McMurray Family (Click for Family Tree)
Previous posts have discussed that Frederick Asbury “F.A.” McMurray was a farmer and auctioneer, and at one point also owned a second-hand store. (Convenient for leftover auction items!) Recently finding that he was also involved in the banking business in Newton, Iowa, however, was quite a surprise!
F. A. may have wanted to use the bank as a good investment and thus income during retirement, as he was about 62 when this book was published in 1912. In the census just two years earlier, he listed his occupation as “Auctioneer” and under the next column for “Industry” it stated, “country & city”- no mention of his interest in the bank.
Back in those days, farmers or skilled workers or immigrants, etc. often banded together to provide a bank friendly to their own group, or sometimes they would form an insurance company. Since this bank was initially called “Farmers and Merchants State Bank,” catering to those groups may have been the impetus to form the new institution. Farmers and merchants have unique needs for capital up front to purchase seed and fertilizer, or a shipment of goods, respectively, however they do not realize income until harvest or the goods are sold. Their income is cyclical, unlike others who get paid weekly for their labors. So a bank that was formed by farmers and merchants may have given a bit more leeway on a loan to either of these groups.
Those who follow this blog may also have noticed the Horn name in this section of the book about Jasper County. Joe Horn was a descendant of our own Henry Horn, the Hessian soldier captured at Trenton and who then enlisted in the Patriot forces and fought for our freedom from Great Britain. Joe was a real estate agent in Newton, and his father, Frederick Monroe Horn, was the brother of our own Mary Ann Horn, who married Henderson McMurray. So actually Joe Horn and F. A. McMurray were cousins!
Definitely need a scorecard for all these folks! But always good to see if there is a familial relationship, as is often the case with business associates back in the day.
Notes, Sources, and References:
- “Past and Present of Jasper County, Iowa,” 1912, page 260-1, via archive.org
- Previous posts on Frederick A. McMurray include– “
Friday’s Faces from the Past: The McMurray-Benjamin Family
Sunday’s Obituary: Frederick Asbury McMurray
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