William McMurtry, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death
TweetWilliam McMurtry
American politician
Date of Birth: 20-Feb-1801
Place of Birth: Mercer County, Kentucky, United States
Date of Death: 10-Apr-1875
Profession: politician
Nationality: United States
Zodiac Sign: Pisces 
About William McMurtry
- William McMurtry (February 20, 1801 – April 10, 1875) was the 11th Lieutenant Governor of Illinois and a colonel in the Union Army during the American Civil War. McMurtry was born in Mercer County, Kentucky.
- William's parents were James and Elizabeth (Lucas) McMurtry.
- His great-grandfather, John McMurtry fought in the American Revolution; dying in the Battle of Cowpens.
- He and his family settled in Crawford County, Indiana in 1818.
- It was here that William married Ruth Champion (1795–1864, also of Mercer County, Kentucky), on November 23, 1826.
- In 1829, William and his young family moved to Knox County, Illinois along with his father and brother James and his wife.
- It was here that William McMurtry's home remained until his death. McMurtry was appointed in Knox County's first ever election in 1830 as foreman of the grand-jury of the Circuit Court.
- In 1832 he was elected as the county's first school commissioner.
- From 1836 to 1840, William was a member of the Illinois House of Representatives.
- In 1842 he was elected to the Illinois State Senate, where he stayed until being added to the Democratic ticket of Governor Augustus French after the previous Lt.
- Governor Joseph Wells decided not to run again.
- During his time in office, 1849–53, a new state constitution was adopted as well as the Galena and Chicago Union Railroad was completed.
- After his term as Lieutenant Governor, William ran for office in the US Congress in 1854 in Illinois' 4th Congressional District losing to Opposition/Republican Party candidate James Knox.
- This effectively was the end of McMurtry's political career, with respect to seeking elected office.
- McMurtry was known as a close personal friend of fellow Illinois Democrat Stephen A.
- Douglas and remained a prominent voice in the state's Democratic party in the years before the Civil War. During the Black Hawk War, McMurtry organized a group of between 70 and 90 men from Knox and Warren counties — which consisted of nearly all the able-bodied men from the area — to form a company of mounted rangers with him serving as captain and his brother James serving as sergeant.
- At the outset of the Civil War, he organized and led as colonel the 102nd Illinois Infantry, which was made up of men from Knox County.
- William McMurtry though only served a couple of months before receiving an honorable discharge due to poor health attributed to his advanced age. At home, McMurtry was known as a bright man, despite only modest formal education, who was an avid reader and good neighbor.
- William was a Freemason and treasurer of the local Grand Lodge.
- He and his wife Ruth had five children.
- William McMurtry died in Henderson, Illinois; a town founded near his farm home after he and his family had settled there.
Read more at Wikipedia