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    Murray, William Pitt "W.P., Wm. P., Bill"

    Sessions Served    Other Information

    Territorial House 1852-53 (District 2); Territorial Council 1854-55 (District 2); Territorial House 1857 (District 2); Democratic Constitutional Convention 1857 (District 2); House 1863 (District 1); Senate 1866-67; House 1868 (District 1); Senate 1875-76 (District 23)

    Party when first elected:  People's

    Counties Served:  Ramsey

    BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION

    Date of Birth: 6/21/1825 (uncertain)
    Birth Place: Hamilton, Ohio
    Birth County: Butler
    Birth Country: United States
    Date of Death: 6/20/1910
    Gender: Male
    Religion:
    Reported Minority: None Reported
    Other Names: W.P., Wm. P., Bill
    Alternate Spelling of Last Name: Murry
    City of Residence (when first elected): Saint Paul
    Occupation (when first elected): Lawyer

    EDUCATION

    Ohio Public Schools; Elementary School;
    Ohio Public Schools; Secondary; until the age of 17
    Miami University, Oxford, Ohio; Attended College; 2 Years
    Studied Law; Office of Oliver P. Morton
    Indiana University, Law Department; Law Degree; 1848-Spring 1849; Admitted to the Bar, 1849

    OTHER GOVERNMENT SERVICE

    County Attorney: Ramsey County, Minnesota; 18?? to 1???
    County Board/Commissioner: Ramsey County, Minnesota (County Commissioner); 18?? to 1???
    Territorial Democratic Constitutional Convention: 2nd Council District, Minnesota Territory; 07/13/1857 to 08/29/1857 [Elected]
    Municipal Council/Aldermen: St. Paul, Minnesota (City Council); 1861 to 1868
    Municipal Council/Aldermen: St. Paul, Minnesota (City Council; President, Six Years); 1870 to 1879
    Municipal Attorney: St. Paul, Minnesota (City Attorney); 1876 to 1889

    FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS

    Spouse: Married
    Children:
    Family Members Who Have Served in the Minnesota Legislature:

    GENERAL NOTES

    Toensing and Minnesota Place Names list his birth year as 1825. Minnesota in Three Centuries lists 1827. History of Minnesota: from the French Explorations to the Present Time, 1873 lists him as being 28 years old in 1854.

    He was of Irish ancestry.

    He came to St. Paul, Minnesota on December 24, 1849.

    He was an unsuccessful candidate for the Minnesota Territorial House in the 1850 election.

    He was an unsuccessful Democratic party candidate for the Minnesota Legislature in the 1864 election.

    "But in 1851, he was elected to that body on the People's Ticket...The next year he was again elected to the House on the Democratic ticket." (Minnesota in Three Centuries, Vol. 2., p. 459). He is listed as a member of the People's Ticket in the 1851 election. (A History of the City of St. Paul to 1875, 1983 edition, by J. Fletcher Williams, p. 317)

    He was one of the members elected in the 1858 election to serve in the Minnesota House of Representatives in the 1858-1859 session. That session was never called. A note in the Legislative Manual for the State of Minnesota 1881 (p. 180) states that due to the protracted session of 1857-58 the winter of 1858-59 meeting of the legislature was unnecessary.

    Murray County, Minnesota was named after him.

    He died in St. Paul, Minnesota.

    Total Days Served: 3613

    SESSIONS SERVED

    18th Legislative Session (1876)

      Session Details
    Body: Senate
    District: 23
    Elected: 11/3/1874
    Residence: Saint Paul
    Term of Office: 1/5/1875 to 1/1/1877
    Counties Represented: Ramsey
    Occupation: Lawyer
    Party: Not Available
    Committees:
    • Claims
    • Federal Relations
    • Insane Asylum
    • Joint Apportionment
    • Joint University
    • Printing
    • State Reform School

    17th Legislative Session (1875)

      Session Details
    Body: Senate
    District: 23
    Elected: 11/3/1874
    Residence: Saint Paul
    Term of Office: 1/5/1875 to 1/1/1877
    Counties Represented: Ramsey
    Occupation: Lawyer
    Party: Not Available
    Committees:
    • Claims
    • Federal Relations
    • Printing
    • State Reform School

    10th Legislative Session (1868)

      Session Details
    Body: House
    District: 01
    Elected: 11/5/1867
    Residence: Saint Paul
    Term of Office: 1/7/1868 to 1/7/1868 (unfinished term)
    Counties Represented: Ramsey
    Occupation: Lawyer
    Party: Democratic
    Committees:
    Reason for unfinished term: Other - See Notes
    Session Notes: In A History of the City of St. Paul to 1875, 1983 edition, by J. Fletcher Williams, p. 461, it says he was "elected, but did not take his seat." The Minnesota Legislative Manual, 1868, p. 78 lists him as being absent.

