Allied Families:
Forsythe
B. Johnson
Morgan
Wilson
Murrah is a very rare name in North America. It is found primarily in the Deep South, but there are a few Murrahs in the Midwest, primarily in Illinois. The Murrah surname has often been confused with the Scotch surname "Murray," but they appear to be different names, at least in historical times.
There are likely many Murrays in the United States who are actually Murrahs. In the early days when most were illiterate, names were first recorded by census takers and other government officials, and they recorded the names the way they sounded to them. There are instances in which both the "Murrah" and "Murray" spelling are found in the same document. In more than a few cases in the 19th Century, the name was also recorded as "Murrer," which is likely the way that it was pronounced by some family members.
The Murrah surname is probably Scottish since the "Murrah" spelling is found in southern Scotland and far northern England. Emigration records show several Murrah emigrants from the Scottish and north English ports in the 17th and 18th Centuries.
In 1699 a John Murrough embarked from Northumberland on the Robert and Elizabeth bound for Virginia. County Northumberland is in the far northeast of England bordering Scotland. In 1741 a James Murrah embarked from the port of Whitehaven on the Vine for Virginia. Whitehaven in in the former County of Cumberland (now Cumbria), which lies in the far northwest of England bordering the Solway Firth and Scotland on the north and th Irish Sea on the west.
In County Cumberland there is a Murrah
township in the parish of Greystock, Leath ward, former county of Cumberland
(now Cumbria), 9½ miles (N.E. by E.) from Keswick, south of Carlisle,
and due west of Greystoke. In Murrah township there is a Murrah Hall.
In addition to the Scottish-English border, the name is found in the Orkney Islands, which lie off the north coast of Scotland. In 1775 a David Murrah emigrated to Georgia on the Marlborough from Kirkwall in the Orkneys. The name appears there as late as 1856 when a John Murrah was born to Donald Murrah and Margaret Loutit in the Parish of Deerness in the eastern part of the Orkney mainland.
Murrah may be related to the Irish name "McMurrough" since both are Celtic peoples. McMurrough is said to come from "Murchadha," which derives from the Indo-European words "mar," meaning "sea" and "kat," meaning "to fight." Thus, the name can be translated as "sea warrior."
The McMurrough name first appeared in Ireland about 900 AD as a given name, as were all names in those days before development of surnames. The name may refer to the seagoing Danes who invaded the British Isles about that time. It is said that many liked the area and stayed, and it would be logical that they would be referred to as as the "sea warrior," or "Murchadha."
Despite this similarity, it is unlikely that the Murrahs of America are Irish. In Ireland the comparable name is usually spelled with the "ough" ending. There is one known instance of the "Murragh" spelling in Ireland and none of the "ah" spelling. Scotland is the only place that the exact "Murrah" spelling is found.
It should not be surprising that the name is Scottish since the vast majority of Southerners of European ancestry are Scots who came in the great migration of that group to America in the 17th and 18th Centuries. Unlike the Scots the Irish did not come to American in great numbers before the 19th Century, and few Irish settled in the South.
The earliest known Murrah to have come to America was David Murrah (also spelled Murrowes) who was in Virginia in 1652. That was about the time of arrival of the first wave of emigrants from the British Isles after the original pioneering settlements around Jamestown. There were quite a few Murrahs in the eastern coastal areas by the end of the 17th Century.
From Virginia, the Murrahs spead out in two general directions. Some went west across the Appalachins into Kentucky and eventually into Illinois. The other and larger stream went south into the Carolinas and Georgia. Their descendants then flowed into Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and finally Texas.
No records other than census reports have been found placing David in Georgia. His first documented appearance was in Hinds Co., Mississippi in 1843. Tax Records Interestingly, David was 21 years old when he was listed, perhaps implying that he was not a recent arrival and had lived in Hinds County for some time. In 1837 a William H. Murrah had been listed on the Hinds County (Tax Records) , and he was also listed there in 1837, 1838, 1839, and 1848. Tax Records. In the early 1830's a William H. Murrah was a surveyor in Stephen F. Austin's Colony in Texas, (Tom Murrah, San Antonio. TX) but it is not known whether he was the same person, although he did disappear from Texas after being listed there. A John B. Murrah was listed in the Hinds County in 1843 as well. Tax Records.
On May 7, 1845 David M. Murrah married Sarah Morgan in Hinds Co., Mississippi. Marriage Records. Based on proximity and name, Sarah appears to be the daughter of Marcenus (Mackerness) Good (Garde) and Sarah Morgan. M. G. Morgan earlier lived in Abbeville Co., SC in 1840, in Hinds Co., MS in 1850 and Copiah Co., MS in 1860. Census.
