Roberts Family (Click for Family Trees)

Since it is still the birthday week of Edward A. McMurray, Jr., let’s continue celebrating with some of the treasures we still have, in addition to all the wonderful memories.

Edward A. McMurray, Sr. (1900-1992) was still in medical school in St. Louis, Missouri, when his first son was born. Here he is with Edward A. McMurray, Jr., who was 11 months old at the time. “Dr.” McMurray would graduate from St. Louis University Medical School just a few months after this picture was taken:

And here is the proud mama again, Edith M. Roberts McMurray, when Edward Jr. was a bit older, perhaps around his first birthday:

On the Roberts side, Edith’s sister, Ethel G. Roberts Robison (1891-1969), had a son and two daughters, so Edward was not the first grandchild on that branch of the family tree. Sadly however, George Anthony Roberts (1861-1931), Edith’s father, had not wanted Ethel to marry the man she did (though in the long run Ethel made the better choice), and George would not even acknowledge his first three grandchildren. So to “Daddy George,” Edward’s nickname for him, Edward was essentially his first, and only, grandchild.

Edith’s mother, Ella V. Daniel Roberts (1866-1922), had passed away two years before Edward was born. It must have been very hard for Edith to not have her beloved momma with her to rejoice in the birth of a dear son!

On the McMurray side, Edward Jr. was the cherished very first grandchild. His paternal grandparents, Lynette Payne McMurray, and William Elmer McMurray, were doting grandparents:

Edith, in the stories she wrote about her life, spoke about Will McMurray and what a “jovial and friendly” man he was, with “a most hearty laugh.” She called Will, “Dad” and Lynette, “Mother” and was very close to them throughout their lives. Edith wrote about how Will was known to all as “Bill.”

“He would be hailed from every street corner.  “Hey Bill, how goes it this morning?” Dad would have a ready answer.

He loved the circus.  When Edward Jr. was just six weeks old, we went to one out north of town.  Proudly Dad carried his first Grandchild on his fat tummy and you can imagine the attention he got.  “How about having a look at the boy Bill?”  Dad just beamed and the rest of us acted stupid, grinning from ear to ear.”

The family nickname for Ed’s paternal great-grandmother was “Amino” which was pronounced “AM-in-o.” The caption was written by Ed, Jr. in his family scrapbook he created around 1948, just before he got married. Since he was the oldest grandchild, perhaps he came up with her nickname as he was learning to talk!

William and Lynette’s other son, Herbert C. McMurray (1911-1989), Edward’s paternal uncle, was just 13 years old when Ed Jr. was born.

A bit older, Edward looks like he is not so sure about this ride Uncle Herbert was providing:

Edward, Jr. was lucky enough to have two great-grandparents still living when he was born.  We do not have any pictures of him with his great-grandfather Frederick Asbury “F.A.” McMurray (1859-1929), but here Ed is with Hannah Malissa Benjamin McMurray (1854-1932), F.A.’s wife. In his later years, Ed was able to recognize her in this picture, but all he could remember was, “She was very stern.”

When he was a bit older, about 3 or 4, Ed hung out with his buddy Uncle Herbert:

Herbert was such a favorite with Edward Jr.- in fact, Ed asked Herbert to be his best man when he married in 1948!

Edith adored her in-laws. She traveled back and forth between Newton and St. Louis to be with Ed Sr. who was still in medical school and then likely completing his residency there. Edith wrote:

“They were so good to me.  I stayed with them a lot, in the summer when it was too hot for us to be in St. Louis and later in an apartment on the north side of 322 E 4th St. W.  I can see where we were no doubt a nuisance as [Edward] had colic and one night we had a cyclone and both of us were so exhausted that is Edward and I, we slept thru it and his baby carriage was blown off the porch and Fourth street was blocked with trees blown down.

Dad sold my cakes I made so that I could make enuf money to go to St. Louis in the fall and I was always taken with them on Sundays to Des Moines and to Hudson where we went to visit the McMillans.  I believe they were cousins of Mothers.  It would have been so nice if Mother and Dad had gone by themselves.  On the way home nine times out of ten we had a flat tire.  It would be late at night and every one tired.  Dad and I would get out and Mother would hold the sleeping grandson… [while he was] getting it fixed…”

All that family love in the early years helped Edward Arthur McMurray, Jr. grow into the fine man he would later become.

