“M” is for Moore, James, Sr. (ca.1650-1706

“M” is for Moore, James, Sr. (ca.1650-1706. Governor. Moore arrived in South Carolina from Barbados around 1675 and became a leading Indian trader. A shrewd politician, by 1690, he was the acknowledged leader of the anti-proprietary faction, the Goose Creek Men. In 1700, with the death of the governor, the Goose Creek Men were able to maneuver Moore temporarily into the governorship—a move the Proprietors approved because Moore was an Anglican and they wanted to establish the Church of England in the colony. With England and Spain at war, Moore led an assault that captured and sacked St. Augustine but failed to capture the fort. In addition, he led a series of devastating raids on Spanish Indian mission settlements in Florida. In 1703 James Moore, Sr., stepped down from the governorship when the Proprietors appointed a new governor.