James Stafford Murchie (c.1850 – 12 September 1888), usually known as J. S. Murchie, was a British

trade unionist A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and Employee ben ...

. Born in

Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from xcb, Caer Luel) is a city that lies within the Northern England, Northern English county of Cumbria, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, Scottish border at the confluence of the rivers River Eden, Cumbria, Eden, River C ...

, Murchie moved to

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

with his family while young, and became a

carpenter Carpentry is a skilled trade and a craft in which the primary work performed is the cutting, shaping and installation of building materials during the construction of buildings, Shipbuilding, ships, timber bridges, concrete formwork, etc. ...

. Known for his wide reading on trade and social matters, he became active in the

Amalgamated Society of Carpenters and Joiners The Amalgamated Society of Carpenters and Joiners (ASC&J) was a New Model Trade Union in the 1860s in the United Kingdom, representing carpenters and joiners. History The formation of the Society was spurred by the Stonemason's strike, 1859, ...

(ASC&J), and quickly rose in importance. In 1876, he chaired the union's strike committee during major industrial action, and he was soon elected as chair of the union's executive committee. In 1881, aged only 31, he was elected to succeed John D. Prior as general secretary."Death of Mr J. S. Murchie", ''

Manchester Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', 13 September 1888Francis Chandler, ''Amalgamated Society of Carpenters & Joiners: History of the Society, 1860-1910'' While in office, Murchie became active in the

Trades Union Congress The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is a national trade union centre A national trade union center (or national center or central) is a federation or confederation of trade unions in a country. Nearly every country in the world has a national tra ...

(TUC); he served on the Parliamentary Committee of the TUC, chairing it in 1885. The ASC&J held annual elections, and Murchie was re-elected each year. Murchie was also politically active, supporting the Liberal Party, although he never sought political office. In 1888, Murchie attended the TUC, at which he spoke, and was again re-elected to the Parliamentary Committee. He had been suffering from an illness connected with his

liver The liver is a major Organ (anatomy), organ only found in vertebrates which performs many essential biological functions such as detoxification of the organism, and the Protein biosynthesis, synthesis of proteins and biochemicals necessary for ...

for some time, and while at the TUC, suffered a haemorrhage, returning home to recuperate. However, he died early in the morning of 12 September.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Murchie, James Stafford 1850s births 1888 deaths General Secretaries of the Amalgamated Society of Carpenters and Joiners Members of the Parliamentary Committee of the Trades Union Congress Trade unionists from Manchester 19th-century British businesspeople