In England the surname Moor(e) or Moor(e)s can have one of several origins:

1.  A topographical name from the Old English "mor", meaning moor or fen, or from one of several villages bearing the name, including Moore in Cheshire.

2.  A nickname for someone with a dark or swarthy complexion, from the Latin "maurus", which became "more" in Old French

3.  More rarely, from the forename More (borne by several early saints), which was introduced into England by the Normans, but was less popular here than in mainland Europe.

The spelling Moores was historically concentrated in Lancashire and Cheshire.

Note:  This particular Moores family, while not my direct ancestors, are cousins who descend from my direct Hinton line, and have been placed on a separate page for clarity.

Peter Moores, the son of Thomas Moores and his wife Sarah, was born in Wincham on 31 March 1817, and christened in Wittton on 20 April 1817.   He was a rock salt miner all his working life, and married Sophia Hinton in Witton on 31 October 1836.

The couple had eight children: 

Peter died in Witton in 1888, and Sophia died in Whitegate in 1893.

Elizabeth Moores, oldest child of Sophia Hinton and Peter Moores, was born in Wincham, and christened in Lymm on 28 May 1837.  She married John Platt, a salt maker, in a civil ceremony in Northwich on 8 April 1862.  John was born in Pickmere, and christened in Sandbach on 8 July 1832, son of William Platt and his wife Nancy.  According to the 1881 census, he was deaf from birth.

Elizabeth had an illegitimate son prior to her marriage, and another nine children with her husband:

John died in Northwich in 1897 and Elizabeth in 1911.

Thomas Moores, oldest son of Sophia Hinton and Peter Moores, was born in Wincham in 1839, and christened in Northwich on 5 April 1843 along with his two younger brothers, James and Joseph.  He worked in the local salt industry, like several of his relatives, and is recorded on most censuses as a salt boiler.  In 1861, he married Maria Mary Brady, an Irishwoman from Meath, at Manchester Cathedral, and the couple lived in Liverpool for a few years before returning to Cheshire.

Thomas and Maria had seven children:

Maria died in Northwich in 1908 and Thomas in 1926.

Sarah Moores, daughter of Sophia Hinton and Peter Moores, was christened in Whitegate, Cheshire on 12 January 1845, and married William Kettle there on 3 September 1865.  William was born in Witton in about 1845, and was a salt maker by trade.  The couple had ten children, all born in Witton:

Sarah died in Witton in 1892, and William in 1903.

John Moores, son of Sophia Hinton and Peter Moores, was born in Whitegate, and christened in Northwich on 11 January 1846.  He worked in the local salt industry like several of his relatives, and married Annie Hodkinson in St Mary's Church, Whitegate on 28 February 1870. 

The couple had nine children:

John died in Northwich in 1913.

William Moores, son of Sophia Hinton and Peter Moores, was christened in Whitegate on 20 April 1851 and was one of the few members of his family not to work in the salt industry, becoming a boat builder instead.  He married Elizabeth Hinds at Holy Innocents Church, Fallowfield in 1876, and the couple had four children:

William died in the early 1880s, and Elizabeth remarried in Manchester in 1884, but was widowed for a second time by 1891.  When the 1911 census was taken, her two Brundrit grandchildren were staying with her.

Ann Moores, youngest child of Sophia Hinton and Peter Moores, was christened in Whitegate on 18 January 1857, and married John Wilkinson in St Mary's Church, Great Budworth on 18 January 1875.  John was born in Leftwich in about 1856, and at different times worked as a house painter and rock salt miner.

The couple had fourteen children, but only ten are known at present:

Josiah Platt, son of John Platt and Elizabeth Moores, was born in Over, and christened in Whitegate on 30 June 1867.  (His name is given as Joshua on the 1871 census, but all other records show him as Josiah.)  He was a labourer, and married Emily Carter at St Helen's Church, Witton on 22 June 1892.  The couple had five children, all born in Witton:

John Frederick Platt served in the Lancashire Fusiliers during WW1, and was wounded in the head by shell shrapnell in France on October 1917.  He was discharged from the army as no longer physically fit on 10 April 1918.

