James senior died in 1844, aged 69, and is buried at Logie Durno kirkyard. Jane died in 1853, aged 78 and is buried beside her husband.
Grave of James & Jane Murray
THE HISTORY OF THE MURRAYS
The Origins of the Name
The surname is derived from the ancient province of Moray in the north of Scotland, which became one of the thirty-three counties of Scotland. The first recorded person to have Murray as a surname was William de Moravia, who was a witness to a royal charter to the Abbey of Holyrood in Edinburgh in 1203. The name Murray is now one of the commonest in Scotland.
Our Murray Ancestors
The earliest known Murray of our line was James Murray, who was born in Aberdeenshire, probably in the Garioch area about 20 miles north-west of the city of Aberdeen, around 1775, and lived most of his life at Durno in the parish of Chapel of Garioch. It is possible that his father was Alexander Murray and that he was born in the neighbouring parish of Daviot. As a young man he married Jane Jaffrey, the daughter of Alexander Jaffrey, a wright at Logie Durno, and his wife Barbara Leslie. They are first recorded in 1799, when they were living in the city of Aberdeen, their address being given as Causey, parish of Old Machar. James was working as a labourer when Jane gave birth to a son Lesly, who was probably their first child. By 1801, however, they had moved back to the countryside, where they settled at Durno, James becoming a farmer. In that year they had their second child, James.
Shortly after this, world affairs intruded on the family's life, when James was chosen to serve in the Aberdeenshire Militia. This was necessary because of the threat of invasion from Napoleon's France, with whom Great Britain was at war. He was stationed at Fort George, a great fortress on the Moray Firth coast at Ardersier near Inverness. It appears that his family was able to accompany him, as Jane had their third child, Margaret, there in 1803.
| By 1805, however, James had been discharged from the
Militia, and the family were back at Durno, where seven
more children were born - Charles, Barbara, Alexander,
George, John, Robert, and Jean. Of their ten children,
nothing further is known of Lesly, James and Barbara, and
they may have died young. The lives of the others are
described below. James senior died in 1844, aged 69, and is buried at Logie Durno kirkyard. Jane died in 1853, aged 78 and is buried beside her husband. |
|
Grave of James & Jane Murray |
Charles was born in 1805, married Isabel Anderson in 1828 and had eight children. They were James, born 1828, Margaret, c1831, Jean, 1832, Isabel, 1834, Charles, 1837, Elizabeth, 1840, Barbara, 1842 and John, 1844. Like his father, Charles became a farmer in Chapel of Garioch parish, where he farmed at Northmuir of Durno, an area of small farms or crofts. Of the children, Margaret was unmarried and died of consumption in 1867, aged 36. Isabel, was also unmarried and died in 1898, aged 63. Charles junior married Janet Sim in 1863, but nothing further is known of him. Elizabeth died in 1849, aged only 9. Barbara was unmarried, but in 1861 she had a son John by John Reid. John married Jessie McKerron in 1872, and they had 12 children. Charles and Isabel both died in 1878 and are buried in Logie Durno kirkyard.
Alexander, known as Sandy, was born about 1811 and married Barbara Watt in 1835, also becoming a farmer at Northmuir. Tragically Barbara died three months after their marriage, a few days after giving birth to their first child, Alexander junior. In 1838 Sandy married again, his second wife being Jane Cocker. They do not seem to have had any children. Jane died in 1880 and Sandy in 1889, aged 78. Sandy and his two wives are buried at Logie Durno kirkyard.
George was born about 1812 and in 1836 he married Christian Reid. Their life is described below.
John was born in 1816, married Ann Cordiner in 1846 and farmed at Durno, where he had a 7 acre croft in 1851. There John and Ann had five children. They were Jane, born c1849, Margaret, 1850, Anne, 1852, Elizabeth, 1854 and John, 1856. Of the children Jane had an illegitimate daughter, Margaret, by William Middleton in 1870. Margaret died in 1852, aged only 2. Anne married John McLean, a dairyman, in 1875, and they had at least two children. John junior married Margaret Anderson. After Ann's death in 1892, John appears to have moved to the Ellon area north of Aberdeen, where he died in 1898, aged 82. John and Ann are both buried at Logie Durno.
