Murray Family Tree

Agnes Philp Murray

b. November 24, 1898
     St. David, Ontario, Canada
d. August 10, 1989 at age 90

Frank Willes Selby

b. June 19, 1896
     Cheltenham, Maryland
d. April 17, 1981at age 84

Children

Frank Murray Selby, b. 1922
Betty Agnes Selby, b. 1923
Richard Barry Selby, b. 1925
Janet Marie Selby, b. 1927

Agnes and daughter Betty, 1924

Agnes with Richard, Frank, Janet, and Betty

Agnes with flowers in front of farmhouse

"Dad died 16 May 47
Four Generations
Peter Murray, Agnes Murray Selby,
Betty Selby Ripple, Karen Louise Ripple"
(Agnes Selby, April 1947)

Agnes, 1954

Front of house in St. Petersburg; Agnes took great pride in her plants and her home.

"Back of house (in St. Petersburg, Florida). Kitchen and bath windows. Poinsettias are white and red. One of the finest showings of flowers. All the neighbors enjoy them."
(Agnes Selby, 1955)

Karen, Robert and Larry Ripple with grandmother Agnes Selby at home in St. Petersburg, Florida in 1956

Agnes relaxing in the hamock

• Frank (25) and Agnes (23) were married February 25, 1922 at St. Marks Episcopal Parish in Washington, DC.
• According to the 1930 Federal Census Frank (35) was an assistant cashier at a bank (in Clinton), with wife, Agnes, and four children.
• From 1933 to 1941 Agnes served as the postmaster for the Cheltenham, Maryland post office. A newspaper article she wrote is below.
• On the farm in Cheltenham Agnes raised chickens, turkeys, flowers, and children.
• In the early 1950s Agnes bought a house in St. Petersburg, Florida and moved there. She continued to cultivate flowers and fruit trees. Eventually Pop Selby joined her and quickly adapted to the warmer weather.
• Frank's remains are at St. Bede's Episcopal Church in St. Petersburg, Florida, where they resided in their later years.
• Agnes ashes are in Manomet, MA with her mother, father, and older sister Janet.

Early History of the Cheltenham Post Office
by Agnes M. Selby

When I moved to Cheltenham in 1922, the post office was one room in the railroad station and the station master was postmaster. The family had living quarters there. The mail was delivered by the Pope's Creek train from Baltimore, with a Bowie connection from Washington, D.C., and served all fourth class post offices on the line.

In the late 1920s the train ceased to carry passengers and the station was closed, also the post office.

The mail for Cheltenham residents was delivered RFD from the Marlboro post office. All had to have mail boxes on the road. Several concerned sitizens continually wrote the Postmaster General and contacted senators and congressmen to have the post office reopened again; that was accomplished in 1930.

In the meantime, Mr. Pyles, who was Superintendent of the Cheltenham School for Wayward Colored Boys, owned property on Route 301. He built a store with apartments on the top floor; also a building next to it with two rooms, one for a post office and one for a barber shop.

In August 1933, Senator Stephen N. Gambrill notified me that the post office was approved by Congress and the Postmaster General, James A. Farley. I received my appointment as Postmaster on Aug. 31, 1933.

The mail was again delivered by the Pope's Creek Railway. I had a responsible person meet the train in the morning, and again on the return trip in the evening, to pick up the locked pouch.

The fourth class postmaster's salary for that year was based on the value of stamps sold and money orders written. The first year my salary was $600.

I continually wrote letters to our congressmen and senators whenever a bill came up in Congress to pay fourth class postmasters a salary.

While I was postmaster, I qualified for Notary Public and served my patrons in that capacity. I continued to write our congressmen and senators whenever bills came up regarding salaries for fourth class postmasters.

In 1934 or 1935 the mail was delivered by bus from the Washington postoffice all down the line. They picked up the mail on the return trip.

Having no success in getting a salary for fourth class postmasters, I appointed Mrs. Patricia Effort Acting Postmaster. I resigned on Nov. 15, 1941, and was reinstated in my former position in the Enlisted Men's Division of the Adjutant General's Office. I do not have the date when fourth class postmasters were given a salary.

Back of railroad station. Photo probably taken in 1933 or 1934. The station faced Rt. 301, and there were living quarters for two families at the side and in the back.	Cheltenham Post Office and my car. I am standing on the porch.
Back of farmhouse built by Frank, with the old log cabin in the front yard; 1927.	The farmhouse in 1981
Side of house with patio	Back of house after porch addition
Side of house after porch addition	Back of carport and house