William Murtha

Background

He was born on January 3, 1841 in Brooklyn, New York to James Murtha.

Career

He began to study law, but abandoned his studies in 1859, and became a merchant. He was elected Register of Brooklyn in 1885. He died at on April 15, 1891, at his home at 132 Joralemon Street, in Brooklyn, of pneumonia.

Achievements

• At the beginning of the American Civil War, he was appointed as a clerk in the mustering bureau at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, but retired to establish a coal yard, and made a fortune out of this business.

Membership

He was a member of the Board of Education of Brooklyn from 1869 to 1872. An Alderman in 1877; and a member of the New York State Senate (2nd Doctorate) in 1880 and 1881.