 

Notes, Sources, and References: 

1. Family treasure chest of photos, letters, ephemera, etc.
2. Wonderful biographies written by Edith M. Roberts McMurray Luck about the  people she knew and loved. Provided above as she wrote them, with her spelling abbreviations and lack of punctuation- she was always too busy to pause for a comma or stop for a period!
3. “The Saga of Ed McMurray, Family and Friends,” a scrapbook put together by Ed around 1948 before he got married. Perhaps it was partially a scorecard for his soon-to-be-wife, Mary T. HELBLING, to learn all his family members? The captions are just adorable, as are the pictures he chose. It is one of those few things that gives a little insight into who he was.

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Family history is meant to be shared, but the original content of this site may NOT be used for any commercial purposes unless explicit written permission is received from both the blog owner and author. Blogs or websites with ads and/or any income-generating components are included under “commercial purposes,” as are the large genealogy database websites. Sites that republish original HeritageRamblings.net content as their own are in violation of copyright as well, and use of full content is not permitted. 

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McMurray Family, Payne Family (Click for Family Tree)

[Am I related? Yes, if you are a descendant of Dr. Edward A. McMurray, Dr. Herbert McMurray, or Maude “Midge” (McMurray) Cook. If you are not related, you may still enjoy this series of posts, since this is National Poetry Month (!!) and because this poem speaks to our history, psyche, and culture. Hopefully all will enjoy.]

Fifty years ago today, in 1970, a group of concerned environmentalists celebrated the first official “Earth Day.” Pollution of water and air, as well as trash and litter, were becoming bigger problems as our population increased and the “things” we purchased as individuals and a society became disposable. So many of our ‘throw-away’ items never really went away, however, just temporarily out of sight into a landfill or an old overgrown lot in a neighborhood or down by a river. Our country, states, and municipalities have developed regulations over these last fifty years to help control trash and minimize pollution to help us all stay healthier and to maintain our precious water, air, land, and ecosystems. Although we have not made the progress those early Earth Day celebrants knew was needed, we have come a long way over these fifty years, and Americans are healthier, in some ways, because of this awareness and drive for change.

Our ancestors knew that polluted land, air, and water were unhealthy for us all, and that trash piling up could cause outbreaks of disease, draw vermin that carried disease, and was smelly and unsightly.  Our ancestors also were frugal, and many of them quite poor- they could not afford to throw away old clothing and bedding, glass bottles, or fabric sacks (bags). They did have some mechanisms to collect these items and reuse them, and one of the ways they did that was by allowing ‘rag pickers’ and others to assist with solid waste ‘disposal’- really “reuse” and “recycle” before those words were trendy. Some of our immigrant ancestors would have this job soon after they got off the boat, since they likely had little money once they had paid their passage and rented a home or apartment in America, and they probably spoke no English which was a barrier to a conventional job. There was also quite a lot of anti-immigrant sentiment at times as a new ethnic group flooded in, and these groups felt discrimination in economic as well as physical ways. Rag pickers were considered some of the lowest in society, sadly. Some of our Broida family (unrelated to the McMurrays and Paynes) came over as immigrants from Lithuania, and were rag pickers in New York City right off the boat. They worked hard, brought over the rest of the family, and finally became merchants of fine men’s and women’s clothing- the American dream and truly a “rags to (what would have seemed like) riches” story.

We do not know much about our very early McMurray and Payne ancestors, but rag picking  could have been a job some of them did, or it could have been a way to make a little money on the side. Many persons “of an age” will remember collecting glass soda bottles and later cans along the side of the road and turning them in for two cents or a nickel each, and then using that money for a comic book or candy at the five-and-dime, or to help buy dinner if the family was in dire circumstances.  Salvage yards, flea markets, and those who dumpster dive or pick up ‘good’ trash from the ends of driveways on pick-up days are also carrying on the tradition of caring for the earth and reusing/recycling materials.

In earlier days, a rag picker would have a cart or a pack animal and walk through the streets, calling out their offer to buy rags, bottles, cloth sacks, metals, even bones. Sometimes the rag picker would purchase the items, other times they would just remove garbage for a citizen or business who would be grateful to see it gone. The rag picker or the family might clean and/or sell the items to a person or business who would then reuse or recycle the product. Glass bottles are one example- they could be cleaned and reused, or melted to form new glass. Sometimes ragpickers sold their finds to a middle person who would then work with purchasers.

Rev. Edward B. Payne (1847-1923) was living in Berkeley, California in 1892 when this poem was published. He had been brought up in the Congregational faith with deep New England roots. His father, Joseph H. Payne, was an ordained minister, and his mother, Nancy (Deming) Payne, came from a line of Congregational deacons. Edward’s wife, Nannie (Burnell) Payne, also came from deep New England Congregational roots- her father Kingsley Abner Burnell was a lay missionary who travelled the world and her mother, Cynthia Maria (Pomeroy) Burnell, had a father who was a deacon in the church. Edward and Nannie lived in Berkeley from 1875-1880, after he was ordained. He ministered to the first church built in Berkeley, the Congregational Church. Edward had a crisis of faith though, and became a Unitarian minister, serving in New England for some time before he was called again to Berkeley in December, 1891. He was the first Unitarian minister installed in Berkeley, and he helped develop a very active Unitarian Society. According to this poem, he was challenged by a Book Club Committee, which may have been a Unitarian group, though could have been a secular local group, since the University of California was also in Berkeley. The city was still small- just 5,101 citizens in the 1890 census, and likely had rag pickers who helped keep the small town clean. The Book Club tasked Edward with determining how waste materials gathered by these persons, such as “Rags and bottles, sacks and bags” could possibly have any relationship to literature. Rev. Payne was a perfect candidate for this mind-tickling task, as he was incredibly well-read, a deep thinker, and an excellent writer. The committee most likely thought that the Reverend would devise an intriguing story to tie together these incongruous topics, and that he did. He even set the story in poetry, and, like any talented religious teacher, he provided a number of morals to the story.

Our next post will provide the poem in its entirety. We hope that you will enjoy the poem, and think of how it has meaning for us today. With the Covid-19 virus pandemic shedding a glaring light on human social and economic disparities, our divisiveness as a country, and a (sometimes) lack of understanding that all humans are equal, we can take these words from 1892 and bring new meaning into our 21st century lives.

Stay safe out there, and wash your hands, please.

 

Notes, Sources, and References: 

1. The “Waste Philosophy” booklet/poem presented in these posts is scanned from a family copy, so very generously given to the author by her dear aunt in 2018. It is quite treasured, knowing that it was held in the hand of Edward B. Payne, and then his daughter, Lynette (Payne) McMurray, who may have been the person who underlined some of the words in the poem. The Bancroft Library, University of California-Berkeley, also has a copy of this booklet- the only other copy found in many years of searching libraries. A scan was requested and paid for in 2014 (prior to knowing of the family copy), but was not posted here as permissions would have been required from the Bancroft. This booklet should be considered Public Domain due to its age.
2. Berkeley, California population statistics– http://www.bayareacensus.ca.gov/cities/Berkeley40.htm

 

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Original content copyright 2013-2019 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.

Family history is meant to be shared, but the original content of this site may NOT be used for any commercial purposes unless explicit written permission is received from both the blog owner and author. Blogs or websites with ads and/or any income-generating components are included under “commercial purposes,” as are the large genealogy database websites. Sites that republish original HeritageRamblings.net content as their own are in violation of copyright as well, and use of full content is not permitted. 

Descendants and researchers MAY download images and posts to share with their families, and use the information on their family trees or in family history books with a small number of reprints. Please make sure to credit and cite the information properly, i.e, reference this blog.

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McMurray Family, Payne Family (Click for Family Tree)

Am I related to Joseph H. Payne? Yes, if you are a descendant of Dr. Edward A. McMurray, Dr. Herbert C. McMurray, or Maude “Midge” (McMurray) Cook. They are the great-grandchildren of Joseph H. Payne. You would also be related if you are a descendant of Cornelia Mary (Payne) Hinckley and her husband, Horace A. Hinckley of Lake County, Illinois. 

Click here to open “Sons & Daughters of Thunder” trailer: https://vimeo.com/380634117

As a part of Black History Month, WPQT, a PBS station in the Quad Cities* will air the program, “Sons & Daughters of Thunder- The Beginning of the End of Slavery in America.” This film is about an event that has been forgotten now but in 1834, it was highly divisive, front page news, incited violence, and a part of the rocky path that led to the Civil War decades later.

Our ancestor, Joseph Hitchcock “J.H.” Payne, was right there in the middle of it all.

The film will be aired tomorrow, Sunday, February 9th, 2020, at 8pm. It is a docudrama, so those with docuphobia can rest at ease, and hopefully enjoy it if they are in the Quad Cities area. The program will be followed by a documentary on Harriet Beecher Stowe from the same producers. Harriet was also there for these events, and was influenced enough by them, along with her travels, to write the novel, “Uncle Tom’s Cabin.” This book was a bestseller in its time, and changed the course of our country and our people. Hopefully PBS will pick up these films to air throughout the country, but right now, you can purchase “Sons & Daughters of Thunder” through Amazon or directly from the Fourth Wall Films website. (And let PBS know that you want to see both!) I have not seen these films yet so cannot really say how in depth they go, etc., but the subject matter is so important.

