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Moore versus Mulkey
If you look at the "Old Mulkey" early membership list you will find
my ggg-grandparents, Joel Moore and wife Regina Hestand Moore(a sister
of Daniel Hestand). They came from East TN to Monroe(Barren) Co in the
summer of 1800.
Most of the present Monroe Co Moores are descended from Joel Moore
and his brother John Moore, who followed Joel to Monroe Co and married
Daniel Hestand's daughter Margaret. There are many descendants of Joel
Moore today in Monroe Co, but few,if any, have the surname Moore. They
all came through female branches of the tree. Those named "Moore"
mostly descended from John Moore.
Joel Moore, who came to Monroe(Barren) Co in 1800 from the Big
Pigeon River region of east Tennessee, had an interesting relationship
with John Mulkey and the church. Indeed, I expect that old Joel is the
only person having the distinction of being kicked out of two
different churches by John Mulkey.
It started when Joel Moore and the Hestand clan came to the Big
Pigeon River area in eastern Tennessee in 1793. Joel married Daniel
Hestand's sister, Regina, and thus came under the influence of his in-
laws (as do most of us). Everyone who studies Monroe Co history knows
that Daniel Hestand was a big man in the church and I suppose that
Joel Moore joined the Big Pigeon Baptist Church to keep peace in the
family (if for no other reason).
Joel was an independent fellow and apparently didn't get along too
well with the church bosses. There are several entries in the BP
church minutes stating that certain church members are assigned to
visit Joel Moore to "labor with him" over various misdeeds.
The going really got tough for poor old Joel when Jonathan Mulkey's
22 year old son John moved from Washington Co, TN, over to Cocke Co
and joined the BP church. From the church minutes:
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5 Sep 1795: Received by letter Br.o John Mulkey in fellowship of the
church ....
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John Mulkey immediately started pestering Joel. Early in 1796,
Mulkey, Abraham Hestand (Joel's father-in-law) and Thomas Sullivan
were ordered to go out and bother Joel about something. From the
church minutes:
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5 Feb 1796 .... The Breathren Thomas Swilliven Abram Heaston and Jno
Mulkey appointed Labour with Joseph Graham and JOEl MOORE and
make report next Meeting of the same - ....
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Later in the year John's little brother Philip moved into the BP
area and joined the church. From the minutes:
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1 Oct 1796 ... Philip Mulkey and his wife Ruth reciev.d by letter. ....
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Now old Joel Moore was a tough guy but it was hard to hold out
against two Mulkeys, so in 1797 Joel threw in the towel and told them
all to go to hell. Of course the church wouldn't stand for this so
they excommunicated Joel:
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4 Jun 1797.... the Matter respecting Joel MOORE being brought forward and
after talking with him on the nature of his Crime and no
satesfaction obtained the church hath Declard thear none
fellowship with him and Excluded him from sociaty for wilfully
absenting himself from Meetings and being too forward in having
the law Executed against a member in sociaty - ....
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Between October 1797 and August 1798 a number of BP Church members
departed for Monroe(Barren) Co, KY. Included were John and Philip
Mulkey and the Hestand clan. John immediately settled in Monroe Co and
founded Old Mulkey Church, but the Hestands lingered for a year or two
in Green Co before coming on down to Monroe Co. Various entries in the
BP Church minutes described these departures:
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Oct 1797 .... Dismissed; Jn.o Mcqueary and wife Enoch Job and wife
Philip Mulkey and wife Jane Odell Mark Mitchel and wife.
Th.o Sylliven and John Mulkey and sd. Mulkey Ordered to write
letters of Dismistion for the above named Members ....
31 Mar 1798 .... Bro. Abram Heaston made application for a Letter of
Dismistion the same being granted unto him - ....
4 Aug 1798 .... by application for letters of Dismission for Magdelern
Haston Ann Haston Thomas Hill and wife - the same being
granted unto them - ...... Daniel Heaston mad application for
a letter of recomendation - the same being granted unto him - ..
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Now I imagine that Joel Moore was glad to see the Mulkeys leave,
but he stayed away from the BP church. However his wife Regina Hestand
Moore continued to be a member.
After the Hestands came to Monroe Co in 1800, Joel and Regina
decided to move there, so they came to Monroe Co (then Barren, of
course) and settled on Mill Creek. Joel's land contained what is now
Harlans Crossroads cemetery and was about a mile from old Mulkey.
Daniel Hestand and Daniel Pennington were neighbors of Joel. Joel and
Regina arrived in Monroe(Barren) Co in the summer of 1800.
Regina Hestand Moore and her father were admittted to the Mill Creek
Church (Old Mulkey) in the spring of 1801. I quote from the minutes:
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11 Apr 1801 Saturday.
The church met and divine worship proceeded to
business as follows: 1st A door was opened for the reception of
members, five came forward and joined by letter: ABRAHAM
HESTAND, Rebekah Wiley, REGINA MOORE ...... (rest not named).
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Now Joel would have been happy to stay away from the church, but I
imagine his wife and in-laws pestered him a lot so he finally agreed
to join. However, John Mulkey said that there was no way he would let
Joel into the Mill Creek Church, since he had been excommunicated
(with Mulkey's help) from the BP Church. Mulkey said that the only
way that Joel could come into Old Mulkey was to go back to Big Pigeon
and beg for forgiveness.
Here is what happened. In the fall of 1801 Joel took a power of
attorney from Abraham Hestand and traveled to Virginia to try to
settle his father-in-law's interest in some land he had inherited.
Joel's parents lived in the Front Royal area and this was where
Abraham's land was located. On the way back to Monroe Co, Joel decided
to stop off at the BP church (a short detour). Here is an excerpt from
the BP minutes:
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5 Dec 1801 .... Joel MOORE came before the church and made such
acknowledgements as gave the Church satisfaction and
he was restored into fellowship again ....
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When Joel brought his letter of reinstatement to John Mulkey, Mulkey
had no choice but to let him into Old Mulkey. From the minutes:
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7 May 1802 Friday.
Church met and after devine service proceeded as
follows: 1st Door opened for the reception of members there
came forward and joined by letter: JOEL MOORE, Ann Carr, and
Rachel Springer by experience. ......
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Well, to make a long story short, Joel Moore didn't get along any
better in Old Mulkey than he had in Big Pigeon. By 1806 John Mulkey
had kicked Joel out of Old Mulkey:
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13 Dec 1806 ... Church met etc. 1st The reference concerning JOEL MOORE
called for the reffered report no satisfaction obtained but he
still persisting in cinterancing doctrines contrary to the gospel
and refusing to comply with the call and request of the church.
We therefore say that he is none of us.
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As far as I can tell Joel Moore never again messed around with the
church. There is a rumor that my g-grandfather, John Harrison Moore,
briefly attended the Church of Christ in Tompkinsville shortly before
he left Monroe Co for Hill Co, TX, in 1886. I have forgiven him for
this relapse. I don't really believe it was his fault. You see, he had
married Daniel Hestand's step-grandaughter, Martha Armittie Brown, and
once again a Moore had fallen under the influence of Hestand in-laws.
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