I'm searching for the ancestors of my great
grandfather, John Cleveland Murray (b. Dec.
10, 1856, died June 26, 1919 in Sonoma County, CA. He was married to Leah Belle
Morris Murray. His death cert indicates that
he was born in Missouri, and that he was
named after his father. Can anyone out there
"tie in"? Thanks very much for any replies -
they would be much appreciated.

Hi, I was surprised to see your query. I don't know anything about your ancestor, but my gg grandfather was John Cleveland Murray. He was born in Missouri about 1836. He died in 1862. The family moved to Randolph Co., Arkansas in late 1850s. The three children of John C. and Margaret E. Murray were Isom Andrew, John Franklin (my g granfather) and Mary Murray. With the name you have, there is surely a connection, especially since your relatives supposedly came from Missouri. Let me know what other info. you might have. Take care.

Hi, Ken . . .

Thanks for the reply. "My" John Cleveland was my great-grandfather (whom I never met).
I obtained the information that I have from his death certificate (I've discovered the hard way, though, that death certs are some-
times NOT correct). At any rate, it shows his birth date as December 10th, 1856 and his death date was June 26, 1919. His birth-place is shown as Missouri. His father's name is shown as John Cleveland Murray also,
and his mother is shown as Lottie Harrington
Murray. His mother's name is no doubt correct, since he named one of his daughters
Lottie. I have a copy of his marriage cert to my great-grandmother Leah Belle Morris.
They were married in Sonoma County, Calif on
June 2nd 1877. If "your" John Cleveland was married to Margaret E., they're probably not
the same man -- unless there was more than
one marriage. I DO know one thing, though --
I haven't found too many John Cleveland
Murrays. There was one other in San Fran-
cisco about the same time that my g-grand-
father was living in Sonoma County.

It's quite possible that there is a family
"tie-in" somehow, though. Do you know in
what COUNTY in Missouri your gg was born?

If I come up with anything new, I'll let you
know.

Sincerely,

Diane

Hello, again, Ken

I just found a posting by Shirley Whisman.
Her people are IDENTICAL to yours! Have you been in touch with her yet? She posted her
message on 12/22/99. I told her to get in touch with you.

D.

Hi Diane,

I do believe there is a family tie-in, and I will keep my eyes open to see if I can figure it out. Our John Cleveland has always been a bit of a mystery. He died very young. He was a Confederate soldier (8th Arkansas) Family tradition says he was killed and/or mortally wounded at Shiloh in 1862. His military records only say in May 1862 (Dead). His wife Margaret E. Dubois Murray also died about the same time, orphaning their three children. We believe our John C. was born in Oregon County, Missouri. Although our first record of him is the 1850 census where he is listed as the only child of an Isham Murry. Keep in touch.

Ken

Thanks Diane, Shirley and I are 2nd Cousins, and we have corresponded. Thanks, though.

Hi,
My GGgrandfather was Cleveland Murray who lived near Huntsville, the county seat of Randolph County, Missouri. He had a son, Cleve, who he took to Sonoma County, Ca in 1854, when Cleve was 16. Cleveland Murray had married Susan Williams(Sprinkles, maiden name, from Cody, family name)and took her and her children to Booneville, Sonoma County, Ca. with his 2 sons, Isaac and Cleve. Cleveland and Susan were widower and widow and blended the two families, as was common in the day. Cleveland Murray senior died a few years later in Sonoma County but I do not know what became of Cleve. He may be your GGgrandfather. My Ggrandfather was the only product of this union, and was Cleve's 1/2 brother. This information was gleaned from a published book about Susan, who later remarried a Stubblefield. The book is called the "Grandma Stubblefield Rose". We may be shirttail cousins. I was born in Sonoma County, in Santa Rosa. Ken Murray kenmurray11@hotmail.com

posible ,but my nearest connection is from ireland,my grandmother was mary and died in 1905 at the birth of my father and his twin in natick mass.my greatgrandmother was leary,and the only thing i know about my grandmother was she had 2 sisters in the boston area in 1905. if you find out any more please contact me

I see you have a son of John Cleveland named
John Franklin---
Have you found anything about him?
I have a John Franklin b in Joplin, Missouri
who married a Mary Elizabeth Frasier-
This family moved to Dallas or Texas-
I can't find either on anything-
Any help would be appreciated-
tdreid1@embarqmail.com I have the family down--

That's interesting. I do know a lot about my John Franklin but it does make me wonder if we have a connection of some kind. My gg grandfather is John Cleveland Murray. They called him Cleve. He died in the CW. He had three children, John Franklin Murray (1860-1946) was the middle child. John married Louisa Katherine Starling in about 1877. They divorced some years later but had a large family. My grandfather John Willard Murray was their youngest. John Franklin was quite poor and he spent most of his life in Randolph County, Arkansas but in about 1935 he came to Oklahoma and lived in and around my grandparents home. Cleve's father (Isham) had some brothers that I've never tracked. They were in Oregon County Missouri around 1850. When was your John Franklin Murray born?

Take care
Ken Spurgeon