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The Murray's.......con't 5

John and Catherine had five children, E. Henry Elliott Murray, b 27 July 1870, Sarah Matilda Murray, b 15 Jan 1874, Margaret Jane Murray, b 17 March 1876 and died 14 April 1876, Ida Scott Murray, b 10 June 1878 and John Dixon Murray, b 16 Sept 1880 and died 16 Jan. 1881. One writer mentioned that "most of the children were delicate. Elliott was one of these." Catherine passed away and John later remarried. John married Elizabeth M. Christie of Valley Station, Colchester County at Valley Station on 30 July, 1884. In the 1891 census they were still in Merigomish. John was 52, Elizabeth was 40, Sarah was 17, William H. was 19, John s was 12, William W. was 4, Ewart was 2 as was John A. Of the new family they had: William Wallace Murray, b 5 Oct 1886 and twins Ewart Gladstone Murray and John Fred Lord Murray on 24 March 1889. Sometime between the 1891 census and the 1901 census the family moved to Valley Station.

Most of this information except for the information on the first marriage came from entries in the John Murray family Bible. Charlotte Murray Robinson of Westville, N.S. related "I have the family Bible with John Murrays family. It was brought to my Mother when she lived in a Nursing Home by a couple who were cleaning out an old house in Earltown. They contacted people in Merigomish including Lyall Murray who directed them to my Mother." Really a fortunate preservation of an old record.
From finding the William McDonald "Will" we can better understand why John was in Merigomish in 1869 while most of the rest of the family is in the Onslow, Wilson Mountain and Salmon River area. Possibly he moved back to Merigomish in 1858 to run the farm or else he remained at Merigomish and Barneys River when the family moved to Colchester County ca 1845 although I think he was listed with the family in Colchester County in the 1861 census.

On 13 April 1870 William and Margaret paid off the Mortgage for their Salmon River property.

In the 1871 census of Colchester County the William senior family (1811 William is now Sr.) was in Truro Poling District #1, ED #2 (There was no Salmon River District this census). William was still farming and carpentering. From that census we find William is 60, wife Margaret is 56 and of Irish ancestry, Hugh is 28 and a day laborer, Catherine is 24 and Sarah is 17. Its of interest to note that in Millers 1873 book regarding early settlers he describes one incident thusly on pg 7 - " encamped in the woods up the Salmon River, in a deep valley of the brook that Mr. William Murray had his Mills on recently, and from this brook took its name as French Village Brook." Similarly, much later in the book (pg 357) he described an accident site- ".... perished on the railroad above William Murrays, in February 1873." Accordingly, one would assume William Murray was a miller of some importance and notoriety in this area of Colchester County and was well known to Mr. Miller. Glen Matheson, a Murray family researcher in Colchester County and a distant relative, recalled that one of his ancestors told him that Murrays siding on the railroad was named after members of the family and its very likely our William, the miller.

Also in the 1871 census, Truro poling District # 2, William Jr. and Jane have a 2 year old son, Walter. In the 1881 and 1891 census's we found that William Jr. and Jane are neighbors of our great uncle Walter Rath's family.

In the 1871 census of Merigomish (1-2-2 taken on April 4) we find: "John M. Murray (M 34 md Farmer), Catherine (F 25 Md), William H.E. (M 7 mos., born Sept.). All born N. S. All origins: Scotch. Religion all, Presbyterian."

Also in the 1871 census of Colchester County we found William and Sarahs daughter Elizabeth (56 yrs) living with husband Jacob Workman (56 yrs)in New Annan census district with their large family and Jacobs Mother, Mary (Lynds) Wortman (84). Children still at home were Sarah (29), Mary A. (27), Charles (24), Elsie (20), Rebecca (16), Douglas (6) and Matilda (1). Other children we know of but werent in the census were William, Eunice, Catherine, Andrew and Arata.

On the 1874 Township Map of Colchester County by A.F. Church, we find a number of Murrays living in the Harmony-Salmon River area. A D. Murray (Believe this is Andrew Murray of another family) is a neighbor of our great uncle J. (James?) Rath. Northwest of them, towards the Salmon River, lived H. Murray and W.(William?) Murray. Immediately east of them is a sawmill which might be William's.

Thomas Miller, the writer of The History of the First Settlers of Colchester County had the following story in his notes for his book. (he didnt use this story in his book)-- "On April 18th 1874, in the forenoon, Mrs. Murry, wife of William Murry Junr of Wilsons Mountain, went to their barn with hot ashes to put under the eggs of her setting goos, when they rose from dinner their barn was in flames, and destroyed two horses, one cow, two calves, shaigh and harness, two tons of hay and farming utensils. This should be a warning to all, to be very careful about using ashes." A tragic loss for Jane Murray and her husband William.

