Murchison Family History by John Murchison Jackson

Date: [unknown] [unknown]
Location: Bennettsville, Marlboro County, South Carolina Murchison Family History John Murchison Jackson (May 23 1853 - Oct 8 1947) Son of Margaret Murchison (1820 - 1900) and Owen Wilson Jackson (1822 - 1890

This letter describes family relationships of some of the descendants of Philip Murchison, the emigrant from Scotland. It was given to Larry Cates by a descendant of the author, Elizabeth Rockholt.

Sometime about the year 1785, two brothers, Kenneth and Philip Murchison, left their home in Inverness, Scotland, and sailed for America. After an uneventful voyage, they landed in Wilmington, N. C. with as the family tradition states, only ten cents each in their pockets. Of their ancestry in Scotland I know nothing, but some members of our family claim they were related to the late world renowned geologist, Sir Roderick Inept Murchison, of London, England.

Kenneth and Philip engaged in the timber business along the Cape Fear River, finally settling near Fayetteville, N. C. The numerous families of Murchison now living near Fayetteville, N. C. and Wilmington, N. C. are the descendants of Kenneth.

There were on the same vessel which brought the Murchison brothers over, a number of passengers, among them a beautiful girl named Margaret McRae. In the course of time, Philip Murchison, who was my great grandfather, and Margaret McRae were married and settled near Fayetteville, N. C. A few years afterwards they decided to move to South Carolina, and, on speaking of this to Kenneth Murchison, he told them they could move to South Carolina if they wished, but he would never visit them if they did. Whether he kept his word or not I have never been able to learn, but to South Carolina they came, and settled on a track of land near Selkirk, in the upper portion of Marion County, and they're reared a family. My mother, who was Phillip's granddaughter, has often told me these things. They had six sons and two daughters. Their names were, Duncan, Murdoch, John, Alexander, Roderick and Philip, and Nancy and Isabella. I am not sure that I have named them in the order of their births. My mother, some years ago, gave me their names, but I don't remember that she spoke of the births in any of them except the youngest.

Philip was born February, 1804 and died October 21, 1886. I remember him quite well as he spent much time in my father's family and I was a boy. He was a bachelor and used to talk a good deal about the nice times he had with the girls when he was young.

Duncan was never married, but as was customary when he was young, he, in company with his sister, Nancy, who also was unmarried, were caring hogs and sheep to Charleston to be sold, when both were taken sick in Williamsburg County and died and were buried there.

Murdoch married and first settled in Richmond County, North Carolina, but moved to Georgia, and afterwords to Texas, and I have lost sight of his family. I remember, however, his oldest son, John, who visited my mother about the year 1858. He was a fine looking man, and I understand he was then on his way back home from the Northern markets where he had been to buy a stock of goods, at the time he was a well to do merchant. He gave me some beautiful striped white ground linen out of which my mother made me a little boy’s suit. I was then about five years old. John was never married but died a young man. My mother has often told in our family, that he, Uncle John, on one occasion at a dance, when he was in the midst of the dance had a fit and fell on the floor. He was quickly carried out and the dance went on. Sometimes afterwards. I don't know how long, he had another fit while riding a horse, fell to the ground and soon afterwards died.

Roderick studied medicine in Fayetteville, N. C. and went to Orangeburg to practice his profession. He there married a Miss Jones, an only daughter of wealthy parents. He died young, leaving also an only daughter. His widow never married again. The daughter, who was called Rodie, after her father, married a Murchison, but no relation to her. The fruits of her marriage was two daughters, one married a McDonald of Bishopville, S. C. and the other one married W. W. Spencer of Chesterfield County, S. C.

Isabella lived to good old age and died unmarried.

Alexander, who was my grandfather, (born August, 1792 and died August 25, 1843), married about the year 1819, a Miss Margaret McRae, (hence my maternal grandmother and great grandmother were both named Margaret McRae), of Anson County, N. C. They settled in the upper portion of Marion County, where he purchased a large track of land, now subdivided into many smaller tracks, one of them being the 381 acres situated on the west side of Bennett's Mill Pond, and the one on which my father and mother died, and where my brother Roderick now lives. My grandfather died in 1843 leaving his widow with ten small children to battle with the world. I remember her quite well as she lived until her eighty-first year, dying in June 1880. She came of good stock, was a stout good, looking lady of intelligence, energy and push and had also a kind, lovable disposition, and during my boyhood days I remember home was much visited by the neighbors. The fruits of this marriage were four sons and six daughters, and I think in the following orde: Margaret, who was my mother, born October 16, 1820; Flora, born 1822; Mary, Eliza, John D., Duncan, Catherine, William, Elizabeth and Roderick.

