(New York, 1851) ; and a translation from the Latin of Mosheim's " Commentaries on the Affairs of the Christians before tlie Time of Constantine the Great " (2 vols., 1852).
MURDOCK, John Nelson, clergyman, b. in
Oswego, N. Y., 18 Dec, 1820 ; d. in Clifton Springs,
N. Y., 16 Feb., 1897. He studied law and was
admitted to the bar, but abandoned the law and
entered the ministry in the Methodist Episcopal
church. In 1842 he was ordained as a Baptist
minister in Watertown, N. Y. After holding pas-
torates in Waterville and Albion, he became in
1848 pastor of the South Baptist church in Hait-
ford, Conn. In 1857 he took charge of the Bow-
doin square church, Boston, continuing in this
relation until 1863, when he was made one of the
secretaries of the American Baptist mission union.
This office he continued to hold. From 1853 till
1856 he was joint editor with Rev. Dr. Robert
Turnbull of the " Christian Review." The honor-
ary degree of D. D. was conferred upon him by
Rochester universitv in 1854.
MURDOCK, William, patriot, b. in Scotland
about 1720 ; d. in ^Maryland about 1775. His fa-
ther. Rev. George Murdock, was appointed rec-
tor of Prince George county, Md., by Lord Balti-
more, in 1726. The son represented that county in
the lower house of the general assembly from about
1745 until 1770. This house was the fortress of
popular rights and of civil liberty during the whole
existence of the colony. Its resolutions and mes-
sages, beginning in 1733. and in an uninterrupted
chain until 1775, continually declared " that it is
the peculiar right of his majesty's subjects not to
be liable to any tax or other imposition but what
is laid on them by laws to which they themselves
are a party." These principles were asserted in
what were called the standing resolves of the lower
house on 31 May, 1750, and were reiterated and re-
corded upon the journals of every assembly until
1771. This public discussion of first principles was of
the greatest importance in preparing the people for
the Revolution. The resolutions, addresses, and
messages of the lower house during this period
discuss with remarkable fulness and accuracy, con-
sidering the period at which they were produced,
the fundamental principles of free govei'nment, and
most of them emanated from William Murdock,
who was one of the leading spirits and the direct-
ing force of the discussion. " A very able and
elaborate report, made in 1765. on the subject of
the proprietary's title to these fines and forfeitures,
by William Murdock, a delegate from Prince
George county," says John V. L. McMahon, "is a
state paper which would reflect honor on any man
or any assembly." Pie led in resistance to the
stamp-act, and applying the principles with which
he had made the people familiar in the discussion
about the proprietary's right to the port duties,
and to fines and forfeitures, he easily united them
in solid resistance to that attempt to levy taxes
and imposts without their consent. — His son.
George, b. in 1742; d. in 1805, was a member of
the committee of observation and correspondence
for Frederick county in 1775, and during the Revo-
lution occupied that post of danger and responsi-
bility until the organization of the state govern-
ment in March, 1777.
MURFREE, Hardy, soldier, b. in Hertford
county, iST. C, 5 June, 1752 ; d. in Williamson
county, Tenn., 6 July, 1809. His father, William
Murfree, was a member from Hartford county of
the North Carolina congress that convened at
Halifax, 12 Nov., 1776, and framed a constitution
so " well ordered " that without amendment it con-
tinued to be the organic law of the state from 1776
till 1835. At the age of twenty-three Hardy was
appointed captain of the 2d regiment of the Con-
tinental line of North Carolina by the Provincial
congress that met at Halifax, 21 Aug., 1775. Dur-
ing the first part of the war his regiment served
with the main body of the army under Washing-
ton. At the capture of Stony Point, Murfree, who
was then a major, commanded the North Carolina
battalion of picked men that took position imme-
diately in front of the fort and opened fire upon
the enemy to attract attention from the storming
columns. The sword that he wore on this occasion
is now in possession of the Tennessee historical
society. The next year Maj. Murfree and his com-
mand were transferred to the south, and we hear
little of him till the close of the war. His descend-
ants have the sash that he used in helping bear
from the battle-field Gen. Francis Nash, who was
mortally wounded in the battle of Germantown.
It still shows the stains of his blood. After the
war Col. Murfree " was found busy with his plan-
tation " on the banks of Meherrin river, near the
town of Murfreesboro, N. C. In 1807 he emigrated
to Tennessee, where he owned large tracts of land,
and settled on Murfree's fork of West Harpeth, in
Williamson county. The town of Murfreesboro in
Tennessee was named in honor of him. His letters
and memoranda show that he was well educated
and possessed of great native intelligence. — His
great-granddaughter, Mary Noailles, author, b.
at Grantlands near Murfreesborough, Tenn., about
1850, became lame early in life from a stroke of
paralysis, and thus, prevented from indulging in
the ordinary amusements of youth, she turned to
books and became a hard student. The civil war
reduced the family fortune, and they removed from
their residence in Nashville back to Grantland,
and then to St. Louis, Mo. Under these circum-
stances she began to write stories of life in the Ten-
nessee mountains, where she had spent much time,
which, under the pen-name of Charles Egbert Crad-
dock, she sent to the " Atlantic Monthly," in which
they appeared. These were followed' by longer
stories, but it was several years before her identity
was known. Her published works are "In the
Tennessee Mountains," a volume of stories (Boston,
1884) ; " Where the Battle was Fought " (1884) ;
" Down the Ravine" (1885); '-The Prophet of the
Great Smoky Mountains " (1885) ; '• In the Clouds "
(1886) ; " The Story of Keedon Bluffs " (1887) ; and
" The Despot of Broomsedge Cove " (1888).
MURILLO-TORO, Manuel (moo-reel-yo-to'-ro),
Colombian statesman, b. in Chaparral, Tolima, in
1815; d. in Bogota in December, 1880. He was
graduated in law at the University of Bogota, and
began early to enter politics. His articles in the
daily press attracted attention by their energetic
opposition to the Conservative government of Dr.
Marquez in 1837-'40. After the revolution of the
latter year he became editor of the “Gaceta
Mercantil de Santa Marta,” which exercised a great
influence, and prepared for the triumph of the
Liberal party in the elections of 1849. He was elected
to the chamber of representatives, and soon
attained a reputation for eloquence, when he was
called by Gen. Lopez to his cabinet as secretary of
state, and afterward of the treasury. In the latter
post he displayed much ability, establishing liberty
of industry and the decentralization of the provincial
revenues, and thus preparing the way for the
future Federal institutions. At the same time he
defended the administration in the press, and initiated
the greater part of the progressive reforms
that were established by it, such as the abolition of
