Clothier Hathaway Vaughn (1834-1906)

From the Brooklyn Times Union, January 30, 1906.

   The inaugural posting for 2021 takes us to Long Island, New York, and Clothier Hathaway Vaughn, once a leading business and political figure in the village of Sag Harbor. Endowed with a first name that is a misnomer, Vaughn never owned a haberdashery and has no connection to the sale of clothing! While his name is certainly unusual, Vaughn briefly followed a career at sea during his youth, taking passage aboard a whaling vessel. After returning to Sag Harbor he engaged in business, including operating a grocery. He held several local offices in his community, being coroner, constable, deputy marshal, and in 1885 was named as U.S. Collector of Customs at Sag Harbor. In the twilight of his life, Vaughn would be elected as village president of Sag Harbor, serving one term.

  The son of Joseph (1792-1851) and Tryphena Vaughn (1792-1864), Clothier Hathaway Vaugh was born in Suffolk County, New York on August 24, 1834. His first name is spelled as both Clothier and Clother, the former spelling being recorded in the 1870 and 1880 U.S. census, the New York state census, New York state land records, and the Brooklyn Daily Eagle Almanac. The latter spelling can be found on his headstone in Sag Harbor, as well as the 1891 Official Register of the United States. 

   Little is known of Vaughn's early life and education, and during his youth took work in the office of J.E. and E. Smith, a shipping concern on Long Wharf. In 1850 he took passage on the whaling ship Charlotte, then under the command of Capt. Jonas Winters. Within a short period the vessel had captured "100 barrels of sperm", and eventually touched port at Fayal (Faial) Island in Portugal. The latter period of the voyage saw Vaughn and his fellow shipmates dock at the Island of St. Helena for ship repairs, where Vaughn visited Napoleon's tomb. The Charlotte later worked along the African coast before returning to Fayal and later transported 45o barrels of whale oil. The ship would make another trip to St. Helena, with Vaughn "making several voyages coasting" prior to his return to America.

   In 1855 Clothier Vaughn married Josephine G. North (1838-1922). The couple were wed for fifty years and had a total of 12 children, listed as follows in order of birth: Ida Mandora (1856-1949), James Smith (1857-1874), Lorenzo (1859-1935), Claude (1861-1935), Edna (1865-1875), Nellie Josephine (1866-1911), Carlton (1867-1939), William T. (1868-1963), Loretta (1873-1939), Edwin Smith (died in infancy in 1874), Mabel (1876-1978; died aged 102), and John Raymond (1881-1963).

   Following the return to Sag Harbor Vaughn was again affiliated with J.E. and E. Smith, and "succeeded them in the ownership of the North Battery storehouses." After the passage of the Enrollment Act of 1863, Vaughn entered into a contract with the Union Army, and "engaged in supplying substitutes for drafted men" that could pay $300 for a man to enlist in their place. In 1864 he became chief engineer of the Sag Harbor Fire Department and was returned to that post on two further occasions, 1871-73 and 1882.

   Clothier H. Vaughn continued to raise his public profile through the remainder of the 19th century, and at various times held the posts of town constable, town coroner, notary public, deputy U.S. Marshal, Suffolk County deputy sheriff, and U.S. Special Detective. Following the start of the Cleveland administration in 1885 Vaughn was named by Secretary of the Treasury Daniel Manning as U.S. Collector of Customs for Sag Harbor, serving until June 1890. 

  Vaughn's other local political offices include a nineteen-year tenure as Sag Harbor village trustee, and for over a decade sat on the village board of education. In 1890 he served as president of the village board of health, and beginning in 1897 served as Village President of Sag Harbor. His full dates of service remain undetermined at the time of this writing, but the Brooklyn Daily Alamanac of 1899 indicates he was still the incumbent at the start of that year. 

