Moore Family Papers

Three generations of the Moore family are represented in this collection. The eldest, John Chapman Moore, was born in Rochester in 1820. He entered the bookbinding field as a young man, and built a very successful business. By the time he passed away, on June 4, 1901, the business had been located at 35 St. Paul Street for a number of years (and would stay there for decades to come). John C. Moore was an active member of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church. He married Mary Ann Thomas, with whom he had one son - Henry J. Moore.

Henry J. Moore was born August 9, 1854, in his family’s home on Spring Street in Rochester. By 1872, he was associated with his father’s bookbinding business, and became its president upon his father’s passing. It was Henry who incorporated the business as the John C. Moore Corporation, bringing his sons in as partners at that time. Henry also expanded the business into the United Kingdom, establishing Moore’s Modern Methods, Limited, in London and building a dedicated plant there. With his wife, Harriet (Hattie), Henry had 5 sons (Chadwick, Eric, Gaius, Nathan and Daniel) and 4 daughters (Ruth, Lois, Nancy and Jean). Henry passed away on February 22, 1910, at his home at 575 Mt. Hope Avenue.

Henry’s passing in 1910 left three of his sons leading the John C. Moore Corporation and Moore’s Modern Methods. Chadwick was the vice-president and treasurer of Moore’s Modern Methods, Eric served as vice-president and treasurer of the John C. Moore Corporation, and Gaius as secretary of the John C. Moore Corporation. In 1921, Chadwick took over the presidency of Moore’s Modern Methods, and separated it from the the John C. Moore Corporation (the legal documents establishing this separation are in this collection). The John C. Moore Corporation would continue on in Rochester for decades to come, serving as a bookbinder along with manufacturing stationery and office supplies. The company’s final demise has been difficult to determine - newspaper records show the business as thriving in the early 1980s, but an auction notice for the disposition of the company’s remaining assets was located in February of 1992. The company appears to have been dissolved a short time before, around 1990.

Chadwick C. Moore was born November 20, 1881, receiving his education at School 31 and the Mohican Lake Military Academy. As previously mentioned, he became an officer in the John C. Moore Corporation at a relatively young age, leading the United Kingdom branch - Moore’s Modern Methods, Limited. Chadwick moved permanently to the United Kingdom in order to serve as vice-president of Moore’s Modern Methods in 1919, and became president of newly independent corporation in 1921. He spent the rest of his life abroad, staying in London during the Blitz and watching the Moore’s Modern Methods plant destroyed by bombing. He was a notable figure within the American expatriate community in London; his literary interests led to him becoming a friend of many leading British writers of the era and to his contributing his articles and fiction to British publications. Chadwick Moore spent the last 2 years of his life primarily in Edinburgh, Scotland, but passed away on vacation in Cairo, Egypt at the Turf Club on January 8, 1946. He left behind a son, Beecher (President of Moore’s Modern Methods) and two daughters, Grace and Isabelle.