All Sorts of Pittsburgers, Allegheny Co., Pennsylvania, 1892



H. J. Murdoch Biography

H. J. MURDOCH, one of the proprietors and business manager of the United Presbyterian, is a native of Belfast, Ireland. Before leaving his native land he acquired a limited knowledge of the printing business. His apprenticeship was completed in the establishment of W. S. Young, in Philadelphia, where he had for his fellow-workers such distinguished journalists and printers as John Russell Young, of the New York Herald, John Caison, of the Philadelphia Ledger, John Blakely, of the Philadelphia Evening Star, and James M. and George S. Ferguson, now prominent printers and publishers.

Mr. Murdoch was subsequently induced to go to Westminster College, New Washington, Pa., with the intention of studying for the ministry; but he was so infatuated with journalism that he soon abandoned his original purpose and became connected with the Westminster Herald as its publisher. Under his able management this paper was very successful. At a later period it was consolidated with the United Presbyterian, and the Presbyterian Witness, of Cincinnati, was also absorbed, thus giving Mr. Murdoch control of one of the best and most widely read religious journals in the country. At the present time, in fact, the United Presbyterian has a larger circulation than any other paper of its class outside of New York City.

The printing of the paper is done by Murdoch, Kerr & Co., book and job printers, who also print the Christian Advocate, Methodist Recorder, Evangelical Repository, American Manufacturer, Workman, Labor Tribune, American, East End Bulletin, and all publications of the United Presbyterian Board, besides carrying on an extensive job business. Mr. Murdoch was also at one time associated with the electrotyping and printing establishment of Ferguson Bros. in Philadelphia.

Hugh J. Murdoch is still in the prime of life, and his proverbial capacity for hard work remains undiminished. He is active in the Employing Printers' Association, and in 1886, when the LEADER Publishing Company had trouble with its employees, Mr. Murdoch left his own large business to set type for his embarrassed neighbor.

He is highly esteemed in the United Presbyterian Church, of which he has been a consistent member since the union in 1858. In Sewickley, where he has resided for a quarter of a century, he is known as a man of undeviating probity and sterling qualities. In business matters he is shrewd, prompt and decided, and socially he is noted for agreeable manners and' the knack of making and retaining staunch friends.

Mr. Murdoch is a valued member of the Pittsburg Press Club, and stands in the highest esteem among the newspaper fraternity.




Source: All Sorts of Pittsburgers Sketched in Prose and Verse; Burgoyne, Arthur; Pittsburg, PA; The Leader; 1892.
Note: The correct spelling of Pittsburgh in 1892 was Pittsburg. The spelling Pittsburgh was officially restored in 1911.












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