On 22 December 1874 Catherine Murray was married to Edmond Gratto at Salmon River by Rev. T. Layton, Presbyterian clergyman. Witnesses were Abner Gratto and Eliz. J. Miller. Edmond was 21 and a blacksmith and was born at Tatamagouche. The record doesnt tell us where Catherine was born but indicated she was 26 and resided in Teviotdale. Teviotdale was an earlier name for Valley Station Post Office so probably she was still living at home at Salmon River.

Also in 1874 John Gault Murray, son of William and Sarah Murray passed away at Port Malcolm and is buried at Lower River Inhabitants.

On April 5, 1877, Peter Carle, 24 and Sarah Murray 23, both residing at Salmon River, were married at Salmon River Presbyterian Church. Peter was the son of Alex and Isabella and was born at Aberdeen. Sarah is William and Margarets youngest daughter and she was born at Salmon River. Witnesses were Edmd Gratten (Gratto?) and Charlotte Cock and the Clergyman was Rev. John McMillan. Edmond Gratto is sister Catherines husband.

Edmond didnt live too long as on 21 July, 1879 he died at age 27. He is buried in Watson Cemetery in Truro, not far from father in law Williams grave.
On Friday, 31 October 1879, William Murray Sr. on Greenfield Road, aged over 70 years, died. He was of Salmon River according to the Presbyterian Witness. Again, this William Murray Sr. did not have a will. A creditor filed some papers with the court of Probate and those papers mention children William ,Hugh, ___Rath wife of Robert Rath, ___Carle wife of Peter Carle and Mrs. Gratto. William was buried in Watson Cemetery in Truro not far from son-in law Edmond Gratto. The stone indicates William Murray Oct 31, 1879- 68 yrs. Several graves away is a stone for Sarah Murray wife of Peter Carle died June 22, 1902 47 yrs 6 mo. This is William and Margarets daughter Sarah. Also nearby are graves for a John W. Murray and James C. Murray but they dont seem to be close relatives. Ive corresponded on e-mail with Bob Barrass of Ottawa, a descendant of this family and so far we havent been able to determine a connection. They are buried so close together it would seem there could be a connection.

The 1879 Illustrated Historical Atlas of Pictou County shows John Murray with a 40 acre farm near West Merigomish Station. His neighbor was Angus McDonald , his uncle.

In 1881 the William Murray family is still living in Salmon River. With Williams passing, Hugh is now head of the family and is 38 years old. His mother Margaret lives with him and she is 66. She indicated she was born in Ireland but in 1871 the census records she was born in Nova Scotia of Irish parents so we dont know which is correct. As we mentioned, Catherine is already a young widow. We dont know what caused Edmond Grattos death. She is 33 and has a 3 year old son, William. Visiting with the family was 10 year old Sedley Rath, one of Elizabeth Murray Rath's children. It is through Sedley's fortuitous visit that we were able to discover which of the many Murray's of Colchester County are "our" Murray's. Sedley is shown as going to school. The same census also shows a 10 year old Sedley Rathas living with his parents at their new home at Hilden, south of Truro so he probably was just visiting his grandmother and aunts and uncle. An interesting sidelight is that grandmother Murray, in responding to the census questions, indicated that Sedley was of Scotch ancestry, even though she says she was an Irishwoman. This was no doubt in deference to her Scottish husband. At the Rath household, however, Sedly was listed of Irish ancestry as was his father Robert Rath. Mother Elizabeth (Murray) was a Scot..

Other clues tying the two families together were that Robert Rath and Elizabeth Murray's first son was William, most probably named after Elizabeths father. Their third son was Hugh Rath, most probably named after Elizabeth's younger brother Hugh. Their fourth daughter was named Maggie (Margaret?) Annie Rath, most probably after Elizabeths Mother, Margaret. Both Elizabeth and her sister Sarah had sons named Sedley. The Sarah name could hearken back to their Crowe ancestry as it is a strong family traditional family name in Crowe descendants.
In the 1881 census of Salmon River William Jr. and Jane's family is growing. Walter Scott William Murray is 12 and David Lorne Murray is 10. Believe it indicates that Jane is a W. Methodist. The two boys are shown going to school. In this census we also learn son Walters full name, Walter Scott William Murray. Sir Walter Scott, the famous Scots poet had passed away in 1832 but his writings were still popular reading so we expect thats how Walter got part of his lengthy name. The William is no doubt for father and grandfather and great grandfather William Murray.

In the 1881 census of Merigomish, family 164 was son John Murray, 44, a farmer. Wife Catherine was with him, 55 yrs old, and children Elliot 10, Sarah 7, and 2. Elliot and Sarah were attending school. The census was taken April 22nd so we know Catherine was still alive. We believe she died about 1883. One strange finding of this census is that John Murray is family 164 and does not appear to be living next door to the Angus McDonald that received part of the farm from William McDonald. Angus is family 114. Possibly one family was away when the census taker came thus causing the seperation in registration numbers.