In 1847 David Murrah was listed in Hinds Co and was listed adjacent Charles Murrah. Tax Records. In 1852 David M. Murrah purchased land from James A. Morgan in Hinds Co. Land Records.
By 1860 David Murrah and M. G. Morgan lived in Copiah County. Census. In 1860 David M. Murrah purchased land from W.C. and M. D. Dixon in Copiah County. Land Records. Also living in Copiah County in the 1850's were Charles Murrah and Thomas Murrah. Charles was a SC native born in 1825, and Thomas was born in 1812. Census. Thomas and his family still lived in Edgefield Co., SC in 1850 (Census) and moved to Copiah Co. in the mid-1850's. Census. Charles died in Copiah Co. in the late 1850's. Descendants.
David and Sarah's last child William (Lonnie) was born in 1860 in Copiah County. Census. Sometime thereafter Sarah must have died and David moved to Carroll Parish, LA, and at one time lived in an area known as Pinhook. Julia Murrah Smith. It is not known whether Sarah died in MS or in LA. In 1865 David M. Murrah married Mrs. Millissa Martin in Avoyelles Parish, LA. Oddly the marriage license (unsigned) is recorded at Vicksburg, Mississippi. Marriage Records.
In 1870 David M. Murrah still resided in Carroll Parish, LA (Census; but not long thereafter it appears that David lost his land since in 1870 land owned by D. M. Murrah of Carroll Pa, LA, was sold by sheriff's sale to Anna J. Wilson. Land Records.
In 1872 David Murrah family moved to Polk Co., Texas where he apparently joined Thomas Murrah. By 1880 David lived in San Jacinto Co., but it is not likely that he moved since San Jacinto Co. was formed from Polk Co. in 1870. In the late 1850's a James Murrah had lived at Coldspring, at the time in Polk Co., and later county seat of San Jacinto Co. Tax Records.
David died at Dodge in Walker Co., TX in 1887. Grave Marker, Shockley Cemetery.
David and Sarah's children were:
David and Melissa's children were:
Submissions to the Mormon Ancestral File state that David's parents were Moses Murrah and Mary Jane Crozier Murrah. No proof has been shown for that other than that Moses Murrah was listed in the census in Lincoln Couny, Georgia in 1820, the year before David's birth. The author does not necessarily believe that Moses was David's father.
There were quite a few Murrays and three identifiable Murrahs in Lincoln County, Georgia in 1820, the year before David's birth. Some of the Murrays were likely to have been Murrahs although that is hard to prove. The Lincoln County tax list for 1818 listed the following three persons who were or were likely to be Murrahs: Charles Murrow (Jeter’s Dist.); Thomas Murrow (Jeter’s Dist.); and Moses Murrah (Tatom’s Dist.). Moses was clearly the same as mentioned above. Charles Murrow was undoubtedly Charles Murrah who was listed in the 1820 census of Lincoln County. The "Murrow" spelling of both mens' names suggests that both were Murrahs rather than Murrays, and we can assume that Thomas Murrow was actually Thomas Murrah, likely a brother of both Charles and Moses. It is interesting to note that David Murrah's name was spelled "Murrer" in the 1880 Census for San Jacinto County, Texas. The two are connected by a deed in Edgefield Co., South Carolina in 1814 in which Thomas Murrah, Sr. and Charles Murrah of Georgia sold land on which Thomas Murrah then lived. The wives were listed as Sally Murrah, wife of Thomas, and Ellen Murrah, wife of Charles. This was land they likely inherited from their parents.
Moses, Thomas and Charles are all candidates to have been David's father. Unfortunately Charles disappeared from history after being listed in the Lincoln County tax rolls in 1825. Perhaps Charles moved to Gwinnett County, Georgia, since he drew land there in the 1820 lottery. Moses Murrah moved back to South Carolina, and perhaps Charles did the same.
It could be argued that David's middle initial "M" stands for "Moses," which would be a powerful argument in favor of Moses as his father. However, David's elderly grandson Gus Dukes of Trinity, Texas, told the author in the early 1970's that "Dave" Murrah's middle name was "Morgan." It might be argued that Mr. Dukes confused David's middle name with the surname of David's first wife Sarah Morgan. The evidence contrary to that interpretation is that Morgan was a traditional Murrah given name going back several generations to Virginia and that David named two consecutive children of his second marriage "Elzora David Murrah" and "Charlie Morgan Murrah". The apparent symmetry of these names argues that they were named for David in first name-middle name order. It is very unlikely that a second wife would have named a child after the surname of the first wife. Finally, it appears that Moses Murrah had a son named Moses Robert, and it is unlikely that he would have given the same name to two living son children. The clincner is that the M. G. Morgan family Bible clearly states that Sarah Morgan married "David Morgan Murrah".
