Francis Benton Moore

The following profile was researched and compiled by Candice L. Buchanan and Glenn J. R. T. Toothman III, for publication in "The Rain Day Boys: The Greene That Lay Near Grimpettes Woods" (2017). Learn more at RainDayBoys.com.

Birth: 25 March 1893 Kirby, Whiteley Township, Greene County, Pennsylvania[i]

Parents: William Arthur Moore and Elizabeth Guthrie[ii]

Residence at time of enlistment: Dunn’s Station, Washington Township, Greene County, Pennsylvania[iii]

Physical description: 5 feet 11 inches tall, medium build, dark complexion, light blue eyes, light brown hair[iv]

Death: Killed in action 29 July 1918 Cierges, Picardie, France[v]

Age at death: 25 years old

Last resting place: 7 August 1921 Green Mount Cemetery, Waynesburg, Greene County, Pennsylvania[vi]

Military rank: Serial No. 1241447. Private First Class. Company K, 110th Infantry, 28th Division

Witness account of death: Statement given by Cpl. Edward Y. Smith. “I saw Francis Moore when he was hit by Machine gun fire, July 29, 1918. We were lying down on hill 212. He was hit first in the leg and was advise[d] to go back but he remained with the company and was later hit in some part of the body and fell dead.”[vii]

Additional information:

Francis’s memory has perhaps been best preserved by the family of the young woman he was sweet on at the time he left for war. Her name was Elizabeth S. Taylor (1894-1971),[viii] daughter of Harvey Franklin Taylor and Frances Knight.[ix] She saved his photos, correspondence, and keepsakes, during her lifetime; then, passed them to her nephew. Elizabeth never married. She rests with her parents and siblings in Prosperity Cemetery, in neighboring Washington County, Pennsylvania.[x]

Among the items Elizabeth’s kept, were Francis’s formal uniformed portrait, a postcard announcing his safe arrival in Europe, and a candid photograph of Francis with a comrade surrounded by bombed-out ruins. The postcard is addressed to Elizabeth at Dunn’s Station, which is the neighborhood where Francis lived at the time he enlisted. Records of bereaved parents, widows, and children are much easier to document than those of significant others such as girlfriends or fiancés who were left behind. The care Elizabeth took of this small bundle of century-old ephemera is the evidence that is left to speak for her.[xi]

Francis’s funeral was held from his parents’ home.[xii] His was the first burial in the lot his father purchased in Green Mount Cemetery.[xiii]

In 1934, Elizabeth (Guthrie) Moore, Francis's mother, was granted $10.00 a month for 20 months, as part of the Pennsylvania Veteran’s Compensation Act, on behalf of her son.[xiv]

 

[i] "United States, World War I Selective Service System Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918," digital images, Ancestry.com (http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=6482 : accessed 5 November 2017), Francis Benton Moore draft card, serial no. 1972, Local Draft Board, Washington Township, Greene County, Pennsylvania; citing National Archives microfilm publication M1509, FHL roll 1892940.

[ii] 1900 U.S. census, Whiteley Township, Greene County, Pennsylvania, population schedule, rural, enumeration district (ED) 107, page 298B (stamped) / 7 (written), dwelling 154, family 154, William A. Moore household; digital images, Ancestry.com (www.Ancestry.com : accessed 18 November 2017); National Archives microfilm publication T623, roll 1414.

Greene County, Pennsylvania, Marriage License Dockets (1887), vol. 2: 34, William Arthur Moore - Elizabeth M. Guthrie; Office of the Orphans' Court, Greene County Courthouse, Waynesburg.

