Joseph B. Moore

Who was Joseph B. Moore?

Joseph B. Moore was a lawyer, politician, and jurist from the U.S. state of Michigan.

Moore was born in Commerce, Michigan the fifth child of eight to Jacob J. and Hebsibeth Moore. His father was a native of Warren County, New Jersey and his mother was born in Monroe County, New York. The Moore family came to Michigan in 1833 and the Gillett family in 1834. Both families settled in Macomb County and Jacob and Hebsibeth were married on January 1. 1837. In 1838, Jacob moved to Dryden in Lapeer County for six years before moving to Commerce, where he established himself a furniture manufacturer. In 1858, he moved to the village of Walled Lake in Oakland County, where he operated a sawmill. In 1860, he purchased a farm and moved there while continuing to run the sawmill. While Joseph was working at the sawmill, he read a copy of Blackstone's Commentaries lent to him by James D. Bateman, a local harnessmaker who had taught himself the law and made a second career for himself. Moore attributed his own interest in the legal profession to this influence.