Charles James Murray

Charles James Murray
Murray in 1880
Member of Parliament for Coventry
In office
1895–1906
Preceded byWilliam Ballantine
Succeeded byA. E. W. Mason
Member of Parliament for Hastings
In office
1880–1883
Serving with Thomas Brassey
Preceded byUghtred Kay-Shuttleworth
Thomas Brassey
Succeeded byThomas Brassey
Henry Bret Ince
Personal details
Born(1851-11-29)29 November 1851
Died25 September 1929(1929-09-25) (aged 77)
PartyConservative
Spouse
Lady Anne Francesca Wilhelmina Finch
​
​
(m. 1875)​
RelationsGeorge Murray, 5th Earl of Dunmore (grandfather)
James Wadsworth (grandfather)
Children3
Parent(s)Sir Charles Augustus Murray
Elise Wadsworth
Awards
Order of Agricultural Merit

Charles James Murray (29 November 1851 – 25 September 1929) was a British Conservative Party politician and diplomat.[1]

Early life

1834 portrait of his mother, Elise, by Thomas Sully.

He was the son of The Hon. Sir Charles Augustus Murray (son of George Murray, 5th Earl of Dunmore, and maternal grandson of Archibald Hamilton, 9th Duke of Hamilton) and his American born wife Elizabeth "Elise" Wadsworth, daughter of prominent landowner and businessman James Wadsworth.[2][3] His parents met while his father was spending several years travelling across Europe and America between 1835 and 1838. His father returned to England in 1838 where his father obtained the position of Master of the Household in the Court of the young Queen Victoria. After being removed from the positions in the Household reforms initiated by Albert, Prince Consort, his father became a diplomat in Naples followed by consul-general in Egypt in 1846. His parents married in December 1850 during one of his father's visits to Scotland. While in Cairo, his mother died after giving birth to him. His father later served as Minister to the Swiss Confederation, and Envoy to the Shah of Persia and the King of Saxony. In 1862, his father remarried his first cousin once removed, Hon. Edith Susan Esther Fitzpatrick, daughter of John Fitzpatrick, 1st Baron Castletown).[4] From this marriage, Charles had a much younger half-brother, Cecil Henry Alexander Murray.[2]

Career

Murray was elected as a Member of Parliament (MP) for Hastings in 1880, a position he resigned in 1883.[5] He was elected Member of Parliament for Coventry in 1895 until he retired at the 1906 general election.[2]

He later served as Third Secretary of the Diplomatic Service and was an officer in the Ross and Cromarty Mountain Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery. Between 1917 and 1918, he fought in the World War I and was awarded the Officier de Mérite Agricole.[2]

Personal life

On 9 August 1875, Murray was married to Lady Anne Francesca Wilhelmina Finch, a daughter of Heneage Finch, 6th Earl of Aylesford and Jane, only daughter and heiress of John Wightwick Knightley of Offchurch Bury. Her brothers, Heneage and Charles, both succeeded their father as the 7th and 8th Earl of Aylesford. Together, they lived at Lochcarron, Ross-shire in Scotland and were the parents of two sons, Alastair and Charles, and a daughter, Sybil. Sybil's daughter, Mary Willoughby, married Lt.-Gen. Sir Edward Dacre Howard-Vyse in 1940.[2]

Murray died on 25 September 1929.[2] His widow, Lady Anne, died on 10 January 1933.[2]

References

  1. ↑ Matthew, H. C. G. "Murray, Sir Charles Augustus". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/19596. (Subscription, Wikipedia Library access or UK public library membership required.)
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Mosley, Charles, editor. Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes. Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003. pp. 1233.
  3. ↑ "Sir Charles Augustus Murray, 1806 - 1895". www.nationalgalleries.org. National Galleries of Scotland. Retrieved 16 March 2021.
  4. ↑ "Dunmore, Earl of (S, 1686)". www.cracroftspeerage.co.uk. Heraldic Media Limited. Retrieved 16 March 2021.
  5. ↑ Craig, F. W. S. (1989) [1977]. British parliamentary election results 1832–1885 (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. ISBN 0-900178-26-4.