mother's influence in the training or a family is more important
than that of the father. Then since 1 never knew Grandma
personally I cannot speak of her as clearly as I can of Grandpa.
However from various things Papa has told me, I am sure she
also helped in the development of Grandpa into the man I came
to know. So I can well believe Grandma, though small in stature;
she did not weigh 100 pounds, had her influence on her children
and on her husband as well. So far as I have been able to find out,
the Moores had nearly all been farmers, except that Grandpa's
great uncle had been, in his day, a noted doctor in the Salisbury
area. The Wallaces, Grandpa's mother was Wallace, must have
been a family of some means judged by the list of slaves found in
Grandpa's papers - not wealthy, but comfortably fixed. The
Gibbons were professional folks and along with the Lardners
were people with more than average mental abilities. Grandma,
and I think. all of her sisters, attended Salem College. Uncle Jack
went to West Point and Uncle Bob was a doctor, heading the
medical section of a North Carolina regiment in the Civil War.
So I am sure since Grandpa was not himself a college graduate,
possibly because he enlisted it the cavalry when he was about 18,
he was influenced by Grandma to see that his children were sent
to college. From all I have heard and seen I am confident that
Grandpa and Grandma lived happily together.
Grandpa did not put much store in having fine clothes
though he looked well when he would dress up for Sunday. He
had a collection of old hats - or he tried to keep those an long as
he could. The Aunts would on occasion have a hat burning from
time to time at which times they would confiscate Grandpa's
oldest and worst looking hats and burn them up. I suppose they
got the idea from Salem College. Grandpa would fuss but I think
he really did it to tease his girls. A funny thing happened to
Grandpa one day when he went over to the depot to see one of
the families off on the train. Since Taylorsville was at the end of
the line, the train usually would back up to the station having
turned on the "Y". If they had a big load they would come on in
as they had to get a "running start" to get up to the station. So
when anyone came in for a visit, or when anyone left, we all went
over to welcomes them or to see them off. Also the loafers in the
town would congregate at the depot whenever the train came in
or left. Well, the day this happened, "Capt." Rowland was the
conductor on the train our folks were taking on their way home.
"Capt" had been a friend of the families for years and when
Grandpa still lived on the farm between Huntersville and
Hopewell, "Capt." would call out when he saw one of the
connection, as he neared Huntersville, "All out for the Moore's
Poorhouse. He and Grandpa were always trying to kid
16.
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