The film profiles the people involved in the Lane Debates that occurred over 18 days in February, 1834. Lane Theological Seminary was a Protestant school in Cincinnati, Ohio, a boom town of about 25,000 people. Although the area was still somewhat a frontier, because Cincinnati was located on the Ohio River, which led to the Mississippi River and down to the Gulf of Mexico, commerce and services for those traveling the river made it one of the largest cities in America at the time. Across the river was Kentucky, a slave state, and many Kentuckians crossed the river to do business in Cincinnati.

Joseph H. Payne, very religiously devout, was a 24 year old student, working toward his Divinity degree at Lane. He had previously attended the Oneida Institute in Whitesboro, New York, and would have met Theodore D. Weld there. Weld was about seven years older than J.H., but the two had many similar ideas. Many Oneida students followed Weld to Lane Theological, as did J.H. Payne. Lyman Beecher, a minister, became the President of Lane, and his daughter , Harriet Beecher (who later married Calvin Stowe), joined him in Cincinnati.

Angelina Grimke, daughter of a Southern slave owner, had left her home in Charleston, South Carolina once old enough to act on her feelings about the immorality of slavery. She married Theodore Weld, so J.H. probably knew her as well. Angelina and her sister Sarah Moore Grimke had become abolitionists, Quakers, and suffragists; they were prohibited from ever returning to the South due to their stance on slavery. Frederick Douglas, the well-known former slave who became a powerful orator against slavery, was another of the cast of abolitionists you will see in this film.

While rhetoric and debate were always important in American higher education, the Lane Debates went too far for the acceptable topics of public debate- the subject was just to controversial. Violence and the loss of business from pro-slavery residents of Kentucky and those traveling the river could be consequences of the persuasive student debates, and the Seminary wanted to avoid being seen as a part of that political point of view. So the administrators of Lane prohibited the students from holding public debates on slavery. The students would not back down, despite the threat of being dismissed from the Seminary. The charismatic Theodore Weld brokered a deal with the financially ailing Oberlin Collegiate Institute (later Oberlin), and on 15 Dec 1834, 51 men signed a thoughtful, respectful statement detailing what had happened and why they were leaving the Seminary and going to study at Oberlin. It was published in William Lloyd Garrison’s abolitionist newspaper “The Liberator,” and read throughout the country. (Well, it probably was used in the fireplace more in the South than read.)

The risks the Lane Rebels took in standing up for their beliefs makes them all American heroes, and founders of a movement that led to abolition, women’s rights, and freedom of speech for college students. We will explore these topics in upcoming posts, and are so pleased that this period of history is being presented to new generations of the American public. Watch the film wherever you can, buy the DVD, read upcoming posts, and ask yourself: “Would I have done the same as my ancestor, Joseph H. Payne, and the other ‘Lane Rebels’ and abolitionists?”

 

Notes, Sources, and References: 

1. Before anything else, a huge thank you to the producers, Kelly & Tammy Rundle and Kent Hawley; Earlene Hawley and Curtis Heeter who wrote the original play; and all the other folks who worked to made this production happen. This is such an important story to share!
2. Unfortunately we have not been able to communicate with descendants of Cornelia Mary (Payne) Hinckley and her husband, Horace A. Hinckley. Mary, as she was known, was one of three children of Joseph H. Payne. Her sister, Ruby D. Payne, died at age 11 in 1850. Her brother, Edward B. Payne, survived childhood and had one daughter, Lynette “Amino” (Payne) McMurray, who was the mother of the two doctors and daughter “Midge” listed above.
3. *Moline, East Moline, Rock Island in Illinois, and Bettendorf and Davenport, Iowa are considered the “Quad Cities” even though technically that is 5, not 4, cities.
4.  IMDb is a movie database that is now owned by Amazon. The link for this movie is https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3835150/?ref_=ttpl_pl_tt
   You can also click for ‘full cast’ but Joseph H. Payne is not listed as a character. This may be because there is very little found of his specific role in the debates, etc. He definitely was, however, one of the “Lane Rebels” as they were called, and upcoming posts with tell more about Joseph.
5. “Cincinnati”- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cincinnati
6. “Backstory- In The Beginning There Was a Play… And It Was Good!” Details on the playwright and film adaptation of Sons & Daughters of Thunder. https://docublogger.typepad.com/thunder/backstory/
7. You can order the film from the producers/Fourth Wall Films at http://www.fourthwallfilms.com/dvds.htm. Although the website states “Not secure” due to new Google requirements, the purchase section of the website opens up a secure window through PayPal. Amazon also offers the film: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B082Z9L8D6?pf_rd_p=ab873d20-a0ca-439b-ac45-cd78f07a84d8&pf_rd_r=A9FVVWY3QW9G3ZCD2JVG
8. Lane Seminary- “Defence of the Students”: http://www2.oberlin.edu/external/EOG/LaneDebates/RebelsDefence.htm

