Detailed Biography: Winfield Scott Murray

Winfield Murray married Nancy Petty, daughter of Elijah Petty, on 1 July 1866 in Blairsville, Union County, Georgia. The marriage is recorded in a book that records marriages from 1866 to 1874. They are couple number 339 in that book, and appear as W.S. Murry and Miss Nancy Pettey. (Source: Georgia's Virtual Vault: Marriage Records from Microfilm. Digital page 9.) Nancy MURRAY appears on a list of charter members of Salem Number One church in Fannin County.

Scott and Nancy Petty Murray in Census...
1870 finds Scott MURRAY and Nancy PETTY together in census for the first time. One child, Georgia MURRAY, born in 1869, is dead by 1870 and does not appear in census. The only proof that we have of Georgia's life is a tombstone erected by Elias Andrew MURRAY, and a niece who was named "Georgia," probably after this child. Scott, Nancy and children live next door to Nancy's father, Elijah PETTY. He and his family moved into Georgia from North Carolina between 1850 and 1860. Also in Scott's household is Milton MURRAY, an unknown relation. Possibly, he is Scott's son from the earlier marriage. If so, he was mentioned by a different name in the 1860 census. The fact that one of Scott's children was named "Raphala" (Raphael?) does point to a possible affinity for classical names in this family. Sarah MURRAY makes her first appearance in the 1870 household, too. William "Will" MURRAY, five months old, shows up here, too. Since there was another William in the 1850 household of W.S. and Caroline MURRAY, it is possible that the first William died young.

Winfield Scott Murray dies...
Winfield Scott MURRAY dies in 1877, as does his child, Dovie MURRAY, who was born in 1875. They are buried at Sugar Hill ~ Salem Number One, in Dial, Fannin County, Georgia. Dovie does not appear in any census. The widowed Nancy MURRAY is still in Fannin County in 1880. She is 38 years old and has five of her children at home: Sarah, William, Alice, Mary Jane, and Andrew. Also living in the household is Nancy's sister, Sarah PETTY, a housekeeper. Nancy purchases land in Murray County, Georgia in 1885. 1900 finds Nancy and family in MURRAY County, though Mary and Elias (Andrew) are the only offspring left in her home. Sarah and Alice have married by now. William, too, is out of the household, though it is unknown where he is and whether he has married already. Milton, the unknown relation, is also gone, never to be heard from again, apparently. We do find a mention of a Milton MURRAY in North Carolina, who serves in the Union Army during the Civil War; it is unknown if that is the same Milton MURRAY.

Winfield Scott Murray in Census

Winfield Scott Murray

Chronology and Household Composition

1850 Union County, Georgia: W. S. Murray and Caroline are in Union County, Georgia.

Elsewhere: Elijah Petty and his second wife, Sarah (Parker), with daughter, "Nancey," age 8 (who is to become W.S. Murray's second wife), are still in McDowell County, North Carolina in 1850. Elijah and Sarah had only recently married. Nancy is the child of Elijah and first wife, Letty Lewis.

1854: Fannin County, Georgia is formed. The new county is formed from sections of Gilmer and Union Counties.

Caroline is now gone from the household, probably deceased. William, Raphala, James, and the male infant of the 1850 household are not enumerated here, unless they are listed under different given names. Robert is now aged 16. A new female child, Martha, appears here. Various young Murrays do appear in other Fannin County households in 1860, with families named "Brown," and "Murray." It is unknown if they are any relation to W.S. Murray.

Elijah Petty and wife, "Sallie," with Nancy, aged 18, are now in Fannin County (Stockhill Dist., p.1069, dwelling no. 713).

1877: W.S. Murray died. He is buried at Sugar Hill/Salem #1 in Fannin County, Georgia. Near him are two children's graves with matching markers: Dovie Murray and Georgia Murray. [A letter in possession of the Murray family, written by Bruce Neal of Neal Monument Company in Blue Ridge, Georgia, to E.A. Murray of Fletcher, Oklahoma, confirms that in 1939, E.A. Murray ordered stones for W.S. Murray and two others.] Also near W.S. Murray's grave is another grave with a hand-carved natural stone showing "R.F. Murra."

