John Murray (1720 - 1794)

Born 22 Nov 1720 in Ulster, Ireland

Husband of Lucretia (Chandler) Murray — married 1 Sep 1761 in Rutland, Worcester County, Massachusetts

Husband of Deborah (Brinley) Murray — married about 24 Jan 1770 in Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts, United States

Descendants

Died 30 Aug 1794 at age 73 in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Malcolm Bliss [send private message]

Biography

This profile is part of the Murray Name Study.

Some Historical Notes About "Tory" John Murray And His Family by Mr. Edward F. Coffin, (Read before the Worcester Historical Society May 12,1939)

Note: The origins of Col. John Murray had for many years been a mystery. For many years it was suggested and believed that he was a son of the Scottish Duke of Athol. Now that can be discounted.* The following is from a paper, read before the Worcester, Mass. Historical Society by Mr. Edward F. Coffin, 12 May 1939. It is entitled "Some Historical Notes about "Tory" John Murray and his family.

"It is certainly a bit anomalous that the only fact we are sure of in the first twenty years of the life of Colnel John Murray, Loyalist, is copied from his tombstone. From this presumably trustworthy source, at St. John, New Brunwick, we learn that he was born in Ireland on the 22nd day of November in the year 1720. We do not know his parentage or the place of his birth. We do not know when he came to America or at what place he arrived. This the more difficult to understand in view of his later prominence, and because we have direct evidence which points to him as a most methodical individual. An extensive collection of his papers and correspondence is still preserved in the possession of descendants in New Brunswick (now in the hands of the New Brunswick Museum at St. John).; but although these relate in the main to his varied interests in Mass. they remain wholly silent upon the early chapters of his life. I venture the opinion that this circumstance is not the mere result of fortuitous chance, but that this gap is due to a deliberate purpose on the part of Colonel Murray, the motive for which I will suggest a little later. This complete absence of information has resulted in surrounding Col Murray's early life with an aura of mystery, and his biographers have substituted in lieu of facts a mass of traditions from which it is now impossible to sift the caaff from the wheat.

The earliest writer to tell us of Col. Murray was Jonas Reed. In 1836 he published a History of Rutland, Mass. It's appearance, sixty years after Col. Murray had left Rutland, invites suspicion that very little of Reed's knowledge could have been at first hand, and that, unsupported, his statements are entitled to receive a limited amount of credence. Reed informs us that John Murray, when he first came to Rutland, was know as "John Mc Morrah, and that with him came Edward Savage and several others. John, he tells us, when he set foot on the American shore, was not only moneyless, but in debt for his passage; for a while he tried manual labor, but he was too lazy to work and ashamed to beg. He commenced peddling, kept a store, etc.--eventually became the most wealthy man that ever lived in Rutland. This circumstantial narrative bears strong points of resemblance to a Horatio Alger hero in the making. Unfortunately, a check-up of the known facts at this stage rather disrupts this romantic sounding story. We have positive proof that Edward and his wife, Mary, became members of the church at Rutland in 1728, when our John could have scarcely passed his eighth birthday. Reed tells us further that in the same boat with Murray and Edward Savage came the McClanathan family, including John and Elizabeth, a young girl of his own age, whom after his arrival, he did not forget, but made her his wife. As it has already been shown, Murray, on this voyage, could not have been more than eight years of age, this supplementary statement necessarily implies the development on shipboard of a rather precocious romance between these juvenile lovers.