Josiah died in Northwich in 1927.

Alfred Platt, son of John Platt and Elizabeth Moores, was born in Over, and christened there on 4 September 1870.  He was a labourer in the alkali works at Winnington near Northwich (later to become ICI), and married Eliza Webb at St Cross Church, Knutsford in 1891.  The couple had six children:

Walter Platt, son of John Platt and Elizabeth Moores, was christened in Whitegate on 19 April 1874, and worked as a rock salt miner as a young man.  By 1899, he had moved to London, marrying Emma Elizabeth Cane in Shoreditch, and the couple's first two children were born in Hackney.  They then returned to Cheshire for a few years, before moving to Wandsworth, where Walter was recorded as a school caretaker in 1911.

The couple had ten children:

Walter died in Northwich in 1950, and Emma died in Surrey the following year.

Herbert Platt, son of John Platt and Elizabeth Moores, was born in Witton, and christened there on 16 November 1876.  He was a labourer at the Brunner Mond alkali works at Winnington, and married Mary Ann Booth at St Paul's Church, Dane Bridge on 12 May 1900.  The couple had five known children, all born in Northwich, and at least one other child died in infancy:

Herbert served in the 5th Battalion, King's Shropshire Light Infantry during WW1, and was killed in action in the Ypres Salient on 25 September 1915.  His name figures on the Menin Gate Memorial (one of four memorials to the missing in Belgian Flanders), along with over 54,000 other men and officers whose graves are not known.  He is also remembered on the Winnington Works War Memorial, which is engraved with the names of employees who died in both world wars.

Peter Moores, son of Thomas Moores and Maria Mary Brady, was born in Over in 1868, and went into the hotel trade, working himself up from sculleryman to cook.  He married Mary Elizabeth Acheson from Douglas, Isle of Man at St Mark's Church, Hulme on 21 September 1890, and had six known children, all born in Manchester.  (At least two other children died in infancy.)

The younger Peter Moores served in 13th Battalion The King's (Liverpool Regiment) during WW1, and was killed in action on 28 March 1918.  He is remembered on the Arras Memorial, along with almost 35,000 servicemen from the United Kingdom, South Africa and New Zealand who died in the Arras sector between the spring of 1916 and 7 August 1918, and who have no known grave.

Mary Elizabeth died in Manchester in 1911, and Peter in 1927.

Catherine Moores (also known as Kate), daughter of Thomas Moores and Maria Mary Brady, was born in Over on 27 March 1871, and christened at St Mary's Church Middlewich on 11 September 1874 together with her younger sister Ellen.  She married James Barratt in Northwich in 1890, and the couple lived first in Sale, then in Winsford.  James was born in Marston in about 1854 and turned his hand to various labouring occupations.  According to the 1911 census, the couple had five children, but only four are known at present: their oldest child was born a few months before their marriage, and was registered in his mother's maiden name, but he subsequently used the surname Barratt.

Thomas Kettle, oldest son of William Kettle and Sarah Moores, was christened in Witton on 24 April 1870, and worked in the Winnington alkali works.  He married Martha Burgess at St Helen's Church, Witton on 23 December 1890, and the couple spent their married life living in or near Northwich.  They had fifteen children, the oldest of whom was born shortly before their marriage:

Thomas died in Northwich in 1938.

Sarah Jane Kettle, daughter of William Kettle and Sarah Moores, was christened in St Helen's Church, Witton on 11 February 1872, and married Frank Fox in the same church on 26 December 1896.  Frank, a smith's striker, was born in Northwich on 21 March 1859, and was the son of James Fox and his wife Ann.

Sarah had an illegitimate daughter before her marriage, and another seven children with her husband, three of whom died young:

Frank died in Northwich in 1914, and Sarah in 1937.

