John Matthew "Jaybird" Moore (November 18, 1862 – February 3, 1940) was an American rancher and statesman from Texas who served in the United States House of Representatives from District 8 from 1905 to 1913.[1] He was engaged in Fort Bend County's Jaybird–Woodpecker War and affiliated with the Jaybirds. Moore was also present during the fighting at the Battle of Richmond on August 16, 1889.[2]
E. H. Loughery wrote in 1897 that Moore was engaged in merchandising and farming from 1880 to 1883, and that Moore was primarily interested in stockraising, banking and farming in Richmond after 1883. He was Chairman of the Democratic Executive Committee of Fort Bend County in 1888, and from 1890 to 1892 Moore was the president of the Jaybird Democratic Association of Fort Bend County. Prior to being elected as a member of the Texas House of Representatives, he had been a delegate to several minor and state conventions.[4]
During the Jaybird–Woodpecker War, a man was killed across the street from his home.[8]
John Matthew Moore married Lottie Dyer, daughter of J. Foster Dyer, on July 30, 1883, in Nashville, Tennessee. J. Foster Dyer was a wealthy farmer and stockman of Fort Bend County.[4] Mrs. Moore was an excellent musician and was educated in Virginia and at Baylor University at Waco. Moore was a member of Houston Lodge, No. 151 of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.[3] Moore's son, John Jr., served as a two-term Mayor of Richmond, Texas, and a two-term judge in Fort Bend County, Texas.[13] John Jr.'s son, Hilmar, was the Mayor of Richmond, and the longest-serving elected official in the United States, having served 30 terms from 1949[14][15] until Moore's death on December 4, 2012.
^Daniell, Lewis E. (1887). Personnel of the Texas State Government with Sketches of Distinguished Texans, Embracing the Executive Staff, Heads of Departments, United States Senators and Representatives, Members of the XXth legislature. Austin: Press of the City Printing Company. p. 19. LCCN19016834.
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