Nicholas Ruxton Moore

Nicholas Ruxton Moore (July 21, 1756 – October 7, 1816) was a U.S. Representative from Maryland.

Born near Baltimore, Maryland, Moore attended the common schools. He served as member of Gist's Baltimore Independent Cadets and served throughout the greater part of the Revolutionary War, attaining the rank of captain. He served as the commander of the Baltimore Light Dragoons during the conflict.^[1] While in service, Moore wrote to George Washington to request an acceptance of his resignation from the Army; George Washington, through a letter written by James McHenry, granted permission for Moore to resign provided he had all his accounts settled with his regiment.^[2] He also took an active part in the suppression of the Whiskey Insurrection in 1794.^[3]

In 1794, Moore purchased a property north of Baltimore known as "Bosley's Adventure", a farm containing 350-acres located just north of the modern Lake Roland. The area in which his property was located is generally referred to as Ruxton-Riderwood, Maryland.^[1]

Moore served as member of the Maryland House of Delegates in 1801 and 1802. In 1802, he was elected as a Democratic-Republican to the Eighth and to the three succeeding Congresses, serving from March 4, 1803 to March 3, 1811. During that time he served as an at-large delegate from 1803-1807 and represented the 5th district from 1807-1811. In Congress, he served as chairman of the Committee on Accounts (Tenth and Eleventh Congresses). He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection to the Twelfth Congress. Moore was later appointed lieutenant colonel commandant of the sixth regimental cavalry district of Maryland on February 20, 1812.^[1]

In 1812, Moore was elected to the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Congresses and served from March 4, 1813, until his resignation in 1815 before the convening of the Fourteenth Congress. He again served as chairman of the Committee on Accounts (Thirteenth Congress). He died in Baltimore, Maryland, and is interred in a private cemetery near Ruxton, Maryland.^[4] He was survived by his wife and four children.^[5]

References

1. Nicholas Ruxton Moore historic marker Retrieved: February 4, 2016.
2. “To George Washington from Captain Nicholas Ruxton Moore, 20 December 1778,” Founders Online, National Archives (http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/03-18-02-0534 [last update: 2015-12-30]). Source: The Papers of George Washington, Revolutionary War Series, vol. 18, 1 November 1778 – 14 January 1779, ed. Edward G. Lengel. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2008, pp. 474–475.
3. Historical Marker Project Retrieved: February 4, 2016.
4. Find A Grave Retrieved: February 4, 2016.
5. Baltimore Patriot, October 8, 1816.

• Nicholas Ruxton Moore at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.