Randolph Murdaugh Sr.

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Randolph Murdaugh Sr.
Randolph "Buster" Murdaugh Jr.
Personal details
BornFebruary 28, 1887
U.S. Naval Academy
University of South Carolina (B.A., J.D.)
Known forFounding patriarch of the Murdaugh family

Randolph Murdaugh Sr. (February 28, 1887 – July 19, 1940) was an American attorney and politician from

circuit solicitor for the 14th judicial district from 1920 until his death in 1940. Randolph was the founding patriarch of the South Carolina Murdaugh family
. He died when his car was struck by a train.

Early life, education, and family

Randolph Murdaugh Sr. was born in Varnville on February 28, 1887, the youngest son of Josiah Putnam Murdaugh II (1830 – August 17, 1912),[1] a wealthy Lowcountry businessman and Confederate States Army veteran, and Annie Marvin Davis (August 4, 1847 – August 6, 1919),[2] a distant cousin of Confederate President Jefferson Davis.[3][4]

Murdaugh received a

John Glen "Johnny" Murdaugh.[7][3]

In 1910, he founded a one-man law firm in

Hampton County for two-year terms.[9][10] In 1912, 1916, and 1918 he was a delegate for Hampton County to the Democratic Party state convention.[11][12][13]
He founded The Hampton County Herald in 1916.[14][15]

Circuit solicitor

In 1920, incumbent solicitor for the 14th judicial circuit

circuit solicitor seat the same month.[17]
He faced Heber Padgett and R.M. Jefferies in the
Hampton County Democratic Party.[18][19] He advanced to a runoff with Jefferies after the August 31st primary.[20] He won the runoff and the seat in the September runoff.[21] In 1920 he became the solicitor in the 14th judicial circuit.[6]
The same year he was elected, T. Hagood Gooding was re-elected as Hampton County
corrupt and having been prosecuted by the state tax commission under Governor Robert Archer Cooper in 1919.[22]
Murdaugh prosecuted both Gooding and W.A. Mason, another county auditor, for the state eventually leading to their removal from office.[23][24] In 1922, he prosecuted Colleton County sheriff W.B. Ackerman for embezzlement.[25] While solicitor, he represented a governor, prosecuted another, and was known to fill the courthouse gallery during murder trials.[8] He held the position until 1940 when he was killed in a collision between his car and a freight train.[6]

Personal life and death

Murdaugh was an

Woodman of the World, and member of the Junior Order of United American Mechanics and Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternities.[5]

His car "crashed into a

Randolph "Buster" Murdaugh Jr., would frequently fill in for him at court.[4] The death was officially ruled an accident by the coroner. After his death, Buster sued Charleston and Western Carolina Railway and the parties settled for an undisclosed sum.[26]

References

  1. Newspapers.com
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  2. Newspapers.com
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  3. ^ a b Mehrotra, Kriti (February 23, 2023). "Murdaugh Family Tree, Fully Explained". TheCinemaholic. Archived from the original on March 3, 2023. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
  4. ^ a b Brockell, Gillian (March 3, 2023). "A Murdaugh family death in 1940 was also suspicious — and eerily similar". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on March 3, 2023. Retrieved March 6, 2023.
  5. ^ a b "R. Murdaugh, Sr. Killed In Wreck". The Beaufort Gazette. July 25, 1940. Archived from the original on March 13, 2023. Retrieved March 12, 2023.
  6. ^
    Newspapers.com
    .
  7. Newspapers.com
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  8. ^ a b DeWitt Jr., Michael M. (February 18, 2023). "Trouble with Trains: The crash – and lawsuit – that helped launch the Murdaugh dynasty". Greenville News. Archived from the original on March 11, 2023. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
  9. Newspapers.com
    .
  10. Newspapers.com
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  11. Newspapers.com
    .
  12. The Columbia Record. May 14, 1916. Archived
    from the original on March 11, 2023. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
  13. Newspapers.com
    .
  14. Newspapers.com
    .
  15. ^ DeWitt, Michael M. (June 24, 2021). "Throwback Thursday: The Randolph Murdaughs of Hampton County". Augusta Chronicle. Archived from the original on July 27, 2021. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
  16. ^ "Solicitor's Race Will Be Lively". The Press and Standard. March 24, 1920. Archived from the original on March 11, 2023. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
  17. Newspapers.com
    .
  18. ^ "For Solicitor". The Beaufort Gazette. August 27, 1920. Archived from the original on March 11, 2023. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
  19. ^ "Randolph Murdaugh" (Advertisement). The Beaufort Gazette. June 11, 1920. Archived from the original on March 11, 2023. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
  20. ^ "R. M. Jefferies in Race With Randolph Murdaugh of Hampton". The Press and Standard. September 8, 1920. Archived from the original on March 11, 2023. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
  21. ^ "Solicitor Races Show No Changes". The State. September 19, 1920. Archived from the original on March 11, 2023. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
  22. ISBN 9780813173030
    .
  23. ^ "Hampton Muddle Not Yet Settled". The State. May 12, 1921. Archived from the original on March 11, 2023. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
  24. ^ "Mason Must Serve Sentence Imposed". The Press and Standard. December 21, 1921. Archived from the original on March 11, 2023. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
  25. ^ "Prosecution of Sheriff Ordered". The Columbia Record. September 27, 1922. Archived from the original on March 13, 2023. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
  26. ^ Campano, Leah (March 6, 2023). "This Suspicious Murdaugh Family Death Dates Back to 1940". Seventeen. Archived from the original on March 8, 2023. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
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