  The latter period of Vaughn's life saw him operating a grocery store in Sag Harbor, and in January 1903 was elected president of the Sag Harbor Businessmen's Association. Following his retirement from business pursuits, the ownership of Vaughn's grocery passed to his sons Lorenzo, William, and Raymond, and he continued residence in that village until his death at age 71 on January 29, 1906. Flags in the village were lowered to half staff to honor Vaughn's memory, and he was survived by his wife and ten children. Both Vaughn and his wife were interred at the Oakland Cemetery in Sag Harbor.

From the Brooklyn Times Union, February 1, 1906.

Delazon Delimer Holdridge (1834-1919)

From the Sioux Falls Argus Leader, December 21, 1898.

  On a shortlist of political figures who've left their mark in two different states, Delazon Delimer Holdridge was a native of New York who found his business and political fortunes in Iowa and South Dakota. After settling in Iowa in the early 1860s Holdridge established a law practice in the city of Independence and was later elected as its mayor for two terms. Holdridge would be elected to one term in the Iowa House of Representatives from Buchanan County, and in 1881 removed to South Dakota. In the years following his settlement, he attained political prominence through his service as state's attorney for both Miner and Lake County, and in 1898 was elected to a term in the South Dakota House of Representatives.

  Born in Madison County, New York on September 4, 1834, Delazon Delimer Holdridge was the son of Merrill (1802-1841) and Perlina Baldwin (Harp) Holdridge (1808-1894).  Holdridge's first name has a variation in spelling, being given as Delazon and Dilazon. However, his headstone in South Dakota records the spelling as "Dilazon", a spelling that can be found in the 1870 U.S Census, the 1915 South Dakota state census, and the U.S. Veteran's Bureau pension card file. Holdridge's birth year is variously given as 1833 and 1834, with his headstone denoting the latter year. His full name is recorded as "Delazon Delimer Holdridge" in volume three of South Dakota, Sui Generis; published in 1931, and it is that spelling given here.

  Holdridge's early education was obtained in his county's public schools, and at a local academy. He went on to enroll at the Oneida Conference Seminary (later known as the Cazenovia College) and graduated in 1857. He decided to pursue a career in law, and after a period of study under future Madison County district attorney Delos W. Cameron, entered the Albany Law School. He graduated in 1860 and was shortly thereafter admitted to the New York bar. In March 1859 Holdridge married Louisa A. Loomis (1835-1929), to who he was wed for nearly sixty years. The couple had four children, including Mary Baldwin (1861-1941) and Herbert Harry (1871-1952).

  After being admitted to practice Holdridge elected to follow a teaching career, and for a brief period (1861) was head of the Union Schools of Cazenovia. In 1862 he and his family removed to Independence, Iowa, where he established a law practice. Within a year of his settlement Holdridge had gained a foothold in Buchanan County social circles, and in 1863 was put forward as a candidate for the Iowa House of Representatives. At the Union County Republican Convention in August of that year, Holdridge won the nomination, and that November was elected.

  Taking his seat in January 1864, he was named to the committees on Engrossed Bills and the Judiciary, and at the close of that year's session in April joined in the ongoing war effort, being named as Quartermaster of the 46th Reg., Iowa Volunteer Infantry. His service extended 100 days and was mustered out with the rank of first lieutenant. After returning to Iowa he continued with his law practice, and in August 1866 served as a delegate to the Republican Convention for Iowa's Ninth Judicial District. A later report on his life, published in the Sioux Falls Argus Leader, details his service as city attorney for Independence for four years but fails to relate when he may have served.

  In 1874 Holdridge returned to politics when he sought the Republican nomination for U.S. Representative from Iowa's 3rd district. Though he failed to make it past that year's primary, he "at once aided his most fortunate competitor", Lucien L. Ainsworth, in the latter's successful campaign for Congress. Though his congressional aspirations came to naught, Holdridge received a measure of consolation in March 1875 when he was elected as Mayor of Independence. He would be reelected in 1876, and in March 1877 was narrowly defeated for a third term by Democrat Oliver Hazard Perry Roszell.