The best evidence that David and Thomas are not children of Moses and Jane Murrah is that David and Thomas Murrah both lived in Copiah Co., Mississippi and Polk/San Jacinto Co., Texas. Family legend is that David's and Thomas' children were cousins. If we assume that they are first cousins, then David and Thomas would have been brothers. However, Thomas was born in 1812 in SC and David in 1821 in Georgia. Moses Murrah and Jane Crozier were married in 1818. Unless Moses was married earlier, he could not have been the father of both men. Moses could be David's father only if David and Thomas were cousins. Further, David named his eldest son Thomas and Thomas named a son Thomas D., the middle initial suggesting "David".
Another fact that ties David and Thomas closely together is that David named a son Ferdinand, a very unusual name. Thomas' daughter Elizabeth and son Thomas D. both married Bartee, and there are hints that the Bartees and Murrahs were close in South Carolina. Thomas married a widow who was originally a Bartee after his first wife Caroline died. David lived next door to a Bartee in San Jacinto County in 1880. One of the Bartees named a son Ferdinand also.
David and Charles are tied together by their having both lived in both Hinds and Copiah Cos., Mississippi in the 1840's and 1850's. Charles named a daughter born in 1856 Julia, and David also had a daughter Julia.
Due to these connections we can assume that David, Thomas and Charles were brothers. The names of their parents are probably contained in the names of their children.
David's Children by Sarah Morgan were Virginia Ovatine, Thomas Columbus (Lum), Julia Emma, Mary C., Samuel Becton (Boss), Theodosia Ernest, Ferdinand, and William Alonzo (Lonnie). By Melissa McCloskey Ella Amandy, Cora Savanah, Elzora David, Charley Morgan, and Clementine Claffin "Tiny".
Thomas' children were John W., Ellen E., Charley, Unity, Thomas D. Murrah, Elizabeth F., Andrew, and Sallie.
Charles' children were Sarah Cornelia, James Washington, Louisa, Julia, and Charles L. (Charley).
If we accept the elsest son theory, then the father of David, Thomas and Charles could have been Thomas (Thomas->Thomas D, David->Thomas Columbus), James (Charles->James Washington), or Charles (Charles->Charles L, Thomas->Charley, and David->Charley Morgan). According to the eldest daughter theory, the mother could have been Virginia (David->Virginia Overton), Ellen (Thomas->Ellen E.) or Sarah (Charles->Sarah Cornelia). If assume that they would all have a son or daughter named after their parents then the father could have been Thomas (see above) or Charles (see above), and the mother Ellen (Thomas->Ellen, David->Ella).
Potential fathers are thus:
If Charles and Ellen Murrah are the parents of David Murrah, one might wonder why he would wait until a second family to name a child for his parents. The disapperance of Charles Murrah from the records suggests that he died young, perhaps when David and Charles were children . Charles Murrah lived in Lincoln County in 1825, the year that his purported son Charles was born. A Charles Murrah married a Mrs. Eliza Ross in Columbia Co., Georgia in 1828, but it is not clear whether the two Charles's are the same person. If he did die when Charles and David were very young, then perhaps they were raised by grandparents in South Carolina. That would make David closer to his grandparents and more likely to name his eldest children for them. That would suggest that David's grandfather was Thomas and his grandmother Virginia. A Thomas Murrah lived in Edgefield Co., South Carolina from about 1790-1810.
There appears to have been a naming pattern in David Murrah's second family. As stated above two consecutive ones of his children had the middle names "David" and "Morgan" clearly after their father. Perhaps Melissa Murrah made a systematic effort to use Murrah family names for her and David's children. Perhaps the first daughter Ella was named for David's mother with the plan to name the first son after his father. When the next child was a daughter Cora Savannah (incidentally Savannah is the river adjacent both Lincoln Co., Georgia and Edgefield Co., South Carolina), she was given an non-systematic name. When the next child was a daughter, she was given David's name as a middle name. Finally a son came along, and perhaps he was named Charlie Morgan for both David and David's father, following both patterns established with Ella and Elzora.
The foregoing are mere speculations and should not be taken as proof of David's parents, but they do present interesting possibilities.
The above information is based on the best sources currently available to the author and is subject to correction. If you have information that is different or additional to that shown above, I would like to receive it. Please contact me by e-mail and mention this web page in your message.
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