William Kettle, son of William Kettle and Sarah Moores, was christened in Witton on 30 March 1873, and worked as a labourer at the Winnington alkali works.  He married Catherine Lloyd (also known as Kate) in Antrobus on 28 July 1895, and had one son:

Catherine died aged just 24, and was buried at Barnton on 1 February 1897.  William then married Charlotte Elizabeth Wilding in Miles Platting in 1898, and had another son:

William died in Northwich in 1952.

Rachel Kettle, daughter of William Kettle and Sarah Moores, was christened in St Helen's Church, Witton on 21 July 1881, and married David Blease at Christ Church, Barnton on 9 July 1902.  David, a chemical labourer, was christened in Barnton on 27 July 1878, and was the son of Robert Blease and his wife Elizabeth Allcock.

The couple had nine children:

Rachel died in Northwich in 1948, and David in 1952.

Edmund Kettle, youngest son of William Kettle and Sarah Moores, was christened in Witton on Christmas Day 1887, and worked as a chemical labourer.  He married Ada Walker in St Paul's Church, Marston on 2 August 1913, and had five children, all born in or near Northwich:

Edmund died in Knutsford in 1951.

John Moores, second child and oldest son of  John Moores and Annie Hodgkinson, was born in Winsford in 1874, and worked as a labourer.  He married Ada Gillett in Nantwich in 1904, and the couple had nine children, most of whom were born in Coppenhall:

Thomas William Moores, son of  John Moores and Annie Hodgkinson, was born in Winsford in 1876, and became a postman.  He married Miriam Tomlinson at St Stephen's Church, Moulton on 17 March 1902, and the couple had four children:

Sophia Moores, daughter of  John Moores and Annie Hodgkinson, was born in Winsford in 1879, and married Thomas Williams, a farm labourer, in Northwich in 1901.  The couple had three children:

Sophia died in Northwich in 1960.

Sophia Moores, daughter of William Moores and Elizabeth Hinds, was born in Manchester in 1880, and married Ernest Brundrit at St James' Church, Higher Broughton in 1901.  Ernest, a stock keeper, was born in Stretford in 1877, and was the son of Denis George Brundrit and his wife Eleanor Kelly.  The couple had two children:

Ernest died in Salford in 1930, and Sophia in 1944.

Miriam Wilkinson, oldest daughter of John Wilkinson and Ann Moores, was born in Northwich in 1877, and married George Southern, a rock salt miner, at St Mary's Church, Great Budworth on Christmas Eve, 1894.  George was born in Marston in 1871, and was the son of Thomas Southern and his wife Ann Wood. 

The couple had five children, all born in Preesall near Lancaster:

The younger George Southern served in the Lincolnshire Regiment during WW1, and was killed in action on 27 May 1918.  He is remembered on the Soissons Memorial, which commemorates almost 4,000 officers and men of the United Kingdom forces who died during the Battles of the Aisne and the Marne in 1918 and who have no known grave.

Miriam died in 1933.

William Wilkinson, son of John Wilkinson and Ann Moores, was born in Marston in 1881, and married Gertrude Ellen Swann there in 1907.  Like many of his family, he was a rock salt miner, and his five children were all born in or near Northwich:

Gertrude died in Northwich in 1953.

Harriet Kettle, daughter of Sarah Jane Kettle, was born on 13 May 1891, and christened at St Paul's Church, Marston on 7 June 1891.  She married William Thomas Spruce, son of John Spruce and Phoebe Ann Rogerson, at St Helen's Church, Witton in 1916, and had five children:

William died in Northwich at the early age of 35, and was buried there on 17 December 1929.  Harriet outlived him by over 40 years, dying in Northwich in 1972.

Frank Fox, son of Frank Fox and Sarah Jane Kettle, was born in Northwich on 29 May 1901, and christened in St Helen's Church, Witton on 20 June 1901.  He married Dorothy Beatrice Dutton in the same church in 1929, and the couple spent their married life in or near Northwich.  They had four children: