He was taken to the United States as a young boy, and by the time he was twenty had seen much of the world.
He settled in South Australia around 1865 and took up employment, and later partnership, with Ernst Siekmann (c. 1830–1917), storekeeper and grain merchant of Saddleworth and Caltowie.
In 1893 for a short period he served as Commissioner of Public Works in the Downer Administration.
[2] He died on the Melbourne Express, on which he was travelling to Ballarat, Victoria on mining business with the Hon.
John Moule married Harriet Brinkworth (1847 – 26 April 1914) on 23 March 1868;[3] they lived at Saddleworth, then Marlbrough Street, East Adelaide, then "Pemberton", 35 Walkerville Road, East Adelaide.