Robert Murray (1721–1786), a prominent merchant, was born in Scotland and, arriving with his father John Murray from Perthshire, Scotland, moved at age one to Ireland. He immigrated with his family to Pennsylvania in 1732. Murray operated a mill as a teenager. He married Mary Lindley in 1744, and the couple moved to North Carolina about 1750. He moved to New York City in the Province of New York in 1753 and became a successful importer and exporter, ship owner, merchant, and dock owner. Murray did business with the British and was loyal to them. When he unloaded cargo from Britain, against the colonist's law, he incurred their wrath and was saved from being banned from New York by his wife, Mary Lindley Murray, who also entertained British soldiers so that a regiment of the Continental Army could safely pass a larger contingent of British soldiers. He built a mansion on Murray Hill overlooking the East River with extensive gardens.
Early life
Robert Murray was born in Scotland in 1721. His father, John, was from Perthshire, Scotland who had moved to Ireland. His father John, born about 1691 in Scotland, immigrated to Pennsylvania with his brother William, his wife, John bought more than 200 acres in what was then Hanover Township along Swatara Creek in 1739 and an additional warrant in 1744 in Lebanon County. The Murrays stayed in Pennsylvania for several years.
thumb|[[Lindley Murray (1745–1826), son of Mary (née Lindley) Murray and Robert Murray]]
Lindley, the first of twelve children, was born at Swatara, near Lancaster in 1745. He was a noted grammarian and author. Mary was a patriot and Murray sided with The Crown.
Death and legacy
Murray died on in New York.
Friends Seminary, a continuously operating co-educational K-12 Quaker school in Manhattan, was founded in 1786 through a bequest from Murray.