John Moore

Who was John Moore?

John Moore was an American statesman and planter from Louisiana. He served in the U.S. Congress from 1840 to 1843 and again from 1851 to 1853. He was a lifelong member of the Whig Party.

Moore was born in 1788 in Berkeley County, Virginia. He moved to Franklin, Louisiana, and was elected to the state House of Representatives for St. Mary Parish in 1825. He held that seat until 1834. He was first elected to the U.S. Congress to replace Rice Garland and took his seat on December 17, 1840. He was re-elected in the general election and served until March 3, 1843.

Moore moved to Iberia Parish and married Mary Weeks, widow of the builder of the plantation Shadows-on-the-Teche. He was elected to the U.S. Congress again in 1850, serving a single term in 1851-1853; he was the last Whig elected to Congress from Louisiana. In 1861 Moore was a delegate to the Louisiana secession convention. He died in Franklin, Louisiana on June 17, 1867 and was buried on his estate.