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missioner of the tax, Dorchester County, 1777-
1779; county commissioner, Dorchester County,
appointed 1777. MILITARY SERVICE: colonel,
Dorchester County Militia, appointed 1776; com-
manded Upper Battalion of Eastern Shore Mi-
litia, 1776. WEALTH DURING LIFETIME. PERSONAL
PROPERTY: assessed value £3,037.3.4, including
71 slaves and 130 oz. plate, Dorchester and Car-
oline counties, 1783. ADDITIONAL COMMENT: In
November 1776 there was a salt shortage on the
Eastern Shore. Capt. Richard Andrew and his
men seized 14 bushels of salt from Murray's
dwelling house on Hunting Creek, but were never
brought to trial for the offense. LAND AT FIRST
ELECTION: 6,603 acres in Dorchester County (1,622
acres inherited from father; 1,403 acres inherited
from brother David; 3,578 acres by purchase or
patent). WEALTH AT DEATH. DIED: in September
1784, probably in Dorchester County. LAND: 6,749
acres in Dorchester and Caroline counties.
MURRAY, WILLIAM VANS (ca. 1761-1803).
BORN: ca. 1761 (secondary sources alternately re-
cord his birth as February 9, 1760, or as 1762),
at ''Glasgow," on the Choptank River near Cam-
bridge, Dorchester County; elder son. NATIVE:
third generation. RESIDED: at "Glasgow," on the
Choptank River, near Cambridge, Dorchester
County. FAMILY BACKGROUND. FATHER: Dr. Henry
Murray (?-by 1788) of Cambridge, Dorchester
County, son of Dr. William Vans Murray (1692-
1763) and wife Sarah Ennalls (1697-1742).
MOTHER: Rebecca, daughter of John Orrick of
Anne Arundel and Baltimore counties. UNCLE:
James Murray (?-1784). BROTHER: John (ca. 1773-
1821), a physician, who married Sophia. SISTERS:
Henrietta, who married William Murray Rob-
ertson, Esq.; Susan, who married (first name un-
known) Coats, a physician; Peggy; Rebecca; and
Sally. FIRST COUSIN: William Maynadier (1747-
1795). MARRIED on October 15, 1789, Charlotte
Huggins (Higgins, Hughins), of London, Eng-
land, who returned to Great Britain following the
death of her husband. CHILDREN. Probably died
without progeny. PRIVATE CAREER. EDUCATION:
received a "classical education" in Dorchester
County; entered Middle Temple in London, Eng-
land, in 1784 to study law; admitted to the bar in
Cambridge, Dorchester County, by 1791. RELI-
GIOUS AFFILIATION: Anglican. SOCIAL STATUS AND
ACTIVITIES: Esq., by 1795. ADDITIONAL COM
MENT: John Quincy Adams described Murray as
having "a strong and genuine relish for the fine
arts, a refined and delicate taste for literature,
and a persevering and patient fondness for the
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pursuits of science." OCCUPATIONAL PROFILE:
lawyer; ambassador; wrote "Political Sketches"
in 1787 while in England, and inscribed it to John
Adams; also wrote a pamphlet, "The Constitu-
tion and Laws of the United States," date un-
known. PUBLIC CAREER. LEGISLATIVE SERVICE:
Lower House, Dorchester County, 1788, 1789,
1790. our OF STATE SERVICE: representative, U.S.
Congress, 1791-1793, 1793-1795, 1795-1797;
minister resident to the Netherlands, appointed
by Pres. George Washington and served under
Pres. John Adams, 1797-1801. In 1799, while
holding the post in the Netherlands, Murray was
appointed a minister plenipotentiary to France
along with Chief Justice Oliver Ellsworth and for-
mer governor of North Carolina William R. Davie.
The three were sent to negotiate a settlement of
differences that had arisen between the United
States and France. They concluded an agreement
on October 1, 1800. STANDS ON PUBLIC/PRIVATE
ISSUES: Murray supported John Adams in the
presidential elections of 1796 and wrote several
pro-Adams articles for the press. He was elected
as a Federalist to the U.S. Congress in 1791.
WEALTH DURING LIFETIME. PERSONAL PROPERTY:
assessed value £105.0.0, including 1 slave, 1783.
LAND AT FIRST ELECTION: at least 3,060 acres in
Dorchester County, plus 2.5 lots in Cambridge,
Dorchester County (all inherited from father).
SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN LAND BETWEEN FIRST
ELECTION AND DEATH: sold 785 acres in Dor-
chester County between 1791 and 1803; pur-
chased 292 acres in Dorchester County, plus land
in Pennsylvania, between 1793 and 1802; con-
veyed by deeds of gift at least 638 acres in Dor-
chester County, plus 3 lots in Cambridge, Dor-
chester County, to his brother John, between 1793
and 1797. WEALTH AT DEATH. DIED: on December
11, 1803, after a short illness, at his seat in Dor-
chester County; buried in Christ Church grave-
yard, Cambridge, Dorchester County. PERSONAL
PROPERTY: his will mentioned 1 slave, who was
given his freedom and was to be provided for out
of Murray's estate, a granary in the town of Cam-
bridge, $1,491.35 deposited in the Bank of the
United States (branch bank, Baltimore), the fam-
ily seal, family pictures, and a telescope. LAND:
at least 1,929 acres in Dorchester County, plus
lots in Cambridge, Dorchester County, and lands
in Pennsylvania. His principal heirs were his wife
Charlotte, his brother John, and his sisters Hen-
rietta Robertson, Susan Coats, and Rebecca.
MUSCHAMP, GEORGE (?-1709). BORN: in
England; first son. IMMIGRATED: ca. 1691 as a
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