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Robert Murray (1721-1786), the family chieftain, was born in Pennsylvania and came to New York City in 1753 after a short residence in North Carolina. The Murray Hill neighborhood of Manhattan derives its name from the Murray family, 18th-century Quaker merchants mainly concerned with shipping and overseas trade. He quickly established himself as a merchant and about 1762 rented land from the city for a great house and farm. The total area was just over 29 acres (117,000 m2).
In today’s terms, the farm began a few feet (metres) south of Thirty-Third Street and extended north to the middle of the block between Thirty-Eighth and Thirty-Ninth Streets. At the southern end, the plot was rather narrow but at the northern end it went from approximately Lexington Avenue to a spot between Madison and Fifth Avenues. The great house was built on a since-leveled hill at what is today Park Avenue and Thirty-Sixth Street.
His eldest child, Lindley Murray (1745-1826) was perhaps the most illustrious member of the family. He returned to England after the American_Revolution and published a number of books including the most popular reader of its day.
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