ALIX HUDMAN

QUERY: I am researching my husbands family tree, his name is James Murray Linwood. The Murray name has followed through his family. He was named after his fathers cousin Hugh Murray Cousins whose father Murray Cousins (1847 -1933) married a Kate Isabel Linwood (1860 - 1952). Murray Cousins was the son of Charles Murray Lugger Cousins (1823 -1902) who in turn was the child of George F Cousins (1793 - 1862) and Maria Murray (? -1878). I have found a newspaper article which states that Maria Murray was the only daughter of the late Colonel Charles Murray of Philliphaugh. Birth records and census returns suggest that she was born in St Thomas in the east Jamaica but was baptised in the UK in 1783 with father named as Charles Murray and mother named as Mary. I have struggled to identify which of the Charles Murrays of Philliphaugh she came from and I also can't identify a Colonel Charles Murray of Philliphaugh. I wonder if you might be able to point me in the right direction? Any information will be gratefully received, thank you, Alix

DENNIS MURRAY FROM SCOTLAND/IRELAND

QUESTION: "I traced my family to Pennsylvania USA. My 4th great Grandfather John Murray came there from Ireland. My 5th great grandfather Dennis Murray came to Ireland from Scotland during the famine era. That is as far as I was able to trace my family. Is there anyway to know if I have any family left alive in Scotland. I had to do all this research on my own since my father and uncle is all I have ever known. My grandfather Donald Murray died several years ago and no one ever talks about family. I have lost so much family and I really would appreciate any help you could offer". A. M. A-W.

ANSWER: Unfortunately, we cannot offer genealogy help directly, but may be able to point you in the right direction. For example, start by creating a family tree, including as much information as possible about your ancestors. Of course, it would be especially helpful to determine the geographical birthplace of your ancestor, Dennis Murray, in Scotland. You could then use various resources, such as census records, birth certificates, marriage licenses, and death certificates, to gather more information about your ancestors. Sadly, Ireland's Public Record Office was destroyed and the survival rates of the earlier Irish Census records are extremely poor. The loss of virtually the entire early Irish census records will forever remain the greatest tragedy of Irish genealogy. These days, DNA analysis has become increasingly useful among genealogists and people looking to learn more about their ancestry, if you are comfortable with sharing your personal data with commercial DNA testing companies that analyse specific regions of a person's DNA to identify possible relatives, e.g. AncestryDNA®. I am sorry that I am unable to be of more practical help on this particular occasion but I do hope the attached links may be helpful in allowing you to progress your search.

THE EARLDOM OF ANNANDALE and THE MURRAYS OF COCKPOOL, THE WEST BORDER MURRAYS

QUESTION: "I've recently been researching my family tree and have been researching my 14th great grandparents, John Carruthers 5th of Holmains and his wife Blanche Murray (daughter of Sir John Murray of Cockpool). Following the Murray's of Cockpool back using a book on the Heraldry of Murrays I came across on the Internet archives website. I've traced them back to Sir William Murray of Cockpool where it states that he might descend from the "de Moravia" name. I was wondering if you had any information or knowledge of this line and whether or not it is believed to be linked to the other lines of the clan. As I couldn't see a section on the Murray's of Cockpool on your society website". G.L.

ANSWER: The Murray Clan resembles so many cords or lines originally falling from a single knot, but the connecting link or knot has been cut off, so that each line is now separate from the others. The Murray family association with the Border counties in Scotland has a long and outstanding history and this is perhaps especially so regarding the Earldom of Annandale, which was formerly in the possession of the Murray family. The Murrays of Cockpool, Earls of Annandale, are lineally represented by the present Earls of Mansfield, who is descended from the progenitor (ancestor) of the Murrays, Freskin de Moravia. A couple of articles were published in the Murray Clan Society's Journal and Newsletter several years ago [1983], written by my friend, the late Archie Russell Murray, FSA Scot. Work is in hand to include information about the Murrays of Cockpool on the website.

Comlongon Castle built by the Murrays of Cockpool

Arms of Murray of Cockpool

WILLIAM JAMES ATHOL STRANGE - SON OF LORD HENRY MURRAY

QUESTION: "Is there any information regarding the death of William James Athol Strange, son of Lord Henry Murray. I am a blood relative of William James through his Jewish mother - Rheina Barzillai Strange. J. de N. from the Netherlands".

ANSWER: The Murray Clan resembles so many cords or lines originally falling from a single knot, but the connecting link or knot has been cut off, so that each line is now separate from the others. Unfortunately, I do not know very much about the death of William James Athol Strange. I believe William [born 1783] was an illegitimate son of Lord Henry Murray and his older Jewish mistress. [Henry was 18 in 1783].  William (aged 17) and Julia (aged 14) eloped together without their parents' permission. It is said that Jane Austen based two of the characters in Pride and Prejudice on William and Julia. William was a friend of William Payne and they fought in the Napoleonic Wars together. William - also known as "Captain William Strange" - may have been killed in battle under Wellington during the wars with Napoleon circa 1815.