 

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We would love to read your thoughts and comments about this post (see form below), and thank you for your time! All comments are moderated, however, due to the high intelligence and persistence of spammers/hackers who really should be putting their smarts to use for the public good instead of spamming our little blog.

Original content copyright 2013-2020 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.

Family history is meant to be shared, but the original content of this site may NOT be used for any commercial purposes unless explicit written permission is received from both the blog owner and author. Blogs or websites with ads and/or any income-generating components are included under “commercial purposes,” as are the large genealogy database websites. Sites that republish original HeritageRamblings.net content as their own are in violation of copyright as well, and use of full content is not permitted. 

Descendants and researchers MAY download images and posts to share with their families, and use the information on their family trees or in family history books with a small number of reprints. Please make sure to credit and cite the information properly, i.e, reference this blog.

 Please contact us if you have any questions about copyright or use of our blog material.

McMurray Family, Payne Family (Click for Family Tree)

It is with great sadness that our flag today flies at half mast*- our country has lost a military hero and a man who has given most of the years of his life to service for our country, its values, its preservation, and its people.

Whether or not you like the politics of John McCain doesn’t matter, and yes, he was not a perfect human- none of us are. But he loved this country and its citizens, and did his best to honor them, whether it was his resolve to survive honorably as a downed Navy pilot enduring the horrors of the Hanoi Hilton (North Vietnamese POW camp for you young’uns) or negotiating across the aisle in the halls of Congress to enact legislation that would better the lives of everyday Americans. John McCain is a true American Hero, and it is good that we honor him.

This is not meant to be a political post, but the feelings of his passing weigh heavy on many hearts, mine included. These feelings have also made me think of our own ancestors who devoted their energy to preserving our freedoms, helping us all to be better souls, and even those who braved a wide, unpredictable ocean and the unknown to start a new and better life in America for their families and descendants. They too are American Heroes- our ‘quiet’ heroes.

All of our immigrant ancestors fit into the hero category, in my not-always-so-humble opinion. The very earliest, in the 1600s, would have known little about this country before they came. (And yes, some of our lines go back that far!) Later immigrants would have had more knowledge, though probably little about the conditions on board ship, or the terrible way many immigrants were treated once they got to our shores. Some came to build a new civilization where men (literally- only men like them) would be free, some were fleeing persecution due to religion, and others came to enrich their fortunes, help their families to survive, and have some land to leave their children. They braved unbelievable circumstances to get here and to settle here, and leave us an incredible legacy- the United States of America.

Our ancestors of the McMurray-Payne-Burnell line are a great example of those who chose to serve in various ways. Robert Burnell (1669-1737) was born in Essex, Massachusetts, so his father (still a question to this researcher) may have been our immigrant ancestor before 1669. Both families would have been involved in protecting homes, farms, and businesses, theirs and their neighbors. They would have lived through the Salem Witch Hysteria of 1692- wonder if they had any involvement? (There were also other cases of accused ‘witches’ in other parts of Massachusetts and Connecticut, where other early family lived.) It would have been hard to speak up against the hysteria without being accused yourself- there are always such considerations when taking a stand.

Robert’s grandson, Capt. Joseph Burnell (1725-1807) was a volunteer to the American Revolutionary War in 1775, and participated in the Siege of Boston. He is also noted as being on duty during the war at West Point Military Academy, working as an ‘artificer’- someone skilled in working on artillery in the field. He likely was teaching others those skills so that our rag-tag Revolutionaries would at long last win the war against the British, giving us freedom from king and tyranny.

Capt. Burnell’s son John Burnell (1750-1837), another of our ancestors,  was 26 in 1776, and he too served his country as a Continental soldier. There are quite a lot of documents for men named John Burnell from Massachusetts, so we will need more research to determine his actual service.

