John More Association

Biography

Edward Livingston More, the youngest child of John and Betty Taylor More, was born on August 1, 1788, the first white male child born in the Town of Roxbury, tradition says. His childhood was spent at this crossing of the trails where a small town grew, which was later called Moresville, and is now Grand Gorge. When Edward was twenty years old, he helped his father build the first frame house in this village, and in this house, Edward assisted his father in keeping a small tavern, which was later enlarged and became a hotel.

On January 1, 1808, Edward L. More married Charity Stanley and brought his bride to the Moresville home. Soon afterwards, Betty Taylor More suffered a stroke of paralysis, which made her helpless, and for fifteen years Charity Stanley More was her faithful and constant nurse. In 1813, Edward L. More exchanged the tavern for John Taylor More’s farm in More Settlement.

When Edward L. More and Charity and their two children moved to the farm, John and Betty Taylor More went with them. John helped Edward rebuild the sawmill run by the water in the trout brook, and John greatly enjoyed running this sawmill. It was not a lucrative business, however, for all the lumber not used at the home was given to relatives and poor neighbors.

In 1829 they built the stone house, taking the material from the farm from the ” stony pasture, ” and from a hillside quarry. From that same quarry John obtained the stones that lie on his grave and Betty’s in the Roxbury cemetery, at the base of the tall More monument.

Edward L. More and Charity Stanley More had thirteen children, all of whom lived to adulthood and had families of their own, except their thirteenth and last child, Margaret, who died at the age of ten years.

After the deaths of Betty Taylor More and of John More, Edward L. More sold this farm, and bought one in Marathon, New York. Here the younger children grew up and found their places in the world. Here Edward Livingston More died August 13, 1867; and here Charity, the brave mother, died three years later, March 28 , 1870.

Edward Livingston More was a man of honor and of strict integrity; and endowed with spirit and courage. He gave much public service for the good of his neighborhood, and held town offices of trust, such as supervisor. Perhaps his greatest contribution to the Town of Roxbury came when he served as Road Commissioner and ” laid out ” the roadway along the Delaware River from the village of Roxbury to Moresville.

He believed that ” good line – fences make good neighbors ” — and on his farm of 300 acres he had over 3,000 rods of stone wall. The neighbors on the other side of those walls thoroughly respected him.

This is the farm that is often called the ” John More Farm ” – but is perhaps better named ” The Old Stone House Farm”. ” This is the farm that the JMA owned for fifteen years: 1935-1950; and which is visited during each Reunion. It holds much of interest for the cousins, and many precious memories for the More clan.