Are you a MURRAY, or a member of an Allied Family?

+14 votes
1.1k views
A One-Name Study has been established for Murray and any variations of the name. Put the ONS sticker on your profiles and share your research with other "cousins." Allied Families may participate, as well; a complete list of families is found on the ONS page.
WikiTree profile: Space:Murray_Name_Study
in Requests for Project Volunteers by Michael Thomas G2G6 Mach 1 (10.1k points)
My mother’s maiden name was Murray. My brick wall is my great grandfather John Murray - born in January 1860 in Ireland and I am having a hard time locating his parents.
Did you check the John Murray name in New Brunswick, Canada and Maine, USA
My mother's maiden name was Murray. My grandfather was Major Archie Lee Murray, WW2, South Pacific theater.  Brick wall is my 4th g-grandfather, George Murray, b. about 1780, So. Carolina. I need sources for him and before. My hope is trace origins to the old country.
Hi! I am John B. Murray, III. My brick wall is my second great grandfather, Joseph B Murray(1854 - 1938). Joseph was born in Alabama and buried in Arkansas. Ancestry says his father was James H Murray and that his mother was Maria Sharp. However, Eliza Harper is listed as Joseph’s mother on his death certificate. If anyone has information that would be helpful about Joseph and his ancestors, I’d be most grateful. Thanks in advance!

34 Answers

+9 votes
 
Best answer

I would like to participate in the Murray name study if I can be of any help. My paternal grandmother was a Murray, descended from Michael Murray and Alice Sharkey of County Louth, Ireland. After Michael died, Alice and her children emigrated to the U.S., settling in St. Helena and Tangipahoa Parishes, Louisiana, with one branch settling in Mississippi. 

Michael is one of my brick walls which I would love to break down! I could use some guidance on researching Irish records.

by Joyce Rivette G2G6 Pilot (180k points)
selected by D. Weakland
Hi, Joyce, thanks for responding. Ireland can be difficult because you need to begin at the local level with a parish, usually something you don't know. I have a real small number of Irish ancestors, so I haven't done much, but I do follow a couple sites in particular:

https://irelandxo.com/ireland-xo/news

https://irishcentral.com

Ireland XO has recently begun writing articles about a variety of genealogy topics. Irish Central is an American newsletter that offers a lot of genealogy information along with the news.

 Take a look at them and see if they help you out.
Thanks Michael, I will check those sites out and see what I can figure out!
+9 votes
My mother's maiden name was Murray, her father was Almon Jackson Murray.
by Mary Brown G2G Crew (470 points)
+8 votes
My great grandmother was Mary M Murray daughter of Peter Murray and Elizabeth Mullen Murray . She married James F OBrien in Manhattan NYC . I was able to locate her parents still in NYC on the 1905 census, both from Ireland.
by Mary OConnor G2G Crew (780 points)
+7 votes
Hi my name is peter Murray and I've been tracing my family tree which has been hard as I'm not a professional,but I've had a y 111 test on ftdna and I'm on the Murray spread sheet as kit no B524006 grouped clan colla,which is dated back to 400 ad,but I I also have links to the tulibardine testers that are said to come from freskin ?10 ad this is very frustrating would love for someone try and help me find  answers to this contradictory evidence
by Peter Murray G2G Crew (410 points)
+7 votes
Thank you Michael! I've been waiting so long for someone to make a Murray ONS! I have many New York Murray's.
by Keith Cook G2G6 Mach 4 (49.0k points)
+7 votes
I am a descendant of Andrew Murray, b. 1781 Roxburghshire, Scotland, d. 1848, Melbourne, Australia and Isabella Cranston, 1784-1832 Roxburghshire, through their sons Robert (b. 1811 Roxburghshire, d. 1892, Bendemeer, NSW) and William (b. 1819 Roxburghshire, d. at sea off Jervis Bay, 1876), who were my great grandparents.  Andrew was a great grandson of John Murray (1669-1749) and Isobel Turnbull (1679-1746) of Hawick or Bedrule, Roxburghshire).  My Y-111 matches with two other descendants of John Murray.
by Gordon Murray G2G Crew (410 points)
+6 votes
I am a gggg grandson of John Murray, 4th earl of Dunmore. He had a son Alexander. He had a son Virginius. He had a son Reginald. He had a daughter Katrine. She was my grandmother.
by John Scott G2G Crew (380 points)
+6 votes
I am a Murray.  I was born in Coventry, England but my Murray ancestors were from the English/Scottish borders.  My 2 x great grandfather was actually born in the Scottish Highlands as his father was hired to take sheep from the Cheviots in Northumberland to Caithness (Highland Clearance times).  Wife and family went along and they lived up there for bout 10 years before coming back south again.
by Lesley Murray G2G Crew (380 points)
+7 votes
My 3rd great grandfather was John Murry/Murray, born in Dublin in 1815, then moved to Liverpool. He is the brick wall for our family.
by Mike Lowe G2G Crew (410 points)
+6 votes
Both maternal grgrmothers were Murray: Henrietta of Lot and Lovey of John (different lines.)  Earliest ancestor of both lines believed to be Richard Murray, bound immigrant c.1690 to Somerset, MD. (MD Judicial Records); fa. of James b. c.1697.  My brick wall: Richard's birth date/place.
by Marj Adams G2G6 Mach 4 (44.6k points)
edited by Marj Adams
+10 votes
Welcome to the Murray One Name Study. I  am excited about the possibility of locating Murrays and their relations all over the world. As one of the premier clans of Scotland, we definitely need more visibility.