Rufus Burnell (1796-1875) was the son of John Burnell and Mary Bannister (1752-1838). (“Rufus” is from the same Latin word that means ‘red’ or ‘reddish hair’- without color photography can you get a sense of what he looked like?) Rufus was a Deacon in the church, and was serving his neighbors in a spiritual manner. Nancy Kingsley (1792-1839) was his first wife of three- sadly, he buried the first two. Their son, Kingsley Abner Burnell (1824-1905) spent his own life spiritually ministering to others. He travelled around the world with his brother, Thomas Scott Burnell (1823-1899), also a missionary. Both men were very involved with the American Missionary Society, and Kingsley, also known as “K. A.” journeyed through the United States promoting the Young Men’s Christian Association, or Y.M.C.A. Soldiers during the Civil War throughout the South were served by K. A. as well. The stories of these two Burnell brothers is an incredible one, and we will tell much more in upcoming posts.

Of course, we must, “remember the ladies” as Abigail Adams wrote to her husband John Adams as our new republic was being organized. There is very little that survives of their lives, unfortunately, but we know that they would have been beside their husband, supporting him in his efforts to serve, while raising their children, maintaining the household and garden, etc.- they served their families and communities in their own quiet ways.

The only daughter of Kingsley Abner Burnell was Nancy Maria Burnell (1847-1898), who married Edward Biron Payne (1847-1923). Edward was the son of a minister, Joseph Hitchcock Payne (1810-1884), became a minister himself, and even founded a short-lived Utopian colony in California. He wrote as well as lectured, and was a Christian Socialist who stood up for the rights of “the common man.” Edward gave up a pulpit in a wealthy church in New England in order to minister to others who needed him more because of their life situations in the mill towns of the Northeast. He may have contracted tuberculosis there, or possibly earlier, when he and Nanie (Nancy’s nickname) were in Chicago, Illinois, working in the poorest areas with Dwight L. Moody. Despite going blind in her early 20s, Nanie worked alongside Edward, and was involved with women’s groups in his pastorate.

Lynette Payne (1879-1968) was the only child of Edward and Nanie, and she grew up in the liberal town of Berkeley, California. As a teen she read a paper of her father’s to a Socialist group, and she likely attended meetings and lectures of socialists during her teenage years. She also probably attended lectures of the leading as well as local Suffragists who spoke in Berkeley and across the bay in San Francisco. (There was no Golden Gate Bridge back then!) Her father gave a series of lectures on female suffrage, and Lynette was 17 years old in 1896 when California voters decided not to ‘give’ the vote to women. Lynette moved to small-town Iowa after her high school graduation in 1897. She was outspoken there on women’s rights too- she was the first woman to ride a bicycle in Newton, Iowa, and even wore the scandalous new “bloomers.” Lynette was a devout Episcopalian and served her church with work done at St. Stephens in Newton.

Lynette married William E. McMurray (1874-1957) who owned a grocery store and meat market in Newton, always serving his customers  with a kind attitude. They had three children, and the two sons, Edward A. McMurray (1900-1992) and Herbert C. McMurray (1911-1989), both became doctors, serving their patients with kindness and understanding.

Dr. Edward A. McMurray’s son with Edith Roberts (1899-1982) served his country in World War II. Edward A. McMurray, Jr. (1924-2010), was an aircraft mechanic in the South Pacific. Our Marines would take a small island from the Japanese, the Seabees would go in and bulldoze a landing strip, then Ed and other Army-Air corp members would be taken in to set up the mechanics shop for the airplanes. His enlistment lasted the duration of the war, and their ship was in Tokyo Harbor on 2 September 1945 when the Japanese signed their surrender. He always was so proud to have served, and helped preserve, the freedom of our country and of those around the world.

Ed served his community as a trusted pharmacist for many years after the war. Some of his customers called him, “Doc,” showing the respect they had for his knowledge and loving care.

These are just some of the people in our McMurray-Payne-Burnell family lines who are “quiet” American Heroes. There are so many more who have served others throughout the years. These Heroes have served as role models for their children and communities, and we can never know the true extent of their legacy.

You can read more about the above persons in other blog posts- there are too many to reference- just put their name in the search box, or click on the tagged name that is a part of this post to find other stories about these fine people.

There are many more blog posts planned to tell the stories of these quiet American Heroes.

A heartfelt thank you to them all, and to John McCain. May they all Rest in Peace.

