My Genealogy Hound

WILLIAM BOYD MURRAY was born in Carlisle, Cumberland county, Pennsylvania, on the 4th of September, 1808. He was the eldest son of George and Mary (Denny) Murray.

George Murray, his father, was the only child of William and Susanna (Sly) Murray, and was born March 17, 1762, near Fort Pitt, now Pittsburgh, Pa.; he was said to be the first white child born west of the Allegheny mountains. William Murray, father of George, was a Scotchman, and came to this country in one of the vessels bearing soldiers for Braddock’s army. He was a surveyor and surveyed a large part of the land along the Ohio river, and through the States of Ohio and Kentucky. He applied to the authorities for a grant or title to the land in Kentucky which he had surveyed. This was refused him on the ground that it was too large a territory for any one man to claim. Mr. Murray then returned to the old country for a time, and while there sickened and died. His wife and child remained in the home and in the care of her father, George Sly.

Susanna Sly, wife of William Murray, was a daughter of George and Marget Sly, who came to this country from Holland. An early record of Pittsburgh furnishes a list of persons at Fort Pitt, not belonging to the army, in July, 1760. In the list is the name of Susanna Sly, also the names of her two sisters, Elizabeth and Rachel, and the names of their parents, George and Marget Sly. Susanna (Sly) Murray, mother of George, died leaving the boy an orphan. At the age of twelve years George came to Carlisle, Pa., with Joseph Spear, trader and commissary. He was placed in the care of James Pollock, Thomas Alexander and George Stevenson, all prominent and leading men of the county, by whom he was apprenticed to Simon Boyd, blacksmith, of Carlisle. In the Revolution Simon Boyd was an officer in the Second Battalion of Associators of Cumberland county. George Murray afterward became the partner of Mr. Boyd, and was considered “a model artisan of the kind.” For years an extensive and a successful business was carried on by these two men in the art of Vulcan. Upon the death of Mr. Boyd, Oct. 6, 1816, Mr. Murray succeeded him in the business, prospering in it, and acquiring considerable property. In those early days blacksmithing was a lucrative business. There were no railroads then between the Eastern cities and the West. The snort of the iron horse had not yet wakened the echoes of the Alleghenies. Pittsburgh at that time was the “far West.” Traveling was done on horseback — later by stage coach — while trading was carried on by pack horse, and by the Conestoga wagon — the latter a huge wagon covered with white canvas and drawn by six or eight horses, bearing merchandise to and from the West. At different points on the journey these teams were halted for rest, and to be fed, and to be shod. Carlisle was one of their stopping places. The blacksmith shop of Boyd & Murray was located on West High street, near West street. Opposite the shop was the tavern, the headquarters of the teamsters. As many as thirty teams at one time might have been seen drawn up on both sides of the street, near the blacksmith shop, waiting their turn to be shod — the teamsters seated along the sidewalk eating their lunch of bread, pork and molasses.

On June 27, 1804, George Murray was married, by Rev. Robert Davidson, D. D., pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Carlisle, to Mary Denny, daughter of William and Agnes (Parker) Denny. Mary Denny was born in Carlisle, Pa., March 5, 1778. She was a sister of Priscilla Denny, wife of Simon Boyd, Also a sister of Major Ebenezer Denny, and a niece of Major Alexander Parker, both of Revolutionary fame.

William Denny, father of Mrs. Murray, with his brother Walter, came to Cumberland county from Chester county in 1745. Walter settled two or three miles south of Carlisle, where he owned a large tract of land, afterward divided into several farms. He raised a company for the Revolutionary struggle and was killed at the battle of Crooked Billet. William Denny lived in Carlisle. He was the first coroner west of the Susquehanna river, and during the Revolution was commissary of issues. He was the contractor for the erection of the court house in Carlisle, in 1765, which was destroyed by fire in 1845. In 1760 William Denny was married to Agnes Parker. They had nine children, three sons and six daughters. Agnes Parker was the daughter of John and Margaret (McClure) Parker, who had seven children, three sons and four daughters, Major Alexander Parker, a distinguished officer of the Revolution, being one of their sons. John Parker, father of Agnes (Parker) Denny, born in 1716, was the eldest son of Richard Parker and Janet, his wife, who emigrated to this country from the Province of Ulster, Ireland, in 1725, and settled three miles west of Carlisle, acquiring land by patent on the Conedoguinet creek in 1734. His application at that date was for the land on which he had resided “ye ten years past.” These lands continued for two or three generations in possession of their descendants. Richard and Janet Parker, “among other children” — as history tells us — had seven children, five sons and two daughters.