I have scanned over 1,100 family trees from Murrays, variations of the name, and allied clan families. I am currently indexing them and will make them online as soon as I can.

The primary task at this point is probably just getting the "sticker" on as many ancestors as we can. If you would like to add your ancestors to the Clan, add the Clan sticker to their profiles, as well. Please add your name to the Members list on the One Name Study page, too.

Feel free to contact me if you have questions or comments. Thanks for your interest in the Study!
by Michael Thomas G2G6 Mach 1 (10.1k points)

Michael, I noticed the Clan Murray page is focused on Scottish clans. Should the Clan sticker only be added to known Scottish Murrays?

There is a Murray clan structure (don't forget the variants!) of some kind in both Scotland and Ireland, especially Donegal. The Irish clan structure, however, is much more loose than the Scottish. I personally have ancestors in both countries, so when I get back to adding the sticker, I will include both. England had no such clan structure, so I probably would not do those.

For the most part, clans disappeared after Culloden, but their resurgence has been huge, especially in the U.S. The Scots-Irish in North America continued to recognize the clans as immigrants arrived. I added a lot of clan stickers in my early days on Wikitree as I was creating profiles, but they were primarily the older Scottish ancestors. I use it on my personal profile, and that of my wife and daughters, because we are active in clan activities.

I can say definitively the Murray Clan Society of North America (U.S and Canada) is only concerned with the surname itself, and those of the allied families, and would heartily welcome you to the clan if you wanted to join.

There are clans and there are families. Clans tend to be a much less formal structure, and more accepting of almost anyone who wants to join and benefit the group. Families usually tend to go by name, and oftentimes aren't as welcoming to outsiders.

 I guess the short answer is this: Put the clan sticker on any profile you feel should have it. If you're not sure the profile should have it, at least put the One Name Study sticker on it.
Hi I am a descendant of Daniel Murray (born in Ireland) 1799 and moved back to Scotland as a child. Husband to Rosanna O'Neill. My family lived in Edinburgh through the generations until my mother birth in 1950. My grandparents moving to Australia in 1954.

We were always told my great grandfather Daniel Murray that our Murray's were originally from Scotland and moved to Ireland for a couple of generations before moving back to Scotland with his great grandfather as a baby. Daniel Murray listed above.

I have been researching my family for over a decade and slowly unpicking my Murray's from others in Edinburgh, made tricky by large families and an observed family naming pattern.

I am keen to learn more and contribute what I can.

Vanessa
Hi Michael,

I would definitely love to participate in the study. My name is Margaret Murray (Maggie) named after my great grandmother, Margaret Henrietta Murray (also Maggie) of Charleston, SC. My great grandfather x 5 was John Murray 4th Earl of Dunmore, born in Perthshire Scotland and became Governor of NY, Virginia and Bahamas. My great grandfathers +++ in the Murray line that preceded him were all Earls, Lairds, Dukes etc throughout Scotland. My brick wall at this moment appears to be my 13th Great grandfather, Lord William II Murray or Tullibardine, Laird of Montrose (Though I haven’t yet researched thoroughly enough beyond that.) He was born around 1945 in Tullibardine/Castleton, Perthshire Scotland. I have become fascinated with my Murray lineage and hope to be a part of this study.
+5 votes
My paternal great-great-grandfather was Charles Murray. He was born about 1794 in Ireland and emigrated to New Brunswick, Canada in 1824.

