John Wilson Murray
Encyclopedia
John Wilson Murray was born in Edinburgh, Scotland and came to North America as a young boy. He joined the United States Navy on 5 June 1857 and became a crew member of the USS Michigan
. This ship operated out of Erie, PA, and carried out patrols on the Great Lakes
as well as supervising the prison camp for Confederate officers at Johnson's Island
on Lake Erie
.
As the source for Murray’s early life is his own writings, little reliance should be given them for details of his own participation in events aboard the Michigan. It is confirmed that he was an acting gunner on the ship in 1864. In that year, two attempts were made to capture the ship and free the Confederate officers at Johnson's Island. It is unlikely that he played any significant role in these events.
Murray left the navy on 31 January 1866 with an honourable discharge and 1868 became a detective with the Erie police force and in 1873, joined the Canada Southern Railway
as a detective.
In 1875, after Murray became Ontario
's first full-time criminal detective with the title Detective for the Government of Ontario. He held the position until his death and solved hudreds of crimes including the murder of Cornwallis Benwell at the hands of J.W Birchall of Oxford County, Ontario. Murray was joined by two additional detectives in 1897, marking the beginnings of the Criminal Investigation Branch
of what would later become the Ontario Provincial Police
.
In 1904, Murray published an account of his most memorable cases in the Memoirs of a Great Detective. His exploits inspired the CBC Television
series The Great Detective
.
when he noticed the bills were suspiciously beautiful. Murray consulted with former counterfeiters; they were impressed by the forgeries, which they declared could only be the work of master engraver Edwin Johnson, the "king of counterfeiting". In 1880, five years after the first forged bill was found, Johnson was arrested for using a fake bill to buy a necktie. He had printed one million dollars worth of counterfeit bills using 21 exceptionally engraved copper plates.
USS Michigan (1843)
|USS Michigan was the United States Navy's first iron-hulled warship and served during the American Civil War. She was renamed USS Wolverine in 1905.-Early career:...
. This ship operated out of Erie, PA, and carried out patrols on the Great Lakes
Great Lakes
The Great Lakes are a collection of freshwater lakes located in northeastern North America, on the Canada – United States border. Consisting of Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario, they form the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth by total surface, coming in second by volume...
as well as supervising the prison camp for Confederate officers at Johnson's Island
Johnson's Island
Johnson's Island is a island in Sandusky Bay, located on the coast of Lake Erie, 3 miles from the city of Sandusky, Ohio. It was the site of a prisoner-of-war camp for Confederate officers captured during the American Civil War. Johnson's Island was the only Union prison exclusively for Southern...
on Lake Erie
Lake Erie
Lake Erie is the fourth largest lake of the five Great Lakes in North America, and the tenth largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also has the shortest average water residence time. It is bounded on the north by the...
.
As the source for Murray’s early life is his own writings, little reliance should be given them for details of his own participation in events aboard the Michigan. It is confirmed that he was an acting gunner on the ship in 1864. In that year, two attempts were made to capture the ship and free the Confederate officers at Johnson's Island. It is unlikely that he played any significant role in these events.
Murray left the navy on 31 January 1866 with an honourable discharge and 1868 became a detective with the Erie police force and in 1873, joined the Canada Southern Railway
Canada Southern Railway
The Canada Southern Railway was a railway in southern Ontario, Canada, founded on February 28, 1868 as the Erie and Niagara Extension Railway. It adopted the Canada Southern Railway name on December 24, 1869. In 1904 the railway was leased to the Michigan Central Railroad for 99 years; in 1929 it...
as a detective.
In 1875, after Murray became 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....
's first full-time criminal detective with the title Detective for the Government of Ontario. He held the position until his death and solved hudreds of crimes including the murder of Cornwallis Benwell at the hands of J.W Birchall of Oxford County, Ontario. Murray was joined by two additional detectives in 1897, marking the beginnings of the Criminal Investigation Branch
Criminal Investigation Branch
The Criminal Investigation Branch is one of the main branches of the New Zealand Police and it is dedicated to investigating and solving serious crime, and targeting organized crime and recidivist criminals. The CIB has existed since the civil Police Force was formed in 1886 by the Police Force...
of what would later become the Ontario Provincial Police
Ontario Provincial Police
The Ontario Provincial Police is the Provincial Police service for the province of Ontario, Canada.-Overview:The OPP is the the largest deployed police force in Ontario, and the second largest in Canada. The service is responsible for providing policing services throughout the province in areas...
.
In 1904, Murray published an account of his most memorable cases in the Memoirs of a Great Detective. His exploits inspired the CBC Television
CBC Television
CBC Television is a Canadian television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster.Although the CBC is supported by public funding, the television network supplements this funding with commercial advertising revenue, in contrast to CBC Radio which are...
series The Great Detective
The Great Detective
The Great Detective is a Canadian television drama, which aired on CBC from 1979 to 1982. It starred Douglas Campbell and James Dugan.-Background:...
.
The "Million Dollar Counterfeiting" case
Murray's first case was to investigate the forgery of Canadian bills. The forgeries were identified by an expert at the US Treasury Department in WashingtonWashington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
when he noticed the bills were suspiciously beautiful. Murray consulted with former counterfeiters; they were impressed by the forgeries, which they declared could only be the work of master engraver Edwin Johnson, the "king of counterfeiting". In 1880, five years after the first forged bill was found, Johnson was arrested for using a fake bill to buy a necktie. He had printed one million dollars worth of counterfeit bills using 21 exceptionally engraved copper plates.