   The Holdridge family left Iowa for South Dakota in 1881, first settling in Howard, Miner County. His residence there extended a decade and quickly immersed himself in the county's political scene, being elected as president of the Howard school board. In March 1882 he was elected secretary of the Dakota Eighth Judicial District Republican Convention, and two years later won election as temporary chairman of the Territorial Republican Convention held in Pierre. His service at the convention brought him into contact with another curiously named figure, Visscher Vere Barnes (profiled earlier this month), who served as a convention secretary. 

  In the 1880s Holdridge entered into a four-year stint as district attorney for Miner County, and in 1891 removed with his family to Madison in Lake County. He operated a law practice with his son Herbert and again advanced to the front rank in local politics, being elected as police justice for Madison around 1892. In November 1898 he was elected as one of two Lake County representatives to the South Dakota state legislature and took his seat in January 1899. Prior to taking his seat Holdridge was mentioned as a potential candidate for speaker of the house but was ultimately passed over for that position. He was named to the committees on penal institutions and municipal corporations and chaired the committee on the judiciary. 

From the Madison Daily Leader, January 9, 1899.

  Holdridge's term concluded in 1901 and in 1906 was elected to a four-year term as state's attorney for Lake County, which was to begin in January 1907. In a curious twist, he succeeded his son Herbert, who had served a four-year term in that post beginning in 1903. Following his term, Holdridge continued with his practice in Madison and just hours before his death appeared in court in the city with a client. On the evening of February 27, 1919, Holdridge died at the home of son Herbert, while resting in a "large comfort chair". Death was attributed to a "sudden stroke of paralysis or violent heart trouble." He was survived by his wife and three children and was later interred at the Graceland Cemetery in Madison, South Dakota.

From the Madison Daily Leader, March 3, 1919.

Submarinus Girard Norcross (1834-1888)

From the Conway Daily Sun, August 26, 2011.

  New Year's Eve is upon us, and, as per the custom first established in 2013, the year's final posting is dedicated to an especially odd-named political figure. With six previous installments of '" Strangest Name of the Year" to reflect on, this year's honoree, with his rather nautical-sounding first name, is more than worthy of that title: Submarinus Girard Norcross of Conway, New Hampshire! A native of Maine, Norcross was a clergyman who held pastorates in several states and for the last sixteen years of his life resided in Conway, New Hampshire, where he had a considerable impact through religious work and education. Despite not being a political office seeker, Norcross earns a place here on the site due to his service as a delegate from New Hampshire to the Republican National Convention of 1880.

   The eighth of nine children born to Leonard and Deborah (Nelson) Norcross, Submarinus Girard Norcross's birth occurred in Dixfield, Maine on January 21, 1834. When compared to other unusual 19th-century names featured here, the name Submarinus rests as a true U.F.O., and this bizarre first name may leave you with several questions, including "Why a first name that sounds like submarine?", "what possessed his parents to give him this name?", and "what did Norcross himself think of it?" 

  The answer behind Norcross's unwieldy first name can be found in his 1888 Poultney, Vermont Journal obituary. The father of our subject, Leonard Norcross (1798-1864), was a church deacon and inventor who in June 1834 received a patent for what would later be acknowledged as "the first fully enclosed diving suit." This inventive diving apparatus pioneered the use of elastic Indian rubber and was successfully tested without injury or fatality on the Webb River in Maine earlier in 1834. So proud was Leonard Norcross of his invention that he bestowed the name Submarinus upon his most recent child, with the Journal later relating that:

"He received his deep sounding name from the submarine dress which his father had patented the year of his son's birth."

   History doesn't record Norcross's own feelings in regards to his name, except note of his preferring to write his name as "S. Girard". The name's spelling is recorded as ending in both "-nus" and "-nas". Of these spellings, the former looks to be the correct one, as Norcross is recorded under that name by multiple sources, including the 1850 census, the 1889 General Conference of the Congregational Churches in Maine, and his 1888 Poultney Journal obituary.

