Rev. Fr. Patrick Bowen Murphy (1850-1929)
Revolutionary Fenian, Priest and US Army Spanish American War Chaplain
Patrick Bowen Murphy (May 17, 1850 - May 1, 1929), was an Irish born, American Roman Catholic priest.
He took part in the 1898 Spanish-American War as Chaplain to the Ninth Regiment, Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, was a member of the Arundel Art Society of London; of the Cork Historical and Archaeological Society; an honorary member of the Grattan Literary Association and member for life of the Congregation of Laval, Quebec, Canada.
For many years, he was state chaplain of the Massachusetts Knights of Columbus, an active member of Division 1, Ancient Order of Hibernians, Boston, a member of Simpson Assembly, No. 169, Royal Society of Good Fellows, chaplain-in-chief of the Legion of Spanish War Veterans and most of his clerical vocation was spent ministering to the Roman Catholic communities in Massachusetts, the parishes of Natick, Saxonville and South Boston.
But, the Rev. Murphy was also an Irish American revolutionary, a member of the Fenians (and later Clann na Gael), the secret Irish-American political organisations in the late 19th and early 20th centuries dedicated to the establishment of an independent republic of Ireland and complete independence from Britain.
Murphy was a close friend of John Boyle O’Reilly (the famous Irish American poet, journalist & Fenian escapee from the West Australian convict prison) and both took part in the dramatic 1870 Fenian Raid on Canada.
Ruairi Lynch examines the hitherto unknown life stories of distant relatives.
He took part in the 1898 Spanish-American War as Chaplain to the Ninth Regiment, Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, was a member of the Arundel Art Society of London; of the Cork Historical and Archaeological Society; an honorary member of the Grattan Literary Association and member for life of the Congregation of Laval, Quebec, Canada.
For many years, he was state chaplain of the Massachusetts Knights of Columbus, an active member of Division 1, Ancient Order of Hibernians, Boston, a member of Simpson Assembly, No. 169, Royal Society of Good Fellows, chaplain-in-chief of the Legion of Spanish War Veterans and most of his clerical vocation was spent ministering to the Roman Catholic communities in Massachusetts, the parishes of Natick, Saxonville and South Boston.
But, the Rev. Murphy was also an Irish American revolutionary, a member of the Fenians (and later Clann na Gael), the secret Irish-American political organisations in the late 19th and early 20th centuries dedicated to the establishment of an independent republic of Ireland and complete independence from Britain.
Murphy was a close friend of John Boyle O’Reilly (the famous Irish American poet, journalist & Fenian escapee from the West Australian convict prison) and both took part in the dramatic 1870 Fenian Raid on Canada.
Ruairi Lynch examines the hitherto unknown life stories of distant relatives.
Patrick Bowen Murphy was born on May 17, 1850, at Inniscarra near Cork City to Daniel Walter Murphy (21 October 1819 - 26 November 1894) and Marianne (or Mary Ann) Bowen (1823-1903).
Two days later, on May 19, 1850, he was baptised in the Ovens R.C. Church. (details from the Parish Register below )
Two days later, on May 19, 1850, he was baptised in the Ovens R.C. Church. (details from the Parish Register below )
Below: Patrick Denis Murphy's family line:
Bartholomew Martin Murphy's family line:
Daniel Walter's parents were Patrick Denis Murphy (1786 - 2 December 1870) born in Mullaghroe, Athnowen, near Ovens, Co. Cork and Anna Wall (dates unknown) born near Passage West, Co. Cork.
Daniel was reported to be one of thirteen children born to Patrick and Anna and included Jane, Denis (1817-1913), William (1824-?), Margaret, Mary (1816- ?), Michael (1829 - 6 April 1870) and lastly, George (1835-1917) who appears to have been a bit of an 'afterthought'.
Let's examine Patrick and Bartholomew's history:
Patrick Denis Murphy and his brother, Bartholomew Martin Murphy (1798-28 Dec 1883) were possibly the sons of Timothy (c.1766 - 15 Mar 1843) and Mary Ann Murphy (c.1770- 1 Feb 1838) of Blarney Lane (now Street) in Cork. However, that family connection is merely speculation at present based on burial sites & gravestones in St. Joseph's Cemetery, Ballyphehane, Cork.
Both brothers were tenant farmers, with Patrick Denis farming 154 acres at Mullaghroe, Athnowen near Ovens, Co. Cork and Bartholomew Martin farming 107 acres in a neighbouring townland at Knockanemore, Ovens.
Researching distant family members who lived in Ireland prior to 1900 is limited to just a few independent sources & archives which survived the disastrous Custom House fire in July 1922. These archives include both Roman Catholic and Church of Ireland Parish records, Tithe Applotment Books (1823-1837), Griffith's Valuation (1848-1864) and an increasing number of additional records digitised at Ireland's National Archives. Using these surviving records, we can now examine the lives of both Patrick Denis and Bartholomew Martin in a little more detail.
To put townlands and family homes into context, the current map and co-ordinates below show locations of both farms and homes of the Murphy brothers. The family home appears to have been Mullaghroe House, Athnowen, Ovens - with earliest records from 1827 (Tithe Applotment Books) showing Patrick Denis Murphy, the eldest, as the Head of the Household and farming 154 acres as a tenant farmer on lands owned by Lady Carbery.
Records show Bartholomew in the adjacent parish of Knockanemore in 1852 farming 107 acres as a tenant farmer on lands owned by John Hawke.
Born c. 1798 in Mullaghroe, Athnowen, near Ovens, Bartholomew Martin Murphy was educated locally and became a tenant farmer in the nearby parish of Knockanemore, renting lands owned by an Ango-Irish landlord, John Hawkes.
Bartholomew married Margaret (maiden name unknown- 1814-14 Jan 1885) around 1839 and produced four children:
Thomas (?-1895), Michael (1841-13 Mar 1917), Julia (1842-15 Oct 1920) and Margaret Josephine (1847-11 Jun 1915).
Little is known of Thomas other than he died in 1895.
Michael (1841-1917) married Joanna (maiden name unknown - 1835-28 Jan 1921)
Julia (1842-1920) married Jeremiah Ahern (1841-25 Feb 1915) and both lived at Waterloo Place and later years at 6 Belgrave Place, Cork.
Margaret Josephine (c1847-11 Jun 1915) married widower, Timothy Lynch (1844- 28 Dec 1890) of Granig in 1879, becoming step-mother to two year old Diarmuid Christopher (1878-1950) and then went on to produce five children: Mary (May 1881), Timothy (Jan 1883), Daniel (Jul 1884), Denis (Jul 1886) and finally Michael (Jan 1890). Incidentally, Margaret's dowry from her father, Bartholomew was £300 (about £41.5k in 2022 values).
Michael is from whom the paternal family lines of Lynch, Daly and Scott descend and Bartholomew Murphy is one of this writer's paternal Great Great Grandfathers.
While Bartholomew's name does not appear in the Knockanemore Tithe Applotment Book of 1827, his details surface in Griffith's Valuation dated 1852.
Griffith's Valuation
In the early 19th century, taxes in Ireland were based on property owned or let and methods of calculation varied from county to county. The British administration in Ireland wanted to create a consistent, rigorous system and needed to find out who it's people were and, in the nature of governments, how much they might be able to tax them.
Richard Griffith, the director of the Valuation Office in Dublin, was tasked to carry out a land survey of the entire island of Ireland which was completed townland by townland between 1848 & 1864. The result was Griffith's Valuation – or more correctly it's full name was 'The General Valuation of the Rateable Property in Ireland' but also known as the 'Primary Valuation (of Tenements)'
Griffith's Valuation covered who owned what & where but also who rented what & where in mid 19th Century Ireland, and assessed the value on which each identifiable 'parcel' of land and/or property should be taxed. While not a Census, it does identify the head of each household but no other family information. The very poorest i.e. those who lived on the verge of vagrancy in makeshift or temporary hovels were also excluded. The Valuation is arranged by county, barony, Poor Law Union, civil parish and townland (see Irish land divisions if you are unfamiliar with these terms).
During the 19th century, a considerable number of the Irish population were vulnerable to want. How to respond to poverty in Ireland and to the social problems associated with it, exercised the early 19th century minds of economists, politicians and philanthropists and led to more than three decades of inquiry and debate over the desirability and feasibility of introducing a statutory system of assistance to the poor through what was termed 'poor relief'. Finally, in 1838, the Irish poor law was passed by the Westminster parliament. Modelled on the new English poor law of 1834, this act introduced a nationwide system of poor relief based on the workhouse and financed by a local property tax. Geographical areas were grouped into Poor Law Union Areas (for example, the Ovens area was categorised as part of the Macroom Poor Law Union). All property owners & occupiers, be they tenant or landlord were liable to pay an annual Poor Law rate which went to finance relief schemes, assistance and the operation of the dreaded Workhouse. Each year, a rate was 'struck' and collected from all residents in a Union area by Poor Law Rate Collectors. This varied by by Union Area but was on average around 1 shilling per pound valuation.
And where did the assessments as to property valuation and their owners come from? Yes, Griffith's Valuation.
Bartholomew's tenant farm was noted in Griffith's Valuation in 1852 as located in the Parish of Athnowen, Townland of Knockanemore, Barony of Muskerry East in Co. Cork. The Landlord was John Hawkes and Bartholomew farmed a total of 107 acres, 1 rood & 3 perches (or about 107.27 acres/43.4 hectares). In all, a fairly sizeable holding for the era. (Lines 6 & 13 on the return below)
The total valuation of lands & house rented from Landlord Hawkes for the Poor Rate and other purposes in 1852 was assessed as £87.5.0 (or around £13,577 in 2022 values). Based on one shilling per pound Poor Law rate assessment, an average payment made to the Union workhouse per annum was around £4-3-0 in 1852 (roughly £670 in 2022 values).
Further reading on Griffith's Valuation? James R Riley's - Associate Editor of 'The Irish-at home & abroad' explains here
Below: page 30 of the Ovens, Co. Cork Griffith's Valuation in 1852. Part of the assessed residents of the Parish of Athnowen is shown with Bartholomew Murphy's entry highlighted. Further images show the map associated with this entry and the same area today.
Bartholomew married Margaret (maiden name unknown- 1814-14 Jan 1885) around 1839 and produced four children:
Thomas (?-1895), Michael (1841-13 Mar 1917), Julia (1842-15 Oct 1920) and Margaret Josephine (1847-11 Jun 1915).
Little is known of Thomas other than he died in 1895.
Michael (1841-1917) married Joanna (maiden name unknown - 1835-28 Jan 1921)
Julia (1842-1920) married Jeremiah Ahern (1841-25 Feb 1915) and both lived at Waterloo Place and later years at 6 Belgrave Place, Cork.
Margaret Josephine (c1847-11 Jun 1915) married widower, Timothy Lynch (1844- 28 Dec 1890) of Granig in 1879, becoming step-mother to two year old Diarmuid Christopher (1878-1950) and then went on to produce five children: Mary (May 1881), Timothy (Jan 1883), Daniel (Jul 1884), Denis (Jul 1886) and finally Michael (Jan 1890). Incidentally, Margaret's dowry from her father, Bartholomew was £300 (about £41.5k in 2022 values).
Michael is from whom the paternal family lines of Lynch, Daly and Scott descend and Bartholomew Murphy is one of this writer's paternal Great Great Grandfathers.
While Bartholomew's name does not appear in the Knockanemore Tithe Applotment Book of 1827, his details surface in Griffith's Valuation dated 1852.
Griffith's Valuation
In the early 19th century, taxes in Ireland were based on property owned or let and methods of calculation varied from county to county. The British administration in Ireland wanted to create a consistent, rigorous system and needed to find out who it's people were and, in the nature of governments, how much they might be able to tax them.
Richard Griffith, the director of the Valuation Office in Dublin, was tasked to carry out a land survey of the entire island of Ireland which was completed townland by townland between 1848 & 1864. The result was Griffith's Valuation – or more correctly it's full name was 'The General Valuation of the Rateable Property in Ireland' but also known as the 'Primary Valuation (of Tenements)'
Griffith's Valuation covered who owned what & where but also who rented what & where in mid 19th Century Ireland, and assessed the value on which each identifiable 'parcel' of land and/or property should be taxed. While not a Census, it does identify the head of each household but no other family information. The very poorest i.e. those who lived on the verge of vagrancy in makeshift or temporary hovels were also excluded. The Valuation is arranged by county, barony, Poor Law Union, civil parish and townland (see Irish land divisions if you are unfamiliar with these terms).
During the 19th century, a considerable number of the Irish population were vulnerable to want. How to respond to poverty in Ireland and to the social problems associated with it, exercised the early 19th century minds of economists, politicians and philanthropists and led to more than three decades of inquiry and debate over the desirability and feasibility of introducing a statutory system of assistance to the poor through what was termed 'poor relief'. Finally, in 1838, the Irish poor law was passed by the Westminster parliament. Modelled on the new English poor law of 1834, this act introduced a nationwide system of poor relief based on the workhouse and financed by a local property tax. Geographical areas were grouped into Poor Law Union Areas (for example, the Ovens area was categorised as part of the Macroom Poor Law Union). All property owners & occupiers, be they tenant or landlord were liable to pay an annual Poor Law rate which went to finance relief schemes, assistance and the operation of the dreaded Workhouse. Each year, a rate was 'struck' and collected from all residents in a Union area by Poor Law Rate Collectors. This varied by by Union Area but was on average around 1 shilling per pound valuation.
And where did the assessments as to property valuation and their owners come from? Yes, Griffith's Valuation.
Bartholomew's tenant farm was noted in Griffith's Valuation in 1852 as located in the Parish of Athnowen, Townland of Knockanemore, Barony of Muskerry East in Co. Cork. The Landlord was John Hawkes and Bartholomew farmed a total of 107 acres, 1 rood & 3 perches (or about 107.27 acres/43.4 hectares). In all, a fairly sizeable holding for the era. (Lines 6 & 13 on the return below)
The total valuation of lands & house rented from Landlord Hawkes for the Poor Rate and other purposes in 1852 was assessed as £87.5.0 (or around £13,577 in 2022 values). Based on one shilling per pound Poor Law rate assessment, an average payment made to the Union workhouse per annum was around £4-3-0 in 1852 (roughly £670 in 2022 values).
Further reading on Griffith's Valuation? James R Riley's - Associate Editor of 'The Irish-at home & abroad' explains here
Below: page 30 of the Ovens, Co. Cork Griffith's Valuation in 1852. Part of the assessed residents of the Parish of Athnowen is shown with Bartholomew Murphy's entry highlighted. Further images show the map associated with this entry and the same area today.
Patrick Denis Murphy was born in Mullaghroe, Athnowen, near Ovens, Co. Cork c. 1786.
He married Anne Wall at a date unknown but prior to 1816 when their first child, Mary, was born.
Denis arrived in 1817 followed by Jane, Ellen, Daniel Walter (1819), William (1824), Michael (1829) and George (1835).
(It is believed that Patrick Denis & Anne produced a family of thirteen children as mentioned in Daniel Walter's obituary of 1894 but currently unable to locate details and names of the entire family)
Patrick is first identified at this address in 1827 through the Tithe Applotment Books for the area.
Tithe Applotment Books were compiled in Ireland between 1823 and 1837 in order to determine the amount which occupiers of agricultural holdings over one acre should pay in tithes to the Church of Ireland (the main Protestant church and the church established by the State until its dis-establishment in 1871).