    9th Legislative Session (1867)

      Session Details
    Body: Senate
    District: 01
    Elected: 11/6/1866
    Residence: Saint Paul
    Term of Office: 1/8/1867 to 1/6/1868
    Counties Represented: Ramsey
    Occupation: Lawyer
    Party: Democratic
    Committees:
    • Change of Names
    • Federal Relations
    • Joint State Railroad Bonds Special
    • Printing
    • Public Buildings and Grounds
    • Railroads

    8th Legislative Session (1866)

      Session Details
    Body: Senate
    District: 01
    Elected: 11/7/1865
    Residence: Saint Paul
    Term of Office: 1/2/1866 to 1/7/1867
    Counties Represented: Ramsey
    Occupation: Lawyer
    Party: Not Available
    Committees:
    • Claims
    • Corporations
    • Federal Relations
    • Joint Re-apportionment Special
    • Judiciary
    • Railroads

    5th Legislative Session (1863)

      Session Details
    Body: House
    District: 01
    Elected: 11/4/1862
    Residence: Saint Paul
    Term of Office: 1/6/1863 to 1/4/1864
    Counties Represented: Ramsey
    Occupation: Lawyer
    Party: Not Available
    Committees:
    • Emigration
    • Indian Affairs
    • State Prison
    • Ways and Means

    8th Territorial Legislative Session (1857)

      Session Details
    Body: Territorial House
    District: 02
    Elected: 10/14/1856
    Residence: Saint Paul
    Term of Office: 1/7/1857 to 12/1/1857
    Counties Represented: Ramsey
    Occupation: Lawyer
    Party: Democratic Party Notes: He is listed as a Democrat in the 1856 election. (A History of the City of St. Paul to 1875, 1983 edition, by J. Fletcher Williams, p. 366)
    Committees:
    • Elections (Chair)
    • Incorporations

    6th Territorial Legislative Session (1855)

      Session Details
    Body: Territorial Council
    District: 02
    Elected: 10/12/1853
    Residence: Saint Paul
    Term of Office: 1/4/1854 to 1/1/1856
    Counties Represented: Ramsey
    Occupation: Lawyer
    Party: Democratic Party Notes: He is listed as a Democrat in the 1853 election. (A History of the City of St. Paul to 1875, 1983 edition, by J. Fletcher Williams, p. 346)
    Committees:
    • Enrolled Bills
    • Incorporations (Chair)
    • Judiciary
    • Legislative Expenditures
    • Schools
    • Territorial Affairs
    • Territorial Expenditures
    Leadership Position: President of the Territorial Council
    Leadership Notes: Samuel Baldwin Olmstead was elected President of the Territorial Council on January 4, 1855. He resigned on February 16, 1855 and William Pitt Murray was elected to fill the vacancy on that same day.

    5th Territorial Legislative Session (1854)

      Session Details
    Body: Territorial Council
    District: 02
    Elected: 10/12/1853
    Residence: Saint Paul
    Term of Office: 1/4/1854 to 1/1/1856
    Counties Represented: Ramsey
    Occupation: Lawyer
    Party: Democratic Party Notes: He is listed as a Democrat in the 1853 election. (A History of the City of St. Paul to 1875, 1983 edition, by J. Fletcher Williams, p. 346)
    Committees:
    • Incorporations
    • Judiciary (Chair)
    • Printing
    • Schools (Chair)
    • Territorial Expenditures

    4th Territorial Legislative Session (1853)

      Session Details
    Body: Territorial House
    District: 02
    Elected: 10/12/1852
    Residence: Saint Paul
    Term of Office: 1/5/1853 to 1/3/1854
    Counties Represented: Ramsey
    Occupation: Lawyer
    Party: Democratic Party Notes: "But in 1851, he was elected to that body on the People's Ticket...The next year he was again elected to the House on the Democratic ticket." (Minnesota in Three Centuries, Vol. 2., p. 459). He is listed as a Democrat in the 1852 election. (A History of the City of St. Paul to 1875, 1983 edition, by J. Fletcher Williams, p. 331)
    Committees:
    • Engrossed Bills
    • Judiciary
    • Schools

    3rd Territorial Legislative Session (1852)

      Session Details
    Body: Territorial House
    District: 02
    Elected: 10/14/1851
    Residence: Saint Paul
    Term of Office: 1/7/1852 to 1/4/1853
    Counties Represented: Ramsey
    Occupation: Lawyer
    Party: People's Party Notes: "But in 1851, he was elected to that body on the People's Ticket...The next year he was again elected to the House on the Democratic ticket." (Minnesota in Three Centuries, Vol. 2., p. 459). He is listed as a member of the People's Ticket in the 1851 election. (A History of the City of St. Paul to 1875, 1983 edition, by J. Fletcher Williams, p. 317)
    Committees:
    • Judiciary (Chair)
    • Militia
    • Territorial Expenditures (Chair)

    OTHER INFORMATION

    Articles & Books About
    "Murray County." Minnesota Place Names (Electronic Resource), St. Paul, Minnesota: Minnesota Historical Society.


    These files are available in the Legislative Reference Library.

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