  S. Girard Norcross obtained his early education at various academies in his native Maine, studying at Farmington, Bloomfield and Lewiston Falls. He briefly followed a teaching career at the last two academies and was called to the ministry in 1854 at age 20. After a two-year period of attending lectures at Harvard, Norcross returned to Maine and was licensed to preach in July 1858. Following graduation from the Bangor Theological Seminary in 1859, Norcross was ordained as a "colleague pastor" in South Bridgeton, where he remained until May 1861. On August 25, 1861, Norcross married Turner, Maine native Clara Elizabeth Cary (1836-1889), to whom he was wed until his death. The couple would remain childless. 

  After leaving his pastorate at South Bridgeton Norcross briefly resided in Florence, Alabama, where he held a pastorate in late 1861-62, and later returned to teaching, and from 1862-63 taught in Saxonville, Massachusetts. This was followed by a five year (1863-68) stint teaching at academies in Sewickley and Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania, and in 1869 returned to the ministry when he accepted a pastorate in Caledonia County, Vermont.

  Norcross and his wife resided and worked in McIndoes Falls, Vermont until 1872, and in June of that year removed to Conway, New Hampshire, where he accepted the pastorate of that town's Congregationalist Church. He would hold the pastorate until his death and beginning in June 1873 held an additional pastorate in North Conway. Norcross's long pastorate saw him oversee multiple additions to the church at Conway, and through his "urgent recommendation", a second church was constructed and completed for Conway in 1886, the Second Congregational Church. Norcross and his wife also proved influential in local education, and in addition to his time as supervisor of schools for Conway taught school at both the Conway Academy and a school under their own supervision.

  In 1880 Norcross made his lone foray into politics when he was elected as an alternate delegate from Conway to that year's Republican National Convention that was to be held in Chicago. One of twenty members of the New Hampshire delegation, Norcross saw congressman James Garfield and Chester A. Arthur of New York nominated as the party standard-bearers.

From the 1880 Republican Convention proceedings.

  Following his service as a delegate, Norcross returned to his pastorate in Conway and in 1886 was a delegate from New Hampshire's Stafford Conference to the National Council of the Congregational Churches of the United States held in Chicago. In 1887 he took ill and in February of that year retired from the pastorate of the Second Congregational Church in Conway. Through 1887-88 Norcross's health failed to improve and on September 16, 1888, he died of consumption in North Conway, aged 54. Clara Norcross survived her husband by less than a year, dying on June 16, 1889. Both were interred at the North Conway Cemetery under a headstone denoting both's devotion to "the cause of education in Conway."

From the Poultney, Vermont Journal, October 5, 1888.

  

Eastwood Eastwood (1834-1900)

Portrait from the Representative Men and Families of Rhode Island, Vol. III.

   The name would be Eastwood Eastwood. No, that isn't a typo!! This imaginatively named man was a resident of distinction in 19th century Rhode Island, serving as a member of that state's legislature, and was elected as Mayor of Central Falls shortly before his death. The above picture of him (discovered recently in Volume III of the Representative Men and Families of Rhode Island) marks the first time I've seen a portrait of this obscure man.

   While his odd name is one of the most unique in the annals of American politics, Mr. Eastwood wasn't born in the United States. Born into a family of 12 children in Clitheroe, Lancashire, Great Britain on December 28, 1834, Eastwood was the son of the Rev. John and Jane Eastwood and received his education at schools in his native county of Lancashire, attending the Cawthorne Academy. In 1857 Eastwood left England and relocated to seek a new life in the United States, settling in the town of Fall River, Massachusetts. After a short stay in that town, he moved to Providence, Rhode Island, and then finally to the Lincoln/Central Falls area where he resided for the remainder of his life.