 

Notes, Sources, and References: 

1. * Half-mast vs. half-staff- technically, flags are flown in the US at half-staff, as the staff is the flagpole. Only on Navy ships is ‘half-mast’ technically appropriate, as flags there are flown from a mast. Since the Honorable John McCain as well as this writer are Navy veterans, we shall let it be ‘half-mast’ for today.By the way, the flag should always be raised to full height first, then lowered halfway, in honor of the fallen- not just raised to half-way up.
2. Please check out other, more detailed stories of our “quiet” American Hero ancestors on this blog.
3. Subscribe to the blog to be notified of new posts.

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McMurray Family (Click for Family Tree)

If you are a McMurray, Payne, or Burnell descendant, you might be interested to know that today, 29 August, is the anniversary of the beginning of Shays’s [sic] Rebellion.

Dr. Edward A. McMurray, Dr. Herbert C. McMurray, and Maude Lynette “Midge” McMurray Cook  were the third-great grandchildren of Ebenezer Kingsley (1769-1855), and fourth-great grandchildren of Ebenezer’s father, Deacon Moses Kingsley (1744-1829), so you can figure your relationship from them.

Ebenezer Kingsley and his father (and family) were living in Northampton, Hampshire County, Massachusetts, in 1786, the epicenter of Shays’s Rebellion. Northampton is in the western part of the state, which was very rural, with subsistence farming its primary economic base in the rolling hills of the valley. About 85% of the population was living on small farms in the backcountry in 1786, trying to eke out a spare living for their family.

So what was Shays’s Rebellion about, if you have forgotten high school history?

First, a bit of background on the times:

The Revolutionary War was over and the Articles of Confederation were the weak glue holding the thirteen ex-colonies together. The fledgling government did not have enough money to pay soldiers for their service or the promised bounties, so many returned home penniless, and in debt for their farms or businesses, whether it be a mortgage, supplies and livestock bought on credit, or taxes while they were off fighting for our freedom. Businesses were in great distress because of the disruption of commerce due to the war, plus they could not pay their bills since their customers could not make good on what they owed. There was no demand for labor since there was no money to pay workers, and the towns, states, and country were all in debt due to the war. The lost income to individuals, businesses, and thus tax revenues due to the war, overall must have been staggering, and triggered the first post-war depression of the new United States of America’s economy.

The states and the federal government, of course, levied taxes to pay their debts, but the citizens did not have the money to pay. Some estimated that the state of Massachusetts had debt equal to almost $200 for every family in the state; they levied an additional property tax to pay this debt. Prior to the war, the barter system had been used as hard money was scarce, but the government would not take livestock or crops- if a farmer even had some to spare- in lieu of cash to pay taxes. The laws of the time required property to be seized from debtors, and unjustly allowed the first of the creditors to take all the property, not giving proportionate amounts to other creditors, who then would not be able to pay their own loans. Debtors were thrown into prison with felons, and “families left to want and poverty.”

“Heavier than the people can bear” was the comment made by John Adams when describing the economic situation and tax burden of the people, even though he was normally a conservative.

Law-abiding citizens wrote petition after petition for relief to the state government in Boston, with no reply and no decrease in taxes.

Our Kingsley ancestors would have felt this burden keenly, as it appears that they were not very well-to-do. The 1820 US Federal Census indicates that Moses Kingsley was still working in agriculture at age 76, and at least two of his sons, Ebenezer and Asahel, were also farmers.

Describing Shay’s rebellion, the Gazetteer of Hampshire County, Mass., 1654-1887, states:

“This uprising in Western Massachusetts against the authorities of the state, in 1786, was not, however, strickly [sic] speaking, a rebellion; that is, it was not prompted by any spirit of disloyalty, nor was it designed or plotted with the wish to overturn the government. It was the wild and lawless expression of discontent with harsh circumstances; the natural outbreak of those who were suffering and oppressed.

… As the courts and lawyers were instrumental in the foreclosure of mortgages, the distraining [seizure to pay off debt] of personal property and the imprisonment of debtors, the popular outcry and rage was largely directed against the officials of law and justice.”

An earlier mob outbreak had disturbed the court session in Northampton in April of 1782, when Ebenezer was just 13, and his father, Moses Kingsley, 38 years old and a pillar of his community. The mob leader was arrested, then broken out of jail in another city by his comrades, who were then arrested in Northampton. A mob came to Northampton demanding their release, which did occur. This must have been a scary time for the local population, though likely exciting to a 13 year old boy like Ebenezer Kingsley!

