My name is Karlene Murray-Toppin and I am researching my family history. My research takes me to East Greenwich where my two-times great grandfather, Luke Murray, and his family moved to the town from New York in 1867. Luke was a gardener for Henry G. Russell for over 20 years.

My great grandfather was John Henry Murray of East Greenwich. I found that John Henry was a well known resident of East Greenwich and for 38 years an officer in the Kent County Superior Court. He also served as the deputy sheriff, truant officer, and sealer of weights and measures for the Town of East Greenwich. John Henry Murray died in 1936 and was buried in Saint Patrick’s Cemetery where most of the Murrays have been laid to rest.

My grandfather, Bernard Murray, owned Murray's Drug Store on Main Street and one of his brother’s, Edward Murray, owned Murray’s Cut-Rate. Edward’s children were Edward Murray Jr. (Ned), John Paul (Jake), and Mary Lou Murray. My great uncle, Frank Luke Murray, owned a lot of property in East Greenwich; including the Elms and the Greenwich Hotel. Mary Theresa Murray, a great aunt, married Frank Warren and they raised a family in East Greenwich also, some of whom still live in the area.

I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to meet a few of my relatives, but I would love to find anyone who may have documents, photos, stories, etc., in their possession about this family. Sometimes people acquire things that end up in a box or the basement for some reason until one day someone says something or they see something like this and they remember. So, this is why I had to try and post this information. If anyone reads this and does have information that can add to my research and would be willing to share what they know or have, I would love to hear from you. I have to say this work, the research, has been very interesting and extremely rewarding. I would recommend to anyone researching their ancestors. My email is saaski90@hotmail.com

Note: Many of these individuals lived on or near Green Street in East Greenwich and most are buried in St. Patrick’s Cemetery.