   Following his resettlement in Lincoln, Eastwood set about establishing his roots in that town's business community. He secured a position with the Robert Clews Manufacturing Company and in 1874 company president George Gosling admitted Eastwood as a partner. The company was described by sources of the time as a "colossal enterprise" and was remarked in the Providence Journal as having "always done a large business in making textile appliances and is one of the best-known companies of its kind in this country." The company specialized in the production of a patented tin cylinder used in numerous factories and mills around the United States. Gosling and Eastwood would later become sole proprietors of this company, with Eastwood serving as President and Gosling as Secretary-Treasurer. Their lucrative partnership lasted until Eastwood's death in December 1900.

   In addition to his extensive involvement in the milling industry, Eastwood Eastwood served as the President of the Moshassuck Cemetery Corporation and is recorded by his 1900 Providence Journal obituary as having had "other large and important business interests in other parts of the state." Eastwood married his first wife, Jane Elliott, in England, and this union later saw the birth of one daughter, Sarah Jane. Following her death, Eastwood remarried to Sarah Rowse (1834-1908) on November 15, 1871. This marriage saw the birth of one son, Thomas Gosling, who died in infancy. In addition to this child, Eastwood is recorded as adopting Maude Rouse (1862-1943), Sarah Rouse's daughter from her first marriage.

   While Eastwood's business pursuits won him wide acclaim throughout Rhode Island, his activities weren't limited to commerce. Prominent in local politics for many years, Eastwood won election to the Lincoln, Rhode Island City Council in the mid-1880s and also served as Sewer Commissioner of that town. In 1892 he won election as a Republican to the Rhode Island General Assembly from Lincoln and served during the legislative term of 1893-1895. A notice on his election appeared in the Pawtucket Tribune in April 1893, acknowledging that he was "elected by a larger majority than any of his associates." This same article notes that being the friendly public citizen that he was, Eastwood "left a box of cigars at Harrison's, and Phillips and Smith's news stores for all his friends to smoke." He went on to hold a seat on the committees on the Militia and Unfinished Business during his term, and in following his legislative term served as an alderman for Central Falls in 1896 and was a past member of the Pawtucket Armory Commission.

                                        From an 1894 edition of Acts of the Rhode Island General Assembly.

   Eastwood refrained from political activity following his service as an alderman but was drawn back to the political stage in 1899 when he was nominated for Mayor of Central Falls. He won the election and in his inaugural address (published in the Providence News on January 4, 1900) remarked that: 

"We are about to begin our labors for the year; let us bear in mind that we are only the servants of the people of our good city, and they look to us for a careful, a faithful and efficient administration of the trust they have confided to our keeping. May all our acts during the present year be of a nature that will advance the interests of the city, further the welfare of its people and redound to the credit of you, its servants. To obtain these results we must work in harmony and peace."

   On November 6, 1900, Eastwood was reelected as mayor "by a majority of some 600", but despite a resounding victory, Eastwood had little to celebrate. A few weeks preceding the election Eastwood had undergone surgery on a corn that had developed on his foot, and, being a diabetic, needed a "cosmetic" to aid in stopping the flow of blood caused by the initial surgical cut. Newspaper reports of the time note that gangrene eventually set in and with that, blood poisoning. Throughout November Eastwood's health continued to sink rapidly, and on December 1, 1900, he died at his home in Central Falls as a result of blood poisoning. 

From the afternoon edition of the December 1, 1900 Providence Journal.

  The death of the 66-year-old incumbent mayor was major news in Rhode Island in 1900 and reports of the time show that he was widely mourned. The Providence Journal gave an extensive memorial to Eastwood, stating that:

 "Words of sorrow are extended on every hand, for the Central Falls mayor had won a strong place in all the hearts of its people." This same paper also relates that "while a Republican in politics, he was not the offensive kind. He would do a kind act in his official capacity for anybody without regard to politics, and it was common talk on the streets that his popularity was such that there was no man who could defeat him for the office." 

