Elizabeth Murray Campbell Smith Inman (July 7, 1726 – May 25, 1785) was a shopkeeper, teacher, and philanthropist in Boston, Massachusetts before, during, and after the American Revolution. Murray spent much of her adult life teaching her nieces and female friends the importance of personal financial autonomy through shopkeeping and other traditionally female domestic duties.
Biography
Early life
Elizabeth Murray was born in and spent the first twelve years of her life in Unthank, Scotland, until her older brother James, an up-and-coming merchant, brought her to his new North Carolina home to be his housekeeper. In this capacity, Murray learned the attendant responsibilities, such as "keeping accounts with local merchants and vendors, selecting and purchasing the items needed for household consumption, overseeing the work of any servants, and performing numerous chores associated with housecleaning and preparing food and clothing"
At seventeen, she moved with James and his new bride to London, where Murray saw the city bustling with shop-owning women who sold wide arrays of cloth and other popular goods from all over the world. Also, London, offered her a chance to see the latest fashions in ladies' clothing that were so popular both in Great Britain and in its colonies.
Sailing back to America, the Murrays stopped in Boston, and Elizabeth Murray, now twenty-three, decided to stay in the bustling commercial hub to open her own shop. Because many urban women were running taverns and small schools, it was considered an appropriate extension of women's acceptable domestic duties to support themselves through businesses they ran out of their homes.
Career
Backed by her brother's mercantile connections in Great Britain, Elizabeth established credit in the commercial world and was able to sell the latest fashions from London in her Boston shop. She advertised in local newspapers, such as the Boston Gazette and the Boston Evening-Post, showcasing both her world-class ladies' apparel and her talents as a teacher of "Needle Works". Additionally, Elizabeth allowed her female students to board with her, to supplement her income. After a trip to London to make more business connections, Elizabeth returned to Boston and sent for James' daughter Dolly, wanting to give her the chance to pursue the "superior educational opportunities" in the northern city. Dolly worked under both Elizabeth and other local women to gain an education in arithmetic, shopkeeping, reading, and sewing.
In 1755, Elizabeth married Thomas Campbell, a trader and ship's captain, thereby trading in her status as an independent single woman for the protection (and legal limitations) of couverture. Their union signified a business partnership, in which Thomas handled the larger commercial transactions, while Elizabeth ran the shop. Additionally, she became part of a female network of shop-owners and teachers in Boston with whom she interacted and traded services with daily. However, by the age of thirty-two, Elizabeth became widowed when Thomas died of the measles in 1759.
By 1760, Elizabeth married for a second time to a wealthy old widower named James Smith, who would change her financial status for the rest of her life. Under their prenuptial agreement, James stipulated that she would not be rendered personally, legally, or financial dependent under couverture; instead, Elizabeth would be allowed to keep all of her own money that she had earned as a shopkeeper, and would be entitled to one-third of his considerable estate if he died before her. Because of their wealth, both Elizabeth and James stopped working and enjoyed a leisurely life in Brush Hill, outside of Boston. She did, however, continue to teach women the ways of shopkeeping and other business ventures, financially helping out young women like her nieces Dolly, Betsy, and Anne, as well as local up-and-coming merchants like Ame and Elizabeth Cumings. Additionally, Elizabeth's single, independent friend and protégé Jannette Day enjoyed the financial and emotional support of her friend.