John Moore (September 8, 1793 – September 23, 1866), nicknamed "Honest John", was an English American politician who served as Lieutenant Governor of Illinois. He also served in the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War, also known in the United States as the Mexican War and in Mexico as the (''United States intervention in Mexico''), was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848. It followed the 1 ...

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

and was later elected

Illinois Treasurer The Treasurer of Illinois is an elected official of the U.S. state of Illinois. The office was created by the Constitution of Illinois. Current Occupant The current Treasurer of Illinois is Democrat Mike Frerichs. He was first elected to head t ...

Biography

John Moore was born in

Lincolnshire, England Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershire an ...

on September 8, 1793. An orphan for most of his childhood, he immigrated to the United States when he was twenty years old. After briefly living in

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

, Moore settled in

Hamilton County, Ohio Hamilton County is located in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 830,639, making it the third-most populous county in Ohio. The county seat and largest city is Cincinnati. The county i ...

. In 1830, he again headed westward to

Randolph Township, McLean County, Illinois Randolph Township is located in McLean County, Illinois. As of the 2010 census, its population was 4,375 and it contained 1,636 housing units. Randolph Township was named for Gardner Randolph, who settled in the area in January 1822, near a t ...

and became a wheelwright. A year later, he was elected a

justice of the peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

. Moore quickly rose to prominence in the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

, and by 1836, he was elected to the

Illinois House of Representatives The Illinois House of Representatives is the lower house of the Illinois General Assembly. The body was created by the first Illinois Constitution adopted in 1818. The House under the current constitution as amended in 1980 consists of 118 re ...

. He served two two-year terms before Moore was elected to the

Illinois Senate The Illinois Senate is the Upper house, upper chamber of the Illinois General Assembly, the legislative branch of the government of the U.S. state, State of Illinois in the United States. The body was created by the first state constitution adop ...

, serving one two-year term. In 1842, he was put forth as the Democratic nominee for Lieutenant Governor of Illinois with Adam W. Snyder, who died before election day. Moore was elected, defeating W. H. Henderson by seven thousand votes, and served under Governor Thomas Ford. He was the chairman of the Illinois Democratic Committee from 1846 to 1848. After Moore's Lieutenant Governor term expired, he enlisted in the 4th Regiment of Illinois Volunteers for the

. He was named

, second-in-command under

Edward Dickinson Baker Edward Dickinson Baker (February 24, 1811October 21, 1861) was an American politician, lawyer, and US army officer. In his political career, Baker served in the U.S. House of Representatives from Illinois and later as a U.S. Senator from Oregon. ...

. Moore led the A, F, and G companies in the

Siege of Veracruz The Battle of Veracruz was a 20-day siege of the key Mexican beachhead seaport of Veracruz during the Mexican–American War. Lasting from March 9–29, 1847, it began with the first large-scale amphibious assault conducted by United States ...

, one of the first groups to land ashore. Upon his return to Illinois in 1848, he was elected

, serving for seven years. Moore was a leading candidate for the Democratic nomination for Illinois Governor in 1856, but William Alexander Richardson was instead put forth. Moore was the lone Democrat serving as state officer, and was re-elected as treasurer that year. His work in this position earned him the nickname "Honest John Moore". He reprised his role as chairman of the Illinois Democratic Committee from 1858 to 1860, then again from 1862 until his death on September 23, 1866.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moore, John 1793 births 1866 deaths Democratic Party Illinois state senators Lieutenant Governors of Illinois Democratic Party members of the Illinois House of Representatives State treasurers of Illinois 19th-century American politicians