Joel Moody was born in New Brunswick province, Canada, in 1833, though he grew up in Illinois in what would later be St. Charles, on the Fox River. He was educated at Oberlin College in Ohio and at the University of Michigan and eventually began working as a lawyer in Columbus, Ohio. While still in the state he married Elizabeth King of Oberlin. In 1858 Moody and his wife moved to Leavenworth, Kansas. They did not remain there long, going to Woodson County and then Mound City, Linn County. While in Kansas, Moody held a variety of positions, including news editor and publisher, territorial and state legislator, poet and author (perhaps best known for his "Song of Kansas" work), and lawyer. He served in the Civil War, starting as a private and quickly being promoted to lieutenant, finishing his military career as a captain in the Second Indian Regiment and commanding company H. When Moody's first wife died in the 1880s, he remarried to Mrs. Ella Choats Porter. They moved to Abbeville, southern Louisiana and lived there for a number of years. But in 1906 they returned to Kansas, residing in Topeka. Joel Moody died there in 1914 at the age of eighty.
From the description of Joel Moody papers, circa 1856 - 1917 (Kansas State Historical Society). WorldCat record id: 720652333