We find another biographer, writing at a considerable later period whom we shall assign to the imaginative school of historians. Mr. Lilly B. Caswell in 1899 published a book entitled "Athol-past and present." Therein he informs us, John Murray was the youngest son of the Duke of Athol. Becomming displeased with his family, he left his country and came to America. There is in the author's mind apparently, some vagueness just when this migration from the ancestral halls occurred; but in any event, upon the reorganization of the Plantation of Pequoig into an incorporated town in 1762, John Murray appears upon the scene in ample time to assign it's new name of Athol in compliment to his distinguished forbears. Of course this tale may be regarded as 99.44 per cent pure fiction, the residue being based two historically supported facts; first, Col Murray did own some speculative acres of land in Peguoig; second, although a resident for many years of Rutland, in his capacity of a Justice of the Peace, he issued the warrant calling the first town meeting at Athol and also presided as it's moderator. Historical writing of this character should be made an indictable offense, but I am not prepared to say just what action ought to be followed to make the penalty fit the crime. We propose not to leave this nebulous atmosphere in which guess work becomes only more and more uncertain in results.

Hereafter we shall deal with Col. Murray, not in the role of somewhat mythical personality, but strictly as a flesh and blood individual. This characterization has definitely literal significance when we call attention to his physical proportions, exhibiting a height of six feet and three inches and avoirdupois in excess of three hundred pounds, A reference to this fact is found in John Trumbull's immortal epic poem "m'Fingal." The tory squire, alluding to the futility of persecutions asks: "Have you made Murray look less big, or smoked old Williams to a whig?"

The first definite trace of John Murray's whereabouts is found at the young plantation in western Mass., then known as Elbow Tract of Kingstown, in 1752 incorporated as a town by the name of Palmer. In Hampshire County courthouse at Springfield will be found recorded the sale of a 100 acre lot at Elbow Tract by Isaac M'good to John Murray, trader, for 430 plunds. Both parties are described as residents of Elbow Tract. This deed was dated 11 August 1741 and it may be noted that Murray then lacked slightly more than three months of being 21 years of age. Another deed, dated 17 August 1742, still describing Murray as a trader, at Elbow Tract, conveys the same 100 acre lot to William McClanathan for 449 pounds. This is an advance of 19 pounds over the purchase price and it does not seem like a large profit for carrying the land for more than a year. Perhaps Murray was a believer in the maxim "nible profits, quickly told." This deed contained a dower release as follows: Furthermore, I Elizabeth Murray, the wife of said John Murray, etc." Both John and Elizabeth in affixing their signatures spelled the surname "Moray," and for the next fifteen years this remained it's customary form.

From the facts which we have cited, I think a few warrantable deductions may be drawn concerning John Murray's origin. We have found him, before reaching his majority, a resident in a community made up almost wholly of Scotch-Irish immigrants, and actively engaged in carrying on various business transactions with them. We discover that he is already married to a Scotch-Irish sweetheart before he has reached his twenty-second year. From these well authenticated facts, I think we are entitled to conclude that John Murray was the son of Scotch-Irish parents. It is quite possible that a carefully conducted search among the parish registers of the Ulster towns in the North of Ireland would discover a record of his parentage. Having arrived at one conclusion, we are disposed to go a bit further and indulge in speculation concerning the approximate time of John's arrival in America.

The largest immigration of Scotch-Irish to New England occurred in 1718, when five shiploads arrived in Boston. This company was too early to have included Murray, who, as we know was not born until two years later. We learn, however, of the arrival of a number of smaller groups of Scotch-Irish extending over the period of the next twenty years. Concerning one of these groups in particular which arrived in 1737, we are told that the major part went to the western towns of Pelham, Coleraine, Brimfield and Kingstown. At this latter place, which we know also as Elbow Tract, a considerable number of Scotch-Irish had settled before 1733. My opinion is that John Murray came to America in one of these later groups, and perhaps between 1733 and 1737. We know he was living at Kingstown, as early as 1741, and probably in 1739, as there is existing evidence which points to this earlier date. From the fact that we find Murray at the age of twenty apparently well educated and already in possession of a considerable amount of capital, it seems unlikely that all this could have be accumulated after his arrival, or that he was ever in the state of destitution ascribed by Reed.