   Eastwood's funeral was first held at his home on December 4, 1900, and his remains were later relocated to the city clerk's office to lie in state. As a member of numerous fraternal organizations (including the Jenks Lodge Masons of Central Falls, the Royal Society of Goodfellows, the I.O.OF., the Washington Lodge Knights of Pythias, and the Providence Lodge of Elks), one can assume that a great many of his fellow club-men came to pay their last respects to one of Central Falls' most honored figures. Another funeral service took place at the Trinity Church in Pawtucket sometime later that day. Eastwood Eastwood was interred at the Mushassock Cemetery in Central Falls and was survived by his wife Sarah, who died in 1908 at age 74.

From the December 3, 1900 edition of the Providence Journal.

Poindexter Dunn (1834-1914)

From the June 10, 1893 edition of the New York Tribune.

   While a name like "Poindexter" usually brings to mind a freckle-faced bespectacled nerd with a pocket protector, you'd probably never guess that there was a United States Representative with "Poindexter" as a first name! That man is Poindexter Dunn, a five-term congressman from Arkansas who also distinguished himself as a lawyer and cotton planter in his native state. One of a great many "faceless" politicians that I've located over the years, this funnily named congressman continually stymied me out of a portrait of himself for many a year, and I eventually gave up hope that I'd locate one. 

  Earlier this year I finally managed to locate a picture of Mr. Dunn, courtesy of the ever useful Chronicling America newspaper archive. I'm proud to relate that the above portrait of Poindexter Dunn is (to my knowledge) the first picture of him to be available online, and the rarity of said portrait is only strengthened by the fact that not even the famed Congressional Biographical Directory (bioguide.congress.gov) has a picture of him.

   The son of Grey and Lydia Baucum Dunn, Poindexter Dunn was born on November 3, 1834, near Raleigh, North Carolina. The Dunn family left North Carolina when their son was about six years of age and resettled in the county of Limestone, Alabama, and it was here that Poindexter attended local schools. He later enrolled at the Jackson College in Columbia, Tennessee, graduating from here in the class of 1854. 

   Shortly after completing his education, Dunn began pursuing a career in law and around this time moved to the county of St. Francis in Arkansas. Within a few years of his resettlement Dunn had built up a reputation as a successful cotton grower, and in 1858 was elected to a term in the Arkansas State House of Representatives. Early in his Arkansas residency, Dunn married Ellenora (also spelled Ellanora) Patton, about whom little is known. Dunn later remarried to another Arkansas resident, Anna Fussell (1845-1901), with whom he had two daughters, Anna Mae Estes Dunn (1883-1939) and Dorothea Dunn (died as an infant in 1888.) 

  At the dawn of the Civil War in 1861, Dunn joined the ranks of the Confederacy, being elected as a company Captain, but is remarked as never seeing armed combat. Following his military service Dunn returned to his earlier law studies and in 1867 was admitted to the bar. His career as an attorney was one of marked success, with the first volume of the Biographical and Pictorial History of Arkansas denoting that Dunn's "reputation as a gifted orator soon spread beyond local barriers, and pointed him out as the coming politician of his age."

   During the early 1870s, Dunn began to immerse himself in politics, being named as a Democratic Presidential elector for Arkansas in 1872 and 1876. In the 1878 election year he mounted a campaign for the U.S. House of Representatives, and in November won the election by a vote of 8,836, with no opposition. Dunn won his second term in the house in 1880, defeating Republican candidate John R. Johnson by a vote of 15,753 to 10,407. Judging by vote totals during the time that Dunn served in Congress, he seldom faced serious opposition during his reelection bids, and during his last run for Congress in 1886 was elected without any opposition whatsoever.

   Throughout his five terms in Congress Dunn is remarked as being a thorn in the side of the large railroad companies that existed during the late 19th century. The Political Reformation of 1884, Volume 28 acknowledges that during the 1882-83 congressional term:

 "Due credit must be given to the men who threw themselves into the breach to save the peoples lands. During the whole vacation of Congress, the Hons. W.S. Rosecrans, of California, and Poindexter Dunn, of Arkansas,  were in Washington, and never failed to interpose an objection at the Interior Department whenever the railroads tried to take an advantage." 