A tithe was a tax equating to one-tenth of production - due from each occupier of land, regardless of his/her religion, to support the clergy of the (Protestant) Church of Ireland. Originally, the tax was paid by the farmer in produce, but in 1823 the Tithe Composition Act was introduced and allowed tithes to be paid in cash, a practice that had already become quite widespread. The tithe was calculated on the average production per acre of oats and wheat and sale price of these between 1816 and 1823. The quality ie productivity of the land was graded between 1 and 4, from very good and very poor respectively. Acts of Parliament of 1823 and 1832 provided for the conversion of tithes into a fixed charge on land and also extended the application of tithes to pasture, where previously they had been levied only on tillage.
There is a manuscript book for almost every civil (Church of Ireland) parish in the country giving the names of occupiers of each townland, the amount of land held and the sums to be paid in tithes. Because the tithes were levied on agricultural land, urban areas are not included. Unfortunately, the books provide only the names of heads of family, not other family members.
Quite apart from the obvious dislike for paying hard-earned cash to what the majority considered an 'alien' church, the tithe was particuarly hated among Catholic tenant farmers because the poor (as ever) bore the brunt. In addition to paying rent to the local landlord to farm the land, an additional tenth of production went to another church. Indeed, some wealthy landowners didn't pay anything while some tenants had to pay even though they farmed little more than a tiny potato patch. By the end of the 1820s, anger about these inequalities had reached a new level which led to The Tithe War (Irish: Cogadh na nDeachúna), a campaign of mainly nonviolent civil disobedience, punctuated by sporadic violent episodes, in Ireland between 1830 and 1836.
From the 1827 Tithe Applotment Book for the townland of Mullagroe in the parish of Athnowen, Co. Cork, the 41 year old Patrick is noted as farming 148 Acres, 1 Rood of land of which 147 acres & 1 rood is good, productive land (one acre of wasteland.) The land was then valued at £100-2-2 (one hundred pounds, two shillings and two pence) of which a tenth, or the tithe, payable to the local Church of Ireland parish annually was £10-6-6 (ten pounds, six shillings and sixpence or about £1,233 in 2022 values).
It's important to note that that acreages given in all the Tithe Applotment Books are in Irish or Plantation measure*, which is 1.62 times larger than statute measure, so in real terms, Patrick was farming 92.5 acres. Quite a sizable holding for the times.
* Units of land measurement could vary significantly from county to county, and even from place to place within the same county prior to the introduction of the Ordnance Survey in the 1830s when the 'English' acre became the standard unit of land measurement. It is evident too that different standards of measurement were applied according to the quality and situation of the land, and its proximity to such things as mills, fairgrounds, routeways, woods etc. Indeed, the whole question of land survey in Ireland down to comparatively recent times seems a confused tangle unless it is borne in mind that land was reckoned in terms of its economic potential rather than in absolute units of measurement.
He married Anne Wall at a date unknown but prior to 1816 when their first child, Mary, was born.
Denis arrived in 1817 followed by Jane, Ellen, Daniel Walter (1819), William (1824), Michael (1829) and George (1835).
(It is believed that Patrick Denis & Anne produced a family of thirteen children as mentioned in Daniel Walter's obituary of 1894 but currently unable to locate details and names of the entire family)
Patrick is first identified at this address in 1827 through the Tithe Applotment Books for the area.
Tithe Applotment Books were compiled in Ireland between 1823 and 1837 in order to determine the amount which occupiers of agricultural holdings over one acre should pay in tithes to the Church of Ireland (the main Protestant church and the church established by the State until its dis-establishment in 1871).
A tithe was a tax equating to one-tenth of production - due from each occupier of land, regardless of his/her religion, to support the clergy of the (Protestant) Church of Ireland. Originally, the tax was paid by the farmer in produce, but in 1823 the Tithe Composition Act was introduced and allowed tithes to be paid in cash, a practice that had already become quite widespread. The tithe was calculated on the average production per acre of oats and wheat and sale price of these between 1816 and 1823. The quality ie productivity of the land was graded between 1 and 4, from very good and very poor respectively. Acts of Parliament of 1823 and 1832 provided for the conversion of tithes into a fixed charge on land and also extended the application of tithes to pasture, where previously they had been levied only on tillage.
There is a manuscript book for almost every civil (Church of Ireland) parish in the country giving the names of occupiers of each townland, the amount of land held and the sums to be paid in tithes. Because the tithes were levied on agricultural land, urban areas are not included. Unfortunately, the books provide only the names of heads of family, not other family members.
Quite apart from the obvious dislike for paying hard-earned cash to what the majority considered an 'alien' church, the tithe was particuarly hated among Catholic tenant farmers because the poor (as ever) bore the brunt. In addition to paying rent to the local landlord to farm the land, an additional tenth of production went to another church. Indeed, some wealthy landowners didn't pay anything while some tenants had to pay even though they farmed little more than a tiny potato patch. By the end of the 1820s, anger about these inequalities had reached a new level which led to The Tithe War (Irish: Cogadh na nDeachúna), a campaign of mainly nonviolent civil disobedience, punctuated by sporadic violent episodes, in Ireland between 1830 and 1836.
From the 1827 Tithe Applotment Book for the townland of Mullagroe in the parish of Athnowen, Co. Cork, the 41 year old Patrick is noted as farming 148 Acres, 1 Rood of land of which 147 acres & 1 rood is good, productive land (one acre of wasteland.) The land was then valued at £100-2-2 (one hundred pounds, two shillings and two pence) of which a tenth, or the tithe, payable to the local Church of Ireland parish annually was £10-6-6 (ten pounds, six shillings and sixpence or about £1,233 in 2022 values).
It's important to note that that acreages given in all the Tithe Applotment Books are in Irish or Plantation measure*, which is 1.62 times larger than statute measure, so in real terms, Patrick was farming 92.5 acres. Quite a sizable holding for the times.
* Units of land measurement could vary significantly from county to county, and even from place to place within the same county prior to the introduction of the Ordnance Survey in the 1830s when the 'English' acre became the standard unit of land measurement. It is evident too that different standards of measurement were applied according to the quality and situation of the land, and its proximity to such things as mills, fairgrounds, routeways, woods etc. Indeed, the whole question of land survey in Ireland down to comparatively recent times seems a confused tangle unless it is borne in mind that land was reckoned in terms of its economic potential rather than in absolute units of measurement.
Patrick next appears in a 4 September 1848 entry in the 'House Books' of the Valuation Office Books (1824-1856).
House Books of the Valuation Office are manuscript books in which information on houses and buildings in Ireland were recorded & date between 1833 and the mid-1850s, made as valuation work was carried out for the Primary (or Griffith's) Valuation, county by county. Griffith's Valuation (covered in more detail earlier with Bartholomew) was a survey carried out in Ireland to determine both tenant and landlord liability to pay the Poor rate for each Poor Law Union area (for the support of the poor and destitute).
For a more detailed explanation of the House Books, click here.
Patrick Murphy's residence and farm buildings were inspected and recorded in September 1848 and their entry shows the type of building and the standard these were in at the time.
Each building's length, breadth and height were included as are calculations used to determine the rateable valuation.
A ‘measure’ was defined as 10 square feet and the figure in the ‘No. of measures’ column comprises the previous figures multiplied together and divided by 10.
The ‘Rate per measure’ was determined by the quality letter. From this code, we can establish that Patrick's residence, piggery, Stable, Cow House and Barn were all slated building built with stone or brick and lime mortar - old but in repair. The 'Muck House' however, was thatched, having stone walls, with mud or puddle mortar, dry stone walls pointed, or good mud walls - slightly decayed. In all probability, this was the original residence that over the years had been vacated and put to another use.
Patrick Murphy was assessed to have a building valuation of £8-12-2 (Eight pounds, twelve shillings and two pence - or around £1,140 in 2022 values) which would have been added to land values. This total would then be the rateable value applicable to the Poor Law Union for the Ovens area (Macroom Union).
House Books of the Valuation Office are manuscript books in which information on houses and buildings in Ireland were recorded & date between 1833 and the mid-1850s, made as valuation work was carried out for the Primary (or Griffith's) Valuation, county by county. Griffith's Valuation (covered in more detail earlier with Bartholomew) was a survey carried out in Ireland to determine both tenant and landlord liability to pay the Poor rate for each Poor Law Union area (for the support of the poor and destitute).
For a more detailed explanation of the House Books, click here.
Patrick Murphy's residence and farm buildings were inspected and recorded in September 1848 and their entry shows the type of building and the standard these were in at the time.
Each building's length, breadth and height were included as are calculations used to determine the rateable valuation.
A ‘measure’ was defined as 10 square feet and the figure in the ‘No. of measures’ column comprises the previous figures multiplied together and divided by 10.
The ‘Rate per measure’ was determined by the quality letter. From this code, we can establish that Patrick's residence, piggery, Stable, Cow House and Barn were all slated building built with stone or brick and lime mortar - old but in repair. The 'Muck House' however, was thatched, having stone walls, with mud or puddle mortar, dry stone walls pointed, or good mud walls - slightly decayed. In all probability, this was the original residence that over the years had been vacated and put to another use.
Patrick Murphy was assessed to have a building valuation of £8-12-2 (Eight pounds, twelve shillings and two pence - or around £1,140 in 2022 values) which would have been added to land values. This total would then be the rateable value applicable to the Poor Law Union for the Ovens area (Macroom Union).
Officialdom caught up with Patrick again in 1852 with the publication of Griffith's Valuation. In that year, he & his family were living in Mullagroe House and leasing 154 acres (and 6 perches) from Lady Carbery while also subletting the following:
- House to John Herlihy
- House and garden to Denis Mullane
- House, smithy and garden to Timothy Murphy (unknown if this is a relative or otherwise)
- House to Daniel Murphy (possibly his son, Daniel Walter Murphy (1819-1894)?)
Daniel Walter Murphy (21 October 1819 - 26 November 1894) and Marianne (or Mary Ann) Bowen (1823-1903).
Daniel was apprenticed at the age of nineteen to Sir Patrick Leahy of Tivoli and became a civil engineer.
He subsequently engaged in business and constructed the military road from Ballincollig to Ovens.
He married Marianne (Mary Ann) Bowen (1823-1903), a descendant of the Bowens of Passage, County Cork, Ireland, famous boat builders of that time in Cork c.1849.
Their eldest child Edward John Murphy, was born in Cork but died at a young age and was buried in what was then the Botanic Gardens, Cork, in a grave adjoining that of the famous Father Matthew. (now St. Joseph's Cemetery).
(By the way, did you know there was once Botanic Gardens in Cork?: On the south side of Cork City, between Turners Cross football stadium and Munster Rugby's Musgrave Park, lies the remnants of the southern city's long lost botanical garden. It's so long ago since the site was used as a botanical gardens and the duration of its existence so short, that the memory of it is almost gone from the public consciousness. The Royal Cork Institution was set up in 1803 and received a Parliamentary grant of two thousand pounds per year. The Governors decided to establish a botanical garden, and in 1807 leased a 5.5-acre (22,000 m2) site at 'Lilliput', Ballypehane, Cork. In 1808 they employed Scotsman James Drummond (1787–1863) to lay out the gardens. In 1822 the garden was described (Power: Botanist's guide to the County of Cork, 1845) as having approximately six acres and a glasshouse in a walled enclosure of 1-acre (4,000 m2). Drummond was a noted field botanist during his time in Cork (and subsequently in Western Australia). The Government grant was withdrawn in 1830 and the Governors declined Drummond's offer to lease the gardens and opted to surrender the lease. The lands were then let to Fr. Mathew of Temperance fame for a cemetery, St. Joseph’s, which use still continues. The only current evidence of the gardens is a cedar tree.)
Daniel & Maryanne's second child, Patrick Bowen Murphy was born on May 17, 1850.
Daniel was described as "a man of splendid physique, six feet four inches tall, and very straight" and his young family emigrated to America on the vessel "Daniel Webster" according to some reports in 1854 and others in 1856, and settled first in Milford, New Hampshire, where he was employed as a road builder and where his wife taught in local schools.
Daniel moved his family to Boston, Massachusetts, and worked as a sand contractor supplying material for the building of the Carney Hospital, the Little Wanderers' Home and other public buildings in the city. Later he was foreman in the paving department of the city. "He was exceedingly fond of reading, and accumulated a library of choice books, including many works on mathematics, of which he was especially fond. This library is among the most cherished possessions of his son [P.B.Murphy]"
One of Daniel's brothers, George (18 Feb 1835 - 10 May 1917) also emigrated from post-famine Ireland either with Daniel and Maryanne or shortly afterwards. George was a carpenter, and settled in Milford, New Hampshire, later moving to Boston.
At the outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861, George enlisted as a Private and went on to become Corporal and later First Sergeant of Company B, First Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry. He fought for three years and was also present at the Battle of Gettysburg (where he was captured by Confederate Forces and became a Prisoner of War). In later life, he was chief truant officer of the Boston public schools for thirty years.
(July 2022: An article on George's life is currently under research and a separate link will be attached here when released)
Born to the Murphy family at 70 East 2nd Street, Boston were Walter Daniel (c.1855 - 4 Feb 1869) who died aged fourteen from typhoid fever, William Bowen Murphy (c.1856- 11 May 1903) and Annie Louise (c.1863 - 9 Feb 1909).
William Bowen Murphy became a writer for magazines and contributed to many New York and Boston papers; served in the US Army under General Miles during the Geronimo uprising* and was an observer when this chief was brought in as prisoner and attempted to assassinate the General; was orderly sergeant in Battery I, Fourth Regiment of Artillery, under General George W. Getty, and honourably discharged as a "most excellent soldier" after eight years' service.
He was given charge of the Metropolitan Parks Police of Boston as Sergeant and visited Europe to investigate the methods of caring for public parks and horticulture. William was noted as saving three children from drowning in the Back Bay Fens in May 29, 1892, for which he was awarded a medal by the Massachusetts Humane Society; was a life member of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society and never married. He died in Boston on Monday, May 11, 1903 aged 47 from cancer.
Anna Louise Murphy became a teacher in the public schools and later a graduate of New England Conservatory of Music. She married John Henry McCarthy of Cambridge, Massachusetts on 5th January, 1897 with her Uncle, Rev. P.B.Murphy of Saxonville the celebrant. Both Groom and Bride were aged 34. Annie died on 9th February 1909 at 115 Lexington Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts aged 44 of pulmonary tuberculosis and is buried in Cambridge Cemetery.
It's unknown if any children resulted from the marriage.
Patrick Bowen Murphy graduated from the Lincoln School, South Boston in 1867 "… and a warm affection has existed since that time for all his schoolmates, as is attested by his presence at each yearly gathering."
At an early age, Patrick Bowen Murphy became a member of the Ninth Regiment, Massachusetts Volunteer Militia, under General P. R. Guiney and Colonel B. F. Finan, and was quickly appointed sergeant-major. (The 9th Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry was a military unit from Boston, Massachusetts, part of the Army of the Potomac during the American Civil War seeing action at Mechanicsville, Gaines Mill. Malvern Hill, the Second battle of Bull Run, Antietam, The Wilderness, Fredericksburg and Gettysburg until Union victory in 1864. It is also known as "The Fighting Ninth". The unit was an Irish heritage unit, with many volunteers having been born in Ireland.)
In 1869, through the influence of the pioneer Irish patriot of South Boston, Andrew R. Strain, Murphy became a member of the Patrick Henry Circle, Fenian Brotherhood, "... which held on its membership rolls some of the most prominent men of Irish blood in Boston".