My other paternal great-great-grandfather married Catherine Murray/Murry - but can't find anything to show her parents or if she is related to Charles. They came to New Brunswick, Canada, in 1833 with their family. According to census records, they both were born about 1781 in Ireland.  

Their son, William McFarland, married Catherine Murray, daughter of Charles, in New Brunswick, Canada. She was either born in 1818 in Ireland or 1825 in Canada according to census records.
by M McFarland G2G2 (2.1k points)
+4 votes
My mother was a Murray until she married my father Emanuel J Heuer. My grandmother Bishopp married Charles Howard Murray, who's father was Thomas Magee Murray, who's father was William Brown Murray who emigrated from (Ireland) We have found a James Murray who we suspect in Diocese records index for Ross, County Cork, Ireland, who married Ann Brown, 1790, which is the decade William B was born. Submitted by Heuer-244.
by Jean Heuer G2G4 (4.8k points)
+4 votes
My Great-grandmother was a Murray. Her paternal grandfather Bernard was born in Scotland and immigrated to Canada in the early 1830's.
by Bonnie Guadalupe G2G6 Mach 1 (12.4k points)
+4 votes
My mother's maiden name is Murray; Dorothy Kathleen Murray (Kennedy) Born  27 Nov 1912, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada.  Father John Ewing Murray born 1882, S. Leith, Edinburgh, Scotland, Deceased 02 Nov 1965, Grand Rapids, Kent County, Michigan USA.  John's parents both born and died Scotland:  William Murray/Margaret Ewing.
by Joan Rickert G2G Crew (810 points)
+4 votes
My mother was a Murray. Herman was her father. Mattie Little was his mother. They lived in Texas.
by Sue Hankins G2G Crew (320 points)
+4 votes
I am Janet Amy Murray....of Arnold Maxwell....of Alfred Norman....of John.

There's more but not in my memory today it seems...lol
by Janet Leavitt G2G Rookie (220 points)
+4 votes
My G-G Grandmother Margaret Murray was born abt 1804 .On her marriage in 1825 Edinburgh her father listed was John Murray,clerk at brewery in Cannongate. She left Scotland in 1841 with her five children and sailed to NY after her husband died. My brickwall is her father John Murray residence Edinburgh.
by Lynne Dickson G2G Crew (320 points)
+5 votes
There is already a McMurray/MacMurray/ McMurry one name study. Maybe we need to put a link from one to the other of the projects.
by Paula Franklin G2G6 Pilot (109k points)
I have no problems with the two studies being linked, but I'm not sure how best to create a link between the two. There are a number of spelling variations of Mc/Macxxxx that don't seem to be covered by the study. All known variations are listed on the Murray page.
I only listed the Mc's I could think of off the top of my head and haven't had a chance to work on it lately.

Let me think on the linking bit, now that I have your approval I will see what I can come up with.  I might just put a link for the Murray and related families from my page.

Thanks bunches for being open to the suggestion.

I have McMurrayMcMurry's in my family and that is what got me interested in a study.  I don't know who the parents are of the three that I think are brother and sisters. I hope we can generate some interest from others and get enough people working on them to eventually find my answers.
One of the main jobs I have taken on as U..S. Genealogist for Murray is archiving boxes of family trees that have been submitted over the years. I am up to nearly 1,200 now, but with a minimum of Mc/Macs in the bunch.

I know we have several in the Clan's membership, and we also had an extremely strong Irish contingent for many, many years, especially in Donegal. Some had to have wandered and a name change wouldn't have been unlikely.

If you find a simple way to link the two, let me know and I'd be glad to link back. I'm still trying to get 27,000+ Murrays into ONS, so haven't even thought about the others.
I added the surname Murray to the list of related names and linked it back to your Murray Name Study page.  I also added the Murray Name Study to my categories. You can see how I did it if you go to my study and click on edit.

I still have a lot of work that needs to be done but at least it is a start.

You have a huge job ahead of you with all those family trees to add.  I am so slow adding profiles I will never get all of just my tree done.

Thanks!

See if the link back to your ONS is satisfactory. If I can do anything else for you, let me know. If I get some time, I'll try to add some of your smaller groups.
Mike
+4 votes

Im a Murray from Australia the first Aussie Murray being Thomas Gilmour Murray 

B:2 Jun 1831 Sorn County, Ayrshire, Scotland

D:17 Jul 1905 Rockdale, New South Wales, Australia

by Yvette Brodnik G2G5 (5.9k points)

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