Joseph Moorer was an outstanding lawyer and political, church, and civic leader. Born in St. George, the youngest of eleven children, he graduated from The Citadel in 1906. While teaching mathematics, he studied law privately and entered practice in 1909 at Walterboro.
He served as Alderman, member of the City and County School Boards, State Democratic Party Executive Committeeman, and as a South Carolina State Legislator from 1931 until 1938, becoming Vice-Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee. Devoted to his Alma Mater, he served as the Chairman of the Board of Visitors of The Citadel and received its Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award. He was an Elder of his church and Moderator for the Charleston Presbytery. Snowden’s History of South Carolina cites him as “an important factor in professional and political life.”
His courage, integrity, willingness to work, and careful preparation of cases made him outstanding. He practiced in all of the State and Federal Courts. He was often appointed as a Special Circuit Judge.