1896-1997 Principal of Porter Academy, Superintendent of Public Instruction 1899-1901 Member of House of Representatives of the TN Legislature 1901-1903 Member of State Senate 1903-1908 Professor at Maryville College 1911-1926 Member of state Board of Education 1921-1925 Circuit Court Judge 1925-1934 United States Commissioner, Blount County

Moses Houston Gamble (1871-1934) was the son of Josiah and Rebecca Julian Gamble. He was the sixth of eleven children, raised on a farm near Maryville, Tennessee. Moses was very athletic and in the late 1890's, he became a member of Kin Takahashi's famous football team while a student at Maryville College.

In 1900, he was admitted to the bar and began practicing law in 1901 at the age of twenty-nine. He initially received his law training by studying under the direction of his cousin Major Will A. McTeer but later studied at the University of Tennssee in Knoxville. Moses became a member of the Tennessee state legislature while still attending law school there. He helped establish the law firm of Gamble, Crawford, and Goddard. In 1901, Moses was elected to the State Senate in 1901. Moses continued to practice law, building an extensive clientele. His law partner, Judge John C. Crawford, Sr. remembered Moses as "A very able lawyer and was well know for his oratory."

Moses was considered a speaker of exceptional force and ability and made many public addresses. According to his friend Samuel Tyndale Wilson, "Moses never failed to make an interesting, instructive and oratorical address on any subject assigned to him. Many times his extemporaneous addresses were masterpieces. He was at home before gatherings of ladies, delivering a patriotic speech, or an argument before a jury." His daughter Mary remembers a crowd of people assembling at their house to debate some controversial issue. Moses was 6 feet tall but some in the crowd could not see him, so he stood up on a piano stool. Because Moses was so revered, when he stepped off the stool, several in the crowd insisted that the dust from his shoes not be brushed from the stool.

After two years, Moses left his law practice and taught for five years at Maryville College. In 1908, Moses resumed his law practice. In 1921, he was appointed by Governor Albert A. Taylor as Judge of the Chancery Court and in 1922, Moses was nominated, without opposition, to succeed himself and was elected as Chancellor of the Thirteenth Chancery Court. He resigned before he completed his term in order to resume his law practice.

Moses and Nancy Caldwell met as college students and were married on June 19, 1900. They purchased a house on the corner of Cemetry and Boyd Streets on May 31st, 1901 for the sum of $800. The house originally faced Cemetry Street, now known as Cates Street. In the early 1900's, the street on the left side of the house was renamed Gamble Street (originally Boyd Street) to honor the Gamble family. Moses later decided to move the house so it faced Gamble. A picture taken in the late 1890's shows the house facing Cates (Cemetery) Street.

The Gambles started their family soon after moving in. The Gamble children were Helen Rebecca (1901), Ruth (1902), Josias  Caldwell "Joe C." (1904), Fred Richard (1906), Dorothy Grace (1908), Mary Catherine (1912), and Moses Houston Jr. (1914). After seven children, the Gamble house was too small. In 1916, Moses and his family purchased a larger house on 1107 Court Street next to Maryville College. With a large family to feed, he bought enough land with the house for a garden and a few cattle.

Education was considered a priority in the Gamble household. Moses served as Director of Maryville College for 24 years and taught at the college. In addition, he served as principal of Porter Academy and Superintendent of Public Instruction from 1896 to 1897. Nancy Gamble was a teacher in the Blount County public schools. Moses believed that education was just as important for women as for men, a position not typical for that day. All of Moses' children graduated from Maryville College with the exception of Fred who tragically died while he was a sophomore. Many attained advanced degrees.

Active in government and community affairs, his counsel was often sought by others and many times on the way to his office, Moses would frequently be delayed two or three hours by friends stopping him to seek his advice. He was always available to help others.

Moses was dedicated to both God and family. He was supportive of his children's endeavors and encouraged them to follow their dreams. When serving as judge, he spent time in prayer asking for God to grant his guidance in every judicial decision. According to Samuel Tyndale Wilson, Moses had "confidence . . and faith in a prayer-hearing and prayer-answering God." For years he taught a men's Bible class called The New Era Class in which he always inspired hearers to better living and nobler ideals. Moses served as a deacon at the New Providence Church for over twenty years. He was known for his compassion, fairness and faith in God.

On August 18, 1934, Moses Gamble died suddenly while seated on the front porch of his home. Always interested in the community he loved, Moses was listening to the highlights of the day's news as his son, Moses Jr. read the paper to him. The biographical sketch written by Samuel Tyndale Wilson and read at Moses' funeral outlines his many accomplishments and his depth of character.

Other history links:

The Gamble Family Album
Football in Another Era
Early History of The Moses Gamble House
Nathan Boyd, the Builder
Early Handwritten Deeds
Maryville in the Late 1800's

Historical information contributed by:

Mary Catharine Gamble Waldo, daughter of Moses and Nancy "Nannie" Gamble
Cathy Waldo Steger, granddaughter of Moses Gamble and daughter of Mary and Fordyce Waldo
Nancy Bromley, granddaughter of Moses and Nancy Gamble and daughter of Moses H. Gamble, Jr.
Douglas Gamble, grandson of Moses and Nancy Gamble and son of Joe C. and Frances Gamble
Mary Evelyn Russell Lane, niece of Moses Gamble
Nina Murphy, neighbor and friend of Mary Waldo Gamble and the Gamble family
Grace Anthony and her daughter Sue Dawson, friends of the family
(Ms.  Anthony taught several of Moses Gamble's grandchildren)
A. B. Goddard, attorney and son of Homer Goddard who with Moses Gamble and John C. Crawford
established the law firm of Gamble, Crawford & Goddard
Dr. Elmer Mize, historian
Vic Morton, friend of Moses Gamble
Tom Weitnauer, Community Planner-City of Maryville
David and Martha Black, attorneys
Registrar of Deeds, Blount County Courthouse

Other resources:

History of Blount County, Tennessee: From War Trial to Landing Strip, 1795-1955 by Inez Burns
The History of Blount County and It's People 1795-1995
The Maryville Times
The Maryville Enterprise
Tennessee, The Volunteer State 1769-1923 Volume II
Reflections From Our Past: Visions of the Future
Blount County Remembered: The 1890's photography of W. O. Garner
History of Tennessee: From the Earliest Times to the Present
Gamble Folder, Blount County Library
Estate Settlements in Blount County, Tennessee - Naming Heirs 1972-1915
1880 Census, Tennessee: Transcription for Blount County, Byron & Barbara Sistler
Registrar of Deeds, Blount County Courthouse
Probate Court Records