admin ADELBERT MOOT is one of the leading lawyers of the Buffalo bar, and occupies a recognized place among the ablest lawyers of the State.
Mr. Moot has all his life been an independent Republican. He is actively identified with the Civil Service cause and was one of the earliest supporters of the Good Government Club movement. When a Citizens’ Association was formed to prosecute the perpetrators of the election frauds of 1892, Mr. Moot was one of the principal counsel for the Association. He has always been a potent influence for honest politics, sound citizenship and high standards in the legal profession.
Adelbert Moot was born in Allen, Allegany County, N. Y., November 22, 1854. His father was Charles D., and his mother Mary Rutherford Moot. He attended the district schools, the village school at Belmont, Nunda Academy, and the State Normal School at Genesee.
Mr. Moot read law with the Hon. D. P. Richardson of Angelica, Hon. Wilkes Angell of Belmont, and with Isaac Edwards, the author of several standard legal works. He then entered Albany Law School, from which he received the degree of L.L.B., and on November 22, 1876, was admitted to the bar. In 1877 Mr. Moot began active practice in Nunda, N. Y., forming a partnership with George M. Osgoodby, with the firm style of Osgoodby & Moot. In 1879 Mr. Moot removed to Buffalo. Soon afterward he entered into partnership with Mr. Osgoodby and Judge Titus, under the firm name of Osgoodby, Titus & Moot. This association continued till January, 1882, when Mr. Moot withdrew to become a member of the firm of Lewis, Moot & Lewis. This copartnership lasted twelve years, being dissolved when Hon. Loran L. Lewis, the senior partner, was elected to the Supreme Court bench. On Judge Lewis’s withdrawal the new firm of Moot & Lewis was formed. In 1894 this connection was dissolved, and Mr. Moot became a member of the firm of Sprague, Moot, Sprague & Brownell, which, in June, 1897, was changed to the present style of Moot, Sprague, Brownell & Marcy. Mr. Moot has been connected with many important cases to which great legal interest attached. As an all around lawyer he is often counsel against corporations, although he is more frequently found defending important corporate interests of his clients. Since 1904, he has been associated with Messrs. A. J. Rodenbeck, William B. Hornblower and John G. Milburn, in consolidating the statutes of New York, a great task that has been completed.
July 22, 1882, Mr. Moot married Miss Carrie A. Van Ness of Cuba, Allegany County, N. Y. They have three children, Richmond D., Welles V., and Seward A. Moot.
Mr. Moot finds time to do much reading and study outside of professional fields. His pursuits are clearly indicated by certain of his club affiliations. He belongs to the Liberal and Thursday clubs, the Society of Natural Sciences and the Buffalo Historical Society, and the Saturn Club. He is a member of the American and New York State Bar associations, and is one of the Faculty of the Buffalo Law School, an institution in which he takes a strong interest. In religious belief Mr. Moot is a Unitarian, being a member of the Church of Our Father. He is among the most prominent members of the Civil Service Reform Association.
SOURCE: Memorial and Family History of Erie County New York; Volume I