Lloyd Magruder
Lloyd Magruder, Jr. 1825-1863
Lloyd Magruder, Jr., the great-great-great-grandson of Alexander Magruder, was born in 1825 at Locust Grove, near Rockville in Montgomery County, Maryland.
Early life
One of thirteen children, Lloyd emigrated to Batesville, Arkansas to seek his fortune. Arkansas had become a state in 1836, and a steady stream of emigrants from the East came, attracted by the lure of cheap land and mercantile potential. Batesville was situated on the White River and was a well-established settlement of merchants, businessmen, land speculators, preachers, riverboat men and lawyers, gathered to provide goods and services for the ever-growing numbers of farmers. When President Polk called for volunteers for the Mexican War, Lloyd enlisted, and fought in the decisive Battle of Buena Vista.
Gold and Death
In 1849 Lloyd set out for California to seek gold. Although he did not find success as a miner, he did acquire land in Marysville, where he worked as a lawyer and merchant. He was elected to the State Assembly in 1860 as a pro-slavery Democrat. He parted company with other Southern sympathizers over the issue of secession. Still more familiar with want than plenty, Lloyd set out from Marysville to trade with gold miners in the Washington Territory. Returning from trading in Montana, he was bushwhacked by members of his own crew and killed for the gold dust he had acquired. An account of the crime may be read in This Bloody Deed, available at Amazon.