Four years later, conventions were convened in the state to rectify these same problems in August of 1786. It was, however, too late: 1500 people mobbed the Northampton Courthouse  and grounds on August 29th to prevent any cases against debtors proceeding. Daniel Shays and Luke Day, both who served admirably in the Revolutionary War, became the leaders of the rebellion. (Many other rebels had served honorably in the Revolutionary War as well.) When peaceful means did not work, they issued a call to arms and violent protest by the citizenry, which did happen that fall in other towns. The rebels were able to stop courts before they could convict debtors, and moved from town to town, inciting revolt. They saw themselves as “Regulators,” trying to make taxation fair and reducing official corruption, not rebels.

Fearful of the economic and possible political effects of this revolt, a private militia was raised by wealthy merchants and land owners, since the state of Massachusetts did not have the funds to pay a militia to put down the rebellion. Forty-five hundred men were enlisted, 1200 to be raised from Western Massachusetts in December.

Ebenezer Kingsley was 18, his brother Asahel Kingsley (1771-1864) was 16, and brother Moses Kingsley (1772-1828) was 15 at this time- perhaps they participated in the militia, or possibly even in the rebellion? What if one felt the rebellion necessary, and another felt it important to put it down? Young men of that age are often eager to test their mettle in battle, and they had been just children during the Revolution so could not serve then. Their father Moses Kingsley was 44 and had become the 21st Deacon of First Church in Northampton. It must have been a difficult time for him- as a Deacon and a farmer himself, he likely would understand the pain of the people concerning their inability to pay their debts in such challenging economic times, yet as a man of the church he would want the law to be obeyed.

As Shays’ men needed arms, they decided to attack the US Arsenal in Springfield, MA. They were stopped by the militia, and the “Shaysites” as they were called, retreated after 3 were killed and one severely wounded. The militia pursued the rebels up the hills in the snow and cold winds of a Massachusetts January, and rebels deserted the cause in droves; the rebellion was essentially over. Over four thousand men signed confessions of wrong-doing, and were required to swear an oath of allegiance to the state and those who governed.

Elections brought a new, more responsive group into power and they placed a moratorium on debts collected by the state, plus cut taxes.

Some have called Shays’s Rebellion the last battle of the Revolutionary War, as the citizens were rebelling against an elite group in far away (Boston) levying taxes that were much too high for the average person to pay. George Washington came out of retirement to help the government determine what to do about the rebels, and he went on to become President in 1789. The Rebellion revealed the inadequacy of the Articles of Confederation, thus a Constitutional Convention was convened, resulting in the Constitution we still use today.

Thomas Jefferson, French Ambassador at the time, was not concerned that Shays’s Rebellion would destroy the new country he had worked so hard to build. One of his most famous quotes comes from a letter he wrote about Shays’s Rebellion: “The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is its natural manure.” [fertilizer]

Hopefully, the positive political aftermath of Shays’s Rebellion helped our Kingsley ancestors in their pursuit of liberty, success, and happiness.

 

Notes, Sources, and References: 

1. Gazetteer of Hampshire County, Mass., 1654-1887, page 100, via Archive.org. https://archive.org/stream/gazetteerofhamps00ingayw#page/n113/mode/2up
2. Shays’s Rebellion: The American Revolution’s Final Battle, by Leonard L. Richards, University of Pennsylvania Press, 2002.
3. 1820 US Federal Census for Moses Kingsley in Hampshire, Massachusetts: Detail: Year: 1820; Census Place: Hampshire, Massachusetts; Roll: M33_50, via Ancestry.com.
4. Further research into the newspapers of the time in Northampton, researching court documents that might include a confessions, diaries, militia lists, etc., might give us more insight into exactly how the Kingsley family fit into Northampton in 1786, and how they were affected by Shays’s Rebellion.

 

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We would love to read your thoughts and comments about this post (see form below), and thank you for your time! All comments are moderated, however, due to the high intelligence and persistence of spammers/hackers who really should be putting their smarts to use for the public good instead of spamming our little blog.

 

Original content copyright 2013-2015 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.

Family history is meant to be shared, but the original content of this site may NOT be used for any commercial purposes unless explicit written permission is received from both the blog owner and author. Blogs or websites with ads and/or any income-generating components are included under “commercial purposes,” as are the large genealogy database websites. Sites that republish original HeritageRamblings.net content as their own are in violation of copyright as well, and use of full content is not permitted.

 

Descendants and researchers MAY download images and posts to share with their families, and use the information on their family trees or in family history books with a small number of reprints. Please make sure to credit and cite the information properly.

 

Please contact us if you have any questions about copyright of our blog material.