MOORE, Nicholas Ruxton, 1756-1816
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MOORE, Nicholas Ruxton, a Representative from Maryland; born near Baltimore Town, Baltimore County, Md., July 21, 1756; attended the common schools; member of Gist’s Baltimore Independent Cadets and served throughout the greater part of the Revolutionary War, attaining the rank of captain; took an active part in the suppression of the Whisky Insurrection in 1794; member of the State house of delegates in 1801 and 1802; elected as a Republican to the Eighth and to the three succeeding Congresses (March 4, 1803-March 3, 1811); chairman, Committee on Accounts (Tenth and Eleventh Congresses); unsuccessful candidate for reelection to the Twelfth Congress; appointed lieutenant colonel commandant of the sixth regimental cavalry district of Maryland on February 20, 1812; elected to the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Congresses and served from March 4, 1813, until his resignation in 1815 before the convening of the Fourteenth Congress; chairman, Committee on Accounts (Thirteenth Congress); died in Baltimore, Md., October 7, 1816; interment in a private cemetery near Ruxton, Baltimore County, Md.

Last Will and Testament of Nicholas Ruxton Moore of Baltimore county Dated 10 April 1815 & Proved 6 Nov 1816

In the name of God, Amen. I, Nicholas Ruxton Moore of Baltimore County and State of Maryland, Sensible of the uncertainty of the time when I shall be called to another world and warned by my Present feelings to guard against any difficulties that might arise from having some where in existence two wills made many years ago, do make and ordain this my last will and Testament, hereby revoking all former wills. It is my will that after the payment of all just and fair debts and complying with the true intent and meaning of any obligation or Instrument of writing that I have given that the whole of my estate real and personal (except the broad sword I wore in the revolution) be distributed and divided to my much loved wife, Sarah, and my dear Children Rebecca, Gay, Camilla, and Smith Hollins Moore, as the laws of Maryland direct in cases of persons dying intestate. I constitute my wife, Sarah, together with Cumberland Dugan, Esq., John Hollins, Esq., Executors of this my last will and Testament revoking all others and publishing and declaring this to be my last will made this tenth day of April eighteen hundred and fifteen.

Nichs R Moore (seal)

Codicil - I give sword (sic) to my son Smith H. Moore to be used when the service of his Country demands it.

Signed, Sealed, published and declared in presence of us the subscribers and in presence of each other.

Thomas Johnson
John Coakey, Junr.
Elijah Fishbaugh his X mark

Old St. Paul's: A brief history and tour

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Old St. Paul's began as one of the original thirty parishes established in Maryland by the Church of England in 1692 and predates the founding of Baltimore City itself in 1729. The first church, shown above, was a log cabin structure on the banks of Colgate Creek near present-day Dundalk in southeast Baltimore County. By the 1720s it became clear that the major population center of the colony would be further north and west, so the Maryland Assembly was called upon to lay out what they termed 'Baltimore Town.' At this time the parish vestry purchased a lot for a new church building in the newly-formed village. This site was a choice piece of property encompassing the highest point overlooking the harbor. The current church occupies the northwestern-most corner of this original parcel. So it was that the second church building of St. Paul's Parish was constructed in the 1730s.

In 1791 funds were secured to build a suitable rectory to house the parson and his family. The Historic Rectory now sits one block west of Old St. Paul's on the corner of Saratoga and Cathedral Streets and, though it no longer houses the rector's family, is the oldest continuously occupied house in the City of Baltimore. It also houses the offices of Preservation Maryland.

The parish cemetery was moved in 1800 to what was then the western edge of the city, now the corner of Redwood Street and Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard, behind the University of Maryland Hospital. Among the many notable Marylanders buried there is Samuel Chase, a signer of the Declaration of Independence and General George Armistead, commander of the garrison at Fort McHenry during the War of 1812. The cemetery is open to the public by appointment through the parish office.

The third building to be called St. Paul's Parish, shown on the left, was erected in 1817, and designed by the noted Baltimore architect Robert Cary Long (1770-1833) who is buried in St. Paul's cemetery. As the city continued to grow into an urban center it became clear that a rustic church building with a courtyard seemed out of place. The new building with its 126-foot tower, was neoclassical in style and offered an imposing façade of Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian columns abutting Charles Street. One Scotsman who visited the church noted its "splendid interior," the rows of Corinthian columns and a "great deal of gilding and decoration." This massive, 1,600-seat structure served the parish well until it tragically burned nearly to the ground in 1854, but its foundation and surviving brick walls were retained and used in the present church building.

