[taken from Chapter 1 Manx Worthies, A.W.Moore, 1901]

JOSEPH CHRISTIAN MOORE (b. 1802, d. 1886),

was the eldest son of James Moore, of Cronkbourne, and Elizabeth Jeale. During his childhood he was delicate, and so, instead of going to school, he received private instruction from the Rev. Joseph Qualtrough, Chaplain of St. Matthew's, and Head Master of the Douglas Grammar School. When he was 16, he was sent; to the Rev. W. H. Havergal, father of the well known Frances Havergal, to be prepared for Oxford. He went there in 1823, being entered at St. Edmund Hall, and took his degree in 1827. His first and only curacy was at Measham, Derbyshire. After he had been there less than a year, his vicar died, and he was at once offered the living by the Marquis of Hastings. On accepting it he promptly set to work to improve the condition of the parish. In a few years he had succeeded in building infant and national schools, and, after much labour in seeking voluntary assistance, he raised sufficient funds to thoroughly restore his church Not content with this, he was largely instrumental in promoting church building in the parishes adjacent to Measham, he being rural dean for the southern part of Derbyshire. In 1842, he was offered and accepted the Archdeaconry of Man and the Rectory of Andreas. Here he soon found a warm friend in the bishop of the diocese, Vowler Short, his intercourse with whom he always spoke of as one of the most valued privileges of his life. It did not take him long, not only to gain the affection and respect of the parishioners of Andreas, but to make his presence felt in every part of the diocese. As at Measham, he was specially active in educational works, being wont to ride about the island paying surprise visits to the various schools, examining the children, and suggesting improvements in the methods of teaching. He was one of the most active and valued trustees of King William's College, and he also did good work as examining chaplain to the bishops. In. church building he took a considerable part, and, during the later years of his life, he restored Andreas Church, and built the tower which is so conspicuous all object over the whole of the north of the island. He was not a party man in the sense of being a high or a low Churchman, though his views were decidedly of the evangelical type. He had an unmistakable love of order, and a strong faith in the efficacy of prayer, being a man of deep personal piety. As a preacher he was forcible, thoughtful, and original. In social life he was truly hospitable, and very popular. His genuine wit and quaintness of speech were well known; and his sound common sense, whether in the pulpit or on the platform, in private conversation or in the discharge of his duties as member of the Council, have him great influence. Unmarried, and after the death of his father and mother, possessed of considerable means, he spent much more than the whole of his clerical income in charity. He had reached his 78th year before signs of declining health began to be seen in him, but he continued to discharge his duties for some two or three years longer, when he was compelled to resign them one by one.*

* An appreciative account of him, by the Rev T. E. Brown, has been published in his " Letters" (Sidney T. Irwin, 1900).