Edwin Warren Moïse (1810–1868) was an American medical doctor, lawyer, Speaker of the Louisiana House, Attorney General of Louisiana, and District Court Judge.

Early life

Edwin Warren Moïse was born on January 2, 1810, in

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint of South Carolina's coastline on Charleston Harbor, an inlet of the Atla ...

. His father was Hyam Moïse (1785–1811) native of

Saint-Domingue Saint-Domingue () was a French colonization of the Americas, French colony in the western portion of the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, in the area of modern-day Haiti, from 1659 to 1803. The name derives from the Spanish main city on the isl ...

(now

Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...

) and his mother, Cecelia Francis (Woolf) Moïse (1789–1871).MOÏSE
''

Jewish Encyclopedia ''The Jewish Encyclopedia: A Descriptive Record of the History, Religion, Literature, and Customs of the Jewish People from the Earliest Times to the Present Day'' is an English-language encyclopedia containing over 15,000 articles on the ...

'' He grew up in Charleston, and attended

Congregation Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim (, also known as K. K. Beth Elohim, or more simply Congregation Beth Elohim) is a Reform Jewish congregation and synagogue located in Charleston, South Carolina, in the United States. Having founded the congregation i ...

with his family.Robert N. Rosen, ''

The Jewish Confederates ''The Jewish Confederates'' is a 2001 history book authored by Robert N. Rosen about Jewish citizens of the Confederate States of America who served in the Confederate States Army (CSA) during the American Civil War of 1861–1865. As they made u ...

'', Columbia, South Carolina: University of South Carolina Press, 2000, p. 11

/ref> He was trained as a physician at the Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston Medical College.

Career

Moïse worked as a physician in

Woodville, Mississippi Woodville is one of the oldest towns in Mississippi and is the county seat of Wilkinson County, Mississippi, United States. Its population as of 2020 was 928. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of ...

, an affluent town thanks to the cotton industry. In 1840, he moved to

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

to become a lawyer. He was elected to the

Louisiana House of Representatives The Louisiana House of Representatives (; ) is the lower house in the Louisiana State Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. This chamber is composed of 105 representatives, each of whom represents approximately 4 ...

and served as Speaker of the House.Jonathan D. Sarna, Adam Mendelsohn, ''Jews and the Civil War: A Reader'', New York City: NYU Press, 2010, p. 3

/ref>Samuel S. Hill, ''Religion in the Southern States: A Historical Study'', Macon, Georgia: Mercer University Press, 1983, p. 14

/ref> He then served as

United States Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal ...

. Under Governor Robert C. Wickliffe (1819–1895), who served as the 15th Governor of Louisiana from 1856 to 1860, he served as Attorney General of Louisiana. During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

of 1861–1865, Moïse served as the District Court Judge for

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

. He was a

secessionist Secession is the formal withdrawal of a group from a Polity, political entity. The process begins once a group proclaims an act of secession (such as a declaration of independence). A secession attempt might be violent or peaceful, but the goal i ...

, supported

slavery Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

cause and subscribed to the ideas of

John C. Calhoun John Caldwell Calhoun (; March 18, 1782March 31, 1850) was an American statesman and political theorist who served as the seventh vice president of the United States from 1825 to 1832. Born in South Carolina, he adamantly defended American s ...

(1782–1850).

Personal life

Moïse was married twice. His first wife was Priscilla (Lopez) Moïse (1807–1839), the daughter of David Lopez (1750–1811) and Priscilla Lopez (1775–1856) and granddaughter of slave trader Aaron Lopez (1731–1782). They had two daughters and one son: *Cecilia Woodville Moïse (1836–1921). *Theodore Lopez Moïse (1839–1839). He died a few days after was born. *Sallie Lopez Moïse (1839–1924). Her mother died four days after her birth. His second wife was Louise (Hubert) Moïse (1827–1875), the daughter of William de St. Hubert (1781–1847) and Rose Emilie (De La Chenaye) Hubert (1796–1863), whose maternal grandfather owned a large sugar plantation in

. They had four sons and one daughter: *Louise Moïse (1854–1856). *Marie Aline Moïse Conrad (1857–1906). She married George Mather Conrad, and they had six children. *Harry Moïse (1861–1912). He married Josephine Julia (Hereford) (1862–1941), and they had four children. *Theodore Sidney Moïse (1862–1915). He married Mary Louise (Gaston) Moïse (1865–1936), the daughter of Dr John Brown Gaston (1834–1913) who served as the mayor of

Montgomery, Alabama Montgomery is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Alabama. Named for Continental Army major general Richard Montgomery, it stands beside the Alabama River on the Gulf Coastal Plain. The population was 2 ...

from 1881 to 1885, and they had five children. He worked as Superintendent of the

Georgia Central Railway The Georgia Central Railway operates about of former Seaboard Coast Line track from Macon, Georgia through Dublin, Georgia and Vidalia, Georgia to Savannah, Georgia. It also operates about of trackage between Savannah and Riceboro, Georgia, sw ...

. *Warren Hubert Moïse (1864–1939). He married Laura Mason (1876–1922), and he worked as a stock broker in San Francisco, California.

Death

Moïse died on June 29, 1868, in

Jefferson, Louisiana Jefferson is a census-designated place (CDP) in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, United States, on the north side (referred to as the "East Bank") of the Mississippi River. Jefferson is part of the New Orleans– Metairie–Kenner metropolit ...

. He was buried in the

Lafayette Cemetery Lafayette Cemetery was a cemetery in the Passyunk Square neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was established in 1828 and originally intended for 14,000 burials but over time fell into disrepair and became overcrowded with 47,000 buria ...

in New Orleans.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moise, Edwin Warren 1810 births 1868 deaths American Jews American people of Haitian descent Physicians from Mississippi Confederate Jews Judges of the Confederate States of America 19th-century American judges Lawyers from New Orleans Louisiana attorneys general Politicians from Charleston, South Carolina People from Woodville, Mississippi Politicians from New Orleans Speakers of the Louisiana House of Representatives United States attorneys for the Eastern District of Louisiana Lawyers from Charleston, South Carolina 19th-century American lawyers 19th-century members of the Louisiana State Legislature