John Murray : Short Biography

I am trying to trace back the ancestors of John Murray and his sister Catherine Murray. I do not have place or exact date of birth for either. I know that Catherine was born about 1816 and she emigrated to NSW Australia aboard the Duchess of Northumberland leaving from Cork and arriving in Australia 27th Feb 1835. She later moved to Parramatta NSW where she married in 1841. There is no mention of parentage or place of birth on  her marriage certificate and when she died in Parramatta 1889 there is only her fathers name of Murray and mother is unknown.

John Murray is my husbands Great Grandfather, he was born about 1817 and on the UK census just states Ireland as place of birth. He was in the Commissariat from 1838 when he joined as a clerk ( I believe in the UK). I find him in London 1861 as a widowed Assistant Commissary General. I do not know who or where he had married. He had travelled with the Commissariat to South Africa, Ionian Islands and the Gold Coast where I know of his salary but no mention of when or where he was born. He marries again in 1867 to Mary Mandeville Todd in London. On this marriage certificate it says his father is Hugh Murray but that his father was deceased, I do not know if he died in UK or Ireland and do not know his occupation. John retired from the Commissariat in 1867 on a pension,

John died in January 1874 in London leaving a young family. Tracing their progress through school records in London there is no mention of where their father was born. We have a family bible which starts with John & Mary Mandeville but they do not give their own birth details only those of their children and their descendants. I have been working on John for over 10 years and have enlisted the help of War researchers, Irish & Australian researchers but no one seems to be able to help. I am hoping that someone here can help.

Many thanks Lesley Murray