Frank A. Moore (November 5, 1844 – September 25, 1918) was an American politician and judge in the state of Oregon. He was the 17th Chief Justice of the

Oregon Supreme Court The Oregon Supreme Court (OSC) is the highest state court in the U.S. state of Oregon. The only court that may reverse or modify a decision of the Oregon Supreme Court is the Supreme Court of the United States.Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

’s highest court on four occasions, and he spent 26 years overall on the bench. A native of

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

, he was also a two-time Republican member of the

Oregon State Senate The Oregon State Senate is the upper house of the statewide legislature for the US state of Oregon. Along with the lower chamber Oregon House of Representatives it makes up the Oregon Legislative Assembly. There are 30 members of the state Sena ...

Early life

Moore was born on November 5, 1844, in Ellsworth, Maine, to Heard L. Moore and Bathshaba Moore (née Higgins).Corning, Howard M. ''Dictionary of Oregon History''. Binfords & Mort Publishing, 1956. p. 169.Colmer, Montagu, and Charles Erskine Scott Wood. 1910. ''History of the Bench and Bar of Oregon''. Portland, Or: Historical Pub. Co. p. 189. Moore received his education in the public schools in

and at the state normal school in

Iowa Falls, Iowa Iowa Falls is a city in Hardin County, Iowa, United States. Iowa Falls is the home of Ellsworth Community College. It is also a regional transportation center, located along U.S. Routes 20 and 65 and the Canadian National and Union Pacific Rail ...

. After his education Moore became a county superintendent for schools in

Hardin County, Iowa Hardin County is a county located in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2020 census, the population was 16,878. The county seat is Eldora. The county was named in honor of Col. John J. Hardin, of Illinois, who was killed in the Mexican–Americ ...

, serving from 1871 to 1875. He also

read law Reading law was the method used in common law countries, particularly the United States, for people to prepare for and enter the legal profession before the advent of law schools. It consisted of an extended internship or apprenticeship under the ...

Eldora, Iowa Eldora is a city in Hardin County, Iowa, United States. The population was 2,663 at the time of the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Hardin County. History Eldora was platted in 1853. It was incorporated on July 1, 1895. The name Eldora was ...

, at this time under the tutelage of Enoch W. Eastman, the then lieutenant governor of Iowa. Moore passed the

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

in Iowa in 1874, and practiced law in Eldora.

Oregon

In 1877, Moore moved to Oregon and was practicing law in St. Helens, Oregon, and was admitted to the Oregon bar in January 1879.Linde, Hans
Kadderly at 100: The Oregon court’s most fateful decision.
''

Oregon State Bar Bulletin The Oregon State Bar Association (OSBA) is a public corporation and instrumentality of the Oregon Judicial Department in the U.S. state of Oregon. Founded in 1890 as the private Oregon Bar Association, it became a public entity in 1935 that regulat ...

'', October 2003. Retrieved on January 20, 2008. He remained in private practice there until 1884 when he was elected as judge for Columbia County. In 1888, Moore was elected as a state senator to the Oregon legislature. During the 1889 legislature he represented

Columbia Columbia may refer to: * Columbia (personification), the historical female national personification of the United States, and a poetic name for America Places North America Natural features * Columbia Plateau, a geologic and geographic region in ...

, Tillamook, and

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

counties. He won re-election in 1890 to the

Oregon Senate The Oregon State Senate is the upper house of the statewide legislature for the US state of Oregon. Along with the lower chamber Oregon House of Representatives it makes up the Oregon Legislative Assembly. There are 30 members of the state Sena ...

Oregon Legislative Assembly (16th) 1891 Regular Session.
Oregon State Archives. Retrieved on January 20, 2008. Moore was elected to the

Oregon Supreme Court The Oregon Supreme Court (OSC) is the highest state court in the U.S. state of Oregon. The only court that may reverse or modify a decision of the Oregon Supreme Court is the Supreme Court of the United States.Oregon Blue Book: Earliest Authorities in Oregon - Supreme Court Justices of Oregon.
Oregon Secretary of State. Retrieved on January 20, 2008. He won re-election to additional six-year terms in 1898, 1904, 1910, and 1916. Moore then served as chief justice four times: 1896 to 1898, 1902 to 1905, 1909 to 1911, and 1915 to 1917. Moore died while in office on September 25, 1918, and was replaced by

Conrad P. Olson Conrad Patrick Olson (September 4, 1882 – March 1, 1952) was an American politician and judge in Oregon. He was the 48th justice of the Oregon Supreme Court. Additionally, the Wisconsin native served in both chambers of the Oregon Legislature du ...

Family

Frank A. Moore was married to Emma Shuntaffer on April 15, 1866. They had three children together. Moore was buried at

City View Cemetery City View Cemetery is a privately owned cemetery in Salem, Oregon, United States that was established in 1893. Its Mount Crest Abbey Mausoleum, opened in 1914, contains the remains of eight governors of Oregon. History The cemetery was establish ...

Salem, Oregon Salem ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of Oregon, and the county seat of Marion County, Oregon, Marion County. It is located in the center of the Willamette Valley alongside the Willamette River, which runs north through the city. The river ...

. Moore was a Republican. He was a Mason and a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moore, Frank A. 1844 births 1918 deaths People from Ellsworth, Maine People from Hardin County, Iowa Republican Party Oregon state senators Politicians from Salem, Oregon Chief justices of the Oregon Supreme Court People from St. Helens, Oregon Burials at City View Cemetery Lawyers from Salem, Oregon U.S. state supreme court judges admitted to the practice of law by reading law 19th-century American judges 19th-century American lawyers Justices of the Oregon Supreme Court