Robert was born in 1818, married Letitia Sim, and had at least three children, Jane, born 1842, Robert, 1845 and Margaret Bremner, 1848. Unlike the rest of the sons, Robert did not take up farming, but became a merchant or shopkeeper. The family moved around Aberdeenshire quite a bit, as in 1842 they were in Methlick, in 1845 in Longside and in 1848 in Newmachar, before settling in Lumsden in the parish of Auchindoir, where he and his son had the firm of R & R Murray, merchants. Their daughter Jane died in 1846, aged 4, while Margaret died in 1851, at the age of 2. Robert junior married Eliza Souter Baxter in 1872. He worked with his father, but later was a merchant at Rothney in Premnay parish, and had 8 children. Robert junior died in 1910, aged 60.
Robert senior died in 1878, aged 60, and Letitia in 1909, at the great age of 96. They are buried in Auchendoir kirkyard.
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James and Jane's youngest child Jean was born in 1821, and in 1846 she married Thomas Emslie Reid, a shoemaker from the neighbouring parish of Rayne. They lived at the village of Old Rayne and had nine children. Jean died in 1893, aged 72, and Thomas two years later, aged 78. They are buried at Logie Durno. |
| Thomas Emslie Reid & Jean Murray |
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George was born around 1812 in the parish of Chapel of Garioch, probably at Durno, where his father farmed most of his life. In 1836 he married Christian Reid, the daughter of David Reid and Ann Wilson. Although they were married in Auchterless parish, by 1836 they had taken on a croft at Northmuir of Durno. They remained there until at least 1851, but by 1861 they had moved to the farm of Craigmill in the same parish, before flitting again to Smith How, Durno, where they were staying in 1867. George and Christian had eleven children - George Leys, born in 1837, Robert, 1838, Anne, 1841, Jean, 1842, Walter, 1849, a second George in 1844, William, 1847, Samuel, 1850, Alexander, c1855 and two sons called James in 1857 and 1860. It is not known what became of Robert, but he was still alive in 1865. Walter and the first James died in infancy and the first George died in 1842, aged 5. |
Grave of George & Christian Murray |
George senior died in 1874 of a stroke, aged 66, and thereafter Christian went to live with her son James at Swellend farm in Newmachar and later with her son George in Aberdeen, where she died in 1893, aged 79. George and Christian are both buried at Logie Durno.
Anne was born in 1841 and married William Ross in 1865. They emigrated to the USA where she died in 1877, aged only 36.
Jean, born 1842, married William Middleton, a farmer, in 1863, and had fourteen children. William died at Durno in 1916, and Jean died in Kemnay in 1926, aged 84. They are both buried at Chapel of Garioch kirkyard.
George, born about 1845 remained a bachelor and moved into Aberdeen where he found work as a porter. He died there in 1916, aged 71, and is buried at Logie Durno.
William, born around 1847, moved along with his younger brothers Samuel and James to the parish of Newmachar north of Aberdeen. In 1879 he married Elspet Leith from Belhelvie. Elspet was the sister of Catherine Leith, who married David Sharp, and whose daughter Mary Ann married William's brother James (see below). William became a farmer at Greens, Newmachar, later moving to Hill of Ardo, Belhelvie, and he and Elspet had six children. William died at Hill of Ardo in 1899, aged 52, and Elspet died in 1927. They are buried in Newmachar kirkyard.
Samuel, born about 1850, also moved to the Newmachar area, became a farmer, and married Elizabeth Hacket Smith in 1874. He and Elizabeth had at least four children. It is presumed that Samuel's first wife died, as he later married Elizabeth Buchan. Samuel died in 1935 and is buried in Newmachar New Cemetery.
