McMurry History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

To escape the religious and political discrimination they experienced primarily at the hands of the English, thousands of Irish left their homeland in the 19th century. These migrants typically settled in communities throughout the East Coast of North America, but also joined the wagon trains moving out to the Midwest. Ironically, when the American War of Independence began, many Irish settlers took the side of England, and at the war's conclusion moved north to Canada. These United Empire Loyalists, were granted land along the St. Lawrence River and the Niagara Peninsula. Other Irish immigrants settled in Newfoundland, the Ottawa Valley, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. The greatest influx of Irish immigrants, however, came to North America during the Great Potato Famine of the late 1840s. Thousands left Ireland at this time for North America and Australia. Many of those numbers, however, did not live through the long sea passage. These Irish settlers to North America were immediately put to work building railroads, coal mines, bridges, and canals. Irish settlers made an inestimable contribution to the building of the New World. Early North American immigration records have revealed a number of people bearing the Irish name McMurry or a variant listed above, including:

McMurry Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

• John McMurry, who landed in Frederick County, Maryland in 1797 2

McMurry Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

• Michal McMurry, who arrived in Morgan County, Illinois in 1854 2
• H. McMurry, aged 31, who landed in America, in 1892
• Sarah McMurry, aged 27, who settled in America, in 1893

McMurry Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

• Helen McMurry, aged 1, who settled in America from India, in 1903
• C.F. McMurry, aged 38, who immigrated to America from India, in 1903
• Miss Alin McMurry, aged 30, who immigrated to the United States, in 1903
• William John McMurry, aged 35, who immigrated to America from Kiddybey, in 1905
• Wm. J. McMurry, aged 40, who landed in America, in 1907
• ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

• William Fletcher McMurry (1864-1934), American Bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, eponym of McMurry University, Abilene, Texas
• Ora McMurry, American officer in the United States Army Air Service during World War I, two-time recipient of the Distinguished Service Cross
• Charles Alexander McMurry Ph.D. (1857-1929), American educator, professor at Illinois State University and at the University of Chicago
• Lillian Shedd McMurry (1921-1999), American record producer, founder of Trumpet Records (1950-1955), inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1998
• Sam McMurry (b. 1952), American television, film, and voice actor
• James Christopher "Jamie" McMurry (b. 1976), American professional race car driver, one of three drivers to win both the Daytona 500 and Brickyard 400 in the same year
• John E. McMurry (b. 1942), American Professor Emeritus in the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology at Cornell University who developed the McMurry reaction
• Wesley M. McMurry, American Democratic Party politician, Member of Missouri State House of Representatives from Scotland County, 1907-08; Member of Missouri State Senate 12th District, 1923-28 3
• P. W. McMurry, American Republican politician, Member of Iowa State Senate 4th District; Elected 1948 3
• Mary Glenn McMurry, American Republican politician, Candidate in primary for Kentucky State Senate 26th District, 1990 3
• ... (Another 2 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)