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Robert Murray (1721–1786), a prominent merchant, was born in
Robert quickly established himself and about 1762 rented land from the 
Mrs. Robert Murray ( Mary Lindley Murray) is credited with delaying William Howe and his army during General Washington's retreat from New York in 1776. As the story goes, Mrs. Robert Murray invited the group to tea at her mansion, Inclenberg, and, through feminine wiles, and her husband's prominence among the Tory party, succeeded in delaying the British troops for a period sufficient to allow a successful American retreat.
County Armagh
County Armagh (, named after its county town, Armagh) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the southern shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of an ...
, Ireland, arriving with his father John Murray (originally from Perthshire, Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...
) in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
in 1732.
Career
Originally a Presbyterian, he became a Quaker after marrying Mary Lindley, daughter of a Quaker politician, in Pennsylvania in 1744. The couple arrived inNew York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
in 1754 after a short residence in North Carolina
North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...
. The Murray Hill neighborhood of Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
derives its name from the Murray family, whose business interests were mainly concerned with shipping and overseas trade.
Robert quickly established himself and about 1762 rented land from the city
A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
for a great house and farm, which Robert called Inclenberg, Dutch for beautiful hill. The total area was just over 29 acres (117,000 m2). In today's terms, the farm began a few feet (metres) south of 33rd Street and extended north to the middle of the block between 38th and 39th Street. At the southern end, the plot was rather narrow but at the northern end it went from approximately Lexington Avenue to a spot between Madison Madison may refer to:
People
* Madison (name), a given name and a surname
* James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States
Place names
* Madison, Wisconsin, the state capital of Wisconsin and the largest city known by this ...
and Fifth Avenues. The great house was built on a since-leveled hill at what is today Park Avenue
Park Avenue is a wide New York City boulevard which carries north and southbound traffic in the boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx. For most of the road's length in Manhattan, it runs parallel to Madison Avenue to the west and Lexington Av ...
and 36th Street.
His eldest child, Lindley Murray (1745–1826) was perhaps the most illustrious member of the family. An author of school textbooks, he was the largest-selling author in the world in the first half of the 19th century. Raised in New York City, Lindley was forced to move out of the country as a loyalist after the American Revolution, settling in York, England. He sold some 20 million books, including about 16 million in the United States and four million in Britain. His best-known title was his "English Reader," which Abraham Lincoln called the finest book ever put in the hands of an American youth.
Mrs. Robert Murray ( Mary Lindley Murray) is credited with delaying William Howe and his army during General Washington's retreat from New York in 1776. As the story goes, Mrs. Robert Murray invited the group to tea at her mansion, Inclenberg, and, through feminine wiles, and her husband's prominence among the Tory party, succeeded in delaying the British troops for a period sufficient to allow a successful American retreat.
See also
*Province of New York
The Province of New York (1664–1776) was a British proprietary colony and later royal colony on the northeast coast of North America. As one of the Middle Colonies, New York achieved independence and worked with the others to found the U ...
* Murray Hill, Manhattan
Murray Hill is a neighborhood on the east side of Manhattan in New York City. Murray Hill is generally bordered to the east by the East River or Kips Bay and to the west by Midtown Manhattan, though the exact boundaries are disputed. Murray Hi ...
References
''The Murrays of Murray Hill'' by Charles Monaghan, Brooklyn: Urban History Press, 1998 {{DEFAULTSORT:Murray, Robert 1721 births 1786 deaths Businesspeople from Pennsylvania American businesspeople in shipping Converts to Quakerism Murray Hill, Manhattan People from County Armagh American people of Scotch-Irish descent American Quakers Kingdom of Ireland emigrants to the Thirteen Colonies People of colonial Pennsylvania People of the Province of New York