Eliza Jane Moore was born on March 24, 1855, within the Sni-A-Bar Township, Lafayette County, Missouri. She was the oldest child of Nathan W. Moore and Julina Ann "Johnson" Moore. Eliza had two siblings: George Henry Moore (born 1858) and John Wiley Moore (born 1860).
In June of 1860, Nathan and Julina and their two children, Eliza Jane (age 5) and George Henry (age 2) were living within the Sni-A-Bar Township in the home of his brother Aquilla Franklin Moore, and his family. Nathan and Julina's third child, John Wiley Moore, was born in October of 1860.
Eliza's father, Nathan, enlisted as a Private in the Union Army on January 30, 1863. He died of dysentery at a military hospital in Springfield, Missouri, on September 15, 1863. At the time of his death, Eliza was eight years old. Eliza's mother, Julina, married Charles Pinkard Johnson on March 1, 1866, in Lafayette County, over two years after the death of Eliza's father.
In June of 1870, Eliza (age 15), and her two brothers, George Henry (age 12) and John Wiley (age 10), were living within the Sni-A-Bar Township in the same house as their mother, Julina Ann "Moore" Johnson, their step-father, Charles Pinkard Johnson, and their three young children: Mary Elizabeth Johnson (age 3), Josiah Steven Johnson (age 2) and Samuel Nathan Johnson (age 3 months).
In 1872, Julina and Charles' fourth child, Noah W. Johnson, was born. In 1873, Eliza had her first child, Dell Washington Johnson, who was also fathered by Charles. Charles was now the father of children from both his wife, Julina, and his step-daughter, Eliza. They were all living in the same house, including Eliza's brothers George Henry and John Wiley. This caused a moral rift between the Johnson's and the local community members, and eventually was one of the factors that caused the family to leave the area.
By 1876, the entire family (Johnson's and Moore's) traveled by covered wagon to Ventura County, California. Julina and Charles soon bought a small piece of property in Saticoy, and both families lived on the property in the same house. In 1879, Charles fathered his second child with Eliza, David Sydney Johnson, and his fifth child, Lillian A. Johnson, with his wife Julina.
In June of 1980, Eliza and her two sons, Dell (age 7) and David (age 13 months), were still living in the same house with her mother, step-father and their five children: Mary (age 13), Josiah (age 12), Samuel (age 10), Noah (age 8) and Lillie (age 7 months). Charles fathered one more child with Julina, Eva Johnson (born 1885), and two more children with Eliza, Kitty Ethelena Johnson (born 1882) and Elsie Hannah Johnson (born 1890). All three children were born in Charles and Julina's house in Saticoy.
Altogether, Eliza had four children fathered by her mother's second husband, Charles Pinkard Johnson: Dell Washington Johnson, David Sidney Johnson, Kitty Ethelena Johnson and Elsie Hannah Johnson.
In June of 1900, Eliza was an employed by William E. Quesnel. She became his companion and helped care for his two children, Charles E. Quesnel and William Quesnel.
Eliza was living on the Duval Ranch, near Saticoy, when she died of stomach cancer on July 16, 1932. She was seventy-seven years old. Eliza was buried in the Plot #89 in the Blue Mountain Cemetery in Woody, Kern County, California.
The following information comes from Eliza's grand-daughter, Barbara Johnson Albitre, as told by Barbara's niece. Eliza's daughter, Elsie, replaced Eliza's original headstone, which was inscribed with the last name of "Johnson". Elsie took exception to the use of that last name, since Eliza was never married to Charles Pinkard Johnson, who was the father of her children. The headstone that replaced the original headstone was simply inscribed with the initials EJM and word "Mother". The initials EJM describes her full name, Eliza Jane Moore.
Memorial of Eliza Jane Moore (Courtesy of Find-A-Grave)
A description of the Sni-A-Bar Township, Lafayette County, Missouri (Courtesy of Wikipedia)
A description of the community of Saticoy (Courtesy of Wikipedia)
