Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1900, volume 4).djvu/504

464 (New York, 1851) ; and a translation from the Latin of Mosheim's " Commentaries on the Affairs of the Christians before tlie Time of Constantine the Great " (2 vols., 1852).

MURDOCK, John Nelson, clergyman, b. in Oswego, N. Y., 18 Dec, 1820 ; d. in Clifton Springs, N. Y., 16 Feb., 1897. He studied law and was admitted to the bar, but abandoned the law and entered the ministry in the Methodist Episcopal church. In 1842 he was ordained as a Baptist minister in Watertown, N. Y. After holding pas- torates in Waterville and Albion, he became in 1848 pastor of the South Baptist church in Hait- ford, Conn. In 1857 he took charge of the Bow- doin square church, Boston, continuing in this relation until 1863, when he was made one of the secretaries of the American Baptist mission union. This office he continued to hold. From 1853 till 1856 he was joint editor with Rev. Dr. Robert Turnbull of the " Christian Review." The honor- ary degree of D. D. was conferred upon him by Rochester universitv in 1854.

MURDOCK, William, patriot, b. in Scotland about 1720 ; d. in ^Maryland about 1775. His fa- ther. Rev. George Murdock, was appointed rec- tor of Prince George county, Md., by Lord Balti- more, in 1726. The son represented that county in the lower house of the general assembly from about 1745 until 1770. This house was the fortress of popular rights and of civil liberty during the whole existence of the colony. Its resolutions and mes- sages, beginning in 1733. and in an uninterrupted chain until 1775, continually declared " that it is the peculiar right of his majesty's subjects not to be liable to any tax or other imposition but what is laid on them by laws to which they themselves are a party." These principles were asserted in what were called the standing resolves of the lower house on 31 May, 1750, and were reiterated and re- corded upon the journals of every assembly until 1771. This public discussion of first principles was of the greatest importance in preparing the people for the Revolution. The resolutions, addresses, and messages of the lower house during this period discuss with remarkable fulness and accuracy, con- sidering the period at which they were produced, the fundamental principles of free govei'nment, and most of them emanated from William Murdock, who was one of the leading spirits and the direct- ing force of the discussion. " A very able and elaborate report, made in 1765. on the subject of the proprietary's title to these fines and forfeitures, by William Murdock, a delegate from Prince George county," says John V. L. McMahon, "is a state paper which would reflect honor on any man or any assembly." Pie led in resistance to the stamp-act, and applying the principles with which he had made the people familiar in the discussion about the proprietary's right to the port duties, and to fines and forfeitures, he easily united them in solid resistance to that attempt to levy taxes and imposts without their consent. — His son. George, b. in 1742; d. in 1805, was a member of the committee of observation and correspondence for Frederick county in 1775, and during the Revo- lution occupied that post of danger and responsi- bility until the organization of the state govern- ment in March, 1777.

MURFREE, Hardy, soldier, b. in Hertford county, iST. C, 5 June, 1752 ; d. in Williamson county, Tenn., 6 July, 1809. His father, William Murfree, was a member from Hartford county of the North Carolina congress that convened at Halifax, 12 Nov., 1776, and framed a constitution so " well ordered " that without amendment it con- tinued to be the organic law of the state from 1776 till 1835. At the age of twenty-three Hardy was appointed captain of the 2d regiment of the Con- tinental line of North Carolina by the Provincial congress that met at Halifax, 21 Aug., 1775. Dur- ing the first part of the war his regiment served with the main body of the army under Washing- ton. At the capture of Stony Point, Murfree, who was then a major, commanded the North Carolina battalion of picked men that took position imme- diately in front of the fort and opened fire upon the enemy to attract attention from the storming columns. The sword that he wore on this occasion is now in possession of the Tennessee historical society. The next year Maj. Murfree and his com- mand were transferred to the south, and we hear little of him till the close of the war. His descend- ants have the sash that he used in helping bear from the battle-field Gen. Francis Nash, who was mortally wounded in the battle of Germantown. It still shows the stains of his blood. After the war Col. Murfree " was found busy with his plan- tation " on the banks of Meherrin river, near the town of Murfreesboro, N. C. In 1807 he emigrated to Tennessee, where he owned large tracts of land, and settled on Murfree's fork of West Harpeth, in Williamson county. The town of Murfreesboro in Tennessee was named in honor of him. His letters and memoranda show that he was well educated and possessed of great native intelligence. — His great-granddaughter, Mary Noailles, author, b. at Grantlands near Murfreesborough, Tenn., about 1850, became lame early in life from a stroke of paralysis, and thus, prevented from indulging in the ordinary amusements of youth, she turned to books and became a hard student. The civil war reduced the family fortune, and they removed from their residence in Nashville back to Grantland, and then to St. Louis, Mo. Under these circum- stances she began to write stories of life in the Ten- nessee mountains, where she had spent much time, which, under the pen-name of Charles Egbert Crad- dock, she sent to the " Atlantic Monthly," in which they appeared. These were followed' by longer stories, but it was several years before her identity was known. Her published works are "In the Tennessee Mountains," a volume of stories (Boston, 1884) ; " Where the Battle was Fought " (1884) ; " Down the Ravine" (1885); '-The Prophet of the Great Smoky Mountains " (1885) ; '• In the Clouds " (1886) ; " The Story of Keedon Bluffs " (1887) ; and " The Despot of Broomsedge Cove " (1888).

MURILLO-TORO, Manuel (moo-reel-yo-to'-ro), Colombian statesman, b. in Chaparral, Tolima, in 1815; d. in Bogota in December, 1880. He was graduated in law at the University of Bogota, and began early to enter politics. His articles in the daily press attracted attention by their energetic opposition to the Conservative government of Dr. Marquez in 1837-'40. After the revolution of the latter year he became editor of the &ldquo;Gaceta Mercantil de Santa Marta,&rdquo; which exercised a great influence, and prepared for the triumph of the Liberal party in the elections of 1849. He was elected to the chamber of representatives, and soon attained a reputation for eloquence, when he was called by Gen. Lopez to his cabinet as secretary of state, and afterward of the treasury. In the latter post he displayed much ability, establishing liberty of industry and the decentralization of the provincial revenues, and thus preparing the way for the future Federal institutions. At the same time he defended the administration in the press, and initiated the greater part of the progressive reforms that were established by it, such as the abolition of