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THE PARIS NEWS, 3 Nov 1956: 'Judge W. F. (Folsom) Moore, 88, outstanding Paris lawyer for 50 years, and former Chief Justice of the Texas Supreme Court, died Saturday at 9:30 p.m. in a Paris hospital. In failing health, the judge had been ill in the hospital two weeks following a fall. Funeral services will be Monday at 3 p.m. at the Moore residence, 711 Pine Bluff. Burial will be in Evergreen Cemetery. Gene Roden and Sons Funeral Home has charge of funeral arrangements. Judge Moore, who retired from legal practice in 1951, has served Texas as legislator, first assistant Attorney General and was appointed Chief Justice of the Texas Supreme Court in 1940. He served nearly a year. Survivors include a son, Hardy Moore, Paris, and two daughters, Mrs. Dudley Hubbard, Paris, and Mrs. Dan F. Searight, Austin. He also leaves two granddaughters, Mrs. Dwight A. Free Jr., and Mrs. William J. Lipscomb, both of Houston, a great great grandson, Dudley Agey Free, one brother, Percy Moore, Blossom; and one sister, Mrs. Nell Moore Gilmore, Blossom. His wife, Mary Goodner Moore, died in April, 1951. A daughter, Blanche, died in 1920. Born in Starkville, eastern Lamar County, on 28 Oct 1868, Judge Moore was the son of two pioneer families. His mother, Sarah Elizabeth Neal, came to Texas as an infant with her family in 1846. His father's family came to Texas 10 years later. He attended school in Blossom Prairie, Deport and Clarksville. Entering Washington and Lee University in September, 1888, he completed an academic pre-law course. While there he won the Latin scholarship, was chosen as intermediate debater, and was the final orator of the Graham-Lee Literary Society at the end of his second year. He entered the University of Texas Law School in 1890 and was graduated in 1892 with the second highest average for the two years. In addition to academic honors at the University, he was a member of the first football team at the University. Judge Moore was co-captain of the Longhorns 1891 grid team. A member of Beta Theta Pi at the University, he also was intermediate debater and president of Rusk Literary Society. After receiving his LLB degree, he began practice in Paris in 1893. In 1894 he was elected to the Texas House of Representatives, where he served four years. Later he was county chairman for the Democratic Party. Soon after taking his degree, Moore married Mary Goodner, daughter of Judge and Mrs. T.C. Goodner of McKinney. He served as chairman of the Board of Trustees of Paris schools and was a member of the Chamber of Commerce. He was a member of the Baptist Church and was Knights Templar of the Masonic Order.' Tombstone is inscribed, 'Chief Justice of Supreme Court of Texas, 1940.' THE PARIS NEWS, Sunday, June 13, 1999, page 1C: '(Picture) The Moore Law Firm is located in the newly renovated old Texas Hotel building at 100 North Main, across the street from the Lamar County Courthouse. The main entrance to the Firm is from the parking lot accessible from First Street Northeast. Photos by Marvin Gorley. Moore Law Firm back at first site Toni Clem You could say 'The Moore Law Firm has come home,' because its new office at 100 North Main Street is on the same site where William Folsom Moore began his practice of law in 1893. The firm is larger now, numbering nine attorneys. Its open house today from 2-4 p.m. is a public introduction to the renovation of the old Texas Hotel that the firm decided would be not only comfortable and convenient for law offices, but also a significant contribution to the renovation of downtown Paris - an objective shared by each of the partners. The firm takes its name from Hardy G. Moore and his father, William Folsom Moore, whose original offices were in the F. S. Linch Building, a three-story building on this site that burned in the 1916 fire. Judge Leslie Hardison had joined him and the firm was called Moore & Hardison. After the fire, the two had temporary offices until the First National Bank building was restored and they moved there in 1917. W. F. Moore was born in Lamar County on Oct. 28, 1868. He graduated from The University of Texas Law School in 1892. His son Hardy attended UT Law School also, and joined his father in the practice of law in 1931. W. F. Moore was appointed 1st Assistant Attorney General for the State of Texas in 1939, and in 1941 he was appointed Chief Justice of the Texas Supreme Court. In 1942, he returned to Paris and resumed practice with his son. They practiced together until his retirement in 1948. A. W. 'Plug' Clem and Bill Payne joined Hardy Moore in 1986. James Rodgers and Judy Hodgkiss became partners in 1990. Hardy Moore retired July 1, 1995, but remains 'of counsel' to the firm. The firm was called Moore, Payne, Clem, Rodgers & Hodgkiss until 1997, when it was changed to 'The Moore Law Firm.' Other attorneys joining the partnership include Mary W. Clark in 1997, Wes Tidwell and Phil Smith in 1998 and J. Stephen Walker in 1999. The firm remained in the First National Bank building until January 1999, when the renovation was completed and it returned to the site of the old Linch building. As the firm outgrew its First National offices, it began looking at restoring an older property in the downtown area. The Texas Hotel had been constructed on this site after the 1916 fire and was purchased in 1937 by the Frank J. Wood family which operated it many years. During the Wood's ownership, A. W. Clem III, father of Moore Law Firm partner A. W. Clem IV, leased space in the building for a 'mercantile establishment,' the same space that now houses his son's office. After Wood's death, Mrs. Wood sold the property to Margie and Nathan Bell in 1975. They operated it as a rental facility until January 1998, when they offered it to the Moore Law Firm. The office design was done by Moore Law Firm partner Bill Payne. Builder Richard Hunt did the construction. In renovating the old Texas Hotel, Payne attempted to maximize the vast open spaces of the building, assuring privacy for each of the attorneys and at the same time preserving as much of the architectural integrity of the building as possible. The offices house an extensive collection of art, and visitors will appreciate the gallery feel of the space. The main entrance opens onto a foyer with original doors that lead to an atrium lit primarily by three original skylights. The atrium is bounded by three billboard prints of artist Robert Rauchenberg's visual autobiography. Doors from the atrium lead to the offices of the firm's transactional attorneys (in the areas of real estate, probate, estates and contracts), and to eight conference rooms. One of these is the partners' conference room, with a landscape by Tallie Moore given in memory of Rae Nell Nimmo. The French conference room holds a collection of signed Justice prints by Honore Draumier and a steel engraving of a landscape by Camille Corot. The main staircase is from the hotel's original lobby and leads to the offices of the litigation attorneys upstairs and the main library. Original doors and tin ceiling tiles from the old Texas Hotel may be seen throughout the building. Photography represents different eras of historic downtown Paris and its courthouses. The dual tone photography is by Linda Payne. Local artists represented include Tallie Moore, Cathie Tyler, DeEtte Cobb, Marie Gieseke and Jamie Carter. Many of the offices and conference rooms contain art by Mexican artists Rodolfo Morales, Alejandro Colunga, Francesco Toledo, Pedro Coronel, Luis Teznado and Castro Lenero. There are a variety of antiques throughout the building, several from the original offices of W. F. Moore. The French tapestry in A. W. Clem's office is a reproduction of a 17th century Goebelin. The main entrance to The Moore Law Firm, located on the corner of North Main and Houston streets, is from the parking lot accessible from First Street Northeast.
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