The Fenian Brotherhood was an Irish republican organisation founded in the United States in 1858 by John O'Mahony and Michael Doheny. (a precursor to Clan na Gael, a United States based sister organisation to the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) based in Ireland. The Brotherhood's original aim was to send money, arms, and supplies to Ireland to assist and promote a potential rebellion against British rule. However, by 1865 with the end of the American Civil War (where some 17% of Union forces were Irish emigres or of Irish descent), many experiencienced veterans and Fenian members decided that rather than send money and arms to Ireland, it could be more strategic to mount an invasion of the nearest British held territory, Canada, and to use any military gains as a leverage for Irish concessions and independence. There was also the hope that these raids could be used to engineer a border incident that could entangle British forces in a war with the United States and so also potentially assist an armed rebellion in Ireland.
Fenian Invasion of Canada 1866
By 1866, Large quantities of arms were purchased, and preparations were openly made for a coordinated series of raids into Canada, which the United States government were certainly aware of but took no major steps to prevent. (Many in the US administration were not exactly indisposed to the movement because of Britain's failure to support the Union during the civil war). T.W. Sweeny a former Union general who also served in the Mexican War hatched a three-pronged plan to invade Canada, set up an Irish government-in-exile, and pressure Britain to release Ireland to the Irish. The plan called for multiple armed Fenian incursions into Ontario in an effort to draw the main British force out of Quebec. With that done, the main Fenian force would invade the state, cutting off lines of communication and supply.
On June 1, 1866, a force of Irish-American members of the Brotherhood, crossed the border into Ontario and planted the Irish flag. They tore up railroads and cut the telegraph wires, effectively cutting Fort Erie off from the rest of Canada. Then, some 600 Fenians marched westward. At the same time, the commander of British forces in Canada on news of the invasion activated upwards of 22,000 troops to counter the incursion. The two forces met at Ridgeway in Ontario, Canada. Unfortunately for the Canadians, the Fenians were well-armed and skilled tactical fighters, having just braved the battlefields of the American Civil War. Routed, the Canadians were soon reinforced, and the superior numbers caused the Fenians to retreat. By the time British forces mounted a full response, many of the Fenians had wisely retreated back across the river, the United States Navy was stopping Fenian barges from bringing reinforcements, and the U.S. quickly declared total neutrality in Canadian affairs. The U.S. Army was then instructed to seize all Fenian weapons and ammunition and prevent more border crossings.
By the time Patrick became an active member of the Fenian organisation in 1869, memories and recriminations were still very fresh for many. While already growing divisions within the group were begining to fracture the membership, plans were already underway for another invasion of Canada - and young Patrick Murphy was going to be part of it.
Fenian Invasion of Canada 1870
The Fenian Brotherhood met at their 8th National Congress convention in New York, April 23, 1870. Attended by some 200 delegates, it resulted in a resolution to launch another raid into Canada. The Fenian force would be commanded by O’Neill and its goal was to capture two small towns on the Canadian side of border, in the hope that this success would lead to a larger confrontation. Remarkably, much of the event was reported on in Boston's Pilot newspaper of May 7, 1870. View here (on p5).
The journalist (proprietor of Boston's 'The Pilot' newspaper) and veteran Fenian John Boyle O’Reilly, who would write some of the most detailed accounts of the invasion, joined with the Fenian force on 25 May 1870.
O’Neill, as General, mustered his men near the town of Franklin, Vermont, a few miles south of the Canadian border. Sergeant Major Patrick Murphy went to the front in the capacity of secretary to Major Maginess.
"This determined and hopeful party of men left Boston in May 1870. In the party were General John O'Neill, Colonel W. J. Barry, Major Maginess, John Boyle O'Reilly, Thomas Wentworth Higginson (then a reporter), P.B.Murphy and others..."
Below: The Pilot newspaper of June 4th carried front page news of 'The Fenians on the War-Path' invasion of Canada written by 'our special correspondent' (understood to be a joint first hand account by John Boyle O'Reilly & Thomas Wentworth Higginson).Click on the image to download a PDF copy of the newspaper
One of Daniel's brothers, George (18 Feb 1835 - 10 May 1917) also emigrated from post-famine Ireland either with Daniel and Maryanne or shortly afterwards. George was a carpenter, and settled in Milford, New Hampshire, later moving to Boston.
At the outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861, George enlisted as a Private and went on to become Corporal and later First Sergeant of Company B, First Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry. He fought for three years and was also present at the Battle of Gettysburg (where he was captured by Confederate Forces and became a Prisoner of War). In later life, he was chief truant officer of the Boston public schools for thirty years.
(July 2022: An article on George's life is currently under research and a separate link will be attached here when released)
Born to the Murphy family at 70 East 2nd Street, Boston were Walter Daniel (c.1855 - 4 Feb 1869) who died aged fourteen from typhoid fever, William Bowen Murphy (c.1856- 11 May 1903) and Annie Louise (c.1863 - 9 Feb 1909).
William Bowen Murphy became a writer for magazines and contributed to many New York and Boston papers; served in the US Army under General Miles during the Geronimo uprising* and was an observer when this chief was brought in as prisoner and attempted to assassinate the General; was orderly sergeant in Battery I, Fourth Regiment of Artillery, under General George W. Getty, and honourably discharged as a "most excellent soldier" after eight years' service.
He was given charge of the Metropolitan Parks Police of Boston as Sergeant and visited Europe to investigate the methods of caring for public parks and horticulture. William was noted as saving three children from drowning in the Back Bay Fens in May 29, 1892, for which he was awarded a medal by the Massachusetts Humane Society; was a life member of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society and never married. He died in Boston on Monday, May 11, 1903 aged 47 from cancer.
Anna Louise Murphy became a teacher in the public schools and later a graduate of New England Conservatory of Music. She married John Henry McCarthy of Cambridge, Massachusetts on 5th January, 1897 with her Uncle, Rev. P.B.Murphy of Saxonville the celebrant. Both Groom and Bride were aged 34. Annie died on 9th February 1909 at 115 Lexington Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts aged 44 of pulmonary tuberculosis and is buried in Cambridge Cemetery.
It's unknown if any children resulted from the marriage.
Patrick Bowen Murphy graduated from the Lincoln School, South Boston in 1867 "… and a warm affection has existed since that time for all his schoolmates, as is attested by his presence at each yearly gathering."
At an early age, Patrick Bowen Murphy became a member of the Ninth Regiment, Massachusetts Volunteer Militia, under General P. R. Guiney and Colonel B. F. Finan, and was quickly appointed sergeant-major. (The 9th Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry was a military unit from Boston, Massachusetts, part of the Army of the Potomac during the American Civil War seeing action at Mechanicsville, Gaines Mill. Malvern Hill, the Second battle of Bull Run, Antietam, The Wilderness, Fredericksburg and Gettysburg until Union victory in 1864. It is also known as "The Fighting Ninth". The unit was an Irish heritage unit, with many volunteers having been born in Ireland.)
In 1869, through the influence of the pioneer Irish patriot of South Boston, Andrew R. Strain, Murphy became a member of the Patrick Henry Circle, Fenian Brotherhood, "... which held on its membership rolls some of the most prominent men of Irish blood in Boston".
The Fenian Brotherhood was an Irish republican organisation founded in the United States in 1858 by John O'Mahony and Michael Doheny. (a precursor to Clan na Gael, a United States based sister organisation to the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) based in Ireland. The Brotherhood's original aim was to send money, arms, and supplies to Ireland to assist and promote a potential rebellion against British rule. However, by 1865 with the end of the American Civil War (where some 17% of Union forces were Irish emigres or of Irish descent), many experiencienced veterans and Fenian members decided that rather than send money and arms to Ireland, it could be more strategic to mount an invasion of the nearest British held territory, Canada, and to use any military gains as a leverage for Irish concessions and independence. There was also the hope that these raids could be used to engineer a border incident that could entangle British forces in a war with the United States and so also potentially assist an armed rebellion in Ireland.
Fenian Invasion of Canada 1866
By 1866, Large quantities of arms were purchased, and preparations were openly made for a coordinated series of raids into Canada, which the United States government were certainly aware of but took no major steps to prevent. (Many in the US administration were not exactly indisposed to the movement because of Britain's failure to support the Union during the civil war). T.W. Sweeny a former Union general who also served in the Mexican War hatched a three-pronged plan to invade Canada, set up an Irish government-in-exile, and pressure Britain to release Ireland to the Irish. The plan called for multiple armed Fenian incursions into Ontario in an effort to draw the main British force out of Quebec. With that done, the main Fenian force would invade the state, cutting off lines of communication and supply.
On June 1, 1866, a force of Irish-American members of the Brotherhood, crossed the border into Ontario and planted the Irish flag. They tore up railroads and cut the telegraph wires, effectively cutting Fort Erie off from the rest of Canada. Then, some 600 Fenians marched westward. At the same time, the commander of British forces in Canada on news of the invasion activated upwards of 22,000 troops to counter the incursion. The two forces met at Ridgeway in Ontario, Canada. Unfortunately for the Canadians, the Fenians were well-armed and skilled tactical fighters, having just braved the battlefields of the American Civil War. Routed, the Canadians were soon reinforced, and the superior numbers caused the Fenians to retreat. By the time British forces mounted a full response, many of the Fenians had wisely retreated back across the river, the United States Navy was stopping Fenian barges from bringing reinforcements, and the U.S. quickly declared total neutrality in Canadian affairs. The U.S. Army was then instructed to seize all Fenian weapons and ammunition and prevent more border crossings.
By the time Patrick became an active member of the Fenian organisation in 1869, memories and recriminations were still very fresh for many. While already growing divisions within the group were begining to fracture the membership, plans were already underway for another invasion of Canada - and young Patrick Murphy was going to be part of it.
Fenian Invasion of Canada 1870
The Fenian Brotherhood met at their 8th National Congress convention in New York, April 23, 1870. Attended by some 200 delegates, it resulted in a resolution to launch another raid into Canada. The Fenian force would be commanded by O’Neill and its goal was to capture two small towns on the Canadian side of border, in the hope that this success would lead to a larger confrontation. Remarkably, much of the event was reported on in Boston's Pilot newspaper of May 7, 1870. View here (on p5).
The journalist (proprietor of Boston's 'The Pilot' newspaper) and veteran Fenian John Boyle O’Reilly, who would write some of the most detailed accounts of the invasion, joined with the Fenian force on 25 May 1870.
O’Neill, as General, mustered his men near the town of Franklin, Vermont, a few miles south of the Canadian border. Sergeant Major Patrick Murphy went to the front in the capacity of secretary to Major Maginess.
"This determined and hopeful party of men left Boston in May 1870. In the party were General John O'Neill, Colonel W. J. Barry, Major Maginess, John Boyle O'Reilly, Thomas Wentworth Higginson (then a reporter), P.B.Murphy and others..."
Below: The Pilot newspaper of June 4th carried front page news of 'The Fenians on the War-Path' invasion of Canada written by 'our special correspondent' (understood to be a joint first hand account by John Boyle O'Reilly & Thomas Wentworth Higginson).Click on the image to download a PDF copy of the newspaper
Further news of the Fenian invasion of Canada is in the 11 June edition. (pages 3-4). Click on the image to download a PDF copy of the newspaper.
The army consisted of 400 Fenians (there were hundreds, perhaps thousands, of Fenians in the locality but O’Neill had weapons for only a fraction of the men). Typically, the Fenians had been infiltrated by British agents (including Thomas Bilis Beach aka Henri Le Carron) and consequently, the Canadians had prior knowledge of the Fenian plans. This was unknown to O’Neill as he marched his men, whom he called the ‘advance guard of the Irish American army for the liberation of Ireland’ towards Canada.
The Fenians crossed the border around noon at which point they came under fire from Canadian militia units, many of them located on a high point named Eccles Hill. A force of militia (amongst which was Queen Victoria's son and a future Governor General of Canada, Prince Arthur) awaiting the Fenians at Eccles Hill put up resistance, resulting in firefights and skirmishing.
Lieutenant-Colonel William Smith hurried to the field with a battalion of volunteer cavalry and charged the Fenian positions. The Fenians fled, leaving behind their artillery and their dead. The Canadians sustained no casualties during the engagement.
"The invasion failed for lack of men, as had the first for lack of means….The story of their trip is told by Patrick Bowen Murphy in the Pilot Newspaper of September, 1878. He was present when John Boyle O'Reilly, General O'Neill and Major Maginess were formally placed under arrest by the federal government, and housed in the old jail at St. Albans, Vermont.”
The Fenians crossed the border around noon at which point they came under fire from Canadian militia units, many of them located on a high point named Eccles Hill. A force of militia (amongst which was Queen Victoria's son and a future Governor General of Canada, Prince Arthur) awaiting the Fenians at Eccles Hill put up resistance, resulting in firefights and skirmishing.
Lieutenant-Colonel William Smith hurried to the field with a battalion of volunteer cavalry and charged the Fenian positions. The Fenians fled, leaving behind their artillery and their dead. The Canadians sustained no casualties during the engagement.
"The invasion failed for lack of men, as had the first for lack of means….The story of their trip is told by Patrick Bowen Murphy in the Pilot Newspaper of September, 1878. He was present when John Boyle O'Reilly, General O'Neill and Major Maginess were formally placed under arrest by the federal government, and housed in the old jail at St. Albans, Vermont.”
Once back on American soil O’Neill found that he had a new foe. The sitting US President, Ulysses S. Grant, had become fearful that, if his government was seen to do nothing while an attack was launched from US territory, then the relationship between the United States and the British Dominion of Canada could be irreparably damaged. He therefore had issued an order allowing for the arrest of any Fenian violating Canadian territory.
The whole affair was a crushing blow to Fenianism in the United States. John Boyle O’Reilly, who had suffered imprisonment in Ireland, England and Australia because of his Fenian activities, gave voice to the dismay felt by many of the participants. “After the failure of the invasion, the bulk of the Fenians”, he wrote, were ‘sadder and wiser men’. He was particularly upset by the factionalism that rendered the Fenians incapable of united action as well as the condemnation which many American newspapers poured upon the whole Irish community. His paper, The Pilot, would launch a series of editorials attacking O’Neill and other Fenian leaders: ‘The men who framed and executed this last abortion of war-making have proved themselves to be criminally incompetent.’ Fenianism within the United States had been shattered. Its place would soon be taken by a new revolutionary group, Clan na Gael.
The greatest impact of the Fenian raids was in developing a sense of Canadian nationalism and leading the provinces into a Confederation. This was seen as necessary for survival and self-defence; the raids showed Canadians that safety lay in unity and were an important factor in creating the modern nation-state of Canada
In 1872 Governor Washburn commissioned Patrick Bowen Murphy as a second lieutenant in Company F, Ninth Regiment the Massachusetts Volunteers. Murphy's uncle, George Murphy had previously served during the Civil War as a Sergeant in Company B, First Regiment, Masachussets Volunteer Infantry.
The whole affair was a crushing blow to Fenianism in the United States. John Boyle O’Reilly, who had suffered imprisonment in Ireland, England and Australia because of his Fenian activities, gave voice to the dismay felt by many of the participants. “After the failure of the invasion, the bulk of the Fenians”, he wrote, were ‘sadder and wiser men’. He was particularly upset by the factionalism that rendered the Fenians incapable of united action as well as the condemnation which many American newspapers poured upon the whole Irish community. His paper, The Pilot, would launch a series of editorials attacking O’Neill and other Fenian leaders: ‘The men who framed and executed this last abortion of war-making have proved themselves to be criminally incompetent.’ Fenianism within the United States had been shattered. Its place would soon be taken by a new revolutionary group, Clan na Gael.