John Murray continued to live in Kingston until 1744; and his oldest two children, Alexander and the first John, were probably born there, although there is no record of their births preserved. The Worcester Registry of Deeds has a record of the earliest purchase of land which John Murray made in Rutland. February 18, 1744 he bought of Aaron Rice, inn-holder, 23 acres for 130 pounds, and it was upon this tract that he built his mansion house. The final of this purchase was not made until 21 October 1746, and the deed was recorded 21 November 1747. Due to the period of three years which elapsed before the completion of the transaction it is uncertain just when Murray made the final change of his residence to Rutland.

The birth of his first daughter, Elizabeth, is however, recorded in Rutland 10 September 1745, and it would appear likely that from this circumstance he had at that time become a permanent resident. John Murray's name appears for the first time in the Rutland town records in 1747. From that date, his importance in the affairs of the town continues to grow, increasingly. That same year he is chosen a Selectman and also a member of the Board of Assessors. In 1748, he was Moderator at a Town Meeting to lay out a new highway. The year following, he was chairman of a committee of seven to build a meetinghouse, and also, one of a committee of three to select a schoolmaster. He was the Representative of the town at the General Court continuously for some twenty years. He held a commission as Justice of the Peace, and sitting as a Trial Justice in minor cases meted out rewards and penalties at his residence, in the squabbles among his neighbors. His role in the community seems to have been not unlike that of Pooh Bah in the "Mikado."

During this active period, when he was rendering such unremitting service in public affairs, he appears to have been able, with equal success, to have carried on his multifarious private enterprises. He was a heavy speculator in the "wild lands" of the province, sometimes acting independently and at other times in company with others. In 1762, with Colonel John Chandler, Timothy Paine, and Abijah Willard, he bought at public auction from the treasurer of the province 4,800 acres of undeveloped land in the extreme western part of the colony. This purchase was organized as the town of Murrayfield, and during the next ten years many lots were laid out and sold to settlers. In addition to his extensive real estate transactions, Col. Murray seems to have been a money lender on the security of personal notes and mortgages. He was active in military affairs, and during the French and Indian War, was Lieutenant Colonel of the Mass. regiment of which Timothy Ruggles, the father of the unfortunate Bathsheba, was Colonel.

From the standpoint of his numerous accomplishments, it is apparent that Col. Murray was an individual, not only endowed with a boundless supply of energy, but also of exceptionally keen business sagacity. During the thirty years which followed his arrival in Rutland, although he enjoyed a reputation for generosity, entertained lavishly and maintained a style of living, which was regarded as magnificent for the period, yet he was able to accumulate wealth to an extent which at the breaking out of the Revolution marked him as one of the richest men in the province. The appraisal of his confiscated estate made by his enemies, and for that reason not likely to have been overvalued, amounted to 26,000 pounds, a large fortune in those days.

John Murray's first wife, Elizabeth McClanathan, daughter of Dea. Thomas and Jean McClanathan, after having been the mother of ten children, died in 1760. It would appear that following upon her death the relationships between Col. Murray and his Scotch-Irish connections were never again intimate. At about this time, he made the permanent change in the spelling of his name from Moray to Murray. I am inclined to believe that gradually mounting financial and social success had somewhat turned the Col.' head, and that he had become what today would be termed a "social climber." His close degree of intimacy with Govenor Thomas Hutchinson, Sir William Pepperell, and others to the manor born, must have occasioned, in his own mind, a strong contrast with his humble origin. We can infer that he was not anxious to broadcast this, but rather aimed to conceal it. This circumstance, more than any other, suggests the possible explanation of the complete disappearance of all evidence of his early life. The preservation of such material threatened possible disclosures at a later time which might prove embarrassing to his social pretensions.

