Charles Edward Moore’s paternal grandparents, William Moore and Elizabeth Chamberlain, emigrated from England in 1844 with six of their children. Four more children were born in Canada. In 1845, they leased a lot in Ellice Township to take up farming. They were able to stay with a neighbour until a shanty was erected in which they could live. By 1855, they were able to buy the farm and to register the deed. Over the years, they added more than one hundred acres to their original farm.

Charles’ parents, John and Mary, bought the farm across the road from his parents and after his father’s death in 1890, took over the original farm. Charles, who had been born in 1874, took title to his parents’ original farm when he married Bertha Kruspe in 1900. The couple’s only child, Gladys Mary, was born there in 1905.

In 1914, Charles and Bertha sold their property in Ellice and moved with their daughter to the newly-built house at 265 Cambria Street, Stratford. In a major departure from farming, Charles worked for the Dominion Sugar Beet Company as their agricultural superintendent. He had a number of other jobs, and eventually became the district manager for the Canada Life Insurance Company.

From the beginning of his life in Stratford, Charles E. Moore was involved in community service. He was president of the Lawn Bowling Club, president of the Board of Trade, and a member of the Stratford Industrial Commission, as well as being an active member of Central United Church. He was also deeply involved in the political life of the city. In 1922, he became a member of city council and remained there until he was elected mayor in 1930 and in 1931. Afterwards, he was re-elected to the city council where he served for a total of fifteen years.

Bertha died in 1950 and Charles in 1959. They lived out their lives in the house they bought in 1914. They are buried together in the Sebringville Cemetery. Gladys Mary attended London Normal School to become a teacher. In 1931, she married Frederick Finlay Wilcox. The couple had two sons and lived in Kitchener. Upon the deaths of Gladys and her husband, they were also buried in the Sebringville Cemetery.