Shopping Saturday: William Elmer McMurray as a Newton, Iowa Merchant

 

McMurray Family (Click for Family Tree)

The above photo was taken in 1892, in front of Willis McCollom’s grocery store on the northeast corner of the square in Newton, Iowa. Will McMurray is the tall slender man who is the second from the left. Behind his left shoulder is a salesman from Chicago (in the deep shadow) and the man to the right is Willis McCollom, store owner. (Note spelling on awning vs. spelling in caption.)

Seven years later, the Newton Record of Feb. 23, 1899 printed the following ad on page 8:

“We are young in years

but not young in the grocery business.”

If Will McMurray & William Charles Killduff had been employed for a “few years” by Grocer McCollom, possibly since about 1896, Will would have been about 22 when he started there. William Killduff was three years older than Will McMurray; maybe as teens they worked as delivery boys for McColloms.

How did these two end up partners? It was more than having worked at the same store or possibly being friends- William C. “W. C.” Killduff married Will McMurray’s cousin, Mae Benjamin. Mae was the daughter of Jonathan Elliot Benjamin, brother to Will McMurray’s mother, Hannah Melissa (Benjamin) McMurray. So, with W. C.’s marriage, the two Wills became cousins.

The year 1899 was quite a special year for both families. In addition to purchasing the McCollom Grocery in February of 1899, Will married Lynette Payne on 6 June 1899 and W. C. married Mae Benjamin in October of 1899. The two gents were preparing to support a family with the purchase of the store, so this event was more than just a business decision.

More to come about the McMurray-Killduff Grocery.

 

Notes, Sources, and References: 

1. Newspaper clippings from family treasure chest but referenced above.

 

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