Mr. Murray is the son of John and Sarah (Luttree) Murray, and was born in Crawford county, Missouri, September, 1834. His parents came to Greene county, Mo., and settled seven miles northwest of Springfield, where they lived one year and then moved to Grand Prairie, where L. H. was reared and educated. At the age of twenty-one, he went to California, where he was engaged in the stock and mercantile business for about ten years. He returned to Springfield, Mo., in September, 1866, and soon went into the hardware business. The firm was McGregor & Murray for some five years, and McGregor, Murray & Noe, until 1876. During a part of this time he lived in the country upon what is now the Judge Cowan farm. In 1871 he was elected mayor of Springfield, and in 1874 was elected to the Legislature, being the only Democratic representative Greene had had since 1858. He has been a councilman from both the Second and Fourth wards. He took active part in the building of the Gulf railroad. John M. Richardson graded the road to Ash Grove and it lay for several years unironed, until Mr. Murray, H. E. Havens and Maj. Sheppard bought the roadbed and organized the Springfield and Western Missouri Railroad Company. They then took into the company, L. A. D. Crenshaw, G. D. Milligan, Judge Ralph Walker, C. H. Heer and W. J. McDaniel. Mr. Murray was elected president, and the road was run until 1879, when it was sold to the present owners, L. H. Murray being a director for two years thereafter. He was married, November 17, 1859, to Miss A. L. Anderson, daughter of Young A. Anderson, of Napa county, California. She was formerly from this county. They have been blessed with five boys and two girls, all living. Mr. Murray is a Mason, and he, his wife and daughters are members of the M. E. Church South. His mother died in 1845, and his father in 1867. They are buried in the family burying ground up on Grand Prairie.