On September 1, 1761, Col. Murray married, for his second wife, Lucretia Chandler, a sister of his business associate Col. John Chandler. She was one of seven daughters of Hon. John Chandler, the third in succession to bear the name. In their day, from their distinguished attributes, they were known as "The Seven Stars.' Lucretia, at the time of her marriage, was living in Boston and keeping house for her brother-in-law, Benjamin Greene, following the death of his wife, who had been her older sister, Mary. A daughter, Lucretia Murray, born 22 June 1762 was the only child of the second marriage. Lucretia's mother died when she was six years old. Among wedding gifts received by Lucretia Chandler was a silver tea set of three pieces made by Paul Revere. They had the Chandler coat-of-arms engraved upon each one, and an inscription ' B Greene to Lucretia Chandler.' this handsome gift later was to form the basis from which arose extravagant rumors concerning Col. Murrays ducal descent. Through a false report, these pieces were credited with having the arms of the Duke of Atholl. It was rumored that by their sale funds had been obtained whereby Lucretia Murray had supported herself after her father's death and when she had taken up her residence with her Chandler relatives at Lancaster A simple disclosure of the facts, however, dispels all the romantic elements in the story. Since these pieces originally had been the gift to his daughter Lucretia's mother, Col Murray appropriately, willed them to Lucretia. When she died in 1836, they still remained among her choicest possessions, and were by her will in turn, disposed of to her friends, among whose descendants they are still preserved.

In justice to Col. Murray, it is due to state that from his former property in Mass., he was able to set aside notes and mortgages, in favor of Lucretia, which yielded and income of ample amount to prevent her becoming a charge upon her relatives. In 1789, before the Mass. Supreme Court at Worcester, in an action at law, Lucretia obtained a judgment in her favor for 376 pounds, from John McClanathan of Rutland, for a loan made to him by her father, and which had remained unsatisfied for more then fifteen years. It is of local interest to note that one of her maternal relatives, Hon. Nathaniel Paine, acted as Lucretia's attorney.

Col. Murray, on 24 January 1770, married, as his third wife Deborah Brinley of Boston, daughter of Francis Brinley, and descended from a distinguished line of Rhode Island ancestry. Although, at the Colonel's previous marriage, Col John Chandler his prospective brother-in-law, had officiated in the capacity as Justice of the Peace, we find that this last marriage was performed at King's Chapel by the rector, Rev. Mather Byles, D.D., and we assume that it was a brilliant society event of it's day.

In order to complete the data concerning Col. Murray's thirteen children, we note here that by his third wife, Deborah, he was the father of two children. Deborah, born at Rutland, 29 September 1771, married to William Hazen of St. John, New Brunswick. She was the mother of nine children--six sons and three daughters. She died in 1816 at the age of 48 years. Thomas Murray was the Colonel's youngest, and was born 12 October 1775, probably in Boston. He studied law and was admitted to the bar in New Brunswick in 1796. On New Years Day 1797 he was married to Sarah Lowell Hazen by the Rev. Mather Byles, Jr., son of the clergyman who had married his parents. Their wedded life was short as Thomas died 3 May 1797, in his twenty-second year. In 1802 his widow married William Botsford, a Yale graduate of the class of 1792. She was the mother of ten children and died in 1850 at the age of 75 years.

Martha Murray was the youngest daughter of John Murray, by his first wife, and in 1785 was married to William Wanton. He was the son of a former Governor of Rhode Island, and the first Collector of Customs for the port of St. John. He held this office, continuously, for thirty years. Martha, or Patty as she was familiarly called, seems to have been a very general favorite. A letter of this period exchanged between a couple of bachelors at the time of her marriage, carried this injunction: "Say a thousand clever things for me to Mrs. Collector."

As befitted Col. Murray's rise in society, we soon find two of his sons enrolled at Harvard College. At this period, when names of the students in the Harvard catalogues were arranged in the order of their relative social standing, we find Daniel Murray's name placed eighth in a class list of sixty-three members, and that of Samuel's name ranked fourth in a class of forty-eight.