The vestry wasted little time securing the funds and design for a new church structure for what would become the fifth and current building of St. Paul's Parish. The new building was designed by the famous English-born architect, Richard Upjohn. Upjohn created an impressive Italian Romanesque building that was consecrated in 1856.

A few things survived the fire of 1854 and exist today in the present church. One item is the old baptismal font (located now near the Lady Chapel and shown on the left), designed by French architect Maximilian Godefroy; the marble piece was carved in Livorno, Italy and shipped to Baltimore. Another item is the Bishop's Chair, shown on the right, with its gilded croziers and miter, a gift to the parish from vestryman George Grundy, who lived at the Bolton mansion on the site of the Fifth Regiment Armory. Additionally, part of the window, Suffering Christ, survived the fire.

The current St. Paul's church building is also blessed with an exceptionally beautiful interior.  The chancel was redecorated and beautified in 1902 in a most elegant style. One of the principal changes was the addition of the Great East Window which replaced the much smaller window containing the figure of St. Paul. This large stained-glass window, the work of Helen Maitland Armstrong, depicts the Glorification of God, inspired by the "Benedicite, omnia opera Domini" ("O ye Spirits and Souls of the Righteous, bless ye the Lord; praise him and magnify him for ever"). The window was refurbished in 1994. The dark red walls, marked with religious symbols, also date from the 1902 restoration. There soon followed a number of lovely stained glass windows in the nave by Tiffany and Company, and by Clayton & Bell, a famous English studio.

In 1904, the exquisite Louis Comfort Tiffany reredos was installed. This mosaic reredos has Caen stone panels containing Christian symbols, including the peacock. The cross in the center panel contains peridot, the August birthstone.

  In 1990-91, the chancel, including the reredos, was wonderfully restored to its original glory.

Some pictures of Old St. Paul's historic cemetery

 

Gentlemen:

I have just received your Letter of this date with the inclosed Certificates justifying your pretentions to the Rank you mention.

I must repeat to you, that I am entirely ignorant of the means by which such an idea was propagated; nor did I ever see any Reason why superior Rank should be given to Officers of Cavalry but where Commissions are equal, the Commands should be ascertained by priority of date.

I shall never wish to influence any Gentlemen to save in this Army, if I have Reason to believe they cannot do it consistent with that strict notion of Honour, which should be the invariable rule of conduct for every Officer, but am of opinion, nevertheless, that a Resignation in this part of a Campaign can only be warranted by treatment, which would be disgraceful to bear, and therefore that your Resolution not to resign, at least, till the end of the Campaign must meet the approbation of all who wish to see you act with propriety.

I am etc. 8

*To LIEUTENANTS WILLIAM BIRD, RICHARD DORSEY, JOHN CRAIG, NICHOLAS RUXTON MOORE, AND GEORGE GRAY of Colo Moylan's Light Dragoons

Camp at the Cross Roads, August 15, 1777.

Gentlemen:

In answer to your respective Letters without date, but presented to me Yesterday, you will please to be inform'd.

First, that the pay of the Horse Offices was fixed in December last, and at the same rates now existing, and,

Secondly, that I am not conscious af ever having said, or done any thing, that cou'd lead to a belief, that the Rank of a Lieutt. of Horse was to be equal to a Captain of foot, for the obvious reasons, that neither justice, or usage, would authorize it.

How it came to pass then, that you should conceive yourselves entitled to the Rank and pay of such Officer is neither my business, nor Inclination to enquire into; this however, I shall add.

That if your respective application's to resign, is the effect of hasty resolutions, you may take till tomorrow to reconsider and recall your Letters.  But if on the other hand, you shd. then be in the same Mind, I shall be ready to receive your Commissions if they have been deliver'd, or give dismissions if they have not.

Your Wishes to resign at such a period as this (after time is allowed for reconsideration) will be sufficient evidence with me, that it is a disinclination to the Service, and not the mere disappointment of Rank and Pay, and therefore, it may be unnecessary for me to add, that any future application from either of you to get into the Continental Service will be improper, and, as far as it is in my power to make it so, unavailing.

I am etc. 8