4/12/2010:
William Murray of Minot was a renowned judge in Ward County. He started off in railroad work, but studied law on the side, and in 1906, he passed the exam at Grand Forks and was admitted to the bar of the state. In a biography on him, Clement A. Lounsberry wrote he had "an excellent record as a jurist, being not only well informed as to the law, but also possessing the necessary qualities of an impartial and an unbiased mind."
Perhaps he proved this the year after passing his exam, in 1907, when he unwittingly set up a small matchmaking business on the side. According to The Minot Daily Reporter, it all started when a young man discovered he might lose some of his property unless he either reached the age of adulthood or married by a certain date-neither of which appeared to be viable. Out of options, the man turned to Judge Murray.
Murray told the young man if he intended to take a marriage seriously, they could manage it. He told the man to appear before him at four o'clock with his guardian, so he had permission to marry. In the meantime, Murray himself found the bride and prepared the license.
Everything went as planned, and the Minot Daily Reporter reported, "as they walked out of the judge's office, to face the world as man and wife, there was not one in the room who witnessed the ceremony, that did not feel that while the cyclone manner of the joining of these two hearts was away out of the ordinary, the pair were not mismatched by any means, and all predicted that they would go down life's pathway, hand in hand...."
The story didn't stop there as other newspapers picked up on the item. And on this date, one bachelor farmer from Donnybrook trekked to Minot to solicit help from the judge. Murray said he would keep him in mind - and he was not the only one, to the great amusement of the community. As one newspaper proclaimed, "If you want to get married and can't find a wife, just apply to Judge William Murray of Minot. ...He has found wives for other people, and the Minot supply is not yet entirely exhausted. It is not a bad idea to get your application in early anyway, for the principle of first come, first served, will be observed."
Dakota Datebook written by Sarah Walker
Sources:
The Minot Daily Reporter, April 9, 1907, p.1
Kenmare Journal, April 18, 1907, p.1
The Minot Daily Reporter, April 13, 1907, p.1
"North Dakota History and People," by Clement A. Lounsberry, Vol. II, p. 60-61