Henry Dunning Moore

Henry Dunning Moore (April 13, 1817 – August 11, 1887) was a Whig member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania. He was born in Goshen, Orange County, New York, on April 13, 1817. In 1828 he moved with his parents to New York City, where he attended the public schools. As a young man he entered the tailoring trade, gaining early experience in business and commerce in the rapidly growing city.

In 1844 Moore relocated to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he engaged in the mahogany and marble business. His move to Philadelphia placed him in one of the nation’s leading commercial and political centers at a time of significant urban and industrial expansion. Through his business activities he became increasingly involved in civic affairs and aligned himself with the Whig Party, which drew support from many of the city’s merchants and professionals.

Moore was elected as a Whig to the Thirty-first and Thirty-second Congresses, serving two terms in the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania. His congressional service, which took place during a significant period in American history marked by sectional tensions and debates over slavery and territorial expansion, reflected his participation in the national legislative process and his representation of the interests of his Pennsylvania constituents. He was not a candidate for reelection in 1852, concluding his service in the House after those two consecutive terms.

After leaving Congress, Moore remained active in public life in Philadelphia. In 1856 he was an unsuccessful candidate for mayor of Philadelphia, demonstrating his continued engagement in municipal politics. As the Whig Party declined in the 1850s, he became associated with the emerging Republican Party and served as a delegate to the 1860 Republican National Convention, which nominated Abraham Lincoln for the presidency. His role at the convention underscored his ongoing involvement in national political developments on the eve of the Civil War.

During the Civil War era, Moore held important state executive office in Pennsylvania. He was elected the 26th and 28th Treasurer of Pennsylvania during Governor Andrew G. Curtin’s administration, serving from 1861 to 1863 and again from 1864 to 1865. In this capacity he was responsible for overseeing the state’s finances at a time when Pennsylvania played a critical role in supporting the Union war effort. His repeated election to the treasurer’s post reflected the confidence placed in his financial and administrative abilities.

Following his service as state treasurer, Moore was appointed collector of the port of Philadelphia on March 30, 1869. This federal position, which he held until his resignation on March 26, 1871, placed him in charge of customs collections at one of the nation’s major ports, a role of considerable economic and political significance during the Reconstruction period. During this general period of his life he also traveled in Europe and resided for an extended time in St. Petersburg, Russia, living there from 1870 to 1877, which broadened his experience beyond American public life.

In his later years Moore turned to mining interests in the American West. By the mid-1880s he had become associated with and managed the silver mines known as “The Daisy” in Big Evens Gulch near Leadville, Colorado. He managed these mining operations from 1885 until his death there on August 11, 1887. Originally interred in Monument Cemetery in Philadelphia, his remains were reinterred in 1956 at Lawnview Memorial Park in Rockledge, Pennsylvania, reflecting the later relocation of burials from the former cemetery.