James Patrick Murray (British Army officer)

James Patrick Murray
Born	21 January 1782 Leghorn, Italy
Died	5 December 1834 (aged 52) Killenure, Ireland
Allegiance	Kingdom of Great Britain
Service/branch	British Army
Years of service	1797–1830
Rank	Major General
Battles/wars	War of the Second Coalition Helder Campaign Ferrol Expedition Peninsular War
Relations	General James Murray (father)
Other work	Member of Parliament for Yarmouth (1802–03)

Major General James Patrick Murray (21 January 1782 – 5 December 1834)^[1] was a British Army officer who served briefly as a Member of Parliament (MP), despite being under age.

Family and early life

Murray was born in Leghorn, the oldest son of General James Murray (1721–1794) of Beauport Park. His mother was Ann Witham, his father's second wife. His father was the fifth son of Alexander Murray, 4th Lord Elibank.^[2]

He was educated at Westminster School, and in 1803 he married Elizabeth Rushworth, daughter of Rev Edward Rushworth of Freshwater House. They had 6 sons and 6 daughters.^[2]

Career

Murray joined the British Army in 1797, rising to the rank of major general before he retired in 1830. He served with his relative Sir James Pulteney in the Helder Campaign and the Ferrol Expedition.^[2] He lost the use of his right arm during the Peninsular War, and retired to his home at Killenure near Athlone in Ireland.^[2]

At the general election in July 1802, Murray was elected to the House of Commons as a Member of Parliament (MP) for the rotten borough of Yarmouth on the Isle of Wight.^[3] At the time he was only 20 years old, even though the minimum age for MPs was 21 until 2006. His election appears to have been only as a place-holder on behalf of Lord Holmes,^[2] the clergyman-peer who was patron of the borough.^[4] Murray resigned his seat in early 1803, by the procedural device of accepting appointment to the sinecure of Steward of the Manor of East Hendred.^[5]

References

1. Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "Y"
2. Murphy, Brian (1986). R. Thorne, ed. "MURRAY, James Patrick (1782–1834), of Beauport, Suss". The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1790–1820. Boydell and Brewer. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
3. The London Gazette: no. 15505. p. 842. 10 August 1802. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
4. Thorne, R. G. (1986). R. Thorne, ed. "Yarmouth I.o.W.". The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1790–1820. Boydell and Brewer. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
5. The London Gazette: no. 15550. p. 77. 15 January 1803. Retrieved 2 July 2014.