On July 30, 1884, John Murray, widower son of William and Margaret Murray, married Lizzie M. Christie at Valley, Colchester County. She was a resident of Valley but it appears they continues to live at the West Merigomish farm until sometime after the 1891 census. Weve never heard why John would go to Colchester County to find a bride but possibly with the death of Catherine he went to visit his Mother and brothers and sisters.

Also in the 1881 census, Peter Carle and wife Sarah were living in Truro. They were beginning their family. Bessie was 3 years old and twins Annie and Ida May were 1. Peter was 28 and Sarah was 27.

On 23 January 1886, in her 72nd year, Margaret Murray, widow of the late William Murray, Salmon River, died. We believe this is our Margaret. She is not with Hugh in the 1891 census. The stone in the Watson Cemetery in Truro only refers to William Murray but the records show that a Mrs. was buried next to him. The confusing part is the record shows a David buried next to Mrs. Although we arent certain, we expect this is grandson David, son of William (III) and Jane Murray who died in 1938. Additional confusion is that we cant seem to locate William Murray III and wife Janes grave and understand they were also at Watson.

Also in 1886 William and Sarah Murrays son Andrew passed away. On 5 January 1888, their eldest son Walter Murray died at Port Hawksbury. He was about 89 years old and is buried at Grantville. Later that year son David Murray Sr. passed away on 14 November and is buried at Port Mulgrave.

By the 1891 census, Robert Rath and Elizabeth (Murray) Rath and family are still in the Brookfield -Hilden area where they lived for the remainder of their lives..

In the 1891 census for Merigomish we find son John with his second wife and family. Elizabeth is 40, William is 19, Sarah is 17, Wallace is 4 and the twins Gladstone and John are 2.

In the 1891 census for Salmon River the younger William Murray and his wife Jane and family are neighbors of our great Uncle Walter Rath and cousin Isaac Rath. William is 48, Jane 45, Walter 22 and David 19.

Also in the 1891 census we find Hugh Murray (46) still farming in Salmon River. His sister Kate Gratto is living with him and her son William is now 13.

Peter Carle and Sarah were in Truro E. in the 1891 census. Bessie is 13, Annie and Ida May are 11, daughter Grace is 7 and son Sedley is 4.

On the 27th February, 1894 William and Sarahs youngest son Aaron passed away and he is buried at Tatmagouche Mtn. Cemetery. Their son James W. died 3 September, 1899 at Avondale and he is buired at Murray Point Cemetery. Were no sure when Elizabeth Murray Wortman passed away but she is probably buried at Corktown where she lived most of her adult life. In the 1871 census Elizabeth was 56 years old and in the NewAnnan census district. She was 66 in the 1881 census and not with the family in 1891.

On August 17, 1897 Hugh Murray of Truro married Catherine McKenzie, a 38 year old widow. She was born in Earltown. This is our Hugh but he says he was born in New Glasgow, not Avondale or Merigomish. Possibly he just used the name of the largest town in the area.

In the 1901 census of Lower Salmon River see Hugh Murray as an older 61 year old farmer at residence No. 152. As we just noted he has finally married and wife Catherine is 43 years old. Her 12 year old daughter May McKenzie is living with them. Near by, at residence No. 148 is Hughs older brother John Murray (62) and wife Elizabeth. The children of Johns second family are with them. William W. is 14, Gladstone and John F are 12. John Sr. is a farmer.

Farther over by Camden we find at residence 194 William Murray (61), wife Jane (61) and 28 year old son David. William is farming and David is listed as a farmers son. The Murrays still live next door to Walter Rath and family.

In the 1901 census of Brookfield (Hilden) we find Robert Rath and wife Elizabeth (Murray) Rath on their 200 acre farm. Elizabeth indicated she was born 27 th December, 1835 and 65 years old. She is of Scotch ancestry and a Presbyterian. They live in a 6 room house and have 3 barns. 34 year old son Burton still lives with them and 28 year old Sedly has a 150 acre farm next door. It was interesting that on our 1995 visit to Truro we met Amy E. Fisher, a Student Assistant at the Colchester Historical Museum and when we mentioned looking for Robert Rath family and Murrays she smiled and said, "My parents live at the Robert Rath farm." She drew us a map to locate the property on Irwin Lake Road at the top of the hill in Hilden south of Truro and invited us to stop at the house and later sent us a picture of the farmhouse.

In the 1901 census of Truro E. Peter and Sarah Carle are listed. Bessie is 23 and Annie is 21. Ida May is not with the family. Possibly she has married or away working. Grace appears to be called Gussie and is 17. Sedley is 13 and youngest son Gordon is 9.
It must have been very soon after the census , on June 22, 1901, that Sarah (Murray) Carle died in Truro after 14 months of fighting cancer. She was 47 years and 6 months old. She was buried in Watson Cemetery in East Truro. She left a large family. The cemetery records indicate Peter was buried next to her as well as daughter Annie E.
















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