"WWI Veterans Service and Compensation Files, 1917-1919, 1934-1948," digital images, Ancestry.com (http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=60884 : accessed 9 October 2017), Elizabeth Guthrie Moore, mother of Francis B. Moore - application no. 160571; citing World War I Veterans Service and Compensation File, 1934–1948 (RG 19, Series 19.91), Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC), Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

[iii] "United States, Army Transport Service Passenger Lists 1910-1939," digital images, Ancestry.com (http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=61174 : accessed 14 October 2017), Francis B. Moore entry, line 191, page 36 (stamped), Ausonia, box 373; citing Lists of Outgoing Passengers, 1917-1938. Textual records. 255 Boxes. NAI: 6234477. Record Group Title: Records of the Office of the Quartermaster General, 1774-1985. Record Group Number 92. National Archives, College Park, Maryland. The ledger lists an emergency contact person and address for each passenger. Francis listed his father, with whom he likely lived at the time of his enlistment. He gave his address as “Dunn’s Station, R. D. 1, PA.”

[iv] "PA National Guard Veterans' Card File, 1867-1921," digital images, Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC), Pennsylvania State Archives Records Information Access System (www.digitalarchives.state.pa.us/archive.asp: viewed 12 November 2017), Francis B. Moore, Private, Co K, 10th Inf., P. N. G.; citing Pennsylvania State Archives, series #19.135.

"United States, World War I Selective Service System Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918," digital images, Ancestry.com, Francis Benton Moore draft card, serial no. 1972, Local Draft Board, Washington Township, Greene County, Pennsylvania.

[v] "Greene County Heroes Fall in France" article, Waynesburg Republican, Waynesburg, Pennsylvania, 15 August 1918.

"WWI Veterans Service and Compensation Files, 1917-1919, 1934-1948," digital images, Ancestry.com, Elizabeth Guthrie Moore, mother of Francis B. Moore - application no. 160571.

[vi] "Funerals of Four Company K Heroes" article, Waynesburg Republican, Waynesburg, Pennsylvania, 11 August 1921.

Green Mount Cemetery (Waynesburg, Greene County, Pennsylvania), lot books, Francis B. Moore entry, section P, lot 14 north, grave 1.

Green Mount Cemetery (Waynesburg, Greene County, Pennsylvania), Francis B. Moore tombstone, section P, lot 14 north, grave 1; personally read by Candice Buchanan, 2008.

[vii] "WWI Veterans Service and Compensation Files, 1917-1919, 1934-1948," digital images, Ancestry.com, Elizabeth Guthrie Moore, mother of Francis B. Moore - application no. 160571.

[viii] Social Security Administration, "U.S. Social Security Death Index," database, Ancestry.com (www.Ancestry.com : viewed 16 November 2017), Elizabeth Taylor, 164-38-0237, 1963.

Prosperity Cemetery (Morris Township, Washington County, Pennsylvania), Harvey F. Taylor family tombstone; personally read by Candice Buchanan, 2017.

[ix] 1920 U.S. census, Washington Township, Greene County, Pennsylvania, population schedule, rural, enumeration district (ED) 147, page 265B-266A (stamped)/1-2 (written), dwelling 23, family 23, Harvey F. Taylor household; digital images, Ancestry.com (www.Ancestry.com : accessed 18 November 2017); National Archives microfilm publication T625, roll 1573.

Greene County, Pennsylvania, Marriage License Dockets (1893), vol. 5: 279, Harvey F. Taylor - Frances A. Knight; Office of the Orphans' Court, Greene County Courthouse, Waynesburg.

[x] Prosperity Cemetery (Morris Township, Washington County, Pennsylvania), Harvey F. Taylor family tombstone; personally read by Candice Buchanan, 2017.

[xi] Elizabeth Taylor Collection, originals privately held by H. Taylor, nephew of Elizabeth Taylor, 2013. Digital files available through the Greene Connections: Greene County, Pennsylvania, Archives Project at www.GreeneConnections.com.

[xii] “Funerals of Four Company K Heroes" article, Waynesburg Republican, Waynesburg, Pennsylvania, 11 August 1921.

[xiii] Green Mount Cemetery (Waynesburg, Greene County, Pennsylvania), lot books, Francis B. Moore entry, section P, lot 14 north, grave 1.

[xiv] "WWI Veterans Service and Compensation Files, 1917-1919, 1934-1948," digital images, Ancestry.com, Elizabeth Guthrie Moore, mother of Francis B. Moore - application no. 160571.