Addison

MURRAY, Daniel

Genealogical and Family History of the State of Vermont: A Record of the 
Achievements of Her People in the Making of a Commonwealth and the Founding 
of a Nation. Carleton, ed. Chicago: Lewis, 1903, pp 347-348
Daniel MURRAY, a retired merchant of Burlington [Chittenden County, Vermont], 
who was for many years one of the leading business men of this city, was born 
22 August 1822 at Orwell [Addison County, Vermont], son of Asahel MURRAY. He 
is of Scotch ancestry, being a lineal descendant in the fifth generation from
Jonathan MURRAY, the immigrant, the line of descent being as follows: 
Jonathan, Jonathan, Eber, Asahel, Daniel. Jonathan MURRAY(1), with his wife, 
whose maiden name was Anna BRADLEY, emigrated to this country in 1680 from 
Scotland, settling in Connecticut. They reared a family of nine children: 
Thankful, Daniel, Anna, Jonathan, Hope, Selah, John, Eber, and Hester. 
Jonathan MURRAY(2) married a woman of Irish descent, by whom he had the 
following children: Eber, Amasa, Asahel, Jonathan, Daniel, and Stephen.

Deacon Eber MURRAY(3) was born and reared in Guilford [New Haven County], 
Connecticut, the home of his ancestors. Removing to Vermont in 1783, he 
settled in Orwell [Addison County], here taking up land that was in its 
primitive wildness, with bears, wolves and other wild animals, roaming 
through the dense forests. By energetic activity he cleared a good farm, 
from which he extracted an income sufficient to keep himself and family in 
comfort. He was a devout worker in the Baptist church, of which he was 
deacon, doing a great deal of pioneer missionary work in that early time, 
when settlers were few and far between, by traveling over the mountains, 
carrying the comforts and consolations of religion to the people. In a tract 
entitled "The Worth of a Dollar," published by the American Tract Society, a 
touching incident is related of Deacon MURRAY's kindness to a poor woman, to 
whom he gave a dollar to buy a Bible, and by his generosity was the cause of 
awakening a powerful revival of religion in a town lying between the 
Connecticut and Onion Rivers. Deacon MURRAY's first wife died young, leaving 
three daughters: Elizabeth, who married William BUCK; Azuba, who married 
William L. BUSH; and Mabel, who became the wife of a Mr. PALMER. The Deacon 
married, second, Abigail DUNNING, who was born 17 November 1752, and died 01 
June 1836. Five children were born of this union: Dorcas, born 24 April 
1782, married Selah MURRAY; Daniel Scott, born 17 July 1784; Daniel, born 08 
May 1786; Asahel, born 19 May 1788; and Lydia, born 04 March 17900, married 
Harvey MURRAY.

Asahel MURRAY(4), born 19 May 1788, in Orwell [Addison County, Vermont], 
resided here until his death, 01 July 1854. Succeeding to the occupation in 
which he was reared, he became one of the prosperous agriculturalists of the 
town, and a citizen of prominence, serving with ability in the various 
offices within the gift of his fellow townsmen. He was a volunteer in the 
War of 1812, but was never in actual service. On 03 January 1810 he married 
Polly MURRAY, a daughter of Jonathan MURRAY, and niece of Deacon Eber MURRAY. 
Five children were born into their household: Emily, born 06 January 1812, 
married William T. BASCOMB; Elizabeth, born 26 April 1814, married Thurman 
RICH; Jonathan Hull, born 26 December 1815, who married Huldah MARTIN, was a 
very religious man, belonging first to the Baptist church, and later to the 
Adventist society; Sealand, who was born 20 December 1817, and married Emily 
M. BLACKMAN, was a school teacher, first in Vermont, then in Ohio, where he 
lost his eyesight, after which he returned to Orwell, remaining here until 
his death; and Daniel, the subject of this sketch.

Daniel MURRAY(5) was reared on the ancestral homestead, receiving his 
elementary education in the district schools, after which he attended Newton 
Academy at Shoreham [Addison County], later being fitted for college at the 
Hinesburg Academy [Chittenden County], under the instruction of Mr. DURKEE, 
in the meantime teaching school five winters, thus earning money to defray 
his expenses. Coming to Burlington [Chittenden County] in 1847, he was clerk 
in a mercantile establishment for a few years, when, in 1857, having by 
thrift and economy saved some money and obtained a thorough knowledge of the 
business, he opened a store in this city, and from that time until his 
retirement from active pursuits he was a prominent factor in the mercantile 
interests of Burlington. Although mindful of his own affairs, he has never 
shirked the responsibilities of office, but has served as assessor, as 
alderman, and as fire warden. In politics he is a Republican.

Mr. [Daniel] MURRAY married, 10 September 1844, Mary BLACKMAN, a daughter of 
Joseph and Betsey Mary BLACKMAN, who came from Connecticut to Vermont in 
1790, locating in Hinesburg [Chittenden County. The only child of Mr. and 
Mrs. MURRAY, Charles Augustus MURRAY(6), was born 08 May 1847. He married 
Mary A. WELCH, daughter of Dr. A. C. WELCH, of Williston [Chittenden County, 
Vermont]. She is descended from Governor [Thomas] Chittenden, the first 
governor of Vermont. They have two children: Bessie Edmondston and 
Katherine Chittenden. Bessie Edmondston MURRAY(7) married Frank Curtis 
WEEKS, and they have one son, Charles Murray WEEKS(8). Katherine Chittenden 
MURRAY(7) married Dan George EMERY, of Boston [Suffolk County], 
Massachusetts, by whom she has two children: Mary Chittenden EMERY(8) and 
Gwendoline Murray EMERY(8).

Submitted by Cathy Kubly