Moses Decker was born in Orange Co., New York, Jun 11, 1788. His parents moved west and probably lived for a time in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. It was there the family met the Reasoners who had a history in that county. With the Reasoners, the Deckers moved to Ohio arriving in Muskingum County before 1809. The Historical and Biographical Memories of Muskingum County, Ohio 1892, says "he was born of German parents and brought to Muskingum County, Ohio as a child." They lived in Union and Highland townships very close to the Reasoners. The first evidence of Moses in Muskingum is a court record in 1809 between J. Decker and S. Mapes over an aggreement to look for salt springs and mines. Moses was a witness and it is thought J. Decker is Joseph Decker who is most likely Moses' father. There were more court records where Moses appears also naming Daniel Decker, a possible brother.

Muskingum County Marriages 1803 to 1818 shows Moses Decker and Elizabeth Shepler Dec. 17, 1810 by Benj. Reasoner JP. Hand written record shows "Married on the 19th November, 1810 Moses Decker and Elizabeth Sheplor of Muskingum County given under my hand this 17th December 1810. signed Benj. Reasoner JP. The hand typed record gives the place as Highland township. Elizabeth is more than likely Elizabeth Reasoner and may have been previously married to a man named Sheplor as both the Sheplor and Reasoner name appear as middle names in later generations.

Moses may have served during the War of 1812. His obituary states he was drafted and served one campaign. The rosters of those serving during that campaign from Ohio contains a Moses Decker that might be him but no other source than family stories can prove that. There were a few other Moses Deckers in the state at that time.

The land Moses lived on in Highland township was in the Northwest Quarter of Section 14. From the Biograpical & Historical Memoirs of Muskingum County 1892, page 328 is found "In 1815 Noah Decker built the first mill in Highland township, on the northwest quarter of section 14, which was transformed from a sawmill to a distillery with a grinding attachment as a distillery auxiliary." The connection to Noah is unknown but he might be another brother or the author mistook Moses for Noah, but this was on Moses' land. Moses was later deeded land from George and Margaret Maple Werts, the Southeast quarter of the Southwest quarter of Section 7, Highland township. He had other land dealings as well but his home was in section 14.

Moses' son, Henry Decker, born Dec 23, 1814, would study medicine with Dr. Reasoner, also a pioneer of the county and probably an uncle. Henry moved to Adamsville where he remained and in turn taught medicine to many other Adamsville physicians. Henry remained in Muskingum but it was about 1840 that Moses picked up his family and moved to Mercer County, Illinois. The trip originated in Muskingum by boat, down the Muskingum River to the Ohio River and West to the Mississippi and north to Mercer Co. Some of Moses' children would remain in Mercer and also move across the river to Iowa. Moses, however, would travel up river in 1845 with a son to Wisconsin looking for better land. He found an area in sparcely populated Bad Ax County and they built a log cabin and improved the land. He would later return to Illinois and collect the rest of his family and move them to the now cleared land in 1847. It was said that "he cut his way there with an ax."

Moses Decker laid out the town of Viroqua, Bad Ax Co., Wisconsin, then called Deckerville. As an inducement to locate the county seat there, he offered to donate forty acres to the county, adjoining the village plat, to aid in the erection of county buildings. Viroqua became the county seat and Mr Decker conveyed to the board of supervisors the forty acre tract. The town would later be called Viroqua, some thinking after the name of the boat that used to navigate the Muskingum and which brough Moses' family to Illinois.

In 1850, Moses' wife Elizabeth died and he would remarry Anne Goode, a resident of Viroqua and a widow of Thomas Goode, Esq. Moses succumbed to the ravages of time himself Aug 04, 1860. He was well respected in any community he lived. He was a hard worker and a true pioneer of the western frontier. He was the father of fourteen children whose descendants are scatterered across the country in Ohio, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Wisconsin and California. His legacy in Wisconsin is well established and his original dwelling place is being restored and his name was given to the main street of Viroqua.