The Murray Family

Six of the Murray siblings with their mother, Kate Daly Murray

My grandmother left me this wonderful photo of the Murray family.  She and I looked at it together many times before she died, but she was never sure who all of the people in the photo were. The Murrays were my grandfather's family, and my grandmother never knew most of them.

She was certain about two of the people pictured, and I have other photos of them that confirm their identities. Catherine "Kate" Daly Murray is at far right, in the black dress.  The woman above her is her daughter, Julia Murray.  This photo must have been taken prior to 1904, when Julia died at age 23. The rest of the people in the photo are assumed to also be Kate Murray's children.

The woman in front, in the white dress, is Gertrude Murray, according to a note I found on the back of a small reprint of the photo. Her eyes and smile look similar to another photo that I have of Gertrude at an older age, so I think this is accurate.  That would make the woman in the back row Frances Murray.  There were four Murray sisters, and my great-grandmother Genevieve is not pictured, so this makes identification of the women a little easier.

There were four Murray brothers, and there are three men in this photo.  I don't know for certain which man is which, unfortunately.  The brothers were John Aloysius, William, Frederick and Frank. A note found on a photo reprint claims that the man at front left may be John Aloysius, but doesn't mention the others.

Although I wish I knew exactly who was who, it's still great to have this photo of some of the Murray siblings and their mother.  They were always described to me as a happy, lively family with a lot of Irish wit and spirit.  That certainly comes through in this picture.