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Uroth (Murray) King (abt. 1755 - abt. 1806)

Uroth (Uruth) "Ureth, Ruth" King formerly Murray
Born about in Rowan, North Carolinamap
Ancestors ancestors
Sister of [half], [half], [half] and [half]
Wife of — married 1777 in North Carolina, United Statesmap
Descendants descendants
Died about at about age 51 in Sulphur Springs, Washington, Tennessee, United Statesmap
Profile last modified | Created 2 Jul 2011
This page has been accessed 1,544 times.

Biography

This profile is part of the Murray Name Study.

Uroth Murray was born about 1755 and died in 1806. [1]

The only evidence of Uroth Murray's existence is documented in her father's Will. [2]

Because there seems to be very little original source, I enclosed paragraphs from her Find A Grave memorial but knowing it's a secondary source, it needs to be backed up with sources.

"Uroth (Murray) King was born about 1755 (?) in North Carolina, probably Rowan County. Rowan had been created in 1753 from part of Anson County. Uroth was the daughter of Thomas Murray Sr. (1725-1805) and Henrietta Maria Jones (1728-abt 1760), both of Scottish ancestry.

Her given name has been spelled several different ways (Ureth, Uouth, Urath, Urith, etc.) over the years. It should be noted, however, that it was spelled "Uroth" in her father's will, probably written by a lawyer, dated Sept. 5, 1802. Since her father signed his will with his mark, a "T", he apparently could not read or write. Most likely, Uroth and her mother were also unable to read or write. Consequently, if there was a correct way to spell her given name, it may never be known.

Uroth's father, Thomas, was born in Baltimore Co., Maryland. He was the son of Morgan Murray (1669-1741) and Sarah Hawkins (1698-1748) and the grandson of James Murray (1665-1704) and Jemima Morgan (1687-1711).

James Murray, Ureth's great-grandfather, had come to America (Maryland) in 1676 as an eleven year old boy with a man by the name of Nathaniel Heathcoat (1640?-1683?). It is not known what kin, if any, Nathaniel was to young James or his relationship to the Englishman. James may have been an apprentice to Nathaniel.

Uroth's mother, Henrietta, was also born in Baltimore Co., MD. She was the daughter of Phillip Jones II (1701-1781) and Anne Rattenburg (1706-1762), both of whom were born in Maryland,lived and died there. Henrietta died in North Carolina at the young age of 32.

About 1778, in Rowan Co. (?), NC, Uroth married William (?) Kirby King (abt 1755?-1795). Kirby was born in Edgecombe Co (now Halifax Co.), NC. His father is thought to have been Richard King (abt 1700?-abt 1782?), who was born in Surry Co., Virginia and died in Halifax, NC. He also lived in Rowan Co., NC. Kirby's mother is currently unknown.

By the mid-1780s, Uroth's twice widowed father, Kirby, migrated along with several members of his family, to Washington Co., NC (now Tennessee). Uroth and Kirby either went with them or followed them there shortly thereafter. There were already some King families in the Washington County area, however, it is thought that Kirby was not related to any of them.

Uroth and Kirby had four (possibly seven or more) children, all born in Washington County. They were Burwell King (1780-1850), William King (1785-1840), Thomas Murray King (1790-1880) and Nancy Ann King (1792-1861). Three are three other children, John T. King (1791-?), Elizabeth King (1794-?) and Mary "Polly" King (1795-?), listed in numerous family trees. Possible, however, they are uncertain as there is no supportive documentation.

Their first known child was Burwell King (1780-1850). Being born in 1780 and with his parents being married in 17:77-78, Burwell may not have been their first born. It is possible that an unknown first born son (born 1778-79) was named Richard, after Kirby's father.

William (1785-bet 1830-40), was the second known child of Kirby and Uroth. Notice the five year gap between Burwell and William. They may have been an unknown daughter of two born during that period. William may have been named after his father, William (?) Kirby King.

