Sir Joseph Murray, 3rd Baronet and 1st Count Murray (6 August 1718 – 5 June 1802) was a soldier of Scottish descent. He was born at

Tournai Tournai ( , ; ; ; , sometimes Anglicisation (linguistics), anglicised in older sources as "Tournay") is a city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia located in the Hainaut Province, Province of Hainaut, Belgium. It lies by ...

, the son of Robert Murray, a general in the

Dutch States Army The Dutch States Army () was the army of the Dutch Republic. It was usually called this, because it was formally the army of the States-General of the Netherlands, the sovereign power of that federal republic. This army was brought to such a size ...

. He served as colonel of the Los Rios Regiment in the Austrian service, and as an Imperial chamberlain. For his courage at the Battle of Breslau in 1757 and the

Battle of Hochkirch The Battle of Hochkirch took place on 14 October 1758, during the Third Silesian War (part of the Seven Years' War). After several weeks of maneuvering for position, an Austrian army of 80,000 commanded by Lieutenant Field Marshal Leopold Jos ...

in 1758 he was made a Knight of the

Order of Maria Theresa The Military Order of Maria Theresa (; ; ; ; ; ) was the highest military honour of the Habsburg monarchy, Austrian Empire and Austro-Hungarian Empire. History Founded on 18 June 1757, the day of the Battle of Kolín, by the Empress Maria ...

on 23 January 1760. On 16 September 1760 he was created a Baron of the Netherlands (''Baron aux Pays Bas'') and on 25 November 1761 the Emperor Francis I created him a

Count of the Holy Roman Empire Imperial Count (, ) was a title in the Holy Roman Empire. During the medieval era, it was used exclusively to designate the holder of an imperial county, that is, a fief held directly ( immediately) from the emperor, rather than from a prince wh ...

as ''Graf von Murray'', with remainder to the heirs male of his body. In March 1736 Joseph Murray had succeeded his cousin Sir Alexander Murray, 2nd Baronet in the

baronetcy A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

of Melgund in

Forfarshire Angus (; ) is one of the 32 local government council areas of Scotland, and a lieutenancy area. The council area borders Aberdeenshire, Dundee City and Perth and Kinross. Main industries include agriculture and fishing. Global pharmaceuticals ...

, though not in

the estates The Estates, also known as the States (, , , Hungarian: Rendek), was the assembly of the representatives of the estates of the realm, the divisions of society in feudal times, called together for purposes of deliberation, legislation or taxatio ...

. However, he did not assume the title until 28 March 1771, when he was served as heir-male. Count Murray was commander-in-chief of the Austrian army in the

Austrian Netherlands The Austrian Netherlands was the territory of the Burgundian Circle of the Holy Roman Empire between 1714 and 1797. The period began with the acquisition by the Austrian Habsburg monarchy of the former Spanish Netherlands under the Treaty of Ras ...

from 1781 to 1787, being created Count Murray de Melgum in the Austrian Netherlands on 19 March 1783. He also acted as plenipotentiary of the Austrian Netherlands ''ad interim'' from 19 July to 27 October 1787. He died at Vienna. Count Murray left five daughters, one of whom, Christina Teresa, married

James Ogilvy, 7th Earl of Findlater James Ogilvy, 7th Earl of Findlater and 4th Earl of Seafield (10 April 17505 October 1811) was a Scottish peer and an accomplished amateur landscape architect and philanthropist. He promoted the British landscape garden in mainland Europe, ...

, and a son, Joseph Albert Murray (26 August 1774 – 6 February 1848), who succeeded as 4th Baronet and 2nd Count. He was a major-general in the Imperial Army, and died without male issue, when all his Imperial and Belgian honours became extinct and the baronetcy became dormant.

References

George Edward Cokayne George Edward Cokayne (29 April 1825 – 6 August 1911) was an English genealogist and long-serving herald at the College of Arms in London, who eventually rose to the rank of Clarenceux King of Arms. He wrote such authoritative and standard ...

, ''The Complete Baronetage'', volume IV (1904
page 421
* Marquis of Ruvigny, ''The Nobilities of Europe'' (1910
page 352
{{DEFAULTSORT:Murray, Joseph 1718 births 1802 deaths Nobility from Angus, Scotland Scottish mercenaries Austrian generals Austrian military personnel of the Seven Years' War Knights Cross of the Military Order of Maria Theresa Baronets in the Baronetage of Nova Scotia