   The W.S. Rosecrans mentioned in the above passage is none other than former Union General William Stark Rosecrans (1819-1898), who was elected to Congress from California in 1880. During the latter period of his service, Dunn chaired the House Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries and was later named to a seat on the committee on Indian Depredation Claims.

From the May 10, 1893 edition of the Los Angeles Herald.

   Dunn refused to be a candidate for reelection in 1888, having served ten years as an Arkansas representative. In that same year, he moved from Arkansas to Los Angeles, California, establishing a law practice here until his relocation in 1893. Dunn was later appointed by U.S. Secretary of the Treasury John G. Carlisle to a special commission "on the prevention of frauds on the customs revue" in the New York Custom's House and Appraisers Stores. In 1895 Dunn relocated to Baton Rouge, Louisiana where he took an interest in railroad construction. He finally settled in Bowie County, Texas in 1905, and died shortly before his 80th birthday in Texarkana on October 12, 1914. He was shortly thereafter interred in the Rose Hill Cemetery in that city and was preceded in death by his second wife Ann, who had died thirteen years previously and was buried in Memphis, Tennessee.

Atlantic Abraham Moore (1834-1916)

   Known by his contemporaries as "Lank" Moore, Atlantic Abraham Moore was indeed named after the second largest ocean in the world! A native of the Buckeye State, Moore would relocate to the American midwest in the late 1850s and following settlement in Kansas attained prominence in politics, winning election to both houses of that state's legislature. Still more political honors would await Moore after he permanently resettled in Arizona, as he served two terms in the territorial and state house of representatives, and was a delegate to the state constitutional convention of 1910.

   Atlantic "A.A." Moore was born on September 15, 1834, in Ohio. As a child he moved to Waukegan, Illinois with his family and as an adolescent lived in Wisconsin for a time. In 1858, Moore and his older brother found employment driving government ambulance wagons from Kansas City, Missouri to Santa Fe, New Mexico. The task proved to be arduous, and after one trip out the Moore brothers returned to what is now Durham, Kansas, where they bought out a trading post. Within a few short years, the area in which they had settled became Marion County, Kansas, and Lank Moore was elected as county treasurer in 1865. That same year he was elected to the Kansas House of Representatives and was re-elected to that office in 1867 and 1871.  With his name firmly established in Kansas politics, Lank Moore ran for a seat in the State Senate in 1868 and handily defeated his opponent.

   Moore continued residence in Kansas until 1882 when he relocated to the Arizona Territory and settled in Prescott. Within a short time, he established a large ranch and engaged in the raising of cattle, while also taking an interest in Arizona's vast mining industry. Moore also began involving himself in Arizona politics, serving as a Prescott City councilman for several years. 

  In 1898, the citizens of Yavapai County elected Moore to the Arizona Territorial House of Representatives, where he served from 1899-1901. He was later reelected to the state house in 1911, shortly after Arizona gained statehood. During his legislative service, Moore was named to several committees, including the Committee on Public Lands, Public Health and Statistics, and Agriculture and Irrigation. He was described in an 1899 Arizona Legislative Manual (where the below picture was located) as one of the "quietest members of the legislature, yet one who has been found by his associates as fully capable in all members of parliamentary procedure."

   The year before his reelection to the legislature, Atlantic A. Moore was named as a delegate to the Arizona Constitutional Convention, again representing Yavapai County. He died at age 82 on December 22, 1916, at the home of his son in Glendale, Arizona. A newspaper of the time lists A.A. Moore's cause of death as appendicitis. He was interred at the Walnut Grove Cemetery in Yavapai County and was survived by his second wife Nancy Waterman Moore, who died in 1926 at age 78.

Atlantic A. Moore as he appeared in an 1899 Arizona Legislative Manual.