Moritz was born in Bavaria in 1844 and came to Idaho at an early age, being one of the pioneers in the Loon Creek placer gold excitement. He came to Silver in 1873 and for a time kept a store in Fairview. In 1878 he engaged in business in Silver City and in 1880 returned to Germany where he was married to the women he left a widow with one nine-year-old son to mourn the loss of a kind husband and father. In 1883 he closed out business in Silver and removed to Cow Creek, Oregon, where he lived on a ranch. In 1889, he returned to the area and purchased the drug store and was shortly appointed postmaster, a position he held at the time of his death.
He was modest, unassuming, industrious, and most generous and kindly in his nature. He was a Mason in good standing (note the masonic symbol at the top of his gravestone) and his funeral was attended by nearly the entire community.