The Murdaugh Family: A History of Slave Ownership

For generations, the Murdaugh family’s wealth and power in South Carolina were built on the backs of enslaved individuals, a legacy that has shaped their history in ways that continue to resonate today.

From the sprawling plantations of the Lowcountry to the family’s role in preserving a system of forced labor, the Murdaughs were key players in an economy that thrived on human suffering.

But as the nation moved toward abolition, the family’s fortunes—and their place in a rapidly changing society — began to unravel, leaving behind a complex and painful legacy that still lingers in the shadows of their modern-day influence.

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The Murdaugh family history and early life in South Carolina

The Murdaugh family originally came to the American Colonies from Ireland. Due to the guttural pronunciation of “gh,” their name was often spelled “Murdock.” The first family member to settle in the Lowcountry of South Carolina was Josiah Murdaugh.

Born in Virginia, he moved to the colony in the late 1760s and settled in Colleton County, west of what was then called Charles Town. This area is known as the “Lowcountry” because the land is at or below sea level.

Charles Town, named after King Charles II, was renamed Charleston at the end of the Revolutionary War. In 1780, British forces captured Charles Town and held it for two and a half years, leaving in December 1782.

According to family historian Lamar Leonard Murdaugh Sr., Josiah Murdaugh died from wounds sustained during the siege of Charles Town in 1780.

Rice cultivation in Lowcountry and its impact on slavery

The Lowcountry was a hub for rice production, which required significant labor. According to the International Rice Research Institute, growing rice demands nearly twice as much labor as wheat, with irrigation adding to the workload.

Rice is not native to the U.S., and enslaved people often had more knowledge about cultivating it than their masters. The labor-intensive nature of rice farming caused a rapid expansion of slavery. As plantation owners grew wealthy from rice production, the importation of enslaved people surged.

A cutout from a newspaper listing enslaved people for trade.

» Learn about the lasting impact of the transatlantic slave trade

Did the Murdaugh family own slaves?

Josiah Murdaugh had at least two sons, but records from that time on slave ownership are scarce. But, the story changes when we look at his grandsons. In 1850, the U.S. introduced slave schedules, which required slaveowners to list every enslaved person by sex and age. Names were rarely included.

Thanks to these schedules, we know that Lazarus Brown Murdaugh owned eight slaves in 1850 and eleven in 1860. Josiah Putnam Murdaugh is listed as owning twenty-three slaves in 1850 and nine slaves in 1860.

Impact of the Murdaugh family during slavery era

The Murdaugh family was quite wealthy, based on the values listed in the 1860 Federal Census for Real Estate and Personal Property. In today’s dollars, Lazarus Brown was worth $2 million, and Josiah was worth slightly less. The census lists Josiah as a merchant and Lazarus as a farmer.

Though the family would later hold elected positions in the twentieth century, the only election results from this period involve Josiah Putnam Murdaugh Jr. He was elected as a representative to the Southern Rights Association when it was formed in 1851.

This confirmed the Murdaugh family’s strong support for slavery. The group, founded at the University of Virginia, aimed to protect states’ rights and limit northern influence on slave practices.

The Address of the Southern Rights’ Association, of the University of Virginia, to the Young Men of the South.

There is no evidence to suggest that the Murdaugh family acted differently from other slave owners of that time and place. But, the number of slaves they owned, especially as time went on, was relatively low compared to others in the region.

Additionally, based on agricultural data from the Federal Non-Population Census, they were not large-scale rice producers.

But information on crops and slave ownership only became available in the 1850s. The wealth they had accumulated by then strongly indicates that they had benefited significantly from slave labor.

» Find out how enslaved individuals obtained their freedom

Living conditions of enslaved individuals owned by the Murdaughs

The living conditions of the enslaved varied depending on their location and who owned them. Slaves were often housed in the smallest spaces available, typically on land that was convenient for their owner.

House slaves sometimes had a room on an upper floor or near the kitchen, but most lived separately from the family.

The image below shows a slave cabin on the Magnolia Plantation in the Lowcountry. This cabin housed two families, with the central fireplace providing cooking and heating for both sides.

Historic American buildings survey photo.

One way slavery in the Lowcountry differed from other parts of the U.S. was through the practice of ‘task’ slavery. Under this system, slaves were assigned specific tasks to complete each day.

Once they finished their tasks, they could work on personal projects, such as tending to a small garden or making items to trade. The legacy of this system can still be seen in the Gullah Community today.

The crafting of sweetgrass baskets and other handmade goods began before the end of slavery and continued as a means of income after freedom was gained.

The Gullah Community also highlights the resilience of enslaved Africans who worked to preserve their cultural practices. Slaves from various African regions brought their traditions with them, and the large number of enslaved people made it difficult for plantation owners to fully “Americanize” them.

Today, the Gullah Community continues to carry on many African traditions, blending them with new elements formed through the shared experiences of different African groups living together under enslavement.

A photo of an enslaved family

» Read about the common records during the slave era

Legacy of slavery in the Murdaugh family and its impact

On either side, there was uncertainty about how to move forward. Most slaves born after the ban on importation knew little beyond the land where they were born. Former slaveowners quickly realized how much work it was to manage without free labor.

A common practice was for plantation owners to lease land to former slaves, allowing them to raise crops. When the crops were harvested, the owner would take a percentage of the profit after covering all expenses. These individuals were known as ‘sharecroppers.’

But, this arrangement rarely benefited the former slave. Sharecroppers often worked hard to bring in a harvest, only to find that the landowner claimed all the profit, citing owed expenses.

Below is a copy of such an agreement between Josiah Putnam Murdaugh Jr. and a former slave named Handy. Handy was given land and two horses to farm, in exchange for a portion of the profit and his wife continuing to work as a housemaid.

An agreement between Josiah Putnam Murdaugh Jr. and a former slave named Handy.

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Impact of reconstruction on the Murdaugh family

The Federal Census Records from 1870 and 1880 show the stark contrast in the lives of plantation owners like the Murdaughs after the emancipation of slaves. A family that had once amassed $2 million in today’s dollars now had only $48,000 in assets.

It’s also telling that in the 1870 census, the children of Lazarus Murdaugh are listed as ‘laborers,’ a label that would have been unthinkable just ten years earlier.

Before the Civil War, abolitionist views were virtually nonexistent in the Lowcountry of South Carolina. In other parts of the country, religious beliefs sometimes led to anti-slavery enclaves, with congregations splitting over the issue of emancipation. This wasn’t the case with the Murdaughs.

The family’s minister fought on the Confederate side during the Civil War, as did every able-bodied male in the family. The Murdaughs fully embraced slavery as essential to their way of life and were determined not to give it up. They were willing to fight and die to preserve it.

By the time of the Civil War, the Murdaugh family had been slaveowners for at least a hundred, possibly two hundred, years, spanning at least four generations.

Legacy of the Murdaugh family: slavery’s enduring impact

The story of the Murdaugh family is a stark reminder of the deep, enduring scars left by slavery in America. While the family’s wealth was once intertwined with the exploitation of enslaved people, their decline mirrors the broader transformations of the South in the wake of emancipation.

Today, the Murdaughs’ past serves as a lens through which we can better understand the lasting effects of systemic inequality — both in the community they helped shape and in the broader narrative of U.S history.

As the family’s legacy continues to unfold, it raises important questions about how history, privilege, and accountability intersect in the present.

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