ISSUE 51, BLACK CULINARY HISTORY, Part 2: Emanuel Murray, Washington D. C.
EMANUEL MURRAY (1845-1915?)
Caterer, Confectioner, Restaurateur
Washington, D. C. throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries was one of the important cities for African-Americans seeking to join the hospitality profession—hoteliers, confectioners, caterers, restaurateurs, cooks, and waiters. In the wake of the Civil War many migrated to the city in search of training and opportunity, knowing of its patronage jobs, politically savvy community, and rapid turnover of population as political tides shifted. Emanuel Murray numbered among the multitude who sought opportunity. Born in Wilmington, Delaware, he came from a free family with a strong inclination to self-betterment. After a brief stint in Baltimore, he came to Washington D. C. in the early 1870s working as a waiter at two establishments on 11th Street. Waiters learned to cook if they were ambitious, and Murray used his time wisely, mastering confectionery. In 1878 he became personal chef (mess cook was the terminology of that era) to Isaac N. Carey whose townhouse at 821 14th Street NW was one of the more fashionable brick residences in that section of the city. Emanuel worked in conjunction with his wife Sarah, a trained cook. He was thirty-three when he secured this position. He realized he worked in a city where ambition was rewarded, and where knowledge was requisite for advancement. He became a student of city and its tastes and for thirty years would restlessly seek out the best vantage for clientele and profit. In time, he would become the most successful black confectioner in the city, the most reputable caterer to African-America Society, and the proprietor of the city’s finest restaurant for blacks (and whoever else wished to dine) in the District of Columbia. [“A Born Hustler,” The Colored American (August 10, 1901), 7].
Emmanuel Murray’s final service as a private chef was to cater the funeral of Mrs. Mary Cary on October 22, 1881. Almost immediately he organized his first business, the E. Murray Ice Cream Parlor at 1118 K Street—“First-class Cream Wholesale and Retail. Orders promptly attended to” [Washington Bee (June 16, 1883), 1]. Ice Cream proved the key to an expansion of his activities, for it was the sine qua non of any banquet or reception. From 1884 through 1885 he sought to establish himself as an event caterer, and in December of 1884, shortly before Christmas, he secured the job that made his reputation, catering the Washington Cadet Corps garden party.
Catering increased his need for space and cheaper rents, since he had to purchase flatware, cutlery, and a mobile kitche; so he moved out 14thStreet to 1742, on the corner with S Street, the outer limits of the city horse cars. Economy forced this move, and he knew that he had, at the earliest possible moment his cash flow permitted, to get closer to the Churches and big townhouses. In the 1888-89 season he was driven out of business temporarily by a rumor campaign floated by a business rival and police harassment about operating without a business license. His wife Mary’s skill as an event manager and his own abilities as a cook permitted him to work through the difficult period. In April 1890, he opened a new Ice Cream Parlor, catering office, and café on the corner of 1539 14th at Q. He would operate there for six years with success. In May of 1896 he moved to 600-602 Rd St., SW [“E. Murray,” Washington Bee (May 2, 1896), 8].
Murray in the 1890s began staging an annual “grand picnic” in August to good will with the Washington public and counter the rumor mill. For the 1896 feast he vowed to “give away free, 40 gallons of ice cream, of the best flavors and 100 pounds of cake” [“E. Murray’s Picnic,” Washington Bee (August 22, 1896), 5]. In 1898 he decided that he could counter the annual summer downturn in business in Washington by providing Atlantic City with wholesale Ice Cream. The bump in revenue caused by this enterprise led to the transformation of his business in 1900. He opened a combined restaurant and ice cream parlor at #1800 14th Street at the corner of S. “His new place is a three story brick house, with all modern improvements, and his eating saloon will be fitted up in the most approved order. The dining rooms will be among the best in the city, and his ice cream parlors will be fitted up in the most modern style” [“Murray’s New Place,” Washington Bee (September 22, 1900), 1].
The period from 1900 to 1905 marked a decisive turn from confectioner to restaurateur for Emanuel Murray. Others made ice cream under his supervision; his own focus turned toward fine cookery. In 1905, He opened a restaurant at 1216 U Street specializing in oysters and sea food. This change in emphasis was mirrored in his banquet menus of the time, for instance in the February 1907 feast held for William Tecumsah Sherman, the African American Register of the Treasury:
MENU
Pickles Olives
Bouillon
Blue Points on the Half Shell
Rock Fish, Boiled
New Potatoes, Creamed
Fillet of Beef Mushroom Sauce
Roast Turkey Cranberry Sauce
Tomato Salad
Ice Cream Cake
Orangeade
Black Coffee
Cheese Crackers
Cigars
“Register Vernon Honored,” Washington Bee (February 9, 1907), 1.
His wholesale ice cream business prospered, in large part because he invested in the technology to produce from 300 to 375 gallons of ice cream daily, the largest volume of any producer in the nation’s capital. [“Deserves Continue Patronage,” Washington Bee (May 21, 1910), 1]. Two wagons, a single horse and a double circulated the city daily fulfilling his orders. The scale of his enterprise is indicated that he was the only black caterer in the city capable of staging the Inaugural Welcome Ball of 1909, the largest African-American social event ever in the city, with an excess of 2,000 guests. [“Inaugural Welcome Club,” Washington Bee (February 13, 1909), 5]. The period 1908 to 1912 marked the apogee of Murray’s professional success and social prominence. As early as 1901 newspaper columnist John W. Cromwell had observed, “No business man in our community is more widely known than Emanuel Murray, caterer and ice cream manufacturer.” {“A Born Hustler,” p. 7]
The Murrays had no children, but raised two nieces as though they were their own offspring. Both Emanuel and Sarah appear to have retired at the time of their younger niece’s marriage in 1914. Both the nieces became educators.