Before doing an extensive post on ancestors David Cox and Sabrina "Glanton" Cox, I wish to explore her (Sabrina) ancestors as to what we know and what we THINK we know.
We know for a fact that her grandfather was Lodowick Murrah which is the subject of this post. Her mother was Margaret Murrah who married Benjamin Glanton
Murrah is not a very common name and is found the most in the deep South with the exception of one branch of the Murrah family that went Midwest and there it is found a great deal in Illinois. No doubt many Murrys are descended from Murrahs. The Murrah surname is very likely Scottish since the "Murrah" is found in southern Scotland and far northern England. There is in the County Cumberland a Murrah township in the parish of Greystoke, Leath ward, former county of Cumberland (now Cumbria) In the Murrah township there is a Murrah Hall. Further the name is found in the name is found in the Orkney Islands, which lie off the north coast of Scotland. There is some thought the name could be Irish "McMurrough" but it's viewed as highly unlikely. Especially considering the lack of Irish immigration to the South we are seeing at this time compared to the great Scottish immigration we see in this time period.
Almost all the Murrahs entered through Virgina. From Virgina the Murrahs split into two migration patterns One part went West across the Appalachians into Kentucky and eventually into Illinois. The other larger part went South into the the Carolinas and Georgia. This branch later migrated through Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and into Texas.
If you meet a Murrah in the Deep South ,or if they hail from there, it is a good chance they are direct descendants of our Great Grandfather Lodowick Murrah. His descendants include Pendleton Murrah who was the last governor of Texas during the Confederacy. Also there is Federal Judge Alfred Paul Murrah . His name sadly will be linked forever to the unfortunate terrrorst attack on the Oklahoma City Alfred P Murrah federal building that took so many lives. Another famous Lobowick Murrah descendant is the famed Methodist Bishop William Belton Murrah for whom Murrah High School in Jackson, MS is named.
Many family researchers say that the ANN that Lobowick was married too was Mira Ann
Jeter. That very well could be true. Yet I have not seen any proof of documentation of that claim as of yet. Therefore this researcher is not yet ready to make that call.
We do have a very good idea of where Lodowick lived in Virginia. In case you were wondering where "the Neck" is, it's just off the Rappahannock River several miles north west of Port Royal. .
We thankfully know a good bit about Lodowick children because of what appears to be a rather nasty piece of litigation.
From Caroline County Court Records and Marriages, 1787-1810 by William Lindasy Hopkins, Richmond, VA, 1987, p56, Chancery Suits we see the following:
Chancery Suit:
Littleton Jeter, Horatio Jeter, Fielding Jeter, Elisha Jeter, Martha Glanton,
decd. who was Martha Jeter, Zachariah Lewis and Milly Lewis his wife who was
Milly Jeter, James Cash and Susannah Cash his wife who was Susanna Jeter and
Elizabeth Jeter children and heirs of John Jeter and Elizabeth Jeter his wife
who was Elizabeth Murrah against James Murrah, Charles Murrah, George Murrah,
Thomas Murrah, Margaret Glanton, Nancy Glanton and Molly Pickett. The suit
concerns the sale of a tract of land of 104 acres left in the will of
Lodowick Murrah. Land is sold 7 Feb 1800. [Dec. 1799]
The above named Jeter children state that their grandfather, Lodowick Murrah,
left a will in which he gave to his wife Ann Murrah all of his estate during
her lifetime. Lodowick Murrah left the following children viz James Murrah
who now resides in South Caroline, John Murrah who died without issue,
Charles Murrah who now resides in North Caroline, George Murrah who now
resides in South Carolina, Thomas Murrah who resides in South Carolina,
Elizabeth Murrah who married John Jeter, Margaret Murrah who married Benjamin
Glanton, Nancy Murrah who married John Glanton, Susannah Murrah who married
Jonathan Glanton and Molly Murrah who married John Pickett.
[Aug 1799]
It appears that Lodowick died in 1772 and this litigation was filed after his wife died.
Caroline County (which was part of Essex) is a "Burnt" County. Sadly many Courthouse records are gone after the Courthouse was destroyed during the Civil War. Hopefully I will have more to add later on Murrah.
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