By Beverly Belcher Woody
Last week, we examined Scottish immigrant and Taylorsville merchant Alexander Anderson (A. A.) Moir; his wife, Mary Holt Cogbill; their son, William Wallace Moir; William’s wife, Carolina Virginia Martin; and their children.
This week, we turn our attention to the remaining children of A. A. and Mary Cogbill Moir.
James Cogbill Moir, born in 1824, married Louisa E. Carter and became a merchant in Leaksville, North Carolina. Their children were Mary Alice Cogbill Moir and John Alexander Moir. John Alexander married Bertha Lee Richards but left no descendants.
A.A.’s oldest daughter, Lucy Ann Elizabeth Moir, was born April 26, 1826, in Leaksville, North Carolina. She married Henry Tuggle on July 29, 1846. Henry Tuggle served as sheriff of Patrick County, Virginia, and through this marriage, the Moir and Tuggle families became closely intertwined in the civic and social life of the county.
Lucy and Henry Tuggle raised a large family in Stuart. Their children included James Edwin Tuggle, born in 1848. According to Patrick County Death Records, James died of a fever at the age of seventeen. Other children included Henry Irving Tuggle, born in 1849; Thomas Alexander Tuggle, born in 1851; and Mary Elizabeth Tuggle, born in 1853. Mary Elizabeth married Rev. D. Johnson Scales and became the mother of six children: Jessie Evelyn Scales, Harriet Mae Scales, Marguerite Lucy Scales, Thomas Henry Scales, Nellie Noel Scales, and Robert Emmett Scales—firmly establishing the Scales family in Patrick and Henry counties.
A. A.’s son Alexander Thomas Moir, born in 1828 in Leaksville, North Carolina, became a merchant and settled in Westfield. He married Elizabeth Jane Smith, daughter of Jabez H. Smith of Floyd County, Virginia. Their children included Mary Alice Moir, who married Henry Clay Allen and became the mother of Henry Moir Allen; Edgar Percival Moir; and Lucien Alexander Moir, who died in early childhood.
Another son of A. A., John William Moir (born 1833), settled in Rocky Mount, Virginia, and married Barbara Adeline Burnette. Their children included Margaret Moir, who married Walter Holdersby and became the mother of Elise Holdersby; Ida Moir, who died shortly after the birth of her son, Moir Alexander Stephens; James Cogbill Moir, a merchant of Roanoke; and John William Moir, Jr., a merchant of Kingston, North Carolina.
An anonymous letter published in The Enterprise in 1910 recounts the author’s memories of some of the Moir children: “Miss Margaret (b. 1838) married James Norman and moved to Mount Airy, N.C. They had children, one of whom, Miss Bertha, married C. T. Noel, who built and lived where Dr. W. C. Akers now resides.” I later discovered a newspaper article stating that Margaret died of breast cancer at the young age of thirty, leaving behind children aged eight, four, and one year.
The same Enterprise letter also noted: “Robert Forsyth Moir (b. 1823) was a physician who married Miss Serena Jane Clark of this county and is located at Francisco, N.C. Their son, Dr. S. A. Moir, lives at the homestead.”
The youngest child of A. A. Moir was daughter Cybella Susan Moir, born in 1840. She married Walker Timberlake Noel. Their children included Julia Fenwick Noel, who died in childhood; Moir Alexander Noel; Charles Wallace Noel; Robert Boisseau Noel; Walker Timberlake Noel; Clayson Beason Noel; and John Forsyth Noel.
One of the most professionally accomplished later descendants was Alexander “Sandy” Moir, a physician, merchant, and farmer of Francisco, North Carolina. A graduate of the University of North Carolina, he married Alpha Dunkley and became the father of Robert Dunkley Moir, Lucy Serena Moir, Samuel Alexander Moir, and Emma Lillian Moir, all born between 1894 and 1901.
From Scotland to the rolling hills of Patrick County, the Moir family story reflects the broader pioneer experience—migration, endurance, public service, and adaptation. Sheriffs, merchants, soldiers, ministers, physicians, farmers, and tradesmen emerged from this single Scottish family line, leaving an indelible imprint on Patrick County and the surrounding region.
For questions, comments, or story ideas, contact Woody at rockcastlecreek1@gmail.com or 276-692-9626.
