smith “jig’ moore
1901-1989
Life Story
A Complicated Beginning
Smith “Jig” Moore was born on September 4, 1901, in Newton County, Mississippi, to Benjamin “Boose” Moore and Martha “Lula” Nelson. His birth came within a family structure already layered with previous marriages, blended households, and complicated relationships that were not uncommon in rural Mississippi after Reconstruction.
His mother, Lula Nelson, died not long after his birth. With her passing, young Smith’s early life was marked by instability. He spent part of his childhood in the household of his uncle Matthew Nelson and aunt Minnie Moore Nelson, where he was recorded in the 1910 census under the surname Nelson. His early years reflect a child moving between homes, searching for belonging.
Though little is written about his childhood, his half-sister, Rebecca Moore McIntosh, in her own words, suggests that family memory indicates he endured harsher discipline and emotional distance within certain parts of his extended family. Yet those early wounds did not make him bitter; they shaped him into a man who valued endurance over complaint.
Work as Identity
Smith completed only the first grade. Formal education did not define his life. Work did.
By the time he reached adulthood, he understood that survival required labor. He traveled between Newton County and Hattiesburg seeking employment. During the Great Depression, he remembered long distances walked, scarce wages, and fierce competition for basic jobs.
In 1940, he was listed as a homeowner on Bethel Road in Newton County. The property was valued at one hundred dollars. He worked 48 hours per week as a yard man. By 1950, he was employed at a sawmill as a lumber stacker.
For Smith, dignity was found in effort. He believed deeply in the Scripture:
“If any would not work, neither should he eat.” — 2 Thessalonians 3:10
Work was not punishment to him. It was survival. It was righteousness.
Marriage and Family
Smith married Geneva “Eva” Haney. Together they built a household during some of the most economically difficult decades in American history.
Their early years were marked by loss. In 1929, their young son James died of pneumonia. That same year, Eva lost her mother. The Great Depression soon followed.
Through migration between Hattiesburg, Jones County, and Newton County, they eventually settled on family land in Newton County. Their household grew over the years, shaped by both sacrifice and discipline.
Like many families of their era, the structure of their household reflected both hardship and the complex realities of rural Southern life. What defined Smith was not perfection, but provision. He worked, he planted, he harvested, he sold produce, and he expected every able hand to contribute.
Education was valued, but survival required labor. Cotton fields and domestic work were part of their children’s upbringing. It was the ethic of the time.
Grandfather and Teacher of Work
To his grandchildren, Smith was both strict and tender in unexpected ways.
He took them to the garden, teaching them how to pick cucumbers from thorned vines. Then he would take them to market to sell them. A few pennies meant independence.
One granddaughter once quoted Scripture to him at nine years old — “If you don’t work, you don’t eat.” He laughed so hard he lay on the floor, delighted that a child had discovered the verse he cherished.
He asked her to repeat it often.
Underneath his sternness was joy.
Faith and Endurance
Smith joined Saint Cloud Baptist Church early in life and later became a charter member and deacon at White Stone Missionary Baptist Church.
His testimony was not long speeches. It was a song:
“God is able to carry you through.
It makes no difference what the world may do to you.
God is able to carry you through.”
He sang it often.
Those who knew his early life understood why.
He had been carried through rejection, hardship, poverty, loss, and disappointment.
He did not speak much of pain. He endured it.
Counsel and Compassion
Later in life, when a granddaughter faced marital crisis and deep personal guilt, she went to him for counsel.
He did not condemn.
He invited her into his home for prayer.
He directed her to John 14: “Let not your heart be troubled…”
He understood brokenness not from theological study, but from lived experience.
He had survived complicated beginnings and private disappointments. His faith was not theoretical. It was tested.
Later Years
After Eva passed away in November 1985, Smith lived for four more years, yearning for companionship once more. He hoped to find someone who would share both his domestic life and his devotion. In his quest, he sought out a young biscuit maker, believing that this was the type of companion he truly needed.
He never found that partnership.
On July 21, 1989, Smith Moore passed away. He was laid to rest at White Stone – Morrow Cemetery in Newton County, Mississippi.
Legacy
Smith Moore’s life was not simple. It was not flawless. It was not without complexity.
But it was steady.
He worked.
He endured.
He believed.
He provided.
He forgave.
And he sang that God was able — because he knew it to be true.
Resting Place
Whitestone Missionary Baptist Church Cemetery
Photos/Albums
- 1910 Federal Census
- 1930 Federal Census
- 1940 Federal Census
- 1950 Federal Census
- U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current
- Hattiesburg American, Negro Births, Edward Lee Moore, Thu, Jun 12, 1941 ·Page 9
- U.S. Public Records Index, 1950-1993, Volume 1
- U.S. Public Records Index, 1950-1993, Volume 2
- U.S. WWII Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947
- U.S., Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014
- U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995
- U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007
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