Thomas McMurray, son of William was in Augusta Co. VA in 1750. Around 1755 he and his "family" moved into to NC and show up in Anson Co. (near SC) in 1762. The males listed with Thomas were Samuel, William, Robert, John & Edward. According to Don Norris, William and John were nephews, sons of Thomas' deceased brother, John. The other males, Samuel, Robert and Edward appear to be children of Thomas. Samuel, Robert and William moved from Anson (Mecklenburg) to Tryon Co. Robert came back to Mecklenburg and his homestead was in a part of Mecklenburg that later became Cabarrus. He attended Rocky River Presbyterian Church and is buried in one of the old cemeteries there. Samuel married his cousin, Margaret McMurray (apparent daughter of his uncle James) in Granville Co. in 1764 moved to Tryon. He died in Rutherford Co. NC testate. William married a Margaret also and died in Rutherford Co. testate (his land was in what later became Cleveland Co.) John appears to have gone to Georgia. Edward has not been traced. I have had very little success tracing the children of Samuel and William. One of Samuel's daughter's, Elizabeth, married my ancestor, Henry Callahan in Rutherford Co. They both died there. I have very limited info on some of the 10 other probable children of Samuel and Margaret. I have some info on only one child of William - John, married and remained in Rutherford/Cleveland and many descendants still reside there. I would love to share any info you might have. Please e-mail me directly at bcalla6711@aol.com Ben C

Hi Ben, my name is not Don Norris, it's Don McMurray, a proud Ulster Scot. And the move by Thomas McMurray to N.C. took place in 1758. Incidentally, Thomas is the brother of William McMurray, not his son. These men are two of the five sons that William the Elder brought to America from Ulster. I may have told you about the existence of the older William but for the benefit of others here is how it happened. For many years, the early McMurray/McMurry researchers had the following record: 19 Mar 1753, William McMurry petitions the Court for "exemption from levy on account of age" per Original Petitions & Papers filed in the County Court of Augusta Co., Va. (Chalkley, "Chronicles of Scotch-Irish Settlements in Virginia," Vol. 1, 430 & 441). Now, the above record can't be ignored as it seemed to be by earlier researchers. They maneuvered around it or ignored it and assumed that William McMurry (in Bone's McMurry Family), father of my ancestor James, was the man described in family history as the man who "brot his five sones over the briney deepe to America." The problem with this assumption is it is impossible for this William to have been old in 1753 and still serve in Morgan's Riflemen in the Revolutionary War. Not to mention the fact that James and his brothers and sisters were all born in America. William's petition "on account of age" is silent on the question of the reason for the petition, because of "youth" or "old age" (obvious at the time, right?). However, on the same day, 19 Mar 1753, a William McClain filed a similar petition "that he has grown very aged and to be relieved from County levy." So I was convinced of the existence of an older William McMurray. Finally, after a lot of review of new stuff and going back over the records already reviewed, I found the proof I needed and here it is: 22 Nov 1753, the Court grants "William McMurray's" ("McCurry's"*) March petition and states that he is "to be levy free on account of great age and infirmity" per Augusta County Court Order Book No. IV, page 68. (Kegley, "Kegley's Virginia Frontier. 103; *Chalkley, Ibid., 70). So there we have it, William the Elder was alive and kicking (barely) in 1753. And his son, William was one of the five sons that William the Elder brought to America from Ulster. Now Ben, it's your turn. I was surprised from your message below to learn that you have connected Margaret McMurray & Samuel McMurray, who married in Granville Co., to Thomas McMurray of Bedford Co., Va., son of William the Elder. How and where did you find this great bit of information? And how did you determine that Margaret was his cousin? Will you share the records with us? Hope things are going well for you. Regards, Don -----Original Message----- From: BCalla6711@aol.com [mailto:BCalla6711@aol.com] Sent: Friday, May 03, 2002 3:42 PM To: MCMURRY-L@rootsweb.com Subject: Re: Re: [McMurry] McMurry family book Thomas McMurray, son of William was in Augusta Co. VA in 1750. Around 1755 he and his "family" moved into to NC and show up in Anson Co. (near SC) in 1762. The males listed with Thomas were Samuel, William, Robert, John & Edward. According to Don Norris, William and John were nephews, sons of Thomas' deceased brother, John. The other males, Samuel, Robert and Edward appear to be children of Thomas. Samuel, Robert and William moved from Anson (Mecklenburg) to Tryon Co. Robert came back to Mecklenburg and his homestead was in a part of Mecklenburg that later became Cabarrus. He attended Rocky River Presbyterian Church and is buried in one of the old cemeteries there. Samuel married his cousin, Margaret McMurray (apparent daughter of his uncle James) in Granville Co. in 1764 moved to Tryon. He died in Rutherford Co. NC testate. William married a Margaret also and died in Rutherford Co. testate (his land was in what later became Cleveland Co.) John appears to have gone to Georgia. Edward has not been traced. I have had very little success tracing the children of Samuel and William. One of Samuel's daughter's, Elizabeth, married my ancestor, Henry Callahan in Rutherford Co. They both died there. I have very limited info on some of the 10 other probable children of Samuel and Margaret. I have some info on only one child of William - John, married and remained in Rutherford/Cleveland and many descendants still reside there. I would love to share any info you might have. Please e-mail me directly at bcalla6711@aol.com Ben C ______________________________