Magnus Miller Murray (February 22, 1787 – March 4, 1838), served as the mayor of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from 1828 to 1830 and again from 1831 to 1832. Mayor Murray now rests in Section 19, Lot 29 of Allegheny Cemetery.

Magnus Miller Murray
Portrait of Magnus Miller Murray,
c. 1828–1832
4th & 6th Mayor of Pittsburgh
In office
1831–1832
Preceded byMatthew B. Lowrie
Succeeded bySamuel Pettigrew
In office
1828–1830
Preceded byJohn M. Snowden
Succeeded byMatthew B. Lowrie
Personal details
Born(1787-02-22)February 22, 1787
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
DiedMarch 4, 1838(1838-03-04) (aged 51)
Resting placeAllegheny Cemetery
SpouseMary Wilkins
RelationsAlexander Murray (father)
William Wilkins (uncle)
ChildrenJames Butler Murray
Magnus Miller Murphy (R) with his father (L)

Early life

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Murray was born in Philadelphia, to Commodore Alexander Murray and Mary Miller Murray. He was named after his maternal grandfather, Magnus Miller, a local merchant. He attended Pennsylvania University, earning both bachelor's and master's degrees in an era when many statesmen had only a grade school education. On January 6, 1806 he was admitted to the Philadelphia Bar. He married Mary Wilkens, daughter of John Wilkins, Jr. and Catherine Reagan Murray, on February 23, 1810.

Pittsburgh politics

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Pittsburgh in 1828

Murray began politics as an understudy to his uncle, area judge and political insider William Wilkins.

Under Murray's mayoral administration, the Western Terminus of the Pennsylvania Canal was completed along the Grant Street corridor of the city. Murray was the first of a handful of Pittsburgh mayors to serve two non-consecutive terms in office, having to cede control of the mayor's office to Matthew B. Lowrie from 1830 to 1831, before regaining his mayoral powers.

Honors

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Mayor Magnus Murray's son, James Butler Murray, President of the First Exchange Bank of Pittsburgh is remembered in the naming of Murray Avenue in Pittsburgh's Squirrel Hill neighborhood.

Membership

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Member of The Society of the Cincinnati as the oldest male heir of Commodore Alexander Murray.

Other

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His daughter, Julia N. Murray, married politician John V. Le Moyne. Murray is an ancestor of actress Julie Bowen.[1]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Ancestry of Julie Bowen Luetkemeyer. Ancestry.com http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~battle/celeb/bowen.htm Archived 2011-08-10 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved October 30, 2016
  • Killikelly, S. (1906). The History of Pittsburgh: Its Rise and Progress. Pittsburgh: B.C. & Gordon Montgomery Co.
  • Martin, J. (1883). Martin's Bench and Bar of Philadelphia, Philadelphia: R. Welsh & co., (1883)
Preceded by Mayor of Pittsburgh
1828–1830
Succeeded by
Preceded by Mayor of Pittsburgh
1831–1832
Succeeded by