The greatest impact of the Fenian raids was in developing a sense of Canadian nationalism and leading the provinces into a Confederation. This was seen as necessary for survival and self-defence; the raids showed Canadians that safety lay in unity and were an important factor in creating the modern nation-state of Canada
In 1872 Governor Washburn commissioned Patrick Bowen Murphy as a second lieutenant in Company F, Ninth Regiment the Massachusetts Volunteers. Murphy's uncle, George Murphy had previously served during the Civil War as a Sergeant in Company B, First Regiment, Masachussets Volunteer Infantry.
Meanwhile in Ireland, Patrick Murphy's uncle and Grandfather passed away during 1870:
Michael (1829 - 6 April 1870) and Patrick Denis Murphy (1786 - 2 December 1870) of Moloughroe House, Ovens, Co. Cork.
Their deaths were duly noted in the Boston Pilot newspaper:
Michael (1829 - 6 April 1870) and Patrick Denis Murphy (1786 - 2 December 1870) of Moloughroe House, Ovens, Co. Cork.
Their deaths were duly noted in the Boston Pilot newspaper:
Change of Direction - the revolutionary becomes the priest.
In 1873, the twenty-three year old Patrick Bowen Murphy decided to study for the priesthood, entered Saint Charles College, Maryland, graduating from Leval University, Quebec, Canada and later attending the Nicholet College, Quebec, Canada.
At 32, Patrick Bowen Murphy was ordained in December 1882 at the Grand Seminary, Three Rivers, Canada.
In 1873, the twenty-three year old Patrick Bowen Murphy decided to study for the priesthood, entered Saint Charles College, Maryland, graduating from Leval University, Quebec, Canada and later attending the Nicholet College, Quebec, Canada.
At 32, Patrick Bowen Murphy was ordained in December 1882 at the Grand Seminary, Three Rivers, Canada.
Later that December, he celebrated his first Mass in his home parish church of St. Vincent, South Boston. The service was attended by many relatives and friends, and in his honour, a battalion of the Ninth Regiment was present in full uniform and under arms.
Fr. Murphys's first clerical posting was as curate of the Portland Cathedral, Portland, Maine.
He later moved as curate to St. Mary's Church, Cambridgeport, with Fr. Scully, the war chaplain of the Ninth Regiment and then to St. Mary's Church, Ayer, followed by the Sacred Heart Church of East Boston and Saint Patrick's Church, Natick, with Fr. Walsh.
Fr. P.B.Murphy next became involved in organising the repatriation of the remains of preacher & lecturer Dr. Cahill to Ireland.
Fr. Murphys's first clerical posting was as curate of the Portland Cathedral, Portland, Maine.
He later moved as curate to St. Mary's Church, Cambridgeport, with Fr. Scully, the war chaplain of the Ninth Regiment and then to St. Mary's Church, Ayer, followed by the Sacred Heart Church of East Boston and Saint Patrick's Church, Natick, with Fr. Walsh.
Fr. P.B.Murphy next became involved in organising the repatriation of the remains of preacher & lecturer Dr. Cahill to Ireland.
Dr. Daniel William Cahill (Nov 28, 1796 – Oct 28, 1864) - "The Celebrated Controversialist"
Dr. Daniel Cahill was a Roman Catholic preacher, lecturer, writer and educator in Ireland and the United States. In 1825 he was appointed professor of natural philosophy (mathematics, physics, chemistry and astronomy) at Carlow College, where he taught for some years. He then opened a school at Seapoint, Williamstown, which he conducted from 1835 to 1841. Meanwhile he wrote largely for the press, and for a time edited the Dublin Telegraph.
A man of ardent temperament and strong prejudices as well as many talents, but did not hesitate to attack Protestants and Jews as well as British governments of varying hues. He had strong views on slavery, the Irish famine and Napoleon III; he also lectured on scientific subjects, especially astronomy. Helped by his handsome looks and great height, he was a forceful speaker who ‘could transport in ecstasy his listeners to heaven’ (Patrick Cahill's intro. to Letters, 5) and had ‘the power of investing a dry subject with an interest approaching to fascination’ (obit. in Freeman's Jnl).
However, the outspoken cleric met his match with Archbishop of Dublin, Cullen in 1852. Cahill was banished from the diocese for preaching without permission. Between 1851 and 1855, Cahill took the show on the road touring England and Scotland, preaching but mainly lecturing on political topics.
In December 1859 he went to the United States on another lecture tour where he appeared to be more appreciated. He was praised by the Archbishop of New York, John Joseph Hughes, constantly employed on the lecture circuit and incidentally also raised $100,000 (around $3.5m in 2022 value) for charitable purposes.
Dr. Daniel Cahill was a Roman Catholic preacher, lecturer, writer and educator in Ireland and the United States. In 1825 he was appointed professor of natural philosophy (mathematics, physics, chemistry and astronomy) at Carlow College, where he taught for some years. He then opened a school at Seapoint, Williamstown, which he conducted from 1835 to 1841. Meanwhile he wrote largely for the press, and for a time edited the Dublin Telegraph.
A man of ardent temperament and strong prejudices as well as many talents, but did not hesitate to attack Protestants and Jews as well as British governments of varying hues. He had strong views on slavery, the Irish famine and Napoleon III; he also lectured on scientific subjects, especially astronomy. Helped by his handsome looks and great height, he was a forceful speaker who ‘could transport in ecstasy his listeners to heaven’ (Patrick Cahill's intro. to Letters, 5) and had ‘the power of investing a dry subject with an interest approaching to fascination’ (obit. in Freeman's Jnl).
However, the outspoken cleric met his match with Archbishop of Dublin, Cullen in 1852. Cahill was banished from the diocese for preaching without permission. Between 1851 and 1855, Cahill took the show on the road touring England and Scotland, preaching but mainly lecturing on political topics.
In December 1859 he went to the United States on another lecture tour where he appeared to be more appreciated. He was praised by the Archbishop of New York, John Joseph Hughes, constantly employed on the lecture circuit and incidentally also raised $100,000 (around $3.5m in 2022 value) for charitable purposes.
Daniel W. Cahill 'the firebrand priest' (1796-1864)
Inscription on memorial in Glasnevin Cemetery, Dublin:
"Bearing in mind the labours he undertook for Faith and Fatherland, his countrymen brought home his remains and placed them in his native soil,
fulfilling the wish he expressed when dying."
Inscription on memorial in Glasnevin Cemetery, Dublin:
"Bearing in mind the labours he undertook for Faith and Fatherland, his countrymen brought home his remains and placed them in his native soil,
fulfilling the wish he expressed when dying."
During the autumn of 1864, Dr Cahill while lecturing in Boston, became terminally ill and was treated in Carney Hospital.
The young Patrick Bowen Murphy used to serve daily Mass in the Carney Hospital chapel and 'he became aquainted with Dr Cahill, who took much interest in him and delighted in the earnest and inteligent lad's attendance on him. Young Murphy was especially impressed by the dying priest's constant thought for his suffering county, and his wish that he might be buried in her hallowed soil'
Dr Cahill died on October 28, 1864 in the care of the Sisters of Charity, South Boston and was interred in Holyhood Cemetery, Brookline.
Shortly after his death, a gravesite was reserved for Dr Cahill in the 'O'Connell Circle' in Glasnevin Cemetery, Dublin.
The young Patrick Bowen Murphy used to serve daily Mass in the Carney Hospital chapel and 'he became aquainted with Dr Cahill, who took much interest in him and delighted in the earnest and inteligent lad's attendance on him. Young Murphy was especially impressed by the dying priest's constant thought for his suffering county, and his wish that he might be buried in her hallowed soil'
Dr Cahill died on October 28, 1864 in the care of the Sisters of Charity, South Boston and was interred in Holyhood Cemetery, Brookline.
Shortly after his death, a gravesite was reserved for Dr Cahill in the 'O'Connell Circle' in Glasnevin Cemetery, Dublin.
Following his ordination in 1882, Fr. Murphy began lobbying for the return of Dr. Cahill's remains to Ireland.
"One of the first duties undertaken by Father Murphy was the removal of Dr. Cahill's remains to Ireland. He succeeded so well that on Washington's birthday, [22 February] 1885, the remains of the patriot priest, scientist and scholar, Dr. Cahill, were exhumed from Hollywood, Brookline, where they had rested over twenty- one years, and transferred to Glasnevin, Dublin, Ireland's national cemetery. The Irish societies of Boston, through the aid of Patrick Ford, editor of the Irish World, and New York societies, jointly bore the burden of the great display in both cities, the Dr. Cahill memorial committee of Ireland taking charge of the remains and of the delegates accompanying them at Cobh (Queenstown).
Included in the entourage accompanying the remains of Dr. Cahill to Ireland were Daniel Walter Murphy, father of Fr. P.B.
. The Irish societies of Boston, through the aid of Patrick Ford, editor of the Irish World, and New York societies, jointly bore the burden of the great display in both cities, the Dr. Cahill memorial committee of Ireland taking charge of the remains and of the delegates accompanying them at Cobh (Queenstown).
All Ireland turned out. The lord bishop of Cloyne, Dr. McCarthy, officiated at Cove Cathedral; the lord bishop of Cork. Dr. Delaney officiated in his city. His grace. Archbishop Crooke, of Cashel, met the remains at Cashel steam road station, and the people of Tipperary filled a car with their floral tributes. The See of Dublin was vacant, but the administrator, then of Maynooth and later the archbishop of Dublin, showed every courtesy to the remains and to the visitors.
Before Father Murphy left on this mission he was presented with a beautiful chalice* by Rev. Denis Murphy, of Cork. This chalice he has used daily ever since, in the celebration of mass…While in Ireland he was presented with an Irish jaunting car by his many friends there, and this he still has."
* The chalice mentioned has had an interesting history. Here's two clippings on the chalice, one from Boston's 'The Pilot' newspaper (29 Jan 1898) in an item penned by his nephew, William Bowen Murphy (1856-1903) an item contributed by Colm O'Sullivan (a shared distant relative of Fr. P.B.), a clipping from The Cork Examiner in 1953:
The Boston Pilot newspaper recalled the part played by Rev. P.B. in the repatriation of Dr. Cahill's remains to Ireland in a section 'About People' from February 1894:
With the task of returning Dr. Cahill to Ireland completed, and as he was in the neighbourhood, Rev. Murphy made a visit to Italy and to Rome. Here's a report in Boston's The Pilot of 2 May 1885 and the New York Times mentions his return to the US:
Murphy was next appointed Curate of the Church of the Sacred Heart, East Boston:
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God & Mammon in 1885 - tax assesment for the Sacred Heart Church
An interesting little item - the 1885 valuation book entry for the Clergy House residence, the Church of the Sacred Heart and School of the Holy Redeemer. Three clergymen are listed - Fr Michael Clarke (Parish Priest), Fr. Patrick Bowen Murphy (Curate) and Fr. William A Ryan. The owner of the properties is recorded as John J Williams (Archbishop of Boston) and total value of all three buildings was assessed as $66,000 (or around $2.1m in 2022.)
An interesting little item - the 1885 valuation book entry for the Clergy House residence, the Church of the Sacred Heart and School of the Holy Redeemer. Three clergymen are listed - Fr Michael Clarke (Parish Priest), Fr. Patrick Bowen Murphy (Curate) and Fr. William A Ryan. The owner of the properties is recorded as John J Williams (Archbishop of Boston) and total value of all three buildings was assessed as $66,000 (or around $2.1m in 2022.)
While in Ireland, Rev. P.B.'s father, Daniel Walter Murphy took the opportunity to visit many relatives and friends, including his old home and parish of Ovens, Co. Cork. The only clue we have to this visit is in a letter he wrote to The Boston Pilot newspaper In July 1885 on the subject of Roger O'Connor and the 1798 rebellion. In this, he reminisces of O'Connor's life and death in 1837, and how he and his brothers shouldered O'Connor's coffin to Kilcrea Graveyard for interrment in the tomb of the McCarthy's and of a visit to the area in May 1885:
Roger O'Connor (1762-1834) was an Irish nationalist and writer, known for the controversies surrounding his life and writings, notably his fanciful history of the Irish people, the Chronicles of Eri .
Certainly a colourful character, he was involved with the United Irishmen and Wolfe Tones 1796 Rebellion. He lived for a time Dangan Castle, Summerhill, County Meath (the childhood home of Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington.) O'Connor asserted that he had acquired it as "a suitable residence in which to entertain Napoleon" after the anticipated defeat of the British. Rumoured to have burned down Castle Summerhill in an early insurance scam, he also was believed to have held up the Galway Mail for which he was tried and aquitted. In later years he became increasingly eccentric spending his remaining life living simply in a fisherman's cottage near Ballincollig, cohabiting with a local young woman he called the "Princess of Kerry". Additional details available here: Wikipedia Dictionary of Irish Biography |
Below: Kilcrea Friary near Ovens, Co. Cork. Burial place of the colourful Roger O'Connor and many members of the Murphy family. Photo thanks to James Twomey.
While Fr. P.B. was based in Saint Patrick's Church, Natick, we have a small clipping recalling his service there:
"While in Natick he organized four hundred boys as the John Boyle O'Reilly Cadets, and he also organized the John Boyle O'Reilly Band, a musical organization which attracted much attention, and played all over the country. He also organized all the children of the public schools into Bands of Mercy, in connection with the work of the Society of Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. This action was gratefully acknowledged in Dumb Animals, the official organ of the society. No priest was ever more popular in Natick than Father Murphy. He was respected and admired by all the people, no matter of what creed. He was elected a member of the school committee of the town, and served faithfully several years."
While Fr. P.B. was based in Saint Patrick's Church, Natick, we have a small clipping recalling his service there:
"While in Natick he organized four hundred boys as the John Boyle O'Reilly Cadets, and he also organized the John Boyle O'Reilly Band, a musical organization which attracted much attention, and played all over the country. He also organized all the children of the public schools into Bands of Mercy, in connection with the work of the Society of Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. This action was gratefully acknowledged in Dumb Animals, the official organ of the society. No priest was ever more popular in Natick than Father Murphy. He was respected and admired by all the people, no matter of what creed. He was elected a member of the school committee of the town, and served faithfully several years."
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A clerical calling can be very much an itinerant profession, a few years here and a few years there and subject to relocation at the whim of the diocese hierarchy. Following a period as Curate of the Church of the Sacred Heart, East Boston and St. Patrick's, Natick, Rev. P.B. Murphy was promoted to rector of St. George’s Church, of Saxonville, one of the oldest churches in the archdiocese of Boston and succeeding another Irish padre, Fr J.J.McNamara.
Murphy served for almost fourteen years in Saxonville, before transferring as Parish Priest to the Church of Our Lady of the Rosary, South Boston in 1907.
The Boston Pilot reported on his transfer in editions of 27 January & 3 February, 1894:
St George's Church, dedicated in Saxonville, June 1, 1847 was established to serve a burgeoning Irish immigrant population employed in local factories and in the construction of reservoirs and aqueducts for the Boston water supply. This structure was built of wood and was the parish church until the 1960s when it was demolished and replaced with a more contemporary stucture.
The church was established at a time of intense sectarianism in the state, particularly against Irish Roman Catholics. By the early 1850’s, the church had established a parochial school. However, in 1853, a mob from the “Know Nothing” Party broke into the church, desecrated it and burned the Parish priest Father Farrelly in effigy from the town square’s liberty pole. The following St. Patrick’s Day this same group set fire to the town’s meeting hall where Father Farrelly was speaking. By 1919, a report described Saxonville as "…a somewhat isolated village with one industry, a woolen mill, comparatively poor environmental conditions, and a population made up largely of Irish-¬Americans, French Canadians, and Jews"
1894
An interesting report on Rev. P.B. Murphy from the Cork Examiner of 22 February 1894:
An interesting report on Rev. P.B. Murphy from the Cork Examiner of 22 February 1894:
Daniel W. Murphy, the Rev. P.B.'s father, died on 26 November 1894 at 70 East 2nd Street, Boston and was buried in Mount Calvary Cemetery, Roslindale, Massachusetts.
