Mary Caroline Gudger Moore
"BIOGRAPHY"
Page 1 MARY CAROLINE GUDGER MOORE was born in Buncombe County January 21, 1833 and was the daughter of Samuel Bell and Elizabeth Lowry Gudger.  She married William Hamilton Moore October 17, 1855, sone of Charles and Margaret Penland Moore.  He was born April 24, 1812 and died September 17, 1879.  Mary Caroline died April 24, 1917 at the home of her daughter, Mrs. T. P. Gaston of Candler, N. C., with whom she made her home.  She and her husband are buried in the Oak Forest Church yard.  They had seven children.

1.  Walter Evans Moore married Laura Rebecca Enloe.  He was elected to the General Assembly of N. C. in 1899 and again in 1910, Speaker of the House of Representatives and was chosen Judge of the Superior Court of the 20th judicial district to serve an eight year term.  he was also active in the founding of Western Carolina Teachers College and Moore Hall was named in his honor.

2.  Nina May married William Car Battle.  She is buried in Little Rock, Arkansas.

3.  Margaret Ann Elizabeth died in infancy.

4.  Eugenia Evelyn (Jenrie) married Dr. Whipple William Clarke and resided in Old Fort, N. C. until his death in 1904.  She died at the home of her son and daughter-in-law, Mr. & Mrs. D. L. Clarke of Oak Ridge, Tenn. at the age of 101.  Buried at Oak Forest Presbyterian Church.

5.  Lucy Swain married Thomas Pinkney Gaston of Candler, N. C.  Both are buried at Oak Forest Presbyterian Church.

6.  Margaret Elizabeth married 1st to Burke Sherrill and 2nd to James Erwin Patton

7.  Mary Hamilton (Marrie) married Benjamin Hill Greenwood

Mary Caroline Moore was tall and slender (about 5' 9") with dark brown hair and eyes and was said to have had a wonderful disposition.  She was well
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2		 educated, a devoted Mother, devout Christian and highly respected among her family and friends.

She was very talented in the art of writing and telling children's stories which became a past time in her declining years.  The last ten or twelve years of her life, she was conflicted to her bed or a wheel chair as she was so afflicted with rheumatoid arthritis.  Her hands were so crippled that it was very difficult for her to write legibly and was in much pain.  It was her delight to gather children about her and tell them stories.  These stories are preserved in her book "Aunt Mary's Stories for Children" typed for her by Charles J. Rice (nephew) in the Autumn of 1913.  The original book is in the possession of a great grandson, Charles H. Stanton, Jr.  In the community and Western North Carolina, through those who knew her affectionately, called her "Aunt Mary."

Mary Caroline's personal experiences and love for Western North Carolina are preserved by her in the "Romance of Western Carolina" and "My Book" which were written at the request of her children.  These stories have been rewritten from her original penciled notes by Mrs. Charles H. Stanton, Jr. in order to preserve them for future generations.