Under the provisions of the Charter from William and Mary, a council to twenty-eight members had been chosen annally by the people acting through their representatives in the General Court of the province. Following the regular custom in May 1774, these member of the Council had been voted for. However, when a list of the Councillors-elect had been submitted to General Gage, as acting Govenor, for approval, he exercised a prerogative of negation, reserved by the charter, and rejected the names of thirteen. By an Act of Parliament at it's last previous session, notable alterations had been made in the existing Charter. The number of council members had been increased by the addition of eight, to comprise a total membership of thirty-six, and the right to choose these officers had been taken from the representatives of the people. Their appointment, after 1 August 1774 was to be vested in the crown. These new members were appointed by the King under the form of Writ of Mandamus (which commands the recipient to perform the particular duty assigned," and the new appointees came to be known as "Mandamus Councillors." Included among those selected for this fatal honor, we find the name of Col. John Murray.

Directly, the people of the Province assembled in large groups for the purpose of compelling the resignations of these new members. A portion of one of these mobs having compelled Timothy Paine, in Worcester,to resign his appointment publicly, went to Rutland for the purpose of forcing a similar action from Col. Murray. Upon it's arrival at Rutland, this mob was estimated to number about 1500 people. All sorts of stories have been written in reference to what occurred at Rutland, and they seem to be in agreement only at one point, namely, that the crowd did not get a chance to vent their spleen for the very good reason that they did not succeed in getting their hands upon the doughty Colonel. Most of the tales which have been circulated have charged Col. Murray with the exhibition of a craven spirit and with refusing either to face the music or of running away and successfully hiding himself. In justice to the Colonel's memory, I am very glad of this belated opportunity to set down the historical facts. These have been established, beyond controversy, from contempory letters. Col. Murray is clearly shown to have been in Boston during the whole Rutland episode and to have had no knowledge of anything which had taken place there until several days afterwards. The date of the Mob's visit to Rutland was 23 August 1774. In a letter written by John Andrews, dated 19 August he informs his correspondent "I am told that Col Murray's son of Rutland, has sent down word to his father to beg him, by no means to return home, as his life would be in immanent danger, if he should ." Had the Colonel been the coward which his enemies have since chosen to portray him, it is apparent that he had received warning in ample time to have avoided trouble, he he desired to. We quote from another letter of Andrews written on 23 August as follows: "Col. Murray, of Rutland, another of them (Mandamus Councillors,) set out for home this morning, accompanied by his son, who is studying physic here, being both well armed and determined to stand a brush, both being very stout men, near or quite as large a forest." As the distance between Boston and Rutland is fifty-three miles, itis clear that the uninviated visitors had come and gone fully twenty-four hours before the Murrays could have reached Rutland, a most providentian circumstance, doubtless, for both the Col. and his son Samuel. We are not informed at just what hour they arrived home, but having done so, and learned the extreme danger of the situation Col. Murray left his residence at Rutland for the last time on the night 0f 25 August. This fact recorded by Col. Murray himself, and may be seen still preserved among the family papers at New Brunswick.

For the next eighteen month, Col. Murray and his family were involuntary prisoners in the besieged town of Boston. We can assume, reasonably, that at the start the Murrays were not without some funds, but before evacuation day arrived, their cash had been depleated to an extent which compelled the Col. to ask for aid for transportation of himself and his family, of seven, to Halifax. In June 1776 following his arrival at Nova Scotia, he went to England and a little later was joined there by his wife and younger children. After a short stay in London, they took up their residence at Cowbridge, Glamorganshire, Wales and resided there for two or more years.

A commission of Inquiry into the losses of the American Loyalists had been appointed, and from one of the manuscript books of papers preserved in the Public Record Office at London, we glean some further information concerning Col. Murray's circumstances. He was granted an allowance of 200 pounds at the start, and upon a review of his case by the Commission, his allowance was increased to 250 pounds which he continued to receive for the balance of his life. When appearing before the Commission, he described himself as then residing in Wales with his wife and three daughters and a young son. He testified that he had, then, three sons who were serving in the British Army at New York. He stated that "he had no property in England, and that his watch, in his pocket, represented more than half of what he was worth in the world. He could not have come to London (having no money to bear the expense of the journey) if a lady, to whom he mentioned it, had not generously given him 8 quineas. That while in the enjoyment of his property in Mass. his rent rolls and interest had amounted to above 1000 yearly.

