Moore, James Osborne

31 Oct. 1909–1 Sept. 1988

James Osborne Moore, attorney and public official, was born in Wellston, Ohio, the son of James Osborne and Cordelia Richards Moore and the descendant of several noted families from the two Carolinas. Following the death of his parents, he moved to Charlotte when he was sixteen. In 1933 he was graduated from The University of North Carolina with a law degree.

Moore joined a Charlotte firm and soon was judge pro tem of Mecklenburg County Recorder's Court. In 1941 and 1942 he was district price attorney for the Office of Price Administration, and later during World War II he served in the Pacific as signal officer on an aircraft carrier. After returning to Charlotte, he cofounded one of the state's first multispecialty law firms. He also became president of the city's Family and Children's Service Bureau. His concern for children was further demonstrated by his long years of service on the executive committee and as attorney of Thompson Orphanage in Charlotte.

He received tokens of appreciation for his service to the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina, to the North Carolina Child Care Association, and to the North Carolina Bar Association, where he worked on the appellate rules study commission. In addition to his contributions in these areas, he was a member of the Judicial Conference of the federal Fourth Circuit.

Long active in historical research, Moore was the author of A Colonial Family on the Southern Frontier, published soon after his death.

In 1936 he married Jane Margaret Morrison of Charlotte, and they had two sons, James O., Jr., who died young, and Roger A., and three daughters, Allison, Jane, and Brandon. Moore was buried in Elmwood Cemetery, Charlotte.