ROBERT J. MOORE. An honorable position among the business men of Centralia is accorded our subject, who is the present Secretary of the Centralia Building and Loan Association and manager and lessee of the Sadler Opera House. He is a native of the Emerald Isle and was born in County Tyrone October 15, 1864.
Our subject was a lad of six years when he was brought to America by his paternal uncle, who located in the city of Chicago. Subsequently Robert J. went to a farm near Lisbon, ILL., where he attended the common school and afterward supplemented the knowledge gained therein by attendance at the Jennings' Seminary in Aurora. Later he became a student in the Northwestern Normal College at Geneseo, from which institution he was graduated in 1887 with the degree of Bachelor of Science.
After completing his education Mr. Moore came to Centralia and accepted the position of Principal of the East Side public schools, in which capacity he was retained for two years. Then, being desirous of following the profession of a lawyer, he began reading law in the office of W. & E. L. Stoker, of Centralia, and on the election of E. L. Stoker to the Legislature our subject was appointed to fill the vacancy thus occasioned in the Secretaryship of the Centralia Building and Loan Association.
The Centralia Building and Loan Association was organized in 1879 and has handled since that time over three-quarters of a million dollars. It has eight hundred shareholders and has made altogether six hundred and seventy-five loans. The business of the association is on the increase, and during the years 1892, 1893 and 1894 has nearly doubled. Its officers are:
T. Leander Parkinson,President;
R. J. Moore, Secretary;
James E. Marshall, Treasurer;
S. A. Frazier, Attorney.
The Directors are
T. L. Parkinson,
Seymour Andrews,
Will J. Blyth,
S. A. Frazier,
T. S. Hobbs,
Michael Touve,
John II. Oxley,
A. W. Schroeder and
Robert J. Moore.
Politically, Mr. Moore is a strong Republican. While his private affairs naturally receive the major part of his time and attention, yet he is interested in matters of public importance and is prominent in local affairs. He is a member of the Library Board of the city, of which he is Vice-President and Treasurer, and is Secretary of the Centralia Provident Association.
Socially, our subject is a Knight of Pythias and an Odd Fellow. He is a young man of excellent judgment and has always been progressive, fearless and honest in every measure calculated to benefit the community.
Source: "Portrait and Biographical Record Clinton, Washington, Marion and Jefferson Counties, Illinois"
Chapman Publishing Co, Chicago, 1894
Pages 214 & 217
Submitted by Sandy (Whalen) Bauer