When, in 1784, the new province of New Brunswick was set off from Nova Scotia, Col. Murray and his family shortly after returned, and he again engaged in business. For the ten years of his life remaining, he seems to have enjoyed a reasonable successful career. He built a fine residence in Prince William Street, in the city of St. John. Col. Murray's numerous sons-in-law, comprising the Hazen, Botsford, Upham and Bliss families, also settled in, and from these have descended many of the Canadians whose names have since figured prominently in the later history of the Dominion.

In 1791, Col. Murray, through William Tudor as his attorney, brought a legal action before the then newly erected United States District Court at Boston. Chief Justice John Jay presided at this trial. This case was in the nature of a test to determine whether, under provisions contained in an article in the Treaty of Peace, he with other Loyalists, might recover debts which had been owing to them in America prior to the Revolution. The verdict was an adverse one. The spirit of bitterness engendered by the events of the war, lately terminated, was still to prevalent to foster feelings of a conciliatory nature toward their late enemies.

Col. Murray's eventful life was ended by his death at St. John, New Brunswick 30 August 1794 in his 74th year. He was buried in the Botsford Plot in the old cemetery in that city, and a monument was erected by his youngest son, Thomas, who as we have already noted, was to follow his father to the same burial place less then three year afterward. These line are take from the opening inscription upon Col. Murray's tombstone: The dead, how sacred is the dust, and sacred may this marble long remain." The thirteen children of Colonel John Murray: Children by Elizabeth McClanathan:

1. Alexander c. 1744
2. Isabella 1745-1807 m. Hon. Daniel Bliss
3. John 1746-1756
4. Robert 1747-1756
5. Elizabeth 1749-1782 m. Hon. Joshua Upham
6. Daniel 1751-1832 m. Abigail Cummings
7. Samuel 1754-1781
8. Martha 1756=1836 m. William Wanton
9. John 1758
10. Robert 1760-1786

Child by Lucretia Chandler:

1. Lucretia 1762-1836 unmarried

Children by Deborah Brindley:

1. Deborah 1771-1816 m. William Hazen
2. Thomas 1775-1797 m. Sarah Hazen

Elizabeth McClanathan was the daughter of Deacon Thomas McClanthan and his wife Jean __?__. Thomas McClanathan emmigrated from Northern Ireland to Massachusetts about 1725. His headstone at Palmer, Ma. says that he died January 1764, aged 79 years. Thomas McClanatham was granted 100 acres by the town of Palmer, after he had cleared it for farming, and was later granted an additional 50 acres.

Will of John Murray: MURRAY, John "Late of Cowbridge in Glamorganshire, (Wales), formerly of Rutland in the Province of Massachusetts Bay," City of Saint John, St. John County, Esquire. Will dated 14 January 1793, proved 6 September 1794. Wife Deborah use of dwelling in Prince William Street while widow. At wife's decease or marriage dwelling to son Thomas Murray. Son Thomas to have half the dwelling should he marry before wife's decease. Son Daniel Murray ££50 Sterling and a Bond from James Craig of Digby, Nova Scotia, of about ££386. Son John Murray ££400 Sterling. Daughter Isabella Bliss ££200 Currency (New Brunswick currency). Grandson John Murray BLISS ££100 Currency. Grand-children Elisabeth Upham, Joshua Upham Junr. and Sarah Greene Upham ££165 Currency. Grandson John Murray Upham ££100 Currency. Son-in-law Joshua Upham Esq. his debt and all monies due and secured to me by Bond from him and Phinehas Upham. Daughter Martha Wanton debt owing me from William Garden Esq. of Fredericton, about ££420 Currency and a further ££100 Currency. Daughter Lucretia Murray, over and above what has been advanced and secured to her out of my Debts and Effects in Massachusetts, an annuity of ££7 10s. Currency for life, and upon condition and at the time of her marriage, three pieces of silver which were her late Mother's, to wit, a Silver Salver, a Silver Coffee Pot and a Silver Sugar Dish and portrait of her mother. Daughter Deborah ££1,500 capital stock in the Three per Cent consolidated Annuities the interest of which is ££45 Sterling a year, and my case of silver handled knives and forks and silver spoons. Son Thomas Murray my farm in Maugerville, about 500 acres; my dwelling and land in Fredericton, now in possession of George Sproule Esq.; and ££2,000 capital Stock in the Three per cent consolidated Annuities. Son Alexander Murray ££50 Currency to be held in trust by my son Daniel to purchase land and real estate for the use of Alexander and his heirs. Residue of estate to son Thomas Murray. Wife Deborah, daughter Deborah and son Thomas executors.

