ADDITION: THE TRACT THAT MULTIPLIES by Marjorie Adams, 6/24/2010, rev 7/4/10, 3/24/11

“Addition" was the original name in Worcester MD of James Murray Jr.’s 50 acre
 original tract.

The land records below indicate that "Murray's Addition" resurveyed in DE 
included “Addition” and “Bush” of James Murray Sr. and must have added vacant 
land. 
Relevant land records in date sequence:

-James Murray Sr. in 1755 pat "Bush" 22 acres on “south side of Sandy Branch”  
Wor pat.cert.#416. James Sr. (no will or estate papers found to date). I 
speculate that he had died before “Richard Murray, son of James Sr.” who died 
in 1774 [MSA. Maryland Indexes (Probate Records, Colonial Index, 1634-1777) 
Worcester Inventory 1774 liber 117, 152].  Ann Murray was admin. of Richard’s 
estate; James and David Murray were next of kin. Did James Sr., or his wife 
Ann, bequeath or gift “Bush” to David before 1776 or did David run the 
plantation after his father's death? (see Shankland below) 

-"Addition" 50 acres in Wor MD pat 13 Feb 1760 by James Murray Jr., Pat. 
Certificate #31 [MD Archives] “Edge of a branch called Sandy Branch issuing out 
of St. Martin’s River on the North side thereof to the Northward of James 
Murray Sen. Plantation” 

Ruth Dryden’s Land Records of Wor. correctly lists “Addition” and further 
states that it was resurveyed for 53 ½ acres in 1760.

-"Murray's Addition" 50 acres Resurvey by PA 30 Apr 1776 for James Murray Jr. 
[photocopy of the original from the DPA; gives name, acreage and date. 
[DE Archives M2#96]

-DE resurvey by Shankland June 29, 1776, Book v1 p191. Resurvey of “Murrays 
Addition” now called “New Addition” for James Murray “containing in the whole 
276 acres of Land vizt? 45 Acres Pattent(sic) Land and 231 Acres vanancy with the allowance of 6___Cont?
n.b., in the original document (minus plat)just transcribed, the word "new" describing "Addition" is not capitalized so it is possible that this was not part of the official name; “David Murray’s Bush” is mentioned as a bounder. 

-James Murrow(sic) sold 2 Aug 1779 to John Cample, SANDY BRANCH, "Addition," 20 
acres.[Deed Book L no.11 & M no.12 folio273, p168 Wright abstracts as James 
Murray] 

-James Murray Jr. sold 12 May 1802 "Murray's Addition" 63 acres to bro David. 
[Sussex Co. DE Deed Book Z, folio 321 (p40-41 of Keddie's abstracts)      

“For $100.00 paid by David Murray, James Murry conveys to David a tract of land 
lying in Baltimore Hd called "Murray’s Addition" being PART of a re-survey made 
by James Murray 30 April 1776 beginning FOR THIS PART at a marked mulberry tree 
standing where the 1st bounder of a tact called "Bush" stood it being a corner 
of the re-survey, and thence ...to the line of a tract called "Pleasant Grove" 
[?Pleasant Hill of Richard's] being also the line of the resurvey, and 
thence...to a maypole standing at the line of a tract called "Mumford's Choice" 
belonging to Arther (sic) McCabe, thence...to a red oak being the 1st bounder 
of McCabe's land, and thence... to a cedar standing in David Murray's 
plantation near the wood about east from his dwelling house, and thence...to a 
bank ditch or road in a lane between James and David Murray, and thence to the 
beginning containing 63 acres with all houses, outhouses, orchards, fences, etc.

Signed: James Murray   Witnesses: Wm Campel (sic) (mark), John McNeal (mark), 
Ezekial Williams.

When David Murray sold the above in 1823 to son Sacker(Zachariah) the abstract 
of the deed stated: "Bush" 22A and "Murray’s Addition" 63A being a resurvey to 
the above mentioned tract called “Bush” resurveyed 30 April 1776.” [1823 Sussex 
Deed Book AN 36, folio 299] 

-James Murray also sold in 1802 "Addition" 62 3/4 Acres to John Murray, son of 
David the brother of James (deed stated resurvey 13 Apr 1776 of "Murray's 
Addition"; is date of resurvey accurate?. [Deed Book Z, folio 323, 12 May 1802]

Will of John Murray, 1854-65 describes land he bequeaths to son Lott as “63 3/4 
Acres,  Addition/Murray's Addition in Baltimore Hd, Sussex DE bought of James 
Murray adjoining lands of Elijah Carey (I found an Elijah Carey in the Carey 
Cemetery close to the DE line in Wor. died Sep. 27, 1857), George Murray 
(probably George R., son of Zachariah) and Lott Murray (his land shows to the 
south on the Beers map next to a J.S. Carey, perhaps a descendant of Elijah.) 

-James Murray 1813 LWT bequeaths farm "Addition" to son Milbourn.
Milbourn's LWT bequeaths farm to his son Milbourn James and other lands to all 
children who partition what they call "the 50 acre tract" in 1885. (Could the 
50 acre tract have been the original “Addition”?)