The Parker farm — so-called in former days — west of Carlisle is “beautiful for situation.” The old farmhouse has passed away, and another structure has taken its place. Located on the top of the hill overlooking the valley, a magnificent stretch of country is spread out before the eye. The prospect is a charming one. At the rear of the house, and at the foot of the hill, flows the Conedoguinet creek. From the base of the hill issues a spring of clear, cold water, which, purling and rippling over the stones, finds its way into the Conedoguinet creek. Many times in those early days, when, in the dusk of the evening, the daughters of the house came down to the spring for water, did they tremble for their lives, imagining and fearing that Indians were lurking behind the trees.

William Denny died in Carlisle about the year 1800. His wife survived him a number of years. George Murray died in Carlisle May 6, 1855, in his ninety-fourth year; his wife died April 10, 1845, in the sixty-eighth year of her age. They are buried side by side in the family lot in the old graveyard at Carlisle, where William and Agnes (Parker) Denny, father and mother of Mary (Denny) Murray, are sleeping in one grave. George and Mary (Denny) Murray had seven children: (Surname Murray), Priscilla Boyd, William (who died in infancy), William Boyd, Charles Gregg, George, Joseph Alexander and Nancy Denny (the last named died in infancy).

William Boyd Murray, the subject of this sketch, as a lad was quiet, unobtrusive and self-contained. He received his education in the schools of his native borough. He was fond of study, was quick and apt to learn, and possessed a fine memory, which even down to old age remained true and vigorous, in a remarkable degree. It was a rule with his father, George Murray, that each one of his boys should be taught some branch of manual art, and that of carpenter was chosen for his son William. The requirements and the labor belonging to that particular branch of industry were too heavy for one of his slender frame and delicate constitution, and, at the end of the first year, he was released from his apprenticeship. He did not follow this trade to any extent, but turned his attention to the grocery business, which he carried on successfully for several years. It was about this time — 1837 — that the Cumberland Valley Railroad was opened, the tracks having been laid through the main street of Carlisle. Ambitious and enterprising, and quick to see the advantage of a move in this direction, Mr. Murray conceived the idea of embarking in the grain and forwarding business. With this object in view he and his brother-in-law, John Fleming, in December, 1838, purchased a property on the south side of West High street, west of and adjoining property of Dickinson College. On this lot they erected a two-story frame warehouse, entered into partnership, and in February, 1839, began business under the name of Murray & Fleming. On Aug. 12th of the same year a sad accident occurred on the Cumberland Valley Railroad, which resulted in the death of Mr. Fleming. While detaching one of his freight cars from the rapidly moving train, in order that the car would run on the siding, Mr. Fleming, in reaching forward to replace the bolt in the car just ahead, lost his balance, fell, and was crushed by the wheels of his own car. He lived seven hours after the occurrence.

After the death of Mr. Fleming, Mr. Murray continued the business in his own name. He was a prominent business man in the community. Active and energetic, he built up and carried on successfully for years an extensive trade in grain, flour and other merchandise. In these days shippers owned and used their own freight cars. They found the market for their produce, etc., in the eastern cities. Pig iron brought from furnaces adjacent to Carlisle was one of the articles shipped to the East. In busy seasons, when the rush of business was great, quantities of this metal might be seen stacked in huge piles on the street, awaiting shipment. Some years later, lumber was added to the stock in trade, and also anthracite coal. This was the first introduction of coal, for family use, in the borough of Carlisle.

In 1859 Mr. Murray retired from the active responsibilities of the grain and forwarding business. Later in life, he was engaged for a short time in importing a choice variety of seed wheat from Florence, Italy, for distribution among the farmers of Cumberland county. Mr. Murray was a man of strict integrity, was faithful, honest and upright in all his business connections. Never to violate a moral obligation was a principle of his life.

The warehouse built in 1839, by Murray & Fleming, is still standing on the corner of High and College streets. It bears its age well, and in all these years has been a good business stand. At the present time it is occupied and used for the grain and forwarding business.

