WILLIAM PITT MURRAY AND FAMILY:

William Pitt Murray was born in Hamilton, Ohio on June 21, 1825. He studied at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, and graduated in law at the State University of Indiana in 1849, and moved to St. Paul, Minnesota in the same year. Pitt served as a member of the Minnesota Territorial Legislature (1852-1853, 1857), and of the Territorial Council (1854-1855), serving as its president (1855). He also served as a member of the State Constitutional Convention (1857), a representative in the Legislature (1863, 1868), and a state senator (1866-1867, 1875-76). He also was a member of the St. Paul City Council (1861-1868, 1870-1879), serving as its president six years, and city attorney for thirteen years (1876-89).

Murray married Carrie Conwell in April 1853, and they had three children: Winifred, Neil, and Fenton. Murray County, established in 1857, was named in his honor. Murray died in St. Paul on June 20, 1910.

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The papers include letters from Murray to his fiancée describing Minnesota in the territorial period; correspondence from prominent Minnesotans Henry M. Rice, Henry H. Sibley, Alexander H. Cathcart, John Ross Browne, James Shields, Alexander Ramsey, and Archbishop John Ireland; toasts and memorials regarding important persons in St. Paul; biographical data; commissions and appointments; legislative bills; and invitations to railroad celebrations. The papers also provide information on land, state and city politics; Murray’s visit to Venezuela; legal and military matters; the Order of the Free Masons; the climate and scenery of St. Paul; the Fort Snelling reservation; Hamline University; Sioux half-breed scrip; the Fisk expedition of 1865; the settlement of the estate of Joseph R. Brown; the attempted removal Governor Willis Gorman from office; the navigation of the Mississippi River; and the Minnesota Salt Company. Articles and addresses also provide information on pioneer days in Minnesota, the history of St. Paul's sixth ward, prohibition, education in Minnesota, the legislation that led to the land grants to aid in the construction of a railroad from St. Paul to Lake Superior, history on territorial legislatures presented to the Minnesota Historical Society, and other topics.

Papers also consist of Murray's letterbooks; plat maps of various counties, townships, and cities; land deeds between Henry H. Sibley and Robert Louis in Ramsey County; minutes regarding an investigation of the St. Paul workhouse; and clippings and scrapbooks. The papers also include an autograph book, historical writings, and reports regarding the Sibley House, St. Paul history, and other Minnesota history topics produced by Winifred Conwell Murray Milne, the daughter of William Pitt Murray.

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Availability:

The collection is open for research use.

Preferred Citation:

[Indicate the cited item and/or series here]. William Pitt Murray and Family Papers. Minnesota Historical Society.

See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples.

Accession Information:

Accession number: 1784A3; 2498; 3069; 3308; 6123; 6198; 8051

Processing Information:

Processed by: Leif Kopietz, December 2019

Catalog ID number: 990017333530104294

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This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the Minnesota Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these headings.

Topics:

Decedents' estates.

Education -- Minnesota.

Fisk Expedition, 1865.

Frontier and pioneer life -- Minnesota.

Land titles -- Registration and transfer.

Prohibition.

Railroad land grants -- Minnesota.

Persons:

Murray family.

Conwell family.

Brown, Joseph Renshaw, 1805-1870 -- Estate.

Browne, J. Ross (John Ross), 1821-1875, author.

Cathcart, Alexander Henry, 1820-1899, author.

Fisk, James Liberty, 1835-1902.

Gorman, Willis Arnold, 1816-1876.

Ireland, John, 1838-1918, author.

Le Duc, William G. (William Gates), 1823-1917.

Milne, Winifred Conwell Murray, 1859-

Ramsey, Alexander, 1815-1903, author.

Rice, Henry M. (Henry Mower), 1816-1894, author.

Shields, James, 1806-1879, author.

Sibley, Henry Hastings, 1811-1891, author.

Upham, Warren, 1850-1934.

Organizations:

Freemasons -- Minnesota.

Hamline University.

Methodist Episcopal Church -- Minnesota.

Minnesota Historical Society.

Minnesota Salt Company.

St. Paul Workhouse.

Minnesota -- Legislature -- History.

Places:

Minnesota -- Saint Paul.

Minnesota -- Description and travel.

Mississippi River -- Navigation.

Saint Paul (Minn.) -- History.

Venezuela -- Description and travel.

Document Types:

Maps.

Genealogies (histories).

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