Witnesses: Ebenezer Putnam, James Stewart, Jonathan Bliss. Will confirmed by testator 26 March 1794, signed and sealed in presence of Ebenezer Putnam, Rufus Cutler and Jonathan Bliss.

Note: Before closing the books entirely on the question of John Murray being a son (legitimate or illgitimate) of the Duke of Athol or one of his sons, I wrote (in the spring of 2003) the Archivist at Castle Blair Athol. I wondered if ther were any letters or financial arrangements etc. that might indicate that an illegitimate son my have been born to one of the family during the period in question. The response was that this matter had come before them previously and that a careful search of the records showed no indication of an illegitimate birth during this period. There were, indeed, illegitimate offspring of the House of Athol ,but nothing in or around the date in question. Lane Bliss Source: Some Historical Notes About "Tory" John Murray And His Family---Read before the Worcester Historical Society by Mr. Edward F. Coffin, May 12,1939

From: Genealogy.com Forum (Dated December 25, 2000: This John Murray belongs to some one, born in Ireland, came to America as a trader, he moved from Kingstown to Rutland in 1744, where he built a mansion, and maintained an unusually high standard of living. He was a big man, six feet three and weighed 300 pounds, and carried on a remarkable range of activities. He served Rutland as a Selectman. was on the Board of Assessors, was Representative at the General Court for over twenty years, and was a J. P. and a trail judge, and a colonel in Massachusetts militia. One of the richest men in the Province of Mass. and the most distinguished resident of Rutland, In 1774 john Murray and several others were appointed to the council by Royal Sign Manual. He took the Oath at Salem, on the 16th of Aug. 1774. In the loyalist Province of New Brunswick it is signed by the royal sign Manual . Some where not happy when he was elected and mobbed his house and he resigned and went to Boston . Their broke in his house and thrust a knife or a Bayonet through his portrait. He returned home gathered up his valuables and fled to Boston, In June, 1776 he sailed for Halifax, and from there to Wales, where he remained . In 1784 Col. Murray came to New Brunswick, and was granted lot No. 96 in Maugerville, He had a wife and 2 of his youngest children living in Maugerville in 1787. Later that year they were living in Fredericton. Col. John Murray was married 3 times, his first wife Elizabeth McClanathan, a Irish lady and the mother of his 9 children. then he married Miss Lucretia Chandler, and had one child with her, a daughter, Then in Jan 24, 1770 he married in the Kings Chapel, in Boston, to Miss Deborah Brinley, and she had his two youngest children. Col. John Murray , his career , home and fortune in Mass. was lost to him because of his loyalty and he died in St. John. in 1794. His sons, Daniel, John, Robert were officers in the late Kings American Dragoons, and his three son in laws were also prominent in N.B. Thomas and Deborah his two children by his last wife, Sarah married William Hazen and William married a Hazen sister of William Hazen. William Hazen was a paymaster of N. B. , there is alot more if needed.

Name

Col. John /Murray/^[1][2][3]

Col. John /Murray/

Colonel John /Murray/^[4]

Found multiple versions of NAME. Using Col. John /Murray/.

