[1] Through his mother's side of the family, Moreland could trace his lineage to Major Charles Robertson, a soldier in the American Revolutionary War.

[3] They arrived in the Oregon Territory in October, 1852, and by November Jesse had settled a Donation Land Claim for 320 acres near the town of Needy.

In 1885 Governor Moody appointed him judge of Multnomah County to complete an unelected term for one year, and when his term ended he formed a partnership with William York Masters, Moreland and Masters, that ended in 1890 when Moreland was elected judge of the Multnomah County Court for four years.

[11][12] At the time of the Crystal Springs Addition,[13] Judge Moreland was working in Salem as the Clerk of the Oregon Supreme Court, and he may have played only a minor role in the real estate developments named for him.

Ladd sold the property to the public through a subsidiary known as the Columbia Trust Co.[14] After development of the Westmoreland and Eastmoreland neighborhoods, the area surrounding the intersection of SE Milwaukie Avenue and Bybee Boulevard became known informally as Moreland.