"Peter Marshall Murray" { June 9,1888-December 19,1969}

Was born in Houma,Louisiana,to John L. and Louvinia Smith Murray;he was one of four children.John and Louvinia Murray early moved to New Orleans,Where John worked as a stevedore and Louvinia Murray,as laundress.Peter stayed behind on his grandparent's farm until 1900.He then followed his parents to New Orleans,where he subsequently enrolled in the elementary department of New Orleans  University, a Methodist Episcopal school that later merged with Straight University to become Dillard University.Peter graduated from the college department with a B.A. degree in 1910.(In 1955 he donated the carillon and clock for Dillard's new chapel as a memorial to his mother.) He did not decide on a career until his senior year.His mother had found work at the New Orleans Woman's Hospital and Infirmary.Impressed by the medical profession,she urged her son to become a doctor . John was initially rejected by Howard Medical School because he lacked a foreign language, but a summer's tutoring in German allowed him to enter the school in the fall of 1910.He had to work to support himself and send money home to his family.He worked as a night watchman and was able to do some studying on his job with the connivance of a helpful supervisor,Even so he had to rely on another student's notes for a course in anatomy taught when he had to be at work. He was able to pass the examination and receive credit for the course without attending classes.Peter graduated from Howard Medical School in 1914 with honors in surgery and obstetrics. Peter became an assistant instructor in surgery upon graduation and in 1915 established a private practice in Washington,D.C. IN 1917 he served  as medical inspector  for the District of Columbia public schools, and in 1918 he became assistant surgeon-in-chief at Freedman's Hospital.Besides establishing a professional career, Peter also established a family.In 1917 he married Charlotte Wallace,daughter of a medical graduate who had chosen the ministry instead of practicing medicine. A woman of beauty and charm, his wife possessed a very good contralto voice;she taught music in public schools and was a soloist at leading black churches.There was one son, John Walker, who survived his father.With the friendship and support of leading members of the local medical establishment,Peter was favorably situated in Washington. Still,flourishing and vibrant the local African American community,Washington was a southern city, characterized by rigid segregation.In 1920 the Murray's moved to Harlem in search of greater opportunities.Among the motives for the move was Charlotte desire for a more active music career; her aim seems to have been at least partially met since she did not stop singing in public until 1953.In New York,Peter initially set up practice with Dr.Wiley Merlio Wilson, a slightly older friend. The Wiley Wilson Sanitarium opened at 135th Street and Seventh Avenue soon after his arrival. This sanitarium came into existence because of the ever-present difficulty of black doctors in obtaining staff appointments in majority run hospitals.Peter maintained his connection with the clinic for 15 years and became very successful attracting about 75 percent of referrals among black physicians.Louis Tompkins Wright (1891-1952),a 1915 graduate of Harvard Medical School,