My Genealogy Hound

GEORGE H. MURDOCH. Not only in Berrien Springs, of which he has long been a resident, but also throughout the surrounding country, the name of this gentleman is well and favorably known. He was born in Bedford, Bedford County, Pa., on the 29th of August, 1829, and is the son of Francis B. and Eliza (Kimmel) Murdoch, the former having been born in Cumberland, Md., and the latter in Somerset County, Pa. The father, who was a man of splendid attainments and a prominent attorney, brought his family to Michigan in 1830 and located in Berrien Springs. The illness of his wife, who was suffering from consumption, caused him to remove from Berrien Springs and seek a milder climate in the sunny South. He remained in New Orleans for some time, and thence went to Ohio, where his wife died. Later he was a resident of St. Louis, and from there in 1852, during the days of the gold excitement of the far West, he went to California. He did not, however, engage directly in mining for gold, but became connected with the public life of the State. He edited and published a newspaper at San Jose, which enjoyed the distinction of being the only Republican organ in California. He was appointed by President Lincoln to the position of Collector of Internal Revenue, in which office he served for some time. When about seventy-six years old he dropped dead from the rupture of a blood vessel in the head.

George H. Murdoch was a child only one year old when he was brought by his parents to Berrien Springs. Later he accompanied his parents to the South, and after his mother’s death resided with his father in St. Louis, where he gained his education in the select schools. In 1847 he returned to Berrien Springs, and with the exception of two years has since made his home in this village. Until 1859 he was engaged in merchandising here, but during that year he disposed of the business, and in the year following was elected County Clerk for a term of two years. His service in that office was so satisfactory that he was re-elected in 1864 and 1866.

Upon the expiration of his term of office in 1862, Mr. Murdoch raised Company I, of the First Michigan Sharpshooters, of which he was chosen Captain. The regiment was assigned to the Ninth Army Corps, commanded by Gen. Burnside, and was in camp eight months of the year 1865, at Camp Douglas, Ill. Our subject participated in the various engagements of the Army of the Potomac, including the battles of the Wilderness and Appomattox and the siege of Petersburg. On the 17th of June, 1864, he was wounded in front of Petersburg, being shot in the head and seriously injured. For gallant services at Spottsylvania and in the campaign before Richmond, he was breveted Major, December 2, 1864, and while serving in that position was mustered out of service.

While in the service, Mr. Murdoch was re-elected County Clerk, in 1864, and upon the expiration of his term of office, in 1869, he was elected Justice of the Peace and served in that office for twenty years. He affiliated with the Republican party until 1872, when he gave his active support to Horace Greeley for the Presidency, and has since acted with the Democratic party. From 1878 to 1883 he served as a member of the State Democratic Central Committee, and for years he has taken a prominent part in local and State politics. In 1876 he commenced the publication of the Berrien County Journal, which was the official organ of the Democratic party in this community until 1884, when Mr. Murdoch disposed of it.

In 1859 occurred the marriage of Mr. Murdoch to Miss Adeline, daughter of John Garrow, of Pipestone, Mich. The union has been blessed by the birth of four children: George H., Jr.; Henrietta, wife of John F. Harper, and a resident of Benton Harbor, Mich.; and John and Francis B., who are interested in land in Minnesota. Mr. Murdoch was an active factor in assisting the projecting of railroads through the county and especially the St. Joseph Valley Railroad, running to Berrien Springs, of which he served as Secretary and Director for several years. All enterprises, both of a private and public nature, that would benefit the village, he has aided and promoted as far as possible.