Edwin Warren Moise

Edwin Warren Moise (1832-1902) was born in Charleston, South Carolina on May 21, 1832 to Abraham Moise (1799-1869) and Caroline Moses (1808-1880). As a young man, he worked for a local wholesale grocery business. In 1852, he opened his own store at 32 Vendue Range in Charleston from which he sold groceries and firearms. Edwin remained in business in Charleston until 1855, when a storm destroyed Vendue Range and his cabin on Sullivan’s Island. He then moved to Columbus, Georgia to stay on his uncle Raphael J. Moses’s (1812-1893) plantation. Soon thereafter, Edwin was admitted to the Georgia bar and began practicing as an attorney. Although opposed to secession, he joined the Confederacy with the outbreak of the Civil War. With his sizable fortune, Edwin raised a company of 120 mounted troops. Under Edwin’s command, Moise’s Company, as the company became known, saw extensive action during the war, serving with the Army of Northern Virginia. After the war, Edwin moved to Sumter, South Carolina with his wife Esther Lyon (1837-1917), whom he married in 1858, and children. There, he continued to practice law and became a prominent figure in state politics, serving as Adjutant and State Inspector from 1876 until 1880.