Person:Martha Murray (8)

Information below is from William "Bill" L Anderson:

Alex Haley's 1976 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel Roots: The Saga of an American Family, chapters 105-113, portrays the Murray and Edwin M. Holt households in Alamance County during 1856-1865. Edwin M. Holt is grandson of Michael Holt II, mentioned above, and was owner of Alamance Cotton Mill. The book does not mention Murray first names. The actual Murray household included two brothers Andrew Murray and Eli Murray and their families. They were members of Cross Roads Presbyterian Church although the book does not mention the church's name. The Murray brothers' sister or half-sister is Martha Jane Murray, who married James Anderson. She is an Anderson-related 4th great-grandmother. Tom, one of the book's principal characters, learned blacksmith and wrought-iron skills during this time. He took the Murray surname before moving his family to Tennessee. The 1976 made-for-TV movie differs from the book in many ways. It does not mention the Murray name. While composing his novel, Alex Haley interviewed great-uncle Henry Baxter Roney who remembered from hunting trips, the physical layout of the Murray farm and buildings. About 1980, Cross Roads Presbyterian Church gave a reception for Alex Haley

1. ↑ Gary Thompson - survey in 2006 - and from booklet from the church dated 2003, titled "The Hawfields Burying Ground". Hawfields Presbyterian Church Cemetery. (Web site by Allen Dew).