Thomas William Clinton Murdoch was born on 22 March 1809 in
London and entered the Colonial Office as a junior clerk in 1826. He travelled to Canada
as chief secretary under Sir George Arthur and then as provincial secretary for Lower
Canada, before returning to the Colonial Office in September 1842, becoming a senior
clerk in May 1846. In November 1847 Murdoch became chairman of the Colonial Land and
Emigration Commission. In 1870, he visited Canada again, as well as the United States,
and was honoured with a knighthood (KCMG). He retired in December 1876 and died in
London on 30 November 1891.