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Est. 1842.
Thomas Moore, founder of the company, was born in 1818 in Mount Joy, Lancaster Co., PA. He first worked in a distillery at age 8, and he stayed there until he was 17, when he was apprenticed to a cooper.
In 1838, Moore married Mary Jane Wilson of Westmoreland Co., and they had seven (?) children together: William, Robert J., Morrison R., Odessa, Sarah A. (Sarah does not appear in a later account), Martha, and Elizabeth.
Moore began investing in coal mining shortly after his marriage, selling out in 1848 to buy a flour mill from his father-in-law. The mill was located in Possum Hollow in Allegheny Co. When the mill was subsequently destroyed, he built a still on the premises and produced Possum Hollow whiskey here from 1852 to 1860.
In 1859, Moore built a distillery on 1st Ave in Pittsburgh and operated it for 2-3 years, but then turned it over to his son-in-law. It subsequently was converted to the Heinze Pickle factory, one of the first concerns of modern-day Heinz.
Moore had meanwhile returned to coal mining, building one of the largest companies in the country (the Youghiogheny Hollow Coal Co., Thos. Moore Pres., William Moore Secr. & Treas.).
In 1866, Thos. Moore re-acquired the Possum Hollow distillery and continued to operate it in partnership with his son William until 1871, at which point he razed it and built a new distillery in Scotthaven, the site of one of his mines. The Scotthaven distillery began production in 1872 and was at some point managed by another of his sons, Morrison R Moore.
In 1878, Thomas built the Thos. Moore distillery in McKeesport, which continued operating until Prohibition (see the distillery listing page for more information on the Thos. Moore Distillery.)
In 1886, Moore reentered the coal business but again sold his mines and river vessels that he had been using to ship coal to ports on lake Erie in order to acquire a distillery in Buffalo, NY. Buffalo city directories suggest that this may have been RD #3 in the NY 28th tax district, which stood at the corner of WIlliam and Pratt.
Moore died in McKeesport on May 10, 1898 after a ten-day illness ("inflammation of the bowels"). In addition to his distillery and coal interests, he has served two terms in the State legislature.
The Thos Moore Distillery Co. incorporated on December 10, 1901 with a capital of $225,000. David H Lynch was Vice President of the company in 1903.
In October 1907, the company patented the Thos. Moore Whiskey trademark that appears of stoneware jugs from the company.
The Thos. Moore and Possum Hollow brand names eventually were acquired and used post-Repeal by the Ruffdale/Dillinger operation, appearing on various items such as glass swizzle sticks and slat and pepper shakers.
References:
Pittsburgh of Today, 1896
The Progressive Men of the Commonwealth, 1900
The company used the brand names:
"Banner", "Mountain State", "Possum Hollow", "Thos. Moore Possum Hollow Pure Rye", and "Thos. Moore Pure Rye." |  | Business name timeline:
Thos Moore, Thos. Moore & Son (1868-1872), Thomas Moore Distillery Co. (1900-?)
Address timeline:
13th & Water Sts. | |
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