Person:Nathaniel Moore (1)

! Cutter Gen. 7 Fam. History of Central NY, Vol III, p. 1547-48

Nathaniel is often matched with Sarah Jackson, daughter of Person:Robert Jackson (1) who names his daughter as "Sarah, wife of Nathaniel Moore". This appears to be a classic case of jumping to conclusions, and fitting the data to match.

Because Nathaniel's uncle Nathaniel gets paired with Sarah Vail, the match of this Nathaniel to Sarah Jackson is by process of elimination, in order to comply with Robert Jackson's will. However, this arrangement appears incorrect. For starters, this Nathaniel is too young to have been the one who married Sarah Jackson who was probably born abt 1654 (mentioned in a will in 1657, oldest of two daughters of a mother who died about 1656, refer to the Harry Macy NYGBR article cited on her father's page), and who is married and a mother of "children" according to her father's will of 1683, before this Nathaniel would have been 18. Alternatively, Source:Moore, Charles B. Town of Southold, Long Island, Personal Index Prior to 1698, and Index of 1698, p. 101, does not give a name for the wife of this Nathaniel, as little is known of him. Is there even evidence that he married?

In Suffolk County Historical Society Register, Vol. 9, No. 4, p. 103: Celebration of the 250th Anniversary of the Formation of the Town and the Church of Southold, L.I., Notes from "C.B.Moore's Addresss", he (Charles B. Moore) refutes the proof that the older Nathaniel Moore married Sarah Vail which appears to be based solely on the older Nathaniel calling Jeremiah Vail his brother-in-law in his will, and not any record of the marriage. Charles B. Moore offers one possible alternate explanation for this relationship (there may be yet another as well), removing the requirement that the older Nathaniel married Sarah Vail.

The birth date on this page of about 1665 [since changed to 1680, as suggested in this argument] is one of the earlier estimates one sees for this Nathaniel. Often I see about 1669. This may come from the book "Moore" by Arthur Clayton Moore, but as I have not seen that book, I only guess based on the coincidence of it being cited. However, in a deed 26 Dec 1704, father Thomas Moore gives land to "my youngest son Nathaniel Moore". To be of legal age to own land by 1704, Nathaniel would have been born before 1683, but the estimated birth date for his brother John is 1677, suggesting that for Nathaniel to be younger, his birth date might actually have been about 1680, about 15 years later than the date shown on this page. It is probable that the estimate was skewed by researchers to match better with the proposed marriage to Sarah Jackson, but constrained by the parents marriage in 1662 and since brother Thomas is clearly identified as the oldest son in a deed, 1665 was the best they could do. And it still doesn't fit.

The commonly cited death date of 1733 for this Nathaniel may also be an artifact of mistakenly matching Nathaniel to Sarah Jackson, because Sarah Moore, widow of Nathaniel, d. 1733, and it becomes necessary to place Nathaniel's death before 1733 to have this Sarah qualify as a widow. Whereas, if Sarah Jackson married the older Nathaniel, who d. 1698, there is no such requirement... --Jrich 11:31, 23 February 2011 (EST)