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George
M. Murray |
George M. Murray was born on the Fourth of July 1879 at
Morgan’s Station, PA, the
son of Elijah and Hannah (Minerd) Murray.
Tragically, in May 1885, at age six, George was orphaned when his parents died eight days apart. The identity of whomever raised him is lost to history.
On July 2, 1908, at Greensburg, Westmoreland County, PA, George married Ida Kooser ( ? -1970), the daughter of Samuel S. and Hester Ann (Basinger) Kooser.
They had two children – Anna Warrick and Hazel Pearl Johnson.
Early in their marriage, the Murrays resided at Fairchance,
Fayette County and
were there at the birth of their
daughter Hazel. Later, they moved on a permanent basis to the Normalville area
of Fayette County.
George was a farmer, and for 19 years was the sexton at the Normalville Cemetery, where his parents and grandparents were buried. Seen at right is the cemetery, beside the Normalville Methodist Church.
Superstitious, George often removed warts from his hands by cutting up a potato and rubbing pieces on the affected skin. He would speak some magic words, and then bury the potato. “The wart would go away,” said a niece. He and Ida are also known to have enjoyed smoking pipes.
In 1965,
the Murrays suffered the death of their married daughter Hazel.
Hazel's husband Freeman F. Johnson was a longtime carpenter in
the Normalville area.
Ida passed away on Sept. 5, 1970.
George died at home three years later, on Oct. 15, 1973. They are buried
side by side at the Normalville Cemetery.
Daughter Anna married John Warrick. They resided in Normalville. Anna passed away on St. Patrick's Day 1990. She is seen at right.
John outlived Anna by 15 years, and died on March 21, 2005.
The Warricks' foster daughter, Carol Smith, a resident of Butte, MT, has written a loving memoir published on our website, entitled Papa's Gone Home. She also has authored a book, Carol's Precious Moments, printed in 2006 by Publish America. The book is about her memories of her foster parents, and should be available at Wal-Mart, Amazon.com and Walden Books.
Carol Smith's book of "precious moments"
Copyright © 2001, 2005-2006 Mark A. Miner