Flora married John H McRae, and settled near Laurinburg, N. C. She died in 1869, leaving no children.

Mary married Morgan Edens, who died years ago, leaving her young widow with four sons, and one daughter, and was buried at Old Beauty Spot Church near here. Mary never remarried but lived to an old age and died leaving her five children.

Eliza died in young girlhood.

John D. who was born about 1826 early showed signs of business capacity and when young obtained a clerk-ship in a store at Clio, S. C. After being there sometime, he went to Wilmington, N. C. where he engaged for a while in the commission business and then move to Charleston, S. C. where he prospered as a commission merchant, until the breaking out of the Civil War in 1860. In the meantime, his brother, William, of whom I shall say more hereafter, came to Bennettsville, S. C. about 1853, and began clerking for an old and experienced merchant, John McCollum. After the close of the war in 1865, John D. went to New York, and there, with some success, engaged in the cotton commission business, and remained there until 1870, when the sudden death of his young brother, William, caused him to come to Bennettsville, S. C. to take charge of his estate, which was a large one for that day and time. After settling his brother's estate, he remained at Bennettsville, engaging in the mercantile business in the brick store his brother had begun to build in 1870, but had not finished, when he died, until the end of 1883. During these 13 years from 1870 to 1883, he accumulated a large estate, amounting to $175,000.

In April 1883, he married Miss Hatty Lamkin, a bright and attractive young lady, who came here from New York City to teach music. He retired from the mercantile business December 31, 1883, ay which time he sold his stock of goods and all mercantile goodwill to the writer, and after living here for a few years, moved to Baltimore, Md., where he died on February 28, 1892. His remains were placed in a Murchison Vault in Loudon Park, near, the city of Baltimore. It was out of the estate he accumulated that is widow, now the wife of George H. Beckwith, of Plattsburgh, N. Y. gave the money to build the new school building known as the Murchison school.

Duncan was quite a handsome, intelligent, young man, and had the ambition of making a lawyer of himself, but opportunities were poor for education, hence he had to content content himself with other pursuits. He was the first man to volunteer at Little Rock for service in the war. He early went to Virginia and spent four years in the service under Lee, return returning to his widowed mother late in the summer of 1865. Some years afterwards, he married Miss Mary Carmichael, and moved to Marion, where he died Sept. 3, 1892, leaving two sons. William and John D., to perpetuate his name. These are the only male descendants of my great grandfather, Philip, bearing the name of Murchison, unless there are some by that name in Texas, as the descendants of Murdoch.

Catherine married an old bachelor, John McDougald, who soon died and she then married Mr. W. H. Steed. She had two McDougald daughters and two Steed daughters and died. She was born on June 13, 1835, it died May 24, 189

William, perhaps the most intellectual of the family, but physically the weakest, came, as I have before mentioned, to Bennettsville, S. C. about the year 1853, and clerked for John McCollum for a year or two, and then became his partner for three years after which he purchased a store and a lot on Darlington Street south of the Court House. It is the same lot on which he began to build in the spring of 1870, the brick store-house now standing in which his brother, John D. did business from 1870 to 1883, and the one in which the writer has done business ever since the first day of January, A.D. 1884. Here he did a mercantile business until broken up by the war. He entered the army, but his physician soon dismissed him from the service on account of his physical weaknesses. Early in the fall of 1865, he bought a stock of goods and again reopened to store and was remarkably successful from that time until his sudden death in New York in the Fifth Avenue hotel on Oct. 14 A.D. 1870. His estate netted the sum of $88,000, which was equally divided among his brothers and sisters and widowed mother, each getting the sum of $11,500. He was a man of high ideas, and brilliant in conversation. He died unmarried.

Elizabeth married Mr. Brown Walker of North Carolina and went to his home near Little River Academy, where she died in 1891, leaving only one child, a son, William.

Roderick, the youngest early, went to the war, got to be a lieutenant, and return to his mother’s home in the spring of 1865, and there he lived with her until her death, and afterwards at the same place until his death in 1885. He died at the age of 47 unmarried.

My mother, Margaret, the oldest child, and the survivor of all her brothers and sisters, as before stated, was born Oct. 16, 1820, married my father, Owen Jackson (early apprenticed to be a tailor, which up occupation he followed for many years, then a good and paying business) on Aug. 7, 1845. My father was born February 4, 1822 and died suddenly Aug. 2, 1890, having lived with my mother forty-five years, save five days. My mother survived him ten years, she dying Oct. 17, 1900, the day after she had completed her eightieth year. Their children were: Alexander, born May 16, 1847; Eliza J., born March 31, 1849; Annie E., born March 16, 1851; John M. (the writer), born May 23, 1853, Catherine, born Aug. 26, 1855, two male twins, born Sept. 9, 1857; Hampton McRae, born Aug. 5, 1860, and Roderick M. born March 4, 1864.

