William Murray was an Ontario

Ontario

Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....

 businessman and political figure. He represented Renfrew North

Renfrew North

Renfrew North was a federal electoral district represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1867 to 1979. It was located in the province of Ontario. It was created by the British North America Act of 1867...

 in the Canadian House of Commons

Canadian House of Commons

The House of Commons of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign and the Senate. The House of Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 308 members known as Members of Parliament...

 as a Liberal

Liberal Party of Canada

The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...

 member from 1874 to 1875.

He was born in Goulbourn Township

Goulbourn Township, Ontario

Goulbourn Township, Ontario was formed in 1818, roughly 20 km southwest of downtown Ottawa, with the first major settlement occurring in Richmond. Other communities in the township include Stittsville, Munster, and Ashton. Stittsville is the largest community in the township, owing in part to its...

 in 1839, the son of James Murray, an Irish

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

 immigrant, and Elizabeth Burrows, and was educated in Goulbourn Township

Goulbourn Township, Ontario

Goulbourn Township, Ontario was formed in 1818, roughly 20 km southwest of downtown Ottawa, with the first major settlement occurring in Richmond. Other communities in the township include Stittsville, Munster, and Ashton. Stittsville is the largest community in the township, owing in part to its...

. He entered business with his older brother Thomas

Thomas Murray (Canadian politician)

Thomas Murray was a businessman and political figure in the Ottawa Valley. He represented Renfrew North in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1870 to 1871, from 1879 to 1882 and from 1883 to 1890 and Pontiac in the Canadian House of Commons as a Liberal member in 1891 and 1892 and from 1900...

 in Pembroke

Pembroke, Ontario

Pembroke is a city in the province of Ontario, Canada, at the confluence of the Muskrat River and the Ottawa River in the Ottawa Valley...

. In 1864, he married Margaret Mary Foran. He was declared elected in 1874 after Peter White's election was appealed. In 1876, Murray was unseated and White won the subsequent by-election. In 1884, Thomas and William registered a claim on a nickel

Nickel

Nickel is a chemical element with the chemical symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel belongs to the transition metals and is hard and ductile...

 deposit near Sudbury which later became the Murray Mine, the first nickel mine established in the area. He died in Pembroke at the age of 59.