10/27/2024
On my drive to Springfield, MO (the way station to visit nephew Dan’s son in Dallas), I had a lot of time to think. Chris, who is working on the James Murray house posed a question, “How did James Murray earn a living?” James clearly had enough wealth to build not just a house but an elegant mansion that for sure was designed to entertain.
I got to thinking about James’ grandfather, Anthony Murray. In the Maine records, Anthony is listed as a surveyor. I looked up surveyors from colonial times, and it was apparently quite a prestigious job, as much of America needed to be surveyed and documented so that new arrivals could purchase designated parcels of land. The leap I took was to imagine that if Anthony Murray was a surveyor, most likely he taught his skills to his son, Arnold Murray. Arnold was the first of the Murrays to move to Indiana. There is a record of Arnold Murray purchasing land in 1820.
There were also listings of purchases as well as sales of land by Arnold Murray. I can imagine he might have used surveying skills he learned from his father. And, it’s not a stretch to imagine that he taught his son, James Murray, to survey as well. Can I really tell all this from land records and historical descriptions? Perhaps not, but Arnold Murray had other sons in Indiana – Coburn and Andrew Murray – and neither of them appear in any land purchases or sales that I could see. In one record, for example, Arnold is selling a portion of his land to James for $1800 and he advances James $200. Clearly father and son have at least a land business arrangement if not a very close working relationship.
Part of understanding our ancestors is taking leaps of faith. I try to do a good job of exploring all angles before I jump to any conclusions. I’m asking Anthony, Arnold and James to give me a sign if I’m off base. I just hope they communicate with me in a kind way. Ha.
10/27/2024