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It would appear from the Murphy gravestone that Rev. P.B. Murphy had intended this to also be his final resting place (note the space reserved for his additional details and dates).
1895
No doubt proud of the previous century in New England, the Catholic Archdiocese of Boston published "One Hundred Years of Progress. A Graphic, Historical and Pictorial Account of the Catholic Church of New England: Archdiocese of Boston". Compiled and edited by James S. Sullivan, M.D, this volume was published by The Boston & Portland Publishing in 1895. Below features the entry for St. George's Parish, Saxonville, at the time under the ministry of Rev. P.B.Murphy.
1895
No doubt proud of the previous century in New England, the Catholic Archdiocese of Boston published "One Hundred Years of Progress. A Graphic, Historical and Pictorial Account of the Catholic Church of New England: Archdiocese of Boston". Compiled and edited by James S. Sullivan, M.D, this volume was published by The Boston & Portland Publishing in 1895. Below features the entry for St. George's Parish, Saxonville, at the time under the ministry of Rev. P.B.Murphy.
1897
Rev. P.B. Murphy was one of the first to record the history of the Roman Catholic church in Saxonville (in addition to church history in Framingham, Maynard, Wayland, Natick, South Natick, etc.) between 1834 to 1897. A pamphlet authored by Murphy was published in 1897 by Harrigan & King of Worchester, Mass.
Source: Catholic Historical Research Center, 6719 Calvert Street | Philadelphia, PA 19149
Rev. P.B. Murphy was one of the first to record the history of the Roman Catholic church in Saxonville (in addition to church history in Framingham, Maynard, Wayland, Natick, South Natick, etc.) between 1834 to 1897. A pamphlet authored by Murphy was published in 1897 by Harrigan & King of Worchester, Mass.
Source: Catholic Historical Research Center, 6719 Calvert Street | Philadelphia, PA 19149
1898
Centenary celebrations of the 1798 Rebellion marked a new departure in Irish political life, as since the early 1890s had been politically inactive following the death of Parnell and the split in the Irish Parliamentary Party.
By 1898 Irish nationalists of all hues recognised the great importance of the Rebellion of 1798, which also saw a great deal of interest from the Irish disaspora in marking the rebellion.
The Sacred Heart Review of Boston published this little item in February, 1898 announcing that invitations to two popular priests, P.B.Murphy and James Supple to act as chaplains during the visit from Boston to Ireand in June, had been accepted. (below left)
Around the same time, on 23 February, the Pittsburgh Catholic carried an item on Rev. Murphy and the Ballymartle Chalice
Centenary celebrations of the 1798 Rebellion marked a new departure in Irish political life, as since the early 1890s had been politically inactive following the death of Parnell and the split in the Irish Parliamentary Party.
By 1898 Irish nationalists of all hues recognised the great importance of the Rebellion of 1798, which also saw a great deal of interest from the Irish disaspora in marking the rebellion.
The Sacred Heart Review of Boston published this little item in February, 1898 announcing that invitations to two popular priests, P.B.Murphy and James Supple to act as chaplains during the visit from Boston to Ireand in June, had been accepted. (below left)
Around the same time, on 23 February, the Pittsburgh Catholic carried an item on Rev. Murphy and the Ballymartle Chalice
The Rev. P.B.'s tenure as Rector in Saxonville and plans to attend the 1798 Centenary in Ireland were about to be interupted by war between the United States and Spain 'in the cause of honor and humanity'.
The Spanish American War of 1898
Three of the last outposts of Spain's crumbling empire in the 1890s were the islands of Puerto Rico and Cuba in the Caribbean, the Philippines & Guam in the Pacific. A vicious ten year war of independence by Cuban guerrillas had flared up again in late 1897 and some 187,000 Spanish troops were fighting ruthlessly to supress it but at a tremendous cost of Cuban lives as well as to US business interests. Washington was outraged at the cruelties inflicted on Cuba by Spain, where almost 500,000 civilians had already died.
This outrage coincided with an emergent American foreign policy of moralizing rather than of acquisition of territory. However, US Public opinion was strongly on the side of military intervention, largely agitated by anti-Spanish propaganda led by journalists such as Joseph Pulitzer and William Hearst which used 'yellow journalism' to criticise the Spanish administration of Cuba.
American concern of property interests and citizen's safety in Cuba were sufficient for Washington to send the battleship USS Maine to Havana as a show of strength. However, the Maine mysteriously exploded & sank in Havana harbour on February 15, 1898, and the resulting political pressures from the Democratic Party and certain industrialists finally pushed the administration of Republican President William McKinley into a war he had certainly wished to avoid.
This outrage coincided with an emergent American foreign policy of moralizing rather than of acquisition of territory. However, US Public opinion was strongly on the side of military intervention, largely agitated by anti-Spanish propaganda led by journalists such as Joseph Pulitzer and William Hearst which used 'yellow journalism' to criticise the Spanish administration of Cuba.
American concern of property interests and citizen's safety in Cuba were sufficient for Washington to send the battleship USS Maine to Havana as a show of strength. However, the Maine mysteriously exploded & sank in Havana harbour on February 15, 1898, and the resulting political pressures from the Democratic Party and certain industrialists finally pushed the administration of Republican President William McKinley into a war he had certainly wished to avoid.
Compromise was sought by Spain, but rejected by the United States which instead sent an ultimatum to Madrid demanding it surrender control of Cuba & Puerto Rico to an independent, civilian administration. Madrid refused, severed diplomatic relations with Washington and the US swiftly blockaded the island. Madrid declared war and within ten weeks, Spain's four hundred years of imperial dominion in the New World would be forced to an end and signalled the emergence of the United States as a world power.
Both the Spanish and American forces were woefully prepared for war. It took the United States two months alone to land troops in Cuba, and then with miserable provisions, poor armaments, non-existent medical care and even less training.
Whatever about American forces shortcomings, the Spanish defences were even more badly prepared and it was US naval power that quickly proved decisive both in the Carribean and in the distant Phillipines.
Both the Spanish and American forces were woefully prepared for war. It took the United States two months alone to land troops in Cuba, and then with miserable provisions, poor armaments, non-existent medical care and even less training.
Whatever about American forces shortcomings, the Spanish defences were even more badly prepared and it was US naval power that quickly proved decisive both in the Carribean and in the distant Phillipines.
above: An example of the Hearst Press 'Yellow journalism' illustrations - 'Spanish Misrule in Cuba', the explosion of the USS Maine in Havana harbour and a stylised battle scene from the campaign.
When the Spanish-American war broke out, Fr. Murphy recalls that he enlisted on 1 May 1898 on the same day as US Commodre George Dewey fleet of four cruisers and gunboats sailed into Manila Bay and promptly sank nine of the ten defending Spanish battleships.
Perhaps this was a little wishful thinking on Murphy's part. His Veterans Administration Card, showing key dates of his military service disagrees with the cleric - citing enlistment on 4 May, 1898. In addition, he neatly shaved three years from his age on enlistment papers and recorded his date of birth as 17 May 1853 rather than 17 May 1850 (as verified on other public records and the Ovens Parish Register.)
Why Fr. Murphy would change his date of birth was a little unclear. However some research in US Federal Archives shows a clear reason for this attempt to reduce his age. In April 1898, Congress declared that all males between 18 and 45 were subject to military duty - either on a voluntary basis or in event of a draft. As Fr. P.B. was then about to turn 48 the following month, he would no doubt be prevented from enlisting on this age barrier and possibly miss out on another great military adventure. No doubt with some Jesuitical reasoning, he swiftly dropped three years from his age and promptly enlisted.
Fr. Murphy was commissioned on May 14, 1898, as chaplain of the Ninth Regiment, Massachusetts Volunteers Militia (also known as 9th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry) under Colonel Bogan, appointed at his request by the late Archbishop Williams, of Boston "with good wishes and happy return for himself and regiment “
The 9th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry was mustered into service in Cuba at South Framingham, Massachusetts May 9 - 12, 1898. At the time of mustering in, the unit consisted of forty-seven officers and 896 enlisted men.
The Ninth Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Militia 'The Irish Ninth' moved to training camp, firstly in Camp Dewey, Maine where we have this press report from May 24, 1898:
The Ninth Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Militia 'The Irish Ninth' moved to training camp, firstly in Camp Dewey, Maine where we have this press report from May 24, 1898:
May 29th 1898, Rev. Murphy was presented with a testimonial from friends, parishoners and supporters: a throughbred Kentucky horse, 'a set of equipments' and a 'purse of money' at th 9th Regiment HQ, Camp Dewey. Boston's 'Sacred Heart Review' reported on 4 June:
The Ninth Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Militia 'The Irish Ninth' moved to Camp Alger, near Washington DC during June. From here, Fr. Murphy (no doubt with his thoroughbred Kentucky horse in tow) wrote to the Pilot newspaper in Boston, thanking the Brooklyn, NY lodge of the Knights of Columbus for their religious publications and clothing for troops gathering to fight in Cuba:
The Ninth Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Militia 'The Irish Ninth' moved to Camp Alger, near Washington DC during June. From here, Fr. Murphy (no doubt with his thoroughbred Kentucky horse in tow) wrote to the Pilot newspaper in Boston, thanking the Brooklyn, NY lodge of the Knights of Columbus for their religious publications and clothing for troops gathering to fight in Cuba:
The 9th Massachusetts apparently became a part of the First Division of the Second Army Corps, and were moved from Camp Alger to another staging camp, Dunn Loring, Virginia. On June 9th, the unit was brigaded with the 33rd Michigan and the 34th Michigan, all of which were placed under the command of the 9th's commander, Col. Fred. B. Bogan. When the brigade was sent to Cuba, some elements of the regiment stayed behind and was assigned in the Second Division of the Second Army Corps.
The regiment departed the United States for Cuba on June 26 from Old Point Comfort, Virginia & sailed for Cuba with other units and supplies aboard the USS Harvard on June 26th 1898. (Formerly the liner SS City of New York launched in 1888, she was chartered as an auxilliary cruiser USS Harvard at the outbreak of war with Spain.).
The Ninth Regiment, their Chaplain Rev. P.B.Murphy and supplies arrived in Altares, Cuba on 1 July, the same day that the battles of El Caney and San Juan Heights were fought. The 9th, just arriving in Cuba, was not in position to take part in either action.
Murphy's military rank was equivalent to that of mounted captain, entitling him to the use of a horse, necessary to the performance of his duties. His Kentucky throughbred was one of only five horses shipped to Cuba with his brigade, but it's stay was short lived. Murphy's horse along with all other steeds were sent home when General Shafter issued an order forbidding the use and stabling of horses in Cuba. (It was alleged that only mules could live in Cuba's 'oppressive climate').
Of course, without his horse, Murphy shared all the hardships of the regimental marches, for which he was so unprepared by his profession. His services were not confined to the Ninth Regiment but, with those of Fathers Hart and Fitzgerald, owing to their vows as priests, were given to the whole of the third division of the Fifth Army Corps, comprising some thirty thousand men.
Despite the gradual build-up of hostilities, the U.S. armed forces were ill-equipped and untrained for war in Cuba, especially one involving highly coordinated land-sea operations. It was enormously fortuitous for the U.S. that the Spanish forces were even less prepared. The Spanish fleet, after successfully crossing the Atlantic, managed to trap itself in Santiago Bay, and was destroyed by the U.S. navy a few days before U.S. ground troops captured Santiago and they tried to flee the blockaded harbour.
The Rev. Murphy recalled his experiences of Cuba in July 1898:
The Ninth Regiment landed in Cuba on Friday, July 1 , after sunset [from the USS Harvard]. On that day the battle of San Juan was fought. I was the first to land, and, knowing that many would want a final private word of cheer, selected a convenient pile of rail road sleepers, quite near an unused rail road track, to hear such confessions as might come. "Nor did I have to tarry long before I began. In a short time a long line of silent men was in place) each patiently, or, perhaps, impatiently waiting for his turn. It was so long a line, in fact, that before the end was reached our regiment had proceeded on its midnight march, and the end or left of the time had quite disappeared ere the last man was heard. " 'Let's find Col. Logan,' said the last man to me, 'then join my party, and we will start at 3, in the cool of the morning, and perhaps overtake the boys.'
We found the Colonel and procured quarters for the night in an old shack only a short distance away. The Colonel complained of the cold, of having in the darkness of the night lost his orderly, of the long and weary march for the boys, but never closed an eye. "It was only 3 o'clock in the morning when my friend, whom I must call the last man, came to where we were and said: 'Come, all aboard, chaplain: if you propose joining our party, come along.' At 3:40 that Saturday morning, July 2, our little party was on its way to the front.
Before 9 o'clock we arrived at Shafter's headquarters, thanks to our very early start. From here could be heard the shot and shell and the general fusillade taking place at the front. The war correspondents who accompanied me went to the press tent a little to the rear of Shafter's, our linguistic friend Downey reported to the General, while I stepped into the general hospital just across the opening, and in less time than it takes to tell it, one of the stewards offered to care for my haversack, and at the same time remarking, 'Father, that man over there wants you.' "That poor man did want me, and what I did for him I did for scores of others, both those inside the large tents, those poor wounded men in the small or quarter tents, and those who were exposed, lying under the trees all around.
I was pleased to find Major King, first surgeon of the Thirty-fourth Michigan Volunteers, was in charge, and as I entered in the morning was performing his third operation that day. "More than 400 wounded soldiers, many of them Catholics, and I was the only priest at that hospital. "Nor was all the work accomplished there on this Saturday, for a very fair amount of work, was performed by me there the following day. About this time I had the pleasure of meeting Father Fitzgerald, post chaplain of the Twenty second Regulars, who informed me that he had lost, through no fault of his, all his altar outfit, even his holy oils, ritual and stole. I will not soon forget his joy on learning that I could accommodate him with a set of holy oils, ritual and stole, as I had a duplicate set. We agreed that, as we were sending the greater part of the wounded to the new hospital at Siboney, I should go there, and he would look after the general hospital here.
Then, in company with a Boston reporter and Bennett, of the Chicago Journal, who sketched our tramp, and which appears in the Pilot of September 3, we arrived back at Siboney, ten miles distant, footsore and weary, in due time. Hundreds of wounded, placed in great heavy army mule wagons hard vehicles to ride in even for a well man, as they had no springs and the roads were frightful passed us on the way. "The day after my return to Siboney, July 3, there were less than 100 in the hospital. But everyday brought more, and before the end of the week there were more than 400 patients, and three hospitals.
Hundreds were arriving at these hospitals, and in less than a week more than 500 wounded men were under cover, but not one single cot or bed, even for the extreme cases. Stretched along the ground, in some cases without a blanket over them or even under them, great immense giant tents, all radiating from one common center, one would wonder where all the wounded came from. Perhaps those without priestly practice can say, 'Oh, there was nothing to do there for a priest'
Finally the deportation of the poor wounded men commenced. I was requested, in the presence of Col. Bogan, a field officer, and of the Sergeant, who was acting as orderly to the Colonel, 'to look after this end' of the transfer of the wounded. With no wharf and high breakers, it was a difficult task; and not a single wounded soldier that left that shore for the States, whether on a litter or otherwise, that I did not with my own hands touch and guide, help and assist by word or by act, until the advent of the only respectable hospital ship we saw while there the United States hospital ship Relief."