Birth

22 NOV 1720, Ulster, Ireland,^{[5][6] [7] [8]}

22 NOV 1720, Rutland, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA^[9]

Found multiple copies of BIRT DATE. Using 22 NOV 1720

Marriages

Elizaeth McClanthan -- 1740 (Based on the age of the children)

Lucretia Chandler -- 1 Sep 1761 ^{[10] [11] [12] [13]}

Deborah Brinley -- 24 Jan 1770 ^{[14] [15] [16]}

Death

30 AUG 1794, Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada^{[17] [18] [19] [20] [21][22]}

Found multiple copies of DEATH DATE. Using 30 AUG 1794 Array

Sources

1. ↑ Source: #S2 Page: Ancestry Family Tree
2. ↑ Source: #S20 Page: Database online. Data: Text: Record for John Murray
3. ↑ Source: #S20 Page: Database online. Data: Text: Record for John Murray
4. ↑ Source: #S20 Page: Database online. Data: Text: Record for Daniel Murray
5. ↑ Source: #S20 Page: Database online. Data: Text: Record for Daniel Murray
6. ↑ Source: #S20 Page: Database online. Data: Text: Record for John Murray
7. ↑ * The Chandler family, the descendants of William and Annis Chandler who settled in Roxbury, Massachusette, page 121 (Birth, Marriages, Death, Spouses)
8. ↑ * Find A Grave. Find A Grave. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi. [1] (Birth, Death)
9. ↑ Source: #S20 Page: Database online. Data: Text: Record for John Murray
10. ↑ * Dodd, Jordan, Liahona Research, comp. Massachusetts, Marriages, 1633-1850 (Spouse; Lucretia)
11. ↑ * New England Historic Genealogical Society. Massachusetts, Town Marriage Records, 1620-1850 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 1999. (Spouse; Lucretia)
12. ↑ * Genealogy of the Bliss family in America from about the year 1550 to 1880 (Spouse; Lucretia, Child; Isabella)
13. ↑ * Boston, Massachusetts Registry Department. Boston Marriages from 1700 to 1751. Vol. 1. Boston, MA, USA: Municipal Print, 1898. (Spouse; Lucretia Chandler)
14. ↑ * Dodd, Jordan, Liahona Research, comp. Massachusetts, Marriages, 1633-1850. (Spouse, Deborah, Date)
15. ↑ * Town and City Clerks of Massachusetts. Massachusetts Vital and Town Records. Provo, UT: Holbrook Research Institute (Jay and Delene Holbrook). (Spouse; Deborah)
16. ↑ * New England Historic Genealogical Society. Massachusetts, Town Marriage Records, 1620-1850 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 1999. (Spouse; Deborah)
17. ↑ Source: #S20 Page: Database online. Data: Text: Record for John Murray
18. ↑ * The Chandler family, the descendants of William and Annis Chandler who settled in Roxbury, Massachusette, page 121 (Birth, Marriages, Death, Spouses)
19. ↑ * Find A Grave. Find A Grave. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi. [2] (Birth, Death)
20. ↑ * Newspapers and Periodicals. American Antiquarian Society, Worcester, Massachusetts. page 164 (Death)
21. ↑ Source: #S20 Page: Database online. Data: Text: Record for Daniel Murray
22. ↑ Source: #S20 Page: Database online. Data: Text: Record for John Murray

• Davidson, Stephen. Loyalist Portrait Gallery: Part III -- John and Lucretia Murray. Loyalist Trails UELAC Newsletter, 2010-03: January 17, 2010. http://www.uelac.org/Loyalist-Trails/2010/Loyalist-Trails-2010.php?issue=201003

• Genealogy.com Forum; Please: John Murray (1720-1794) [3]

• History of Rutland by Jonas Reed, pages 156-158 [4]

Acknowledgments

• Profile created through the import of McABol2004.GED on Jan 2, 2013 by David McAvity.

• Thank you to Malcolm Bliss for creating WikiTree profile Murray-2982 through the import of Malcolm Bliss Family Tree_AutoBackup_2013-05-29_01.ged on May 29, 2013.