Richard Moore (1793-1874) moved from Gwynedd to Quakertown in about 1813, and quickly established himself as a teacher. Quakertown was becoming an educational and intellectual center. Quakers always supported education and had good schools. Home schools were established 100 years earlier at the very beginning of settlement. In 1813, the educational system in the United States was disorganized. Until the Free School Act was passed in 1834, there were no “public” schools.
When Richard Moore arrived in Quakertown, parents were most often required to pay an independent teacher to instruct their children. Lessons were usually held in the teacher’s home, or at a facility secured by the teacher to serve as a school. Sometimes, in more enlightened and wealthy communities, poor families could send their children to a “subscription” school that was supported by local funding. These schools were usually open to anyone — regardless of religious faith or cultural background — who could pay the tuition fees.
In Quakertown, the Richland Friends School was the oldest, most respected, and best. There is a historical gap in Richard Moore’s career from 1825 to 1833 during which he likely either became a teacher at the Friends School or went to work at the Penrose Pottery on Main Street and was learning the manufacturing business.
In the Pennsylvania Folklife magazine, Professor Lyle Rosenberger of the Historic Preservation program at Bucks County Community College reported in his article “Pottery Making in Quakertown: 1800-1879” that:
In 1800 a small pottery was begun just outside Quakertown borough limits by Abel Penrose. The business was successful and continued under Richard Moore and his son John Jackson Moore until 1879...the pottery continued to operate and produce Redware for local consumption for many years in spite of changes of ownership.
Soon after he purchased the business, Moore built a grand stone house near the pottery. It is said that the building, which still stands today on South Main Street as a private residence, was the first building of any size that was built in Upper Bucks County without “spirituous liquors” being provided to the workmen during construction. The Richard Moore House was one of the largest and most extravagant residences in the township.
Richard Moore emerged from obscurity in March of 1833. An advertisement appeared in the Bucks County Intelligencer announcing that Redware was still available from the Penrose Pottery, which was now operated by Richard Moore. That year Moore appeared on the Richland Township tax records as a “potter” for the first time. In 1834, Moore purchased the property where the pottery was located. Abel Penrose had died intestate in 1824, and his brother William finally sold the “factory” to Moore 10 years later.
William Still published a book, “The Underground Railroad Records,” in 1871. The stories of 649 slaves who found freedom through his network are chronicled. Several of the stories’ involved slaves who passed through Richard Moore’s “station” at Quakertown.
Hetty Scott (alias Margaret Ducans) escaped from her slave master in Harvard, Maryland. Eventually Hetty, her four children and another couple made their way to Quakertown. Still tells us:
“Arriving at Quakertown, PA, they found friends of the slave, who welcomed them to their homes and sympathy, gladdening the hearts of all concerned. For prudential reasons it was deemed desirable to separate the party, to send some one way and some another. Thus safely, through the kind offices and aid of friends at Quakertown, they were duly forwarded to the General Vigilance Committee in Philadelphia. Here similar acts of charity were extended to them, and they were directed to Canada.”
A clearer picture of the esteem and stature Richard Moore achieved in can be drawn by reviewing a talk given to the Bucks County Historical Society on May 28, 1901, by Dr. Joseph Thomas, a pillar of the Quakertown community himself. Thomas, a wounded Civil War veteran, was a successful physician, a founder and first president of Quakertown National Bank, and one of the architects of the Quakertown School District. He served in the State Senate in 1878.
Dr. Thomas knew Richard Moore well. Their careers and renown in Quakertown overlapped. In his presentation to the Historical Society, he said of Richard Moore:
“Richard Moore was identified with the town [of Quakertown] in almost every interest and business, religious and social. He was a man of great purity of character, noble nature and generous disposition. In appearance he was portly and dignified in bearing, indicative of his true nature….He died in 1874, regretted by everyone who knew him.”
Jack Schick is vice president of the Quakertown Historical Society.
“Heralding Our History” is a weekly feature. Each month, the Herald delves into the history of one of its towns.
Join our readers whose generous donations are making it possible for you to read our news coverage. Help keep local journalism alive and our community strong. Donate today.
