I am looking for any information on my great grandfather Duncan Moore. My grandmother was only 4 yrs.
old when he died and her brothers and sister were all children, so they did not know much about their
father and I am carrying a name of a man whose entire family I know NOTHING about. He came to
Pamplico, SC in Florence County (which was called Orum or Caines Township back in the early 1900s).
As of now, I am stuck, because I've come across two possible answers to my story. After doing some
research, I do not believe Duncan was born in Robeson County. He may have lived there for a while as
an adult. Nothing comes up of a Duncan around my ancestor’s date of birth in Rowland or Robeson
County, NC, when I input his information. I found a record for a Duncan Moore, whose entire family is
listed as "Mulatto" (with Native and Black ancestry) and he came from an area called Welchs Creek in
Columbus County NC, which is not very far from Robeson County , where it was believed to have been
the place where 'my' Duncan was from. Also, the date in which he was born (abt. 1873) seems just a little
closer than the other Duncan (abt. 1869, though in other records the other Duncan IS listed as 1872, so
that's not much of a difference). The number two Duncan I found was from the town Union, at that time, in
New Hanover County and later, the family moved to Pender County, NC area (close to Wilmington, which
is further from Robeson County and Rowland) and he is listed as "black." The family from New Hanover &
Pender Counties, list James and Annie Moore as Duncan’s parents. The family from Welchs Creek in
Columbus County lists Benjamin and Elizabeth (Betsy) Chavis (?) Moore as Duncan’s parents.
From my calculations, Duncan was probably born abt. 1871, give or take a few years earlier or later. I
found a marriage license which stated that Duncan and Irene Hyman were married in December 21,
1916. He was 45 and she was 25! So, I am now researching two different Duncans from two different
families. I've tried to search for other census records that could differentiate between the two, perhaps
one that shows one Duncan in Welchs, NC in 1920 or vice versa, because according to the records, my
Duncan was in SC, married to my great grandmother and living with my grandmother and her sister, but
the 1920s Census only shows ONE Duncan. Which one, I don't know. I have searched for criminal
records, for his possible time in prison, hoping that would help, but to no avail. According to his death
certificate, he died in 1924 as a result of drowning in the Pee Dee River. My grandmother did tell me that.
His parents are listed as ‘unknown.’ However, they were from NC. I think the date of birth on the death
certificate is incorrect (states 1864). I am guessing he came to Florence County, SC, in the early 1900s.
Duncan Moore married Irene Hyman and they had Gardenia Moore, Aggie Lee Moore, Ned Duncan
Moore, and Harvey Moore together. My great grandmother had her eldest child, Grover Guiles, before
she was married. Duncan and Irene also had another baby girl, born between my great-aunt Gardenia
and my grandmother, Aggie. She died when she was less than a year old. He and baby Moore are buried
in the Mill Branch A.M.E. Church Cemetery. Unfortunately, there is no marker showing exactly where.
However, I have visited Irene’s grave often. I hope you can help me fill in the dots. Thanks.