The Kentucky Irish American Newspaper - October 1898
Siboney was the location of the US Forces Yellow Fever Camp, set up in early July 1898 by William Gorgas. Yellow fever was one of the most intimidating tropical diseases at the time, with mortality rates ranging from 10% to 60%. In 1898, experts believed "filth" caused many diseases including yellow fever. Thus, when the US Army departed the camp at Siboney, they burned everything to the ground including unused supplies. Despite efforts to sanitize Havana and other areas to control disease, yellow fever continued to threaten the American mission in Cuba. The Army set up a commission that conducted experiments in 1900, and found the true source of the disease was infected female mosquitoes. Their findings in Cuba paved the way for the successful construction of the Panama Canal (1904-14)
The US Army had become bogged down in Cuba by early July but the Navy sailed to the rescue in time for Independence Day by engaging and destroying the Spanish fleet in Santiago Harbour.
The USS Harvard Incident
Not commented on by Rev. Murphy and generally not well known is that an incident occurred aboard the US transport USS Harvard (previously SS City of New York liner) involving the 9th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry on July 4th.
During this event six Spanish prisoners of war were killed, and thirteen were injured.
Following the naval battle between the US and Spanish Navies at Santiago, many Spanish naval vessels were aflame and aground with hundreds of Spanish sailors in the waters or being shot at by Cuban rebels from the coast. American naval crews risked their own lives to save these men, The USS Harvard dispatched nine of its boats to take on survivors, an action it continued for five hours, rescuing 35 officers and 637 men.
Many of the men who were taken aboard the Harvard were in poor condition. The most seriously injured were transferred to the hospital ship Solace, and 300 suits of working clothes, as well as shoes and hats were issued to the prisoners who were fit enough to be held aboard the USS Harvard.
On the evening of July 4th, while anchored off Siboney, Cuba, the Spanish prisoners of war were being guarded by members of the 9th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, of which Rev. P.B.Murphy was also a member. A line had been marked on the ship's deck, beyond which the prisoners were not allowed to pass. A prisoner, for some unknown reason (some have said to escape the heat), appeared to make an attempt to cross the line. He was ordered to return, but failed to do so, possibly because he did not speak English. The sentry fired, causing the other prisoners to rise to the feet. Thinking that the Spanish prisoners were about to attack, the men of the 9th Massachusetts fired a volley into the mass of prisoners. When the smoke cleared and order was restored, six Spaniards lay dead and thirteen more were injured.
Details on the Harvard Inicdent thanks to Patrick McSherry: http://www.spanamwar.com/harvardincident.htm
The US Army had become bogged down in Cuba by early July but the Navy sailed to the rescue in time for Independence Day by engaging and destroying the Spanish fleet in Santiago Harbour.
The USS Harvard Incident
Not commented on by Rev. Murphy and generally not well known is that an incident occurred aboard the US transport USS Harvard (previously SS City of New York liner) involving the 9th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry on July 4th.
During this event six Spanish prisoners of war were killed, and thirteen were injured.
Following the naval battle between the US and Spanish Navies at Santiago, many Spanish naval vessels were aflame and aground with hundreds of Spanish sailors in the waters or being shot at by Cuban rebels from the coast. American naval crews risked their own lives to save these men, The USS Harvard dispatched nine of its boats to take on survivors, an action it continued for five hours, rescuing 35 officers and 637 men.
Many of the men who were taken aboard the Harvard were in poor condition. The most seriously injured were transferred to the hospital ship Solace, and 300 suits of working clothes, as well as shoes and hats were issued to the prisoners who were fit enough to be held aboard the USS Harvard.
On the evening of July 4th, while anchored off Siboney, Cuba, the Spanish prisoners of war were being guarded by members of the 9th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, of which Rev. P.B.Murphy was also a member. A line had been marked on the ship's deck, beyond which the prisoners were not allowed to pass. A prisoner, for some unknown reason (some have said to escape the heat), appeared to make an attempt to cross the line. He was ordered to return, but failed to do so, possibly because he did not speak English. The sentry fired, causing the other prisoners to rise to the feet. Thinking that the Spanish prisoners were about to attack, the men of the 9th Massachusetts fired a volley into the mass of prisoners. When the smoke cleared and order was restored, six Spaniards lay dead and thirteen more were injured.
Details on the Harvard Inicdent thanks to Patrick McSherry: http://www.spanamwar.com/harvardincident.htm
Fr. P. B. Murphy got quite the write up in San Francisco's Catholic archdiocese newspaper 'The Monitor' of September 3, 1898.
"I tell you he's a dandy. He's a tremendous big man - a splendid mark for sharpshooters..."
"I tell you he's a dandy. He's a tremendous big man - a splendid mark for sharpshooters..."
The Rev. Murphy's war service is commented on some years later in a military memoir of the Ninth Regiment:
“Among [Rev Murphy's] acquaintances made in Cuba was the celebrated traveller and lecturer, Peter MacOueen, who was a correspondent there for certain Boston papers. This acquaintance ripened into friendship which has continued to the present time…..
Another friendship made at that time was that of James A. King, president of the Michigan American Patriotic Association, serving in Cuba as surgeon of the Thirty-third Michigan Regiment. He having learned that some strictures had been passed upon Father Murphy's performance of his duties, in a letter dated October 19, 1898, after expressing his surprise and indignation, refers to the fact in this way: "It seems to be the lot of all energetic men ambitious to do their full duty, to suffer from unjust and ignorant criticism." And again: "You are the only chaplain I saw who was always ready for duty and always looking for duty to perform…
Of the many stories about Father Murphy sent from the seat of war, a correspondent of the Chicago Journal thus wrote about him: "Father Murphy was as fine a type of the American chaplain of volunteers as I saw in Cuba. He had the faculty of winning both respect and the affection of soldiers, and that was largely due to his adaptability."
Further illustrating his estimate of Father Murphy, the same writer relates this incident: "Once several civilians and a slightly wounded soldier marched with him from the firing line to Siboney. That is nine miles, and we crossed two mountains and encountered two rain-storms. But the parson never whimpered, though we marched at a Killing pace, for we wanted to get under cover before night fell …and in spite of his years, he (Father Murphy) offered on that very trip to carry the wounded soldier's gun, and every mile or so he would call back to the man 'You know, my boy, what to do with that rifle if it gets too heavy for you, give it to me.”…At the request of the Archbishop of Santiago, Father Murphy performed two of the very few marriages contracted in Santiago Province during the campaign. ..
Stalwart and energetic, he was occasionally called on for services not usually looked for from one of his cloth. At Siboney, with the hospital staff and engineer corps, he was active in executing the order of General Nelson A. Miles, designed to check the spread of yellow fever, to burn hundreds of buildings condemned as unsanitary”
Numerically superior Cuban, Philippine, and US forces obtained the surrender of Santiago de Cuba and Manila despite the good performance of some Spanish infantry units and fierce fighting for positions such as San Juan Hill. With two obsolete Spanish squadrons sunk in Santiago de Cuba and Manila Bay and a third, more modern fleet recalled home to protect the Spanish coasts, Madrid sued for peace.
Surrender
On July 17, 1898 the Spanish army surrendered. During the following two weeks, 3,000 U.S. troops moved on to Puerto Rico, encountering little resistance. Of the 943 in the Ninth Regiment who were shipped to Cuba, only 342 returned to the US.
601 died in Cuba – not one killed in battle but all as a result of disease. Total American losses were 345 killed in action and 2,565 dead from disease.
This war had started out as a very popular campaign, but by wars end, the shine had certainly worn off and some brave citizens began to raise their voices in protest. Among them was the author Mark Twain. He pointed out the enormous contradictions between “our benevolent" foreign policy and its brutal consequences. As American involvement became progressively more difficult to justify, and eventually came to be defended on the grounds that the U.S. could not retire from it without suffering "dishonour", Twain advocated the position that "An inglorious peace is better than a dishonourable war."
The result was the 1898 Treaty of Paris, negotiated on terms favourable to the US, which allowed it temporary control of Cuba, and ceded ownership of Puerto Rico, Guam and the Philippine islands. The cession of the Philippines involved payment of $20 million ($568,880,000 today) to Spain by the US to cover infrastructure owned by Spain. The defeat and collapse of the Spanish Empire was a profound shock to Spain's national psyche, and provoked a philosophical and artistic revaluation of Spanish society known as the Generation of '98.The United States gained several island possessions spanning the globe and a rancorous new debate over the wisdom of expansionism. The nation went to war in Cuba for 'the cause of honour and humanity' but in the process aquired an empire and found itself, in the Phillipines, a colonial master like Spain.
To pay the costs of the war, Congress passed an excise tax on long-distance phone service. At the time, it affected only wealthy Americans who owned telephones. However, Congress neglected to repeal the tax after the war ended four months later, and the tax remained in place for over 100 years until, on August 1, 2006, it was announced that the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the IRS would no longer collect the tax.
Further reading on the Spanish-American war: Wikipedia, & some fascinating resources in United States Library of Congress
Letter from Fr. P.B.Murphy (as Chaplain, Camp Neal, Santiago, Cuba) to James O'Donoghue, Editor of the Sunday Star in Lawrence, Massachusets. Mailed from Santiago de Cuba, Cuba on August 15, 1898. Auctioned by Schuyler Rumsey Philatelic Auctions, October 2017. Realized: $150 |
Meanwhile, back in Boston, the Sacred Heart Review was keeping readers up to date with 'business as usual' in St. George's Church, Saxonville.
Return to the United States
The 9th Massachusetts remained in Cuba until August 26, when the regiment departed for the United States and returned to a compulsory 30 day quarantine at Montauk, Long Island, NY.
The regiment was mustered out of service on November 26, 1898 at Boston. At the time of mustering out, the regiment consisted of forty-six officers and 1,151 elisted men. During its term of service, the regiment lost four officers and one hundred ten enlisted men to disease. One enlisted man died as the result of an accident and another deserted. Two additional enlisted men were discharged on disability. Colonel Bogan was among those claimed by disease. He had been sent home, but died at his home in Charlestown, Massachusetts in early August, 1898.
By the end of December 1898, Fr. Murphy had returned to his ministry in Saxonville.
Return to the United States
The 9th Massachusetts remained in Cuba until August 26, when the regiment departed for the United States and returned to a compulsory 30 day quarantine at Montauk, Long Island, NY.
The regiment was mustered out of service on November 26, 1898 at Boston. At the time of mustering out, the regiment consisted of forty-six officers and 1,151 elisted men. During its term of service, the regiment lost four officers and one hundred ten enlisted men to disease. One enlisted man died as the result of an accident and another deserted. Two additional enlisted men were discharged on disability. Colonel Bogan was among those claimed by disease. He had been sent home, but died at his home in Charlestown, Massachusetts in early August, 1898.
By the end of December 1898, Fr. Murphy had returned to his ministry in Saxonville.
Opposite: This is Fr. P.B's Veterans Administration master index card noting his service dates in the 1898 confict. However, note his stated age - listed here as born 17 May, 1853, a full three years from his actual birth date in 1850. (verifiable in the Ovens, Co. Cork Parish register) The reason for this 'error' was that in April 1898, Congress declared that all males between 18 and 45 were subject to military duty. Fr. P.B. was then about to turn 48 the following month and no doubt be prevented from enlisting. |
The Kentucky Irish American newspaper dated October 15, 1898 reported Rev. Murphy's experiences in Cuba in between detailed news of Land League activities in Co. Roscommon and a letter from Edward Keenan describing his US Army unit actions in Puerto Rico against the Spanish.
Rev. Murphy was honorably discharged from US Military Service on 26 November, 1898.
Saxonville. Massachusetts. c1899
The Cork Examiner newspaper featured 'The Gallant Chaplain of the Ninth Massachusetts' outlining his story to a new audience:
The Cork Examiner newspaper featured 'The Gallant Chaplain of the Ninth Massachusetts' outlining his story to a new audience:
Returning to civilian and clerical life in his parish of Saxonville, Massachusetts, Rev. Murphy discovered a new passion - photography. Below is a small photo album of photographs recently re-discovered by a distant relative in Ireland, Colm O'Sullivan. This collection of photographs taken by P.B. in the parish, showing St George's Church (a long, wooden structure originally built to serve Irish immigrants who worked at the Saxonville Mills in the 1840s) and the parish rectory or presbytery, an impressive three storey residence, built in the early 1880s along with many local residents and children of the parish,
The wooden church was replaced by a modern brick structure in the 1960s after the original building was condemned.
This photo archive was donated in September 2022 to the Framingham History Centre, 3 Oak Street, Framingham, MA 0701. https://framinghamhistory.org/
Back in Ireland - 6 Belgrave Place, Cork City. Summer of 1899
During the summer of 1899, the extended Murphy family gathered at 6 Belgrave Place to welcome a new addition to the family.
Miss Margaret Geany (1870-1958), a daughter of a family friend, had moved to New York in the early 1890s to study nursing at the prestigious Mount Sinai School of Nursing in New York. She qualified in February 1898 and began her nursing career with a New York hospital.
When news of a possibly imminent engagement between Margaret and a besotted American hospital doctor reached young Thomas J Murphy in Cork later that year, he was stirred into action. Family lore has it that he immediately set sail to New York to propose marriage to Margaret and to persuade her to return home. His offer was accepted and Margaret returned to Ireland in May 1899, to later marry Thomas at the St Mary of the Angels Church in Dublin on 8 October 1901. They later went on to produce three daughters, Natalie, Mary & Sheelagh.
This photograph (above) from the Murphy family archives dates from the summer of 1899 and is of the engagement party between Margaret and Thomas and is believed to have been held in the garden of 6 Belgrave Place, Cork - the home of his close relative, the particularly hospitable and sociable couple, Julia Ahern (1842-1920) and her husband, Jeremiah (1841-1915), a successful city businessman. All pictured here were directly related to the Rev. P.B. Murphy and his 'home from home' when in Ireland was at Number 6.
As T.J.Murphy & Margaret Geany's grandson, Colm recalls: "TJ...was just starting out in business. It is possible that Jeremiah, who as far as I can make out had no children, acted as a mentor to young TJ. All the evidence suggests that the Aherns were a very supportive and welcoming couple. At least on the basis of the two census returns, their house seems to have been a sort of home-from-home for their country cousins who may also have stayed there semi-permanently if they had employment in the city. We know that at least one Murphy relation worked in the business on Maylor Street. Furthermore, twelve years later Jeremiah and TJ both owned houses two doors apart on Belgrave Place - No 6 and No. 4"
Both Colm O'Sullivan and myself are grandsons of two of those present and directly related to many of those captured that summer's day in Cork City. However, no details as to the names of those present has survived & no other record exists of just who was who at that summer engagement party in 1899.
Now, some123 years later, we have managed to identify most of these shared ancestors through comparisons with later photographs. This image has also proven to be both the earliest surviving image taken of most family members and for one person, their only surviving image. Incidentally, the photographer is believed to be the 57 year old Jeremiah Ahern - there is also evidence of his amateur developing skills as some ghostly images of earlier photographs have appeared on this shot during restoration.
Miss Margaret Geany (1870-1958), a daughter of a family friend, had moved to New York in the early 1890s to study nursing at the prestigious Mount Sinai School of Nursing in New York. She qualified in February 1898 and began her nursing career with a New York hospital.