Lieutenant Colonel Henry Murray was born on 13th June 1767 in Dunkeld, Perthshire, Scotland. He was the fourth son of John Murray 3rd Duke of Atholl and Charlotte Murray. He was the husband of Elizabeth ( Eliza Kent) Murray — married 8th December 1786. Henry was the father of:
Catherine Maria Murray
Henriana Matilda Murray
William James Athol Strange
Richard Murray
John George Strange
Charlotte Wilhelmina Murray
Mona Elizabeth Murray
Emily Jane Murray (married General Sir John Oswald).
Henry Murray was appointed Colonel of the newly formed Royal Manx Fencibles in September 1795. The following year saw the regiment being deployed to Derry in anticipation of the Irish Rebellion of 1798and in June 1798 he ordered the burning of Ballymoney in reprisal for the rebellion. In February 1802 he went to Bath to recover from a bout of gout and later that year, following the Peace of Amiens, his regiment was disbanded at Whitehaven. Murray acted from 1804 as Lieutenant Governor and Deputy to his brother, John Murray, 4th Duke of Atholl, in his role as Governor of the Isle of Man. Murray died in office only a year later on 3rd December 1805 aged 38 in Isle of Man. There is a large obelisk in the centre of the churchyard in his honour at Old Kirk Braddan. There is also a memorial to his son, Lieutenant-Colonel The Hon. Richard Murray, Coldstream Guards (1787-1843).

William James Athol Strange was born in1786 in England. He was the illegitimate son of Lord Henry Murray and Reyna (Barzillai) Strange; brother of Catherine Maria Murray [half], Henriana Matilda Murray [half], Richard Murray [half], John George Strange, Charlotte Wilhelmina Murray [half], Mona Elizabeth Murray [half] and Emily Jane Murray [half]. He was husband of Julia Sarah Payne; father of Richard Strange and Ann Jane (Strange) Bartram, but he may not have married the mother of his children by Julia Sarah Payne. The children may have been fostered out. He died in 1815 at about age 29.

The Murray monument

Sacred to the memory of the Honorable Richard Murray
Son of the late Lord Henry Murray
Nephew to the late John Duke of Atholl
and formerly Lieut. Col. of Her Majesty's Coldstream Guards.
Having honorably served his country in India
And subsequently on the continent of Europe under
Field Marshal the Duke of Wellington.
He retired to the Isle of Man
where he was elected a Member of the House of Keys,
and in that capacity long and zealously exerted himself
to promote the welfare of the Island.
He departed this life October 16th 1843, aged 55 years.

Also to the memory of his son Richard Green Murray
Who died February 15th 1856 aged 15 years

This monument is erected by his Widow, as a small
but sincere token of regard for the memory
of a most considerate husband, and a most amiable child.

For I know that thou wilt bring me to death;
and to the house appointed for all living.
Job xxx.23

[Richard Murray, of Mount Murray, born 19 October 1787, died 16 October 1843 eldest son of Lord Henry Murray (4th son of John 3rd Duke of Atholl), born 1767 died 1805 (to whom there is a memorial in the form of an obelisk in the churchyard) married (1) 1811 Catherine Bacon (1789-1817), daughter of John Joseph Bacon (1728-1800); (2) 1819 Margaret Tenison (d.1864), daughter of William Barton Tenison of Lough Bawn, Co. Monaghan (her monument is on the opposite wall)].

Q: "I am intrigued with the story of Lord Henry Murray and Rheina Barzillai his Jewish mistress. My Jewish ancestors came from Venice, Italy, and so was Rheina at that time I believe. Was Lord Henry stationed in Venice for some time? We will never know I believe. One more question if you do not mind. Why does William have the last name Athol Strange and not Murray?"   

A: It seems to me that Lord Henry Murray may have met his older Jewish mistress when Henry was 18 in 1783 during a visit to Venice on the Grand Tour. Popular throughout the 17th- to early 19th-century, the Grand Tour was seen as a rite of passage for mainly young, aristocratic English men, with Italy as a key destination. It provided an opportunity to discover the cultural wonders of Europe and, leaving behind the sexual restrictions, to succumb to freer and easier encounters, and fleshly temptations and vices.

The middle names James and Athol and the surname Strange may have been used to signify or point to the identity of the illegitimate William's father, because the Barony of Strange was a title held by James the second Duke of Atholl, who was also the seventh Baron Strange. [The spelling of Athol is the original spelling and has one 'l', unlike the modern spelling of Atholl with two 'l's]. On his death the dukedom and barony separated. He was succeeded in the dukedom by his nephew John Murray, the third Duke of Atholl, while the barony passed to his daughter Charlotte, the eighth Baroness. She married her first cousin, the third Duke of Atholl. They were both succeeded by their son, the fourth Duke and ninth Baron. In 1786 he was created Earl Strange and Baron Murray of Stanley in the Peerage of Great Britain. The dukedom and barony remained united until the death of the ninth Duke and fourteenth Baron, in 1957. 

In the painting attached below, the third Duke of Atholl and family by Johann Zoffany (1733-1810) can be seen on the banks of the River Tay. Zoffany was a celebrated artist known for his ability to capture the sitters' character. The current Duke is descended from the tree-climbing third son. Henry Murray was the fourth son".