Mr. Murray possessed strong military tastes, and in his younger years was actively interested in the old militia service of the State. For nine years he served as a commissioned officer in the militia of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. On April 27, 1832, he entered the service, receiving his commission from Gov. Wolf as second lieutenant of the Second Company, Second Battalion. On May 14, 1833, he was appointed by the same governor second lieutenant, and the next year first lieutenant, of the Carlisle Marion Rifle Company, attached to the First Battalion, Cumberland Volunteers. On May 1, 1837, he was appointed by Governor Ritner adjutant of the First Battalion, with the rank of major. He continued in the service, faithfully performing the duties of his position, until May 8, 1841, when he was “honorably discharged.” He was also a member of the Union Fire Company of Carlisle, of which the Rev. Robert Davidson, D. D., was the first president. This company numbered among its members some of the prominent citizens of the town, and the names of John Montgomery, James Blaine, David Watts, James Hamilton and others are mentioned in the records. The company is still in existence. On Sept. 17, 1889, Mr. Murray, at the advanced age of eighty-one years, took part in the celebration of the Centennial of this company.

Mr. Murray was an intelligent and a progressive man and kept abreast of the times. He was a thorough patriot, a dear lover of his country. In June, 1863, during the Civil war, although beyond the years for active service in the field, yet at a hasty call for a home guard to protect Carlisle from a threatened invasion, by night, of Confederate troops, Mr. Murray was one of those who responded to the call, shouldered his musket and marched out with the company. In religious belief, Mr. Murray was a stanch Presbyterian, as were his forefathers, strong in the faith, clear and abiding in his convictions. Early in life he united with the First Presbyterian Church of Carlisle, the church of which his parents were members, then under the pastorate of the Rev. George Duffield, D. D. In 1832, as the result of disputes on doctrinal points which created a division throughout the entire church, a portion of the congregation withdrew, and organized the Second Presbyterian Church of Carlisle. This new church was established Jan. 12, 1833, with a membership of sixty-five persons. Rev. Daniel McKinley being installed pastor Aug. 7, 1833. Mr. Murray was one of the charter members, as was also his father, and he was one of the active spirits of the new organization. For a number of years he served on the board of trustees. He was always in his place in the sanctuary, unless prevented by illness, which was of rare occurrence. Throughout his entire life he was actively and thoroughly interested in everything pertaining to the welfare of his beloved Zion. At the time of his death, which occurred Feb. 7, 1890, he was the last survivor of the charter members.

In stature Mr. Murray was five feet eleven inches in height, broad-shouldered, erect in carriage, with a well-knit frame, slender in figure and person and with dark hair and blue eyes. He was a high-toned Christian man, of rare simplicity and purity of character, in disposition, reserved and reticent, dignified and courteous in manner, with a kindly, charitable spirit toward all — a gentleman of the old school. Domestic in his tastes and habits, he found his chief happiness with his family and at his own fireside. Strongly attached to those of his own blood — his kinsfolk, loyal and generous, he was always to the front when they needed aid or counsel.

On Jan. 9, 1834, William Boyd Murray was married, by Rev. Daniel McKinley, pastor of the Second Presbyterian Church of Carlisle, to Margaret Parker Fleming, daughter of James and Margaret (Clark) Fleming, of North Middleton township, Cumberland county. Margaret Parker Fleming was born May 27, 1809, in the old home situated on the banks of the Conedoguinet creek, a few miles north of Carlisle. In 1884 Mr. and Mrs. Murray celebrated their golden wedding in Carlisle, where they resided. They were both of Scotch-Irish ancestry and both were descendants of Richard Parker and Janet his wife, whose names have already been mentioned in this sketch. Mrs. Murray was a beautiful woman — features regular, clear complexion, with black hair and dark brown eyes. A woman of superior cast of mind, intelligent, and, as one remarked of her, “her face indicated the nobility of her character,” she was a thorough Christian, a devoted wife and mother.

Mr. Murray died Feb. 7, 1890, in the eighty-second year of his age; his wife died April 6, 1886, in her seventy-seventh year. Agreeable to the request of Mr. Murray, both are buried in one grave in the family lot in the old graveyard at Carlisle. They had four children (surname Murray): Margaret Fleming, Harmar Denny, Mary Denny and Mellazena. Mellazena died Feb. 16, 1855. Mary Denny died in Allegheny City, Pa., Sept. 26, 1903. Their remains repose beside those of their parents in the family lot in the old graveyard at Carlisle, where sleep the representatives of four generations. Harmar Denny Murray is engaged in the glass business in Pittsburgh, Pa. Margaret Fleming Murray resides in the old home at Carlisle, Pa.