McMURRAY, O. W.

MCMURRAY, SAMPSON, NILES, JASPERSON, CARTY, COFFIN, CURTIS, STORMS

Posted By: Jean Kramer (email)
Date: 1/11/2004 at 15:44:22

Biography reproduced from page 583 of Volume II of the History of Kossuth County written by Benjamin F. Reed and published in 1913:

O. W. McMurray is a contractor and builder of Algona who has devoted much of his life to the line of business in which he is now engaged, his skill and efficiency increasing as the years have gone by, so that the results of his labors are entirely satisfactory to those who employ him. He was born in Wayne county, Pennsylvania, February 23, 1851, a son of Hutchison and Lurana (Sampson) McMurray. The father came to the United States from Scotland when eighteen years of age and settled in Pennsylvania, where the remainder of his life was passed. He died in 1910 when about eighty-two years of age, while his wife passed away in 1909 at the age of seventy-two years.

In the schools of Pennsylvania, O. W. McMurray pursued his education to the age of sixteen years and then began learning the carpenter’s trade in his native county, where he continued until 1876. In the meantime he was married in the fall of 1873 to Miss Della L. Niles, a daughter of Calvin Niles, of Wayne county, Pennsylvania, who prior to establishing his time in the Keystone state was a resident of Coventry, New York. He was a lifelong farmer and passed away in 1866, when about fifty-five years of age. His widow long survived him; her death occurring in 1896 at the age of eighty-six. One child was born to Mr. and Mrs. McMurray ere their removal to Kossuth county in 1876. Here Mr. McMurray began the contracting and building business on his own account and continued with it without interruption until 1893, during which period he erected some of the finest residences and leading business blocks of the city, including the Call Opera House, the Central high school, the residence of Ambrose A. Call, and others. In 1893 he purchased the Thornington Hotel at Algona and conducted it successfully for seven years, or until 1900, when he sold the property to Mr. Rausch. He then resumed the contracting business, in which he is still engaged, and at one time, from 1908 until 1911, owned and conducted the Algona flour mill. As a contractor and builder he stands as a foremost representative of industrial activity in Kossuth county. He is thoroughly familiar with the scientific principles underlying his work, as well as with all the practical phases of the business, and as the years have gone by he has won a substantial measure of success, resulting from the large amount of patronage accorded him as a leading contractor of the city.

Unto Mr. and Mrs. McMurray have been born seven children, four sons and three daughters. Frankie, born in 1875, is the wife of A. M. Jasperson, who is engaged in the grain business in Algona, and they have a family of four sons and four daughters. Calvin, born in 1876, died when about eight months old. Nettie J., born February 23, 1879, is the wife of Emmet Carty, of Grandville, North Dakota, and they have a son and a daughter. Harry E., born February 23, 1881, married Leona Coffin, of Burt, Iowa, and they reside in Algona. Llewellen, who was born January 5, 1883, married Miss Catherine Curtis, of Montana, and they also reside in Algona. Ethel, born in 1889, is the wife of John Storms, a farmer of Plum Creek township, and they have two children. Alva H., born in August, 1891, completes the family and makes his home with his parents. The father and two of the children were born on the 23rd of February—quite a remarkable coincidence. Mr. McMurray holds membership in Prudence Lodge No. 205, F. & A. M., and is a worthy exemplar of the craft. He has always been an active man, his interests making constant demands upon his time and energies, and throughout his life he has closely watched his opportunities and improved them in such a way that he has gained the substantial rewards of labor and at the same time has enjoyed the good will and confidence of those with whom he has had dealings.