Moore was born in Norristown, Pennsylvania on December 25, 1810. He attended private schools for a short time, became engaged in mercantile pursuits and later in ironworks. He moved to New Jersey in 1845 and settled in Atlantic County, New Jersey at Weymouth Furnace or Weymouth Works in Hamilton Township, Atlantic County, New Jersey, working as the manager for Stephen Colwell. He engaged in the iron business there, and also became interested in the building and sailing of vessels and in the development of banks and other financial institutions. He was a judge of the Court of Common Pleas for Atlantic County from 1855 to 1865. He was one of the founders of the Republican Party and a delegate to the 1856 Republican National Convention. He moved to Mays Landing, New Jersey in 1865 and engaged in the shipbuilding business, in banking, and in the iron industry.