This site is about a historic home in Manassas, Virginia (actually just north of Brentsville) named Moor Green*. The house was built by Howson Hooe circa 1815 and remains a private residence to this day. Moor Green is on the National Register of Historic Places, as well as the historic registers of the state of Virginia and Prince William County.
The purpose of this site is to initiate a genealogical collaboration
with those of you that may possess more information about the house and those
that have lived here. Thanks to
many dedicated scholars and researchers (please see the credits section), much
is known, however there are significant gaps in this body of knowledge and I
look forward to working with you in order to fill them.
I have a fairly extensive amount of documented history concerning the
families that lived at Moor Green between 1815 and the present. This includes the family names Hooe,
Reid, Foster, Steele, Thornton, Fletcher, Shoemaker, and Cox.
I specifically hope to learn more about the Civil War history of the
house and its occupants. Common
lore has it that the house was used on various occasions as both headquarters
and hospital. I believe that the
family cemetery behind the house contains graves of many soldiers, most
probably Confederate, however I have not found documentation to support
that belief.
Hopefully someone will see this site and recognize that they have a
letter, diary, picture or other record that would be helpful in solving the
mysteries of Moor Green. I hope to
use that information in support of a state historic marker for the house as
well as to properly recognize those buried in both the family and slave
cemeteries.
I hope that everyone with an interest in the house and the families that lived here will join in as we attempt to learn more about Historic Moor Green.
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*There have been numerous spellings of the name of the house and tract of land that surrounds it. These include Moor Green, More Green, Moore Green, Moorgreen, Mooregreen, Morr Green, Morrgreen, and Moregreen. Many of the variations can be attributed to the lack of standardization of spelling in the 19th century. It would be interesting to know, however, Howson’s original intent in naming the house. His will (dated 1833 and not in his hand) names the house More Green. However his sister Anne wrote many letters from the house in the 1820s and included “from Moor Green” in the letter.