Alexander was born about 1855 and married Jane Grant in 1875, Alexander worked as a farm servant and in the 1881 census he was at the farm of Wester Harlaw in Chapel of Garioch parish. Alexander and Jane had at least three sons, George, William and Alexander.
 Craigmill Farmhouse |
James was born in 1860 at Craigmill farm in Chapel of Garioch parish. He left home as a young man and by 1882 he was living at Swellend farm in Newmachar, where he worked as a farm servant. In that year he married Mary Ann Sharp, the daughter of David Sharp, farmer at Tillyfour, Foveran parish, and his wife Catherine Leith. (see "The History of the Sharp Family" for the story of this family). Following his marriage he worked on his father-in-law's farm, before taking on the tenancy of Laighs of Cannahars in Belhelvie parish, where he was in 1910. Later they moved again, to West Craig at Udny. James and Mary Ann had seven children - Catherine, Mary Ann, James, David, George, Christina and Barbara Ann, all except Barbara born at Tillyfour. |
| James senior died in 1914 in Aberdeen Royal Infirmary of a perforated ulcer, at the age of 54. Mary Ann went to live with her daughter Chrissie and her husband and died in 1953 at the age of 93. James and Mary Ann are buried in Newmachar New Cemetery. |  |
Grave of James & Mary Ann Murray |
| Catherine Murray (1882-1979) Catherine was born in 1882 and emigrated to the USA, where she married George Kidd, also from Aberdeenshire, at El Paso, Texas, in 1912. They eventually settled in Boise, Idaho, where they had four children. George died in 1954 and Catherine in 1979, at the age of 97. |
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Catherine Murray |
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Mary Ann Murray (1883-1972) Mary Ann was born in 1883. After leaving school, she went to work in Aberdeen as a waitress, where she met James Edward, the son of James Tulloch Edward and Jane Milne. They were married in 1910 and had one child. They are both buried in Springbank Cemetery, Aberdeen. [see "The History of the Edward Family" for the story of his family] |
James & Mary Edward |
 James & Christina Murray |
James Murray
(1884-1966) James, born in 1884, married Christina Lamb Thomson in 1912 and became a farmer, latterly at Meadowhead, Dyce. They had at least 7 children. James died in 1966, aged 82 and Christina in 1976. |
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| David Murray (b1888) David was born in 1888 and as a young man emigrated to Winnipeg, Canada, where he worked as a fireman. Later he returned to Scotland and found employment as a fish lorry driver in Aberdeen. He married Elizabeth Robb and they had two children. |
 David Murray |
| George Murray (1891-1965) George was born in 1891, and worked as a farm servant while a young man. He married Mary Jane Munro and joined the police in Aberdeen in 1913, rising eventually to the rank of sergeant in 1938. During the Second World War their house in Hilton Terrace, Aberdeen was destroyed by a German bomb, while the family were in their air raid shelter in the garden. George and Mary had four children, George, Donald, Mary Ann and William, who are all now dead. George, known as Dod, retired from the police in 1945 and died in 1965 in Stracathro Hospital, Angus, of liver failure due to viral hepatitis. |
 George Murray |
 Christina Murray |
Christina Murray (1892-1982) Christina, known as Chrissie, was born in 1892. In 1915 she married William Jamieson at Ellon. Willie became a tenant farmer, firstly at Braehead, Belhelvie. Later they moved to West Maldron and then to Craigour, both near Torphins about 18 miles west of Aberdeen. Finally they moved to Old Wester Echt at Dunecht, about 12 miles west of Aberdeen, and remained there till 1958. Chrissie and Willie had five children. Following their retirement Chrissie and Willie bought a house in Bedford Place, Aberdeen near Chrissie's sister Mary. Willie died in 1961 and Chrissie eventually moved into an old folks' home at Torphins. Chrissie died in 1982 and is buried with Willie in Springbank Cemetery, Aberdeen. |
Barbara Ann was a late baby, being born in 1907, 14 years after Chrissie. Tragically she died of a stomach haemorrhage in 1921 at the age of 13.
© Robert James Carson 2008. All rights reserved.