Note: on the above roster, parents of all individuals are designated as being born in NC.

Various siblings of Nancy Petty live nearby, including Daniel Petty next door. Elijah Petty (Nancy's father) and his family are on page 6, dwelling no. 51. David Pritchett, whose son, Stephen T. will later marry W.S. and Nancy's daughter, Alice, is on page 17, dwelling no. 146. (There is an error on David's middle initial, though, which should be "W" instead of "T."

1881: Elijah Petty dies. His will, probated in Fannin County, Georgia, mentions Nancy C. Murray as a legatee.

9 November 1885: Nancy Murray buys land in Murray County, Georgia. [Deed Book T, page 419: S.E. corner of land lot no. 168, sold by John R. Harris; transaction witnessed by W.D. Petty.] An old land map of Murray County shows "Mrs. Murray" on land lot 168.

On the above roster, parents of all individuals are designated as being born in NC. Nearby is David W. Pritchett and family; included in his household is his grown son, Stephen with wife, Alice (Murray) Pritchett and their three children.

Before 1910: Nancy moves to Oklahoma. In the 1910 census, Nancy is gone from Murray County, Georgia. We know from various family sources that she moved to Oklahoma to join other family members who had moved out there.

In addition to the children mentioned in the various census, W.S. Murray and his first wife, Caroline, had a son named "Gains." Gains Murray had a son named "Jim Murray." Several of the children from the first two census listings are possibly enumerated under various names, making it look as if there were more children than there probably were.

Marriages of Nancy Petty Murray's Children

Sarah Lou Murray married Andrew Greenville Pullen. They resided in Murray Co., Georgia.

William E. Murray married Ninnie Snider. They resided in Fannin Co., Georgia and Oklahoma.

Alice Safronia Murray married Stephen Thomas Pritchett. They resided in the Hall's Chapel area (near Crandall) of Murray County, Georgia.

Mary Jane Murray never married. She resided in Fannin Co., Georgia and Oklahoma.

Elias Andrew Murray married Vera Smith of Texas. They resided in Comanche Co., Oklahoma.

Some research is now available in Family Search on the children of Winfield and Caroline Murray.

Letter from Bruce Neal to Elias A. Murray, of Oklahoma (1939)

Winfield Scott Murray married (1) Caroline. Her last name is not known. She may be related to the Wrights, by evidence of an older woman by that surname, who lived in the Murray household in 1850, in Union County, Georgia. Winfield appears in census under the given names of Winfield S., W.S., and Scott. The surname is spelled various ways: Murray, Murry, and Mury. Winfield's second wife was Nancy C. Petty, daughter of Elijah Petty. They married on 1 July 1866, in Blairsville, Union County, Georgia, and are found in the 1870 census in Fannin County. Winfield S. Murray died in 1877 and is buried at Sugar Hill Cemetery, in Fannin County, Georgia.

Nancy (Petty) Murray and her grown children moved to Murray County, Georgia. Later, they left Georgia, probably between 1908 and 1910, and moved to Oklahoma. Nancy died in Fletcher, Comanche County, Oklahoma, in 1917, and is buried at Highland Cemetery in Lawton, of that same county. 

When Elias got older, he began to worry about the unmarked graves back in Georgia, of his father and two little sisters, Georgia and Dovie Murray. He ordered some stones for the graves. Dallas Woody (son of Nancy's half-sister, Lydia), showed Neal where to find W. S. Murray's grave. Elias Murray had sent a plat showing the other two graves in relation to his father's grave. Willie Lee Pritchett, grandson of W. S. and Nancy (Petty) Murray, helped put up the stones. He wrote a letter to his uncle Elias, and enclosed it in Mr. Neal's letter. Below is the correspondence, sent to me by Lavita Murray, of Oklahoma.

Above: Bruce Neal Letter to E. A. Murray

Above: Letter from W. L. Pritchett to Elias A. Murray
and Envelope, with Neal Monument Co. Return Address