The birth of William Moody remains to this day a mystery. Numerous hand-me-down stories in the family have been found and they tend to indicate that William was born in the New York/New Jersey area. According to a biographical sketch in The 1803 History of Knox County, Ohio, William was born about 1771 and died in August 1828, son of James Moody. William's oldest son, John, stated in an 1817 letter that William's father was named James and his mother was named Elizabeth. John believed his father William to be the son of the famous Loyalist of New Jersey, James Moody, who moved to Canada after the Revolutionary War. No proof of that relationship exists and Canadian descendants of that James Moody believe that William is the son of another James. This author has found no James Moody who can be shown to be William's father.
Family stories also indicate that William's father was a Loyalist in the Revolutionary War who left William and his mother for Canada after the War. At some point, William moved to Northumberland county, Pennsylvania and we first find him in the 1800 PA census: NORTHUMBERLAND 796 TURBET TWP showing: 2m <10 (John & Thomas); 1m 16-26 (William); 1m 26-45 (unknown); 1f 16-26 (Mary Stadden Moody). William was reported in family notes to have indentured as a blacksmith. The Pennsylvania Historical Society in Philadelphia searched for any indenture records but found none that could be William. Their records are sparse so this is certainly not conclusive.
Probably about 1794, William married Mary Margaret Stadden, daughter of Thomas Stadden and Mary Margaret Jones. The date is uncertain and is based on two items: (1) the will of Thomas Stadden, indicating a marriage before June 1797, and (2) the birth date of their first child, John, in about April 1795.
Three land records exist in the county:
No other land documentation has been located in Northumberland county. No land sales information was found to account for all of the above land purchased by William. The single grantor deed does not appear to do so.
Between 1805 & 1809, William moved to OH. The 1803 History of Knox County, OH, indicates that William emigrated to Knox County about 1805 and located in Madison Township, on the Bowling Green, four miles east of the town of Newark in 1807. Edith Collett states in her letter to Mrs. Whitaker, dated March 6, 1927, that William Moody came to settle near Newark, OH, in 1807 with Derick Cruzen and his wife, Elizabeth Stadden Cruzen. There are two pre-1808 deeds involving William shown in Licking county land record indexes. However, this is prior to Licking becoming a county and the records were not found despite the listing.
The following OH tax records for "William Moody" exist:William is also shown as a Justice of the Peace in Licking county in 1812 and 1813 marriage records.
William is shown in the 1820 OH census: LICKING 037 MADISON: 1m <10; 1m 16-26 (Thomas); 1m 45+ (William); 1f <10; 1f 10-15; 1f 16-26; 1f 45+ (Mary).
The "Centennial History of the City of Newark and Licking County, Ohio" by E. M. P. Brister; Volume 1, 1909 states:
The frequent passing of preachers through the valley, and the holding of religious services in cabins, barns, and open air, probably culminated in a determination of the settlers to erect a building for religious purposes. This was accomplished about 1810 or 1811, the building being a hewed-log structure which stood near the Bowling Green prairie. A graveyard was established here very early, and this has always been known as the "Bowling Green" church. Methodists occupied the church most of the time although the church was built without regard to religious belief. Among the original members of this Methodist church were William Moody and his wife. No records of the church have been preserved. Prior to the erection of the church, services were frequently held in the cabins of William Moody and John Channel.
These records and William's will are not available as a result of a courthouse fire in the 1870s. However, a subsequent Petition to Partition names all of William's heirs -- his wife and all children except the daughter Nancy. No documentation exists for Nancy except the total number of William's children shown in the History of Licking County and mention in a diary of John Read, husband of William's daughter Rachel.
In the fall of 1998, the author found what is believed to be the site of the church next to Bowling Green cemetery. All that remains is the stone footing wall about 6 inches high on which the log cabin may have been built. We also found Montour's Point and the supposed location of William Moody Sr's home (based on family notes). It was funny - we spoke with a nice man who lived right across the street and he said he had never heard of Montour's Point. We looked across the road to where we thought it should be and saw a plaque on an entry gate to a beautiful house. The plaque read "Montour's Point." The author wrote to the occupants in Jan 1999 but received no reply. The house is not within Newark city limits and the building department there has no information on the place. Right down the road is Bowling Green cemetery - the author's choice for the location of William's grave. Many of the Stadden's are there and they were very close families. The cemetery is a shambles though and a large number of stones are just about gone and completely unreadable. We may never know where William rests.
© 2004 Robert Moody