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The Moores Sisters

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Written by Juliette Burns Class of 2026

The Moores family was a staple of mid-19th century Willamette University. John Moores was a trustee of the school, and all of his children (Albert, Charles, Althea, Bertha) attended the University from the primary department available for children’s schooling before moving up to the preparatory and collegiate levels. Althea and Bertha Moores were his identical twin daughters, born in 1856. In 1865, the girls entered the Primary Department of Willamette, moving into the Preparatory Department in 1868.1 The two would end up spending much of their respective lives working with and within the university.

Althea and Bertha entered Willamette University itself in the 1870s. There is not much information about their college years, though there are mentions of their choir performances both inside and outside of the university. Several newspapers reported on their musical endeavors. In September 1877, The Oregon Statesman called Bertha “pleasant and earnest” in her performance, which was “faultless as to diction.”2 In March, 1876, The Statesman called a performance of Althea’s “the best executed piece of instrumental music that had ever been heard in the Willamette University.”3 Also in 1876, Althea and Bertha attended a Teacher’s Institute session, showing their interest in the profession.4

Althea and Bertha graduated in 1877. They were said to be “star students, both educationally and socially” and they “graduated at the head of their class.”5  Althea would go on to become professor of Modern Languages and Preceptress (“lady dean”) of the Woman’s College at Willamette in 1880, while Bertha went into teaching in the public school system.6

Althea Moores spent the majority of her life at Willamette University. Whether her position as Preceptress and professor would have endured for many decades to come is unknown, because she was forced to retire due to poor health in early 1883. On April 29, 1883, four months later, Althea Moores died at the age of twenty-seven. The College Journal, the student newspaper of Willamette at the time, said that Salem had lost “one of her purest, noblest, and best women.”7 

While no one presumes to say identical twins are the same in all things, Althea and Bertha seemed to share a passion for teaching and Willamette University. Sometime after Althea’s death, Bertha followed in her footsteps as Preceptress of the Woman’s College and professor of German and French at Willamette.8 She only stayed temporarily, resigning in June 1888.9

Following her time as a teacher in public and post secondary education, Bertha moved to Portland and was given a position at the first industrial welfare commission under Governor Oswald West in 1913. she was “among the first women to hold high position in the government of Oregon.”10 The Welfare Commission was formed to protect female and underage workers, quickly putting together a minimum wage for women and forming work protections for underage girls.11 

High Tribute Paid to Bertha Moores
The Oregon Statesman, November 22, 1932

Continuing her family’s relationship with the university, Bertha Moores became a member of the Willamette University board of trustees in 1918. Her father and brother Charles were also trustees. She remained on the board until her death.12 Bertha Moores lived to the age of 76, when she died from a case of pneumonia in 1932. B. F. Irvine, editor of The Capital Journal and a former Willamette classmate of the Moores twins, wrote that Bertha had “a heart and soul into which resentment could not enter.”13

“Earth knows no gentler, kindlier, more triumphant life.” – B. F. Irvine about Bertha Moores.

“One of the rarest and best of all the women we have ever known” – The College Journal about Althea Moores.

Endnotes

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  1. ˆ  “Primary Department,” Catalogue of the Wallamet University, Salem, Oregon, for the Academic Year 1865-6, 1865; “Preparatory Department: First Year, (Classical or Scientific),” Catalogue of the Wallamet University, Salem, Oregon, for the Academic Year 1868-9, 1868.
  2. ˆ “Special Mention,” Oregon Statesman (Salem, OR), September 14, 1877.
  3. ˆ Weekly Oregon Statesman (Salem, OR), Fri, Mar 17, 1876.
  4. ˆ “Going to Albany,” The Oregon Statesman, (Salem, OR), April 28, 1876.
  5. ˆ “State News,” Oregon City Enterprise (Oregon City, OR), January 4, 1877; “High Tribute paid to Bertha Moores,” The Oregon Statesman (Salem, OR), November 22, 1932.
  6. ˆ  The College Journal, May 1, 1883; “High Tribute Paid to Bertha Moores,” The Oregon Statesman (Salem, OR).
  7. ˆ The College Journal, May 1, 1883.
  8. ˆ “Vital Statistics,” Willamette Collegian (Salem, OR), November 18, 1932.
  9. ˆ “The University Commencement,” Capital Journal (Salem, OR), June 13, 1888.
  10. ˆ “High Tribute Paid to Bertha Moores,” The Oregon Statesman (Salem, OR).
  11. ˆ “Oregon’s New Law,” The Coos Bay Times, (Marshfield, OR), September 19, 1913; “Bill Provides for Women Workers,” The Morning Oregonian, (Portland, OR), January 6, 1913.
  12. ˆ  “Vital Statistics,” Willamette Collegian (Salem, OR).
  13. ˆ “High Tribute Paid to Bertha Moores,” The Oregon Statesman (Salem, OR).

Works Referenced

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Image Citations

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  • Commencement programs, 1877, Box 16, Folder: 15. Willamette University Publications collection, WUA066. Willamette University Archives and Special Collections.
  • “High Tribute paid to Bertha Moores.” The Oregon Statesman (Salem, OR), November 22, 1932

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