David Murray (10 May 1748 – 7 May 1794) was an English lawyer of Scottish noble descent. He sat in the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1784 until his death.

Early life and family

Murray was the second son of Rev the Hon. Gideon Murray, a

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...

clergyman. Gideon was the third surviving son of Alexander Murray, the 4th

Lord Elibank Lord Elibank, of Ettrick Forest in the County of Selkirk, is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1643 for Sir Patrick Murray, 1st Baronet, with remainder to his heirs male whatsoever. He had already been created a Baronet, of ...

, but he had little connexion with Scotland, and raised his family in England. David Murray was educated at Beverley School, and then at Christ Church, Oxford and Lincoln's Inn, where he was called to the bar in 1773. In 1783 he married Elizabeth Harley, daughter and co-heir of Thomas Harley, a younger son of the 3rd Earl of Oxford. They had three daughters – Elizabeth, Maria-Clara, Louisa – and one son, David Rodney. Elizabeth married the Royal Navy officer

William Henry Shirreff William Henry Shirreff (baptised 4 April 1785 – 1 December 1847) was a British Royal Navy officer, captain of , , , and . He had six children four of whom were daughters. He had two notable daughters, Maria Georgina Grey and Emily Anne Eliza S ...

Parliament

Murray had an electoral interest in Peeblesshire, where his older brother

Alexander Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...

had been returned at a by-election in 1783, with the support of the dominant interests of the

Duke of Queensberry The title Duke of Queensberry was created in the Peerage of Scotland on 3 February 1684 along with the subsidiary title Marquess of Dumfriesshire for the 1st Marquess of Queensberry. The Dukedom was held along with the Marquessate of Queensbe ...

and James Montgomery. Alexander stood down at the 1784 general election in expectation of succeeding his uncle

George George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presid ...

to become the 7th

, and David was elected unopposed in his place. At the next general election, in 1790, Montgomery installed his oldest son William Montgomery, who had come of age. Murray sought a new seat, and was returned for the New Radnor boroughs in Wales with the help of the 4th Earl of Oxford, his father-in-law's older brother. He held the seat until his death in London on 7 May 1794, three days before his 46th birthday.

References

1748 births 1794 deaths Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Scottish constituencies Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Welsh constituencies British MPs 1784–1790 British MPs 1790–1796 People educated at Beverley Grammar School Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Members of Lincoln's Inn English people of Scottish descent {{Wales-GreatBritain-MP-stub