Alexander married, Agnes Buford, of Wilmington, N. C. And has a family of sons and daughters, his oldest son, Buford, graduated this year at the South Carolina College.

Eliza J. died Jan. 21, 1863.

Annie married A. J. Cottingham in 1868, and reared a large family of sons and daughters, and died some six years ago.

Catherine married. O. C. Hays, and has a large family of sons and daughters. They live near Little Rock, S. C.

The male twins died in infancy.

Hampton McRae, always small and physically weak, went to Wofford College for two years and then taught school in North Carolina, and in Dec. of 1887, joined the N. C. Methodist Conference, at its session at Fayetteville, N. C., and has been preaching ever since. He has been twice married.

Roderick M., the youngest, has remained at home, taking care of his aged, invalid and blind mother until her death. He married Miss Mollie Hays, and has two sons and one daughter.

Mother, during her lifetime gave by deed a large part of her estate to Roderick in consideration of the tender care and attention he gave her in her old age.

I, as before stated, was born May 23, 1853, at Clio, C. S. in a small house just opposite where the present Methodist Church now stands. My father, at that time, followed the tailor trade, and had for his neighbors such a good people as John L McCall, father of Col. S. S. McCall, the late John A. McRae, and his sister, Mary R. McCrea. When I was two years old he moved to a small farm just in the upper edge of Marion County on the east side of Donaho Bay, and on this farm I worked from year to year, attending such meager schools as the country afforded until Jan. 1869, when my father bought from the late Peter T. Smith, the before mentioned track of land where my brother, Roderick, now lives. On this farm I worked during the years of 1869, 1870 and 1871, attending school at times when farm work with permit. On January 29, 1872, I went to the store of Evander J. Moody and clerked for him for one year, when in poor health, I return to my fathers' home. I remained on the farm during the spring and summer of 1873, and having engaged myself to clerk for my uncle, John D Murchison, I came to Bennettsville, S. C. on the 17th day of August 1873, and began clerking for him in the brick store I now occupied. I remained with him until Jan 1, 1875 when I went to Charleston, S. C. and attended school for eight months. I then, finding myself rather too far advanced in age to give my mind to books, surrendered the idea of acquiring a good education and came back home, and in a few days, about August 20, I went to Maxton, N. C. (Then called Shoe Heel) and began keeping books for my older brother, Alexander, and his partner, E. L. McCormick. I remained with them for twenty-three months, when having some months before received a letter from my uncle, John D. Murchison, voluntarily offering me a clerkship in his store, I return to Bennettsville on Aug. 20, 1877, and again reentered his services at the salary of $60 per month in the same brick store. I continued in this position continuously until Jan. 1, 1884, when I purchase from my uncle the stock of goods he had on him and rented the store from him, and began on my own account the mercantile business. This business I have continued to the present day without a partner or find or a financial failure. On Nov. 10, 1887, I was married by Rev. John W. Motte, Rector of St. David's Episcopal Church, Cheraw, S. C. to Miss Bessie W. Duvall, of Cheraw, S. C. She was the only surviving child of Mareen H. H. Duvall, who came when a boy from Maryland to Cheraw, S. C. and married there a Miss Mary Ellerbe. She, my wife, had one sister, Caroline, who died what about six years old. My wife, at the time of our marriage, was living, her parents having both died some years before, in Bennettsville, S. C. with her uncle, M. F. Ellerbe, who occupied at that time, the brick house, where we were married, on Depot Street, now owned by Mrs. Hattie, McIlveen. One week after our marriage we began keeping house, and have been keeping house ever since. Our children are: Mareen Duvall, born Nov. 25, 1888, Margaret Murchison, born Feb. 16, 1891, Mary Eleanor, born Sept 14, 1893, John M. born Nov. 30, 1895; Roderick Humes, born Feb. 12, 1900, and Elizabeth, born July 31, 1902, and since the above was written, our home is made happy by the arrival on August 26, 1906, of a little girl, who we have Harriet Powe.

Sources

Kith and Kin in Carolina: Notes on Early McRaes in the Southeastern United States, Volume II: Other McRae Lineages by Larry W. Cates, MLIS, Vol. II, Page 426, 427, 429, 430. </ref>

Family History of Morgan and Mary Murchison Edens and Related Families, Descendants of Richard Edens. Updated November 2017 by John Clarence and Betty C. Edens. Page 84 - 91