James Murray (loyalist)

James Murray (August 9, 1713 – November 8, 1781) was a British loyalist who lived in North Carolina and Boston prior to the American Revolution, eventually escaping from Boston to settle in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

He was one of the few loyalists who lived in both the South and the North prior to the Revolution, making the letters he wrote particularly valuable.

Prior to moving, however, Murray sent his oldest daughter Dorothy (who was also painted by Copley)[5] to Boston to live with his sister Elizabeth.

[6] He turned the operation of the plantation over to his nephew, Thomas Clark, who became a Brigadier general in the Continental Army.

In 1778, Murray, who remained loyal to the British Crown, evacuated Boston and moved north to Halifax, Nova Scotia.