MURRAY, Samuel Sr.

MURRAY, Samuel Sr.

Male 1739 - 1817  (78 years)

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  • Name MURRAY, Samuel 
    Suffix Sr. 
    Birth 1 Jun 1739  Swatara River, Pennsylvania Find all individuals with events at this location  [1
    Gender Male 
    Occupation Abt 1790  Fletcher, Henderson, North Carolina, United States Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Owner of Murray's Inn, ½ mi from Fletcher, Henderson Co., NC 
    Death 15 Dec 1817  Murraysville, Buncombe County, North Carolina Find all individuals with events at this location  [1
    Person ID I1433  Pickel_Bartlett
    Last Modified 2 Oct 2011 

    Family REES, Elizabeth   d. 1815, Murraysville, Buncombe County, North Carolina Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Marriage 27 Oct 1763  North Carolina Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Children 
     1. MURRAY, James,   b. 21 Mar 1769, Newberry County, South Carolina, United States Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 30 Mar 1847, Henderson County, North Carolina, United States Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 78 years)
    Family ID F408  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
    Last Modified 16 May 2022 

  • Notes 
    • Samuel Murray, Sr. appears on the 1800 census of Buncombe Co. with the following household: 1 male over 45, 1 male 26-45, 2 males 16-26, 2 males 10-16, 1 female over 45, 1 female 0-16, and 3 slaves. His son, Samuel Murray, Jr. also appears, with one male 26-45, 1 female 16-26, 1 male 0-10, and no slaves.

      Samuel Murray, Sr., was born 1 June 1739. His father William Murray, and his grandfather John Murray, came to America from Scotland in 1732, and settled on Swatara River near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. When Samuel was about eleven years of age, he and his brother William migrated to Newberry District, SC. Many years later they both moved to Buncombe County, NC.

      The first legal record for Samuel Murray, Sr., is listed in the office of the Recorder of Deeds, Newberry, SC. On 2 Feb 1776, he purchased a plantation on Indian Creek in the 96th District of Newberry County, where he farmed successfully for many years and also reared a sizeable family.

      During the War of the Revolution, Samuel Murray and his son James, as well as his brother William, participated by hauling supplies, as attested from records on stub entries for Revolutionary War Claims, showing they received bounty for service. Samuel, Sr. also served as a Corporal in the Second South Carolina Regiment commanded by Lt. Col. Marion, and James Murray served as a Private.

      After the land in South Carolina became unproductive, and at the age of 58 years, Samuel, Sr. moved to Buncombe County, NC. The first legal record in NC is the purchase of a tract of 110 acres of land on Big Mud Creek on 19 July 1797. F.A. Sondley wrote in "Origin of the Catawba Grape and Other Sketches," that Samuel Murray, Sr. was one of the most prominent residents of Buncombe County at the beginning of the nineteenth century. In April 1805, the Buncombe County Court appointed Samuel Murray, Sr. as one of the Commissioners for the purpose of procuring a public square in the town of Asheville. This public square was obtained on 23 Jan 1807, and was that in the center of Asheville on which stood for more than one hundred years the successive court houses of Buncombe County. A part of it now constitutes the park and adjoining streets known as Pack Square.

      Samuel Murray, Sr.'s property fronted the Buncombe Turnpike, the only passable road which ran from Asheville, NC and Greenville, SC through Hendersonville, NC. He operated a tavern and inn called "Murray's Inn," located about one half mile from Fletcher, NC. Murray's Inn was later owned and operated by his son, William, who acquired the property by deed in 1818, and who continued to operate the Inn for a number of years.

      Samuel Sr.'s son, James, accompanied him to Buncombe County in 1797, and helped manage the plantation for him. James purchased 200 acres on Big Mud Creek on 27 Jan 1806, and eventually accumulated 5,000 acres by the time of his death in 1847. Thus, Samuel Murray, Sr. and his family helped establish the independence of our Nation, and were among the First Families of Old Buncombe.

      Samuel Murray, Sr., was born 1 Jun 1739 near Swatara River, Pennsylvania, and married on 27 Oct 1763 to Elizabeth Rees. She died 1815 at Murrayville, Buncombe Co., NC. He died 15 Dec 1817 at Murrayville, Buncombe Co, and was a son of William Murray, and his wife Isabella Lindley.

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      Source: Old Buncombe First Families - The Murray Family -- online at http://www.obcgs.com/murray.htm

  • Sources 
    1. [S118] The Murray Branch.