William S. 'Squirrel' Murray was born in Tennessee. As a child, he moved with his parents to northern Murray County, Georgia, where his father worked in a shoe shop. William learned the trade of shoemaker and worked in that trade. In 1884, he married Elizabeth Cordwell in nearby Whitfield County. By 1893, he had opened his own shoe shop there, at Dalton. William and Lizzie had at least seven children. The family probably lived in or near a community called Fashion.
Somewhere along the line, Will or Bill (he went by both) picked up the nickname of "Squirrel." Besides being a shoemaker, Squirrel Murray was a writer-poet-philosopher, publishing a column in the Dalton Citizen. His writing was a mixture of humor, poetry, and philosophy. He also took photographs for the paper. At the same time, ads for his shoe shop appeared in the paper. Squirrel was quite a character. In 1904, he took a shot at Bob Holland (a neighbor), but missed, owing to a policeman's intervention. The feud went back one year, though the cause is unknown. After that, mentions of Murray are scarce and discreet, though friends hoped he would start writing to the paper again.
The family moved to Chattanooga. Squirrel and his wife were separated by 1910 (Lizzie reported herself as a widow). William died in Birchwood in 1942, and was buried at Silverdale cemetery, according to his death certificate. His daughter, Myrtle Barnes, was the informant.
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