William Moore of Reading, with extensive notes, and his newly found brother Samuel Moore and cousin David Moore.
- George Heckman, immigrant ancestor of Thomas' wife Esther.
- Mary Ann Doll, wife of Dr. William Moore, and all her immigrant ancestors: Johannes Doll, Sebastian Graff & Christopher Crawford.
- On the Seltzer side Anna Barbara Wüster.
- Descendants of James Moore of Convoy & Womelsdorf & Frances Gray.
To be done- Add details for Capt. William G. Moore, and Elmira Seltzer, and Hain directs.
Extended family questions
- Immigrant William Moore of Reading had two known brothers; Samuel's will hints of other siblings. Who might they be?
- The Judge James Moore biography says there were more cousins. Who were they?
- Is William Moore of Reading in any way related to James Moore of Convoy & Womelsdorf? Apparently not.
The James Moore of Convoy family
James Moore of Convoy Ireland and widow Frances Gray married in northern Ireland in 1772 and later resided in Womelsdorf, Pennsylvania. Three of their children wrote wills that name over seventy individuals, including descendants of our William Moore of Reading. A family bible transcription lists aunts, uncles and relatives of William Moore of Lebanon, the author of one of the three wills.
That family has been untangled and added to this database: James Moore of Convoy (1745-1824); his sons John Moore of Philadelphia (1774 - 1830) and William Moore of Lebanon; Gray (-abt 1770), the first husband of Frances Gray (1740-1783); John Moore of Lewistown (1751 - 1822); John Moore of Lewisburg, 2nd (1759 - 1834); and Samuel Moore of Stouchsburg (1786 - 1848).
The question is whether William Moore of Reading is in any way related to James Moore of Convoy. There is one well-known connection by marriage: Dr. William Moore (grandson of William of Reading) married in 1840 Mary Ann Doll, niece of the wife of William Moore of Lebanon (son of James). Furthermore, Mary Ann Doll, who was orphaned very young, was raised by William Moore of Lebanon and his wife, her aunt. But that marriage was in the third generation, and may explain the few relationship terms used in the wills and bible mentioned above.
Recent research on William Moore and his brother Samuel found no connection to the James Moore of Convoy family.
Please contact me if you have more interest in this question.
About the research
The research emphasis has been on identifying ancestors with some degree of certainty. So information on this website is firstly evidence of relationships, and, for the direct ancestors, should meet genealogical standards of proof. Sources are cited for nearly everything.
Biographical information is provided for some ancestors; for others, additional information may be found in the cited sources and by internet searches. Copies of some source materials are available on request.