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J. B. Moore (Upstanding Citizen of Just Plain Bad) Identification Tag (Ruby Valley, Nevada)

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles / Western Americana Start Price:100.00 USD Estimated At:200.00 - 400.00 USD
J. B. Moore (Upstanding Citizen of Just Plain Bad) Identification Tag (Ruby Valley, Nevada)
SOLD
300.00USDto M****4+ buyer's premium (72.00)
This item SOLD at 2017 Jul 10 @ 13:53UTC-7 : PDT/MST
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This ID tag had J. B. Moore / Ruby Val. Nev. "ZI' has been engraved on it. The reverse has a pictorial of a steer. Moore did drive Longhorns from Texas to Nevada in 1868. Jeremiah Moore held many positions of public service. He fought in several wars as an officer. However, he was a tyrannical leader while at Fort Ruby and made his men build him a magnificent ranch which he would more in to when he retired from the post. He only won his most important election on a technicality.


Jeremiah B. Moore was born in Piedmont, New Hampshire on October 28, 1823. In 1846 he enlisted in the First Massachusetts Regiment and served through the Mexican War. In 1852 he went to California where he served seven years on a police force. In 1861 he helped raise volunteers for the Great Rebellion. In 1863 he was given command of Camp Ruby in the Nevada Territory.



He would also command Fort Douglas in the Utah Territory for a short time.



While commander he had his troops develop a nearby ranch. In 1865 he asked to be relieved of duties and promptly moved into the ranch developed by United States Army troops for his personal use. [This is just the beginning of his controversial life.] The ranch was in Thousand Springs Creek Valley and had from 900 to 1,800 acres. It is said that the ranch that his former soldiers developed was so efficient that with just a couple of dogs, Moore could look after the cattle with a less commotion than most outfits could using a dozen buckaroos.



In 1869, the year this cover was sent and the year the transcontinental railroad would be completed, he drove Longhorns from Texas to Elko over the old emigrant trail. The transcontinental railroad was opened officially on May 10th. So, he must have started his drive before then, but could have easily finished after that date.



Probably due to his military background, he was appointed Justice of the Peace for Ruby Valley in Lander County (soon to become Elko County). Colonel J. B. Moore served as state senator from 1871-1874, and state assemblyman from 1877-1878. (He generally held many other positions of trust in Elko County according to Thompson & West, but we shall explore this in more detail later.)



In 1877 he was an original member of the Mexican War Volunteers of Nevada. In 1879 he was appointed as Deputy Warden of the State Prison. He became the Superintendent of the Succor Mill in Silver City, Lyon County near Devil's Gate.



But he wasn’t without his controversies:

1) While in command of Fort Ruby from July of 1863 to the fall of 1864 he was as a tough commander as ever was. He had men flogged for slight infractions of rules and other times made them walk in the blazing sun with weighted sand bags until they dropped from exhaustion. Once, as an example to Indians wishing to wage war with the whites, a friendly Indian showed him two fellow Native Americans who participated in a massacre at Gravely Ford on the Humboldt River. He promptly hung them at the post and left their bodies dangling for all of the savages to see.



2) He won the election for State Senate over WF Dyer by three votes. Dyer objected and filed a petition to have this appointment overturned. The official vote gave Moore the victory by 3 votes, but the votes of the Lone Mountain Precinct were not counted and Dyer was sure that he had nine votes from that district. He petitioned Judge Mayhugh on December 2nd. Since the election was November 9th, this did not fall into the legal 20 day period on the books and would be the technicality that would defeat him. During the official Senate investigation, Dyer asked that data and witnesses be brought to Elko to confirm his story. This was denied because of expense!



3) The last story appeared in the Eureka Sentinel in 1887. It was from a former soldier who served under Colonel Moore’s command. It seems they both had feelings for the same young lade. Colonel Moore kept the soldier inside the fort for months. He told the girl that the soldier (J. T. B.) had fled the fort and was either gone or killed. The young lady, who loved the soldier, was so distraught her family picked up and moved back east. The soldier would go mad and find his death in a deep cave.

State: Nevada City: Ruby Valley HWAC#: 48112 Date: c1870's