When news of a possibly imminent engagement between Margaret and a besotted American hospital doctor reached young Thomas J Murphy in Cork later that year, he was stirred into action. Family lore has it that he immediately set sail to New York to propose marriage to Margaret and to persuade her to return home. His offer was accepted and Margaret returned to Ireland in May 1899, to later marry Thomas at the St Mary of the Angels Church in Dublin on 8 October 1901. They later went on to produce three daughters, Natalie, Mary & Sheelagh.
This photograph (above) from the Murphy family archives dates from the summer of 1899 and is of the engagement party between Margaret and Thomas and is believed to have been held in the garden of 6 Belgrave Place, Cork - the home of his close relative, the particularly hospitable and sociable couple, Julia Ahern (1842-1920) and her husband, Jeremiah (1841-1915), a successful city businessman. All pictured here were directly related to the Rev. P.B. Murphy and his 'home from home' when in Ireland was at Number 6.
As T.J.Murphy & Margaret Geany's grandson, Colm recalls: "TJ...was just starting out in business. It is possible that Jeremiah, who as far as I can make out had no children, acted as a mentor to young TJ. All the evidence suggests that the Aherns were a very supportive and welcoming couple. At least on the basis of the two census returns, their house seems to have been a sort of home-from-home for their country cousins who may also have stayed there semi-permanently if they had employment in the city. We know that at least one Murphy relation worked in the business on Maylor Street. Furthermore, twelve years later Jeremiah and TJ both owned houses two doors apart on Belgrave Place - No 6 and No. 4"
Both Colm O'Sullivan and myself are grandsons of two of those present and directly related to many of those captured that summer's day in Cork City. However, no details as to the names of those present has survived & no other record exists of just who was who at that summer engagement party in 1899.
Now, some123 years later, we have managed to identify most of these shared ancestors through comparisons with later photographs. This image has also proven to be both the earliest surviving image taken of most family members and for one person, their only surviving image. Incidentally, the photographer is believed to be the 57 year old Jeremiah Ahern - there is also evidence of his amateur developing skills as some ghostly images of earlier photographs have appeared on this shot during restoration.
1: Unknown child
2: Unknown
3: Unknown
4: Daniel Lynch, Granig. (1884-1956) Reputed to be quite camera shy, it's a rare first shot of the young Daniel who was then running Granig Farm ( from 1890 until his death in 1956)
5: Margaret Geany (1870-1958) engaged to be married to Thomas J Murphy.
6: Thomas J Murphy (1867-1948) Colm O'Sullivan's maternal grandfather.
7: Mary 'Moll' Lynch, Granig. (1881-1957)
8: Unknown
9: Michael Francis Lynch, Granig. (1890-1956) Author's paternal grandfather
10: Possibly Hannah Murphy
11: Possibly Denis Lynch (1886-1973)
12: Possibly Maggie Murphy or Kate C Murphy (1865-1913)
13: Timothy 'Tim' Lynch, Granig. (1883-1958)
14: Possibly Julia Murphy
15: General consensus is that this is the Murphy family patriarch - Denis Murphy (1817-1913) Colm's Great Grandfather.
16: Unknown
17: Margaret Lynch nee Murphy, Granig (1847-1915) Author's Great Grandmother.
18: Possibly Mary Murphy
19: Person moved during film exposure or print has been damaged over time… could be Julia Murphy (1818-?) or Joanna Murphy (1835--1921).
20: Julia Aherne (nee Murphy)(1842-1920)
Finally, the vacant chair: Possibly occupied by the photographer believed to have been Jeremiah Ahern.
below: 'ghost images' from previous photographs which had been left on the developing plate/glass appear in the restored image.
2: Unknown
3: Unknown
4: Daniel Lynch, Granig. (1884-1956) Reputed to be quite camera shy, it's a rare first shot of the young Daniel who was then running Granig Farm ( from 1890 until his death in 1956)
5: Margaret Geany (1870-1958) engaged to be married to Thomas J Murphy.
6: Thomas J Murphy (1867-1948) Colm O'Sullivan's maternal grandfather.
7: Mary 'Moll' Lynch, Granig. (1881-1957)
8: Unknown
9: Michael Francis Lynch, Granig. (1890-1956) Author's paternal grandfather
10: Possibly Hannah Murphy
11: Possibly Denis Lynch (1886-1973)
12: Possibly Maggie Murphy or Kate C Murphy (1865-1913)
13: Timothy 'Tim' Lynch, Granig. (1883-1958)
14: Possibly Julia Murphy
15: General consensus is that this is the Murphy family patriarch - Denis Murphy (1817-1913) Colm's Great Grandfather.
16: Unknown
17: Margaret Lynch nee Murphy, Granig (1847-1915) Author's Great Grandmother.
18: Possibly Mary Murphy
19: Person moved during film exposure or print has been damaged over time… could be Julia Murphy (1818-?) or Joanna Murphy (1835--1921).
20: Julia Aherne (nee Murphy)(1842-1920)
Finally, the vacant chair: Possibly occupied by the photographer believed to have been Jeremiah Ahern.
below: 'ghost images' from previous photographs which had been left on the developing plate/glass appear in the restored image.
Another little item of interest in this photograph is that at least three of the women pictured are wearing a fad of the late Victorian era: "Long chains" ( see Mary Lynch #7, possibly Hannah Murphy #10 & either Julia or Joanna Murphy #19 and opposite )
This late Victorian fad of 'chains' were simply decorative chains sometimes looped and caught on the bodice with a brooch, nearly always worn full length, and often draped across the entire front of a dress and caught at the belt to be the main ornament. Chains were made in both precious and non-precious metals, and could be extremely simple or ornamented with stones and seed pearls. From these chains were suspended watches or lorgnettes, as well as lockets and other useful implements. |
Mary (#7) - appears to have a lorgnette attached at the end and it seems she was to keep this fad for life. I recall my father reminiscing that his aunt used to wear her glasses/eye wear attached to a long chain draped around her neck which were brought up to her eyes a la Lady Bracknell and to quite dramatic effect. This chain was intriguing to her young nephew in the 1930s as it included a virtual Swiss Army knife of useful accoutrements collected and attached over many years as well as keys to a personal locked box (and the liquor 'tantalus' cabinet ). All were used right up to her death in 1957.
P.B.Murphy Later Years
Following his service in Cuba, Fr. Murphy settled back into clerical life.
Sometime around 1900, Fr. Murphy is believed to have commissioned the first of two inscribed stained glass windows in the church of St. John the Baptist, Ovens, Co. Cork commemorating his family and around 1905, the second commemorating his brother. This parish Church remains today in the birth parish of Fr Murphy, his Father and Grandfather and extended family.
Following his service in Cuba, Fr. Murphy settled back into clerical life.
Sometime around 1900, Fr. Murphy is believed to have commissioned the first of two inscribed stained glass windows in the church of St. John the Baptist, Ovens, Co. Cork commemorating his family and around 1905, the second commemorating his brother. This parish Church remains today in the birth parish of Fr Murphy, his Father and Grandfather and extended family.
“I sat in one of the pews in St. John the Baptist, the light streaming through a stained glass window of the ‘Lamb of God’. At the base is inscribed the name Daniel Walter Murphy, born Muloughroe RIP, 1820 and his Mary A. Bowen, his wife, born Passage, Cork 1823, RIP. A second stained glass window of Mary, Mother of Christ, is inscribed William Bowen Murphy, born Mullaghroe, died Boston. USA, RIP, The inscriptions do not say anymore but do invite the viewer to remember the patron. Through my actions, I perform what the memorial wants me to do. Memorials such as these tend to indirectly highlight the remembered in a high social standing stressing their personal qualities, goodness and piety….”
Our City, Our Town, Words of Stone by Kieran McCarthy. Cork Independent Newspapers 14 January 2010 – http://kieranmccarthy.ie/?p=2205
1900 - and the Rev. P.B. visits Ireland and returns to Boston via the SS New England (Saloon Class of course) sailing from Liverpool on August 30th. Interestingly, according to his room entry (8921) also has a travelling companion from Saxonville, Ma - a 25 year old (seminarian?) student named Frank H. Doyle. Also note that he continued to get younger - he's listed here as aged 45 & 7 months, shaving almost 5 years from his actual age.
His brother, William Bowen Murphy died 11 May 1903 as reported by the Boston Post Newspaper the following day:
SERGEANT MURPHY DEAD
Sergeant William B. Murphy of Division 14, one of the most popular officers in the Boston police department, died at his home, 52 Union Street, Brighton, at 5:.30 last evening [Monday, May 11, 1903] after a lingering Illness that covered a period of nearly nine months. Seated by his bedside comforting his last earthly moments were his only living relatives, his brother, the Rev. Father P. B. Murphy, parish priest at Saxonville and former chaplain of the Ninth Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, and his sister, Mrs. John H. McCarthy of Cambridge. Sergeant Murphy was born in Ireland and came to this country when but a boy of 7. He served in the United States army eight years, during that time saw hard service in the big Indian campaigns on the frontier and was one of those present when the famous Apache chief, Geronimo, attempted to assassinate General Miles. He was honourably discharged from the United States service, with the rank of sergeant, Jan. 12. 1883. Subsequently he became a member of the park police and was appointed sergeant in that service June 29, 1888. He became a member of the Boston police by an act of the Legislature. Sergeant Murphy was a profound student of nature, and while in the park police, wrote a series of essays on the bird and plant life in our parks, many of which have been published in the leading magazines and dailies of this country. Some 15 years ago he was sent abroad by the park commissioners and visited many of the principal parkways of Europe, returning with valuable Information and data concerning them. He was a life member of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society and a member of the Knights of Columbus. He was a director of the Volunteer Cooperative Bank from Jan. 15, 1896, to Jan. 17, 1900. 'The funeral will take place from his late residence tomorrow morning at 8 o’clock.
1903
Rev. P.B. Murphy is noted as attending the dedication of the equestrian statue of Major General Joseph Hooker, an American Civil War general for the Union, chiefly remembered for his decisive defeat by Confederate General Robert E. Lee at the Battle of Chancellorsville in 1863. Hooker became known as "Fighting Joe" following a journalist's clerical error, and the nickname stuck. His personal reputation was as a hard-drinking ladies' man, and his headquarters were known for parties and gambling.
Perhaps all these traits were overlooked when the great and the good gathered before the Masachussets State House on 25 May 1903.
Rev. P.B. Murphy is noted as attending the dedication of the equestrian statue of Major General Joseph Hooker, an American Civil War general for the Union, chiefly remembered for his decisive defeat by Confederate General Robert E. Lee at the Battle of Chancellorsville in 1863. Hooker became known as "Fighting Joe" following a journalist's clerical error, and the nickname stuck. His personal reputation was as a hard-drinking ladies' man, and his headquarters were known for parties and gambling.
Perhaps all these traits were overlooked when the great and the good gathered before the Masachussets State House on 25 May 1903.
1904
With the signing of the Treaty of Paris on December 10, 1898, Spain ceded the Philippines to the United States. The interim U.S. military government of the Philippine Islands experienced a period of great political turbulence, characterized by the Philippine–American War (1899-1902) resulting in over a million civilian deaths. 1904 was an election year in the United States and the Philippine Independence Committee was formed to circulate a petition to the national conventions of both the Republican and Democratic parties calling for the 'ultimate' independence of the Philippines 'upon terms similar to those offered to Cuba' & advocating reforms to the American governance and control of the islands. The petitions were raised and signed by a 'who's who' in American society at the time, from Senators, Congressmen, Judges, Catholic Prelates, Right Revs, College Professors, Lawyers, Engineers and Patrick Bowen Murphy as Chaplain-in-Chief Spanish War Veterans. The Democratic Party adopted a policy of more rapid Philippine independence, whereas the Republicans defined their colonial mission as tutelage: preparing the Philippines for eventual independence - but at a future, unspecified date. In November, incumbent Republican President Theodore Roosevelt defeated the Democratic nominee, Alton B. Parker but little changed in the Philippines. |
1906
Murphy next took up the case of commemorating fellow Irishman, the Canadian politician, Catholic spokesman, journalist, poet, and a Father of Canadian Confederation. Thomas D'Arcy McGee (1825-1868), the only federal Canadian politician assassinated. His letter to the Victoria, British Columbia 'Daily Colonist' in September 1906, bemoaned the lack of suitable statue in memory of the former Fenian and later Canadian politician and joined the increasing calls for a permanent memorial. The powers that be eventually acceded, commissioning a work by George William Hill and it was unveiled in Ottawa in 1913.
Murphy next took up the case of commemorating fellow Irishman, the Canadian politician, Catholic spokesman, journalist, poet, and a Father of Canadian Confederation. Thomas D'Arcy McGee (1825-1868), the only federal Canadian politician assassinated. His letter to the Victoria, British Columbia 'Daily Colonist' in September 1906, bemoaned the lack of suitable statue in memory of the former Fenian and later Canadian politician and joined the increasing calls for a permanent memorial. The powers that be eventually acceded, commissioning a work by George William Hill and it was unveiled in Ottawa in 1913.
1907
The Sacred Heart Review magazine announced in 1907 that The Rev. P.B.Murphy was moving from Saxonville to the parish of the Church of Our Lady of the Rosary, South Boston:
The Sacred Heart Review magazine announced in 1907 that The Rev. P.B.Murphy was moving from Saxonville to the parish of the Church of Our Lady of the Rosary, South Boston:
1913 - August/September
Rev. P.B. Murphy was in Ireland on a summer visit to relatives and friends. The Kerry News of 22 August 1913 picks up the story.
This particular visit to Ireland was captured in a small family photograph at 6 Belgrave Square, Cork City:
(L-R): Jeremiah Ahern (c1841-25 Feb 1915), Margaret Lynch nee Murphy (1847-11 Jun 1915), Julia Ahern nee Murphy (c1842 -15 Oct 1920), Rev. Patrick Bowen Murphy (1850-1929) Photo taken 1913. Location presumed 6 Belgrave Place.Cork. Margaret and Julia were sisters and first cousins with Patrick. Jeremiah was a corn merchant based in 36 John Street, Cork and both he and Julia lived at 6 Belgrave Place, Cork (previously resident at 5 Waterloo Place, Cork).
(L-R): Jeremiah Ahern (c1841-25 Feb 1915), Margaret Lynch nee Murphy (1847-11 Jun 1915), Julia Ahern nee Murphy (c1842 -15 Oct 1920), Rev. Patrick Bowen Murphy (1850-1929) Photo taken 1913. Location presumed 6 Belgrave Place.Cork. Margaret and Julia were sisters and first cousins with Patrick. Jeremiah was a corn merchant based in 36 John Street, Cork and both he and Julia lived at 6 Belgrave Place, Cork (previously resident at 5 Waterloo Place, Cork).
Rev. P.B's return to the United States is captured on a Passenger Manifest - sailing home, from Queenstown (Cobh) Ireland to Boston on 10 September aboard the SS Arabic. He was still cutting a few years off his actual age - a decade here (his actual age in 1913 was 64, but prefers to list himself as 54). His residential address is listed as 92 West 6th Street which is close to the location of the Church of Our Lady of the Rosary. The SS Arabic Atlantic crossing took seven days.
