John Covington Moore

Johnny C. was born November 07, 1811, in Rutherford County, NC, to John and Martha Covington Moore.

Around 1831, Johnny C. married Mary (Polly) Bryson (b. 11/24/1813, d. 11/12/1887) of the Mills River section of Henderson County, NC. Six children were born of their union:

1. William, born 1833; lived and is buried in the Mills River area of Henderson County, NC; date of death unknown.
2. Sara, born 1836; married William Herbert; date of death unknown.
3. Joab, born 1838; became a medical doctor and settled in Cherokee County, Texas; date of death unknown.
4. Elizabeth, born 1840; married George Zimmerman; date of death unknown, buried in Little Brasstown Cemetery, Clay County, NC.
5. Miriam, born 05/06/1842; married first Abner Jarret Moore; son T.C.; married second, John Lee Haynes; date of death unknown, buried in Mount Zion Cemetery, Pasco County, Florida.
6. Letha, born 1847; married John Robbins (the town of Robbinsville in Graham County, NC, is named for him); date of death unknown.

Johnny C. and Polly first lived in Macon County, NC. Later, however, they moved one county west to what was then Cherokee County. They were the first people of European descent to live in the southeastern portion of the county, which, in 1861, would become the separate county of Clay. Local historians, therefore, consider Johnny C. and Polly Moore to be the first white settlers of present-day Clay County, North Carolina.

At first, relations between the Moore family and the native Cherokee Indians were uneasy, to say the least. Nonetheless, the new settlers and the Cherokee eventually became good friends. Language lessons were exchanged, and the natives would often demonstrate their ceremonial dances to Johnny C., Polly, and the children. The Indians even taught Polly how to make hominy, or "conee-henee." Johnny C. and Polly were particularly close to a Cherokee woman named Sarah "Grandma" Peckerwood, who often took care of the children when the parents made a trip to check on their Macon County land.

When Clay County was formed out of Cherokee County in 1861, Johnny C. helped organize its government. He was also one of the three members of the first Board of Commissioners.

John Covington Moore died March 23, 1902, and is buried in the Baptist-Presbyterian Cemetery in Clay County, NC.

Sources: The Heritage of Clay County, North Carolina, Vol. 1, p. 90; personal knowledge.