James Edward Murdoch

His career prospects began to take a turn for the better in 1845 when he played the role of Hamlet at Park Theater, New York.

[2] For the next fifteen years he played a variety of roles and became a leading light on the American stage.

A visit to England in 1856 led to an engagement at the Haymarket Theatre that lasted for over one hundred consecutive nights.

His son's enlistment, though, led him to halt his acting career in order to give public performances that supported the Union's efforts.

He was so successful as a public platform reader that President Lincoln personally requested his performance of an anonymous poem criticizing dishonorable peace in 1864.

During the last two years of his life James Murdoch suffered from various ailments and was cared for by his two daughters, Fanny and Ida.