John Gardner Murray

John Gardner Murray (August 31, 1857 – October 3, 1929) was the sixteenth presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church. He was the first person elected to the position rather than succeeding to it automatically as the oldest bishop when his predecessor died.

The Most Reverend John Gardner Murray
16th Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church
Church	Episcopal Church
Diocese	Maryland
Elected	October 1925
In office	1926-1929
Predecessor	Ethelbert Talbot
Successor	Charles P. Anderson
Other posts	Bishop of Maryland (1911-1929)
Orders
Ordination	April 16, 1894 by Richard Hooker Wilmer
Consecration	September 29, 1909 by William Paret
Personal details
Born	August 31, 1857 Lonaconing, Maryland, United States
Died	October 3, 1929 (aged 72) New York City, New York, United States
Buried	Druid Ridge Cemetery, Pikesville, Maryland
Nationality	American
Denomination	Anglican (prev. Methodist Episcopal Church)
Parents	James Murray & Ann Kirkwood
Spouse	Harriett May Sprague (m. 1881) Clara Alice Hunsicker (m. 1899)
Children	5
Previous post	Coadjutor Bishop of Maryland (1909-1911)

Early and family life

Murray was born in Lonaconing, Allegheny County, Maryland. His parents were both born in Scotland. The public schools of Lonaconing provided his early education. He attended the Wyoming Seminary in Pennsylvania and Drew Theological Seminary in New Jersey.[1]

Murray's education was interrupted by the death of his father. He worked in mining and manufacturing from 1879 to 1892 in Kansas, Colorado, New Mexico and Alabama. During these years, he kept active in serving his church. In 1881, he married Harriet M. Sprague. They married in Kansas and took up residence in Alabama. Their daughter Emeline was born there. In 1884, Mrs. Murray and Emeline drowned when the steamer Belmont capsized on the Ohio River during a cyclone. Five years later, Murray married Clara A. Hunsicker, of the same town in Kansas. Six children were born to this marriage.[1]

Ministry

From 1893 onward, Murray devoted his career to church ministry. By April 1894, he was ordained a priest of the Episcopal Church in Selma, Alabama. He ministered in Alabama until 1903 when he moved to Baltimore, Maryland.[1] In 1911, a convention of the Diocese of Maryland elected Rev. Murray to succeed Bishop William Paret.[2]

Bishop Murray became the first elected presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church.[3]

Death and legacy

He died in office in New York City in 1929, and is buried in Druid Ridge Cemetery in Pikesville, Baltimore County, Maryland.[4]

See also

• List of presiding bishops of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America
• List of Episcopal bishops of the United States
• Historical list of the Episcopal bishops of the United States
• Frederick, Maryland

References

1. Williams, T. j. c.; McKinsey, Folger (1979) [1910], History of Frederick County, Maryland, 1, Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing Company, p. 773, ISBN 9780806379739
2. "John Gardner Murray", Inventory of the Church Archives of Maryland: Protestant Episcopal: Diocese of Maryland, 1940. Retrieved on 22 November 2019.
3. "Murray, John Gardner", Episcopal Church. Retrieved on 22 November 2019.
4. Murray, John Gardner, D.D., 1, Baltimore, Maryland: Morehouse-Gorham Company, 1931 [1931], p. 75–76

External links

• Riepe, Anne. "In honor of Bishop John Gardner Murray". Rootsweb. Retrieved October 1, 2011.
• Sioussat, Annie Leakin (1930), John Gardner Murray : priest, prelate, primate, Soldier and servant series, Hartford, Conn.: Church missions Pub. Co.