Thomas Murray (1792–15 April 1872) was a Scottish printer and writer. His most noted work is ''The Literary History of Galloway''.

Life

Born into a working-class family in the parish of Girthon,

Kirkcudbrightshire Kirkcudbrightshire ( ) or the County of Kirkcudbright or the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright is one of the Counties of Scotland, historic counties of Scotland, covering an area in the south-west of the country. Until 1975, Kirkcudbrightshire was an ...

, Murray was educated at the parish school, and at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

, which he entered in 1810.

Thomas Carlyle Thomas Carlyle (4 December 17955 February 1881) was a Scottish essayist, historian, and philosopher. Known as the "Sage writing, sage of Chelsea, London, Chelsea", his writings strongly influenced the intellectual and artistic culture of the V ...

, Alexander Murray and he were early friends, and walked together from

Galloway Galloway ( ; ; ) is a region in southwestern Scotland comprising the counties of Scotland, historic counties of Wigtownshire and Kirkcudbrightshire. It is administered as part of the council areas of Scotland, council area of Dumfries and Gallow ...

to Edinburgh each session during their university career. A regular correspondence passed between Carlyle and Murray for some years afterwards. Murray was destined for the ministry of the

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland (CoS; ; ) is a Presbyterian denomination of Christianity that holds the status of the national church in Scotland. It is one of the country's largest, having 245,000 members in 2024 and 259,200 members in 2023. While mem ...

, however after obtaining his licence and preaching for some time, he took to writing. He became connected with Sir David Brewster and the staff of writers on '' Brewster's Cyclopædia'', and from contact with

Leonard Horner Leonard Horner FRSE FRS FGS (17 January 1785 – 5 March 1864) was a Scottish merchant, geologist and educational reformer. He was the younger brother of Francis Horner. Horner was a founder of the School of Arts of Edinburgh, now Heriot- ...

and

John Ramsay McCulloch John Ramsay McCulloch (1 March 1789 – 11 November 1864) was a Scottish economist, author and editor, widely regarded as the leader of the Ricardian school of economists after the death of David Ricardo in 1823. He was appointed the first pr ...

became interested in

political economy Political or comparative economy is a branch of political science and economics studying economic systems (e.g. Marketplace, markets and national economies) and their governance by political systems (e.g. law, institutions, and government). Wi ...

. In 1843 he was one of the founders, and for many years afterwards (1843–72) secretary, of the Edinburgh Galloway Association; in 1846 he was one of the founders and original members of the Edinburgh Philosophical Institution (of which Thomas Carlyle was president till his death), and acted for about 30 years as secretary of the Edinburgh School of Arts (1844–72). For six years (1854–60) he was a member of the Edinburgh town council, where he acted with the Whig or moderate Liberal party. In the 1830s he is listed as living at 3 Albany Street in Edinburgh's New Town. In 1841 Murray established in Edinburgh the printing business of Murray & Gibb, successful, and later becoming Morrison & Gibb. He died on 15 April 1872 at Elm Bank, near

Lasswade Lasswade is a village and civil parish in Midlothian, Scotland, on the River North Esk, south of Edinburgh city centre, contiguous with Bonnyrigg and between Dalkeith to the east and Loanhead to the west. Melville Castle lies to the north ...

. He is buried with his wife Janet Murray (1799-1889) and their five children against the south-east boundary wall of

Restalrig Restalrig ( ) is a small residential suburb of Edinburgh, Scotland (historically, an estate and independent parish). It is located east of the city centre, west of Craigentinny and to the east of Lochend, Edinburgh, Lochend, both of which it ...

Church in eastern

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

Works

Murray's works, with pamphlets, were: * ''The Literary History of Galloway: from the Earliest Period to the Present Time'', Edinburgh, 1822. * ''The Life of Samuel Rutherford'', Edinburgh, 1828. * ''The Life of Robert Leighton, D.D., archbishop of Glasgow'', Edinburgh, 1828. * ''The Life of John Wycliffe'', Edinburgh, 1829. * ''Biographical Annals of the Parish of Colinton'', Edinburgh, 1863. He also edited

Samuel Rutherford Samuel Rutherford (also Rutherfurd or Rutherfoord; – 29 March 1661) was a Scottish Presbyterian pastor and theology, theologian and one of the Scottish Commissioners to the Westminster Assembly. Life Samuel Rutherford was born in t ...

's ''Last Speeches of John, Viscount Kenmure'', Edinburgh, 1827; and ''Letters of David Hume'', Edinburgh, 1841.

Family

Murray left a widow Janet Murray (1799-1889), daughter of Alexander Murray of Wigton, and two daughters, one of whom married

William Wilson Hunter Sir William Wilson Hunter (15 July 18406 February 1900) was a Scottish historian, statistician, a compiler and a member of the Indian Civil Service. He is most known for ''The Imperial Gazetteer of India'' on which he started working in 1869, ...

Notes

Citations

Sources

* * * Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Murray, Thomas 1792 births 1872 deaths Scottish biographers Scottish book editors Scottish printers Alumni of the University of Edinburgh 19th-century Scottish businesspeople