Page:The Biographical Dictionary of America, vol. 08.djvu/35

 MUXSON

MURDOCH

1897, and changed the name to The Junior 2Iun- sey in April, 1900, merging with it the Puritan, in April, 1901. He purchased the Washingtoii Times and the New York Daily Xeics in 1901 as the foundation of a proposed chain of daily news- papers to cover the large cities of the United States. He is the author of : Afloat in the Great City (1887) ; The Boy Broker (1888) ; A Tragedy of Ei-rors (1889) ; Under Fire (1890), and Derring- forth (1894).

MUNSON, Thomas Volney, viticulturist, was born near Astoria, 111., Sept. 26, 1843; son of William and Maria (Linley) Munson, and grandson of Theodore and Lydia (Philbrook) Munson and of Joseph and Savella (Benjamin) Linley. Theo- dore Munson was the son of Richard Man- son, the son of John Manson, Jr., the son of John Manson, Sr., the son of Capt. Richard Manson, who was a Scotch sea captain, of a titled Scotch family, and who settled in Ports- mouth, N. H. about 1661. The name became changed in spelling in the fam- ily of Richard Man- son, his great-grand- father. Thomas "Volney Munson was brought up on a farm, attended Futton seminary and Bryant & Stratton's business college, taught school in Illinois three years, was graduated from Kentucky university, B. S., 1870, and filled the chair of science there, 1870-71. He was married in 1870 to Ellen Scott, daughter of C. S. Bell, florist, Lexington, Ky. He resided in Lincoln, Neb., 1873-76, and then settled in Denison, Texas, as a nurseryman and originator of im- proved fruits, especially grapes. He received the degree of M. Sc. from the State Agricultural and Mechanical college, Ky. in 1883 for a thesis on " Forests and Trees of Texas," and in 1888 he re ceived a diploma and decorations of the Legion of Honor, with the title " Chevalier du Merite Agricole," for aid to France in viticulture. He became known for his careful botanical classifi- cation and hybridization of grapes of which he produced many hundreds of much merit. He was elected a member of the leading American agricultural, horticultural and pomological socie- ties ; of the American Academy of Social and Political Science, of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and of the National Agricultural association of France. He is the author of : Grape Culture in the South and Hor-

ticulture in Texas in " Cyclopgedia of American Horticulture"; "Bulletin 56" on Investigation and Improvement of American Grapes, Texas ex- perimental station (1900) ; a monograph ^?/ie?n"cart Grapes, with natural size color plates of all native species for the department of agriculture (1889) and numerous articles on horticultural subjects for leading agricultural journals in the United States and France.

MURDOCH, James Edward, actor, was born in Philadelphia, Pa., Jan. 25, 1811 ; son of Thomas and Elizabeth Murdoch. Thomas Murdoch was a bookbinder by trade and a volunteer officer of artillery during the war of 1812-15. James Ed- ward learned the bookbinder's trade and early joined an association of amateur actors, and appeared as Glenalvon in " Douglas." He studied elocution under Lemuel G. White and the science of the human voice under Dr. James Rush, and on Oct. 13, 1829, made his professional debut at the Arch Street theatre, Philadelphia, as Frede- rick in "Lovers' Vows." During the winter of 1830-31, he acted in Charleston, S. C, and in other southern cities where he played for a time Pythias to Edwin Forrest's Damon. He was con- nected with the Arch Street theatre in 1832, and from that year until 1840 appeared in various cities in the United States, making his debut in New York city at the Park theatre as Benedick in " Much Ado About Nothing " in 1838. He was stage manager of the Chestnut Street theatre, Philadelphia, 1840-41, and during this season staged the first production of " London Assur- ance " at the National theatre, Boston, Mass. He withdrew from the stage in 1842 and lectured on Shakespeare in Boston, New York and Phila- delphia, taught elocution and pursued a course of study under Prof. William Russell of Boston, 1842—15. He appeared as Hamlet at the Park theatre, New York, 1845, and made a tour of the United States. In 1853 he appeared at the American theatre, San Francisco, with his brother, Dr. Samuel K. Murdoch (1816-1891) who had made his debut in San Francisco in 1852, and supported Madame Anna Bishop in German opera. He played with his brother in Baltimore in 1855, and in 1856 played in London and Liver- pool and afterward traveled in Germany, Switz- erland and Italy, His best parts were Romeo, Charles Surface, Don Felix, Rover, Alfred, Evelyn and Vapid. He left the stage a second time in 1861 and engaged in giving patriotic readings in all the northern cities for the benefit of the U. S. sanitary commission, and for the en- tertainment of the soldiers in the soldiers' hos- pitals, in the camps and on the battle fields. He also nursed the sick soldiers and became a volun- teer aide on the staff of Gen. "William S. Rosecrans. He retired to his farm near Lebanon, Ohio, in