Their third known child, Thomas Murray "Tom" King. Again, there is a five year gap. Thomas was named after Uroth's father, Thomas Murray. He moved his family from Campbell Co., TN to the Marsh Creek area of lower Whitley Co., KY about 1819 and became the patriarch of the King family in present day McCreary Co., KY.

Their first known child was daughter, Nancy Ann King (1792-1861). In 1812, she married Mathew Douglas (1791-1845).It is interesting to that that they had a son named Kirby King Douglas (1819-1889). In those days it was not uncommon to use the surname of the mother or maternal GM as a given middle name for a child.

By 1860, Nancy's son, Kirby King Douglas, was living in Whitley Co., KY close to his uncle, Thomas Murray King. He moved there about 1851 and built/operated a mill on Roaring Paunch Creek, nor far from his uncle, from whom he probably obtained his land.

It is thought that Uroth's husband, William Kirby King, died about 1795, around the age of 40. Some believe that he was killed by Indians. Possible, but there is no supportive documentation. In 1794 Kirby was a landowner purchasing additional land.

By 1796, Kirby's wife, Uroth, was listed as the landowner (155 acres total). Her farm adjoined that of her brother, Thomas Murray, Jr. (1754-1835), a Revolutionary War soldier.

Kirby is thought to have been buried on the Murray farm located in Washington Co., TN. His untimely death left Uroth, also about 40, with at least three children (possibly 7 or more), to raise. Most likely, she had help from members of her immediate family who lived nearby. In 1801, she sold 130 acres of her land, probably needing the money more that the acreage.

Apparently, Uroth did not remarry. In her father's will, written in 1802 and proven in 1805, she is referred to both times as "Uroth King". Currently, there seems to be no written record of Uroth after 1805.

Uroth obviously died sometime after 1805 (some think abt 1806), probably in Washington Co., TN. She too, is thought to have been buried on the Murray family farm.

There are also some who believe that Uroth may have migrated to Campbell Co., TN but there is currently no record of her having lived there. We do know that by 1818 her three adult children (William, Thomas & Nancy) were all married and resided in Campbell County as they paid taxes there. Her oldest son, Burwell, had migrated to Claiborne Co., TN between 1804-11.

It is not known how or why the three Kings (William, Thomas & Nancy) moved to Campbell County. They may have moved there at different times or it is also possible that Thomas and Nancy may have moved there with their older brother, William.

Both Uroth and her husband, Kirby, would have had either a wooden marker or a field stone to mark their grave site. More than two centuries have passed since their deaths and unfortunately, their burial sites are no longer there." [3]

Sources

  1. Find a Grave, database and images (accessed 06 November 2021), memorial page for Uroth Murray King (1752–1806), Find A Grave: Memorial #139670901, citing Murray-King Cemetery, Washington County, Tennessee, USA ; Maintained by Wayne & Diane (Eversole) King (contributor 47708534) Unknown.
  2. Thomas MURRAY died 1805 Washington Co. TN and left a will [Will Book A, Page 66, written 5 Sep. 1802, probated May 1805]. In the will the following children [in order as mentioned in the will], grand children, and surnames of the husbands of the daughters are named: 1. son Shadrack, who had a son named Thomas; 2. son Thomas , who had a son named Jabez; 3. son Morgan; 4. daughter Elizabeth PHILLIPS; 5. daughter Urouth KING; 6. daughter Ann, wife of Joseph DOTEY; 7. daughter Mary, wife of William BARRON; 8. daughter Sarah, wife of Joseph BARRON; and 9. son Christopher.
  3. Wayne and Diane King




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DNA Connections
It may be possible to confirm family relationships with Uruth by comparing test results with other carriers of her mitochondrial DNA. However, there are no known mtDNA test-takers in her direct maternal line. It is likely that these autosomal DNA test-takers will share some percentage of DNA with Uruth:

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Murray-4083 and Murray-898 appear to represent the same person because: same family
posted by Karen Lowe

M  >  Murray  |  K  >  King  >  Uroth (Murray) King

Categories: Murray Name Study