1914 - March
In a letter to the Editor of the Cork Examiner, Rev. Patrick B. Murphy wrote a brief letter commenting on events in Ireland quoting the Irish poet, Thomas Moore (1779-1852):
The Petition Of The Orangemen Of Ireland
To the people of England, the humble Petition
Of Ireland's disconsolate Orangemen, showing--
That sad, very sad, is our present condition;--
Our jobbing all gone and our noble selves going;--
That forming one seventh, within a few fractions,
Of Ireland's seven millions of hot heads and hearts,
We hold it the basest of all base transactions
To keep us from murdering the other six parts;--
That as to laws made for the good of the many,
We humbly suggest there is nothing less true;
As all human laws (and our own, more than any)
Are made by and for a particular few:--
That much it delights every true Orange brother
To see you in England such ardour evince,
In discussing which sect most tormented the other,
And burned with most gusto some hundred years since;--
That we love to behold, while old England grows faint,
Messrs. Southey and Butler nigh coming to blows,
To decide whether Dunstan, that strong-bodied Saint,
Ever truly and really pulled the De'il's nose;
Whether t'other Saint, Dominic, burnt the De'il's paw--
Whether Edwy intrigued with Elgiva's odd mother--
And many such points, from which Southey can draw
Conclusions most apt for our hating each other.
That 'tis very well known this devout Irish nation
Has now for some ages, gone happily on
Believing in two kinds of Substantiation,
One party in Trans and the other in Con;
That we, your petitioning Cons, have in right
Of the said monosyllable ravaged the lands
And embezzled the goods and annoyed, day and night,
Both the bodies and souls of the sticklers for Trans;--
That we trust to Peel, Eldon, and other such sages,
For keeping us still in the same state of mind;
Pretty much as the world used to be in those ages,
When still smaller syllables maddened mankind;--
When the words ex and per served as well to annoy
One's neighbours and friends with, as con and trans now;
And Christians, like Southey, who stickled for oi,
Cut the throats of all Christians who stickled for ou.
That relying on England whose kindness already
So often has helpt us to play this game o'er,
We have got our red coats and our carabines ready,
And wait but the word to show sport as before.
That as to the expense--the few millions or so,
Which for all such diversions John Bull has to pay--
'Tis at least a great comfort to John Bull to know
That to Orangemen's pockets 'twill all find its way.
For which your petitioners ever will pray,
Etc., etc., etc., etc., etc.
Thomas Moore
1914 - May
Another reference we have of Patrick Bowen Murphy is in a letter from Diarmuid Lynch to Judge Daniel F. Cohalan in May 1914. Lynch was on a fund-raising mission for the Gaelic League in Ireland in addition to the secret revolutionary mission of representing the IRB at the Clan na Gael conference later that year. He advises his address will be c/o Rev. P.B.Murphy in Boston. Diarmuid's step-mother Margaret was a first cousin of Rev. Murphy.
From 'The Irish Standard' published in Minneapolis, Saturday May 28, 1915 comes this brief comment on the Rev. P.B.Murphy:
The next mention of Fr. Murphy was in 1916. According to the Biographical History of Massachusetts: Biographies and Autobiographies of the Leading Men in the State (volume 6) Published in 1916 (from which much of the detail for this article was sourced) Fr. Murphy was a member of the Arundel Art Society of London; of the Cork Historical and Archaeological Society; honorary member of the Grattan Literary Association, member for life of the Congregation of Laval (affiliated), Quebec, Canada. For four years he was state chaplain of the Massachusetts Knights of Columbus, and an active member of Division 1, Ancient Order of Hibernians, Boston. He was a member of Simpson Assembly, No. 169, Royal Society of Good Fellows; he is the ex- chaplain-in-chief of the Legion of Spanish War Veterans.
Another ecclesastical reference can be found:
“Father Murphy is at present (1916) the rector of the Church of the Holy Rosary, South Boston. He is a graceful speaker and is much in demand on public occasions. Father Murphy is decidedly in favour of military training for school boys, and believes that all young men should be affiliated with some military organization, as it teaches them proper carriage, erect form, respect for all superiors, promptitude in all things, and even makes them better business men, and better companions. In word and act Father Murphy has upheld the dignity of his high calling.”
Fr. Murphy's parish church "The Church of Our Lady of the Rosary" was built on West Sixth Street, South Boston in 1884. (photo below) Unlike most Catholic churches built during this era, the exterior was constructed of wood and featured a new innovation – electric lights. In 1941, the church and the surrounding neighbourhood were slated for destruction when plans were developed for a massive public housing project, comprising six square blocks, in the Lower End. The final mass was conducted on February 6, 1942 and the building demolished in late 1942. Today the buildings erected in 1942 were in turn demolished and suburban apartment blocks are now located on the site.
George Murphy (b. 18 Feb 1835) brother of Daniel Walter & uncle to Fr. P.B., passed away in Suffolk County, Massachussetts on 10 May 1917. Interred in Mount Benedict Cemetery, West Roxbury, Suffolk County.
There is scant information relating to Rev. Murphy between 1916 and 1929 apart from brief family references to him by Diarmuid Lynch following the Easter Rising 1916 and later when he lived in New York (1918-32).
In a note dated May 12, 1917, the Rev B. Murphy wrote from Our Lady of the Rosary, South Boston to Lynch while jailed in Lewes Prison for his part in the 1916 Rising:
‘Dear Diarmuid.
Got your little note today – the first word I got from any member of the family for over a year. We are well over here. Mail you a letter also by this same mail c/o The Gov of Lewes Prison.
M. Curley, Mayor of Boston has at last taken up your case [ words illegible ] we are leaving no stone unturned [ words illegible ]
Yours fondly
Rev P.B.Murphy
Lynch Family Archives. Folder 3-35
In a 'Round Robin' letter of July 1917, the Reverend had this brief sentence:
"Come over P.D.Q* my dear Diarmuid for there is a suite of rooms at 92 St & 6th [ Word illegible ] for you. Rev. P.B.Murphy."
* 'pretty darn quick' - an interesting turn of phrase for a cleric in 1917. The address at 92st & 6th was Fr Murphy's residence.
1920
14th Census of the United States. Massachusetts - Suffolk County - Precinct 4.
We find Fr. P.B. in the 14th US Census on 16 January, 1920 at 92st & 6th, Boston.
Based on the census detail, it was a strongly Irish enclave with just a few Lithuanians and a solitary Canadian and an Englishman. Fr P.B's dates vary again - shown as arriving in the United States in 1856 (understood to be 1854) and 66 at last birthday in 1919 which puts his birth year as 1854.
14th Census of the United States. Massachusetts - Suffolk County - Precinct 4.
We find Fr. P.B. in the 14th US Census on 16 January, 1920 at 92st & 6th, Boston.
Based on the census detail, it was a strongly Irish enclave with just a few Lithuanians and a solitary Canadian and an Englishman. Fr P.B's dates vary again - shown as arriving in the United States in 1856 (understood to be 1854) and 66 at last birthday in 1919 which puts his birth year as 1854.
Below is a copy of his Army Invalid pension (old age) from the US National Archives. This began payment of $18 per month in February 1922 when Rev. Murphy was 72 (equivalent value of $262 monthly in 2017), rising to $24 in May 1924 ($344), $40 in June 1926 ($553) and $50 per month in May, 1927 ($703).
June 1927
Rev. P.B. Murphy is in Ireland visiting family and is noted from a Cork Examiner news clipping as attending the Cotter-O'Mahony wedding on 27 June at the University Chapel, Cork. Following the death of his cousin, Julia Ahern in 1922, Murphy usually stayed with another relation, T.J.Murphy and family of Silversprings, Cork. This was to be his last known visit to Ireland. |
29 September 1928
Fenian leader John Devoy died in New York on September 29, 1928 and was interrered in the city pending return for burial in The Patriot's Plot, Glasnevin Cemetery, Dublin (next to colleagues of the Fenian movement, O'Donovan Rossa and Terence Bellew McManus.). With Devoy's passing, Patrick Bowen Murphy now became one of the last surviving Fenian veterans.
April 1929
The American Committee for the funeral of John Devoy announced in early April that the Fenian leader's remains would be conveyed by the S.S. President Harding from New York on June 5, and would be landed at Cobh some seven days later and handed over to the Irish committee. This prompted a large deputation of Irish American leaders of all political persuasions to book passage to Ireland on the liner sailing on Wednesday, June 5, including Diarmuid Lynch and other Friends of Irish Freedom representatives, all bringing Devoy home to his final resting place.
Rev. P.B.Murphy now planned to sail in advance to Ireland, not only to attend the funeral service of his Fenian fellow soldier-in-arms, John Devoy but to visit relatives, celebrate his 80th birthday and to attend ceremonies marking the Centenary of Catholic Emancipation in Ireland.
(Catholic emancipation or Catholic relief was a process in Britain & Ireland that involved reducing and removing many of the restrictions on Roman Catholics introduced by the Act of Uniformity, the Test Acts and the penal laws on the 18th Century such as requirements to abjure (renounce) the temporal and spiritual authority of the pope and transubstantiation had placed major burdens on Roman Catholics. The Roman Catholic Relief Act passed by the British Parliament in 1829, followed a vigorous campaign on the issue led by Daniel O’Connell. The Act provided for a new oath of allegiance, enabling Catholics to enter the British Parliament. Catholics were also permitted to belong to corporation and to hold certain positions that they were previously barred from, such as high-ranking governmental, administrative and judicial offices. More information here.)
Final visit to Ireland
On April 30, 1929, Fr. Murphy left his South Boston parish of Our Lady of the Rosary and sailed aboard the S.S. Cedric to Ireland.
1 May 1929: While at sea en-route to Ireland, Fr. Patrick Bowen Murphy un-expectedly passed away aged 79, just sixteen days short of his eightieth birthday.
His funeral service was held in Cobh Cathedral, Co. Cork where he had lain in state for a number of days, attended by ‘the great and the good’ until burial on a wet Tuesday morning, 7th May, 1929 to his Great Grand-parent’s plot in St. Joseph’s Cemetery, Cork.
The Tablet, the London based Catholic international weekly review in the 11 May 1929 issue reported:
"A PRIEST'S DEATH AT SEA.—In St. Joseph's cemetery, Cork, there was buried last Tuesday an Irish priest, the Rev. P. B. Murphy, whose field of labour was in the United States, and who died on board the Cedric while on the way home to his native land. The body was landed at Cobh on Monday and rested, until the funeral, in St. Patrick's, Cork.—R.I.P."
Thursday, 13 June 1929
The S.S. President Harding ocean liner carrying the remains of John Devoy and the accompanying Irish American representatives, arrived in Cork Harbour on the afternoon of June 12th.
The S.S. President Harding ocean liner carrying the remains of John Devoy and the accompanying Irish American representatives, arrived in Cork Harbour on the afternoon of June 12th.
July 24, 1929
Left to right: John J Lydon Jnr (Boston), Diarmuid Lynch (New York & Tracton), Denis J Doyle - Harbour Commissioner (and founder of Doyle Shipping in 1886), T.J.Murphy - Harbour Commissioner, Mrs Nora Mullins, Miss Margaret Murphy, Miss Mary Murphy and Captain J.J.Lydon (Soldier's Relief Commissioner, Boston).
Text of Murphy Headstones, St. Joseph's Cemetery, Cork:
Left stone:
“The burial place of Timothy Murphy of Blarney Lane and family. His beloved wife, Mary Ann dep. this life Feb 1st 1838 aged 68 years
May she rest in peace. Also the aforementioned Timothy Murphy dep. this life March 15th 1843 aged 77 years.
Centre stone:
Patrick B Murphy. Chaplain. 9 Mass Inf. (9th Massachusetts Infantry) Sp. Am. War (Spanish American War) In loving Memory of Fr. Patrick B. Murphy. Pastor. Boston, Mass.
Right stone:
Erected by Wm. Bowen to the memory of his dearly beloved wife Mary Ann, niece of Tim Murphy, Blarney Lane who dep. this life April 25th 1838 aged 34 years.
Note: A definitive ancestral link between the Rev P.B.Murphy and Timothy Murphy of Blarney Lane has not been established and in the absence of documentary links, we can but guess. The Timothy Murphy connection may have been through marriage with the Bowen family.
Left stone:
“The burial place of Timothy Murphy of Blarney Lane and family. His beloved wife, Mary Ann dep. this life Feb 1st 1838 aged 68 years
May she rest in peace. Also the aforementioned Timothy Murphy dep. this life March 15th 1843 aged 77 years.
Centre stone:
Patrick B Murphy. Chaplain. 9 Mass Inf. (9th Massachusetts Infantry) Sp. Am. War (Spanish American War) In loving Memory of Fr. Patrick B. Murphy. Pastor. Boston, Mass.
Right stone:
Erected by Wm. Bowen to the memory of his dearly beloved wife Mary Ann, niece of Tim Murphy, Blarney Lane who dep. this life April 25th 1838 aged 34 years.
Note: A definitive ancestral link between the Rev P.B.Murphy and Timothy Murphy of Blarney Lane has not been established and in the absence of documentary links, we can but guess. The Timothy Murphy connection may have been through marriage with the Bowen family.
Postscripts
December 2017
Sometimes the internet produces the oddest little snippets of information as data is brought on line.
Here's an item from the Nicolet Seminary Archives in Quebec, Canada where Fr. Murphy studied in the 1870's. It details a donation that Fr. Murphy made to the seminary on a date unknown:
"Biblia latina, Venetiis, per Franciscum of Hailbrun and Nicolaum of Franckordia, 1476. Beginning of Genesis; 20.5 x 29 cm.
This Bible was published for the first time in 1475 and contains 454 folios of two columns of 51 lines. Gift of Patrick Bowen Murphy, former student."
Sometimes the internet produces the oddest little snippets of information as data is brought on line.
Here's an item from the Nicolet Seminary Archives in Quebec, Canada where Fr. Murphy studied in the 1870's. It details a donation that Fr. Murphy made to the seminary on a date unknown:
"Biblia latina, Venetiis, per Franciscum of Hailbrun and Nicolaum of Franckordia, 1476. Beginning of Genesis; 20.5 x 29 cm.
This Bible was published for the first time in 1475 and contains 454 folios of two columns of 51 lines. Gift of Patrick Bowen Murphy, former student."
Military Headstone
Another little find was a Military Headstone application for Rev. Murphy.
The headstone application card asks for name, rank, branch of service, company, regiment or ship, years of birth and death, date of application, name of honorably discharged veteran, if the veteran died while on active duty, dates of enlistment and discharge, address of cemetery, religious emblem (if designated), and the name and address of applicant and relationship to deceased.
The record shows Rev. Murphy enlisted on May 1, 1898 and discharged, November 26, 1898.
After receiving a completed application, the quartermaster clerks would verify the information on the applications. Pencil marks are often found where clerks made clarifications regarding details of service. Staffers also glued office memorandums to the applications as they were being processed, which remain adhered to the documents today. One type of memorandum clarifies name spelling. Because the carvings on a headstone were permanent, extra consideration was given to ensuring correct information. If clerks found a spelling discrepancy between the application and the records of the War Department, they attached instructions to provide correct information on the application and returned it to the applicant.
The record shows that the headstone for Rev. Murphy was ordered on September 17, 1931 and shipped to T.J.Murphy, Provisions Dealer in Cork with a local post office address of 27 Plunkett Street (Cork) on 28 October, 1931
Rev. Murphy's headstone in St. Joseph's graveyard, Cork remains the only memorial marking his life.
Below: an undated photograph of newly carved headstones for Civil War and Spanish American War veterans.
The US Congressional Record of speeches in Congress on March 23rd 1954 has this reference to the Rev. P.B.Murphy. This comment was part of an address by Augustus Gardner Means (1925-1994) of Essex County, Massachussets, a representative in the Massachussetts Legislature and added to remarks made earlier that day by the now more famous 'Tip' O'Neill.
The Murphy: Ovens & United States family tree.
with special thanks to Colm O'Sullivan for additional details.
last updated: 7 July 2022
Patrick Denis Murphy & Bartholomew Martin Murphy family lines 1786 to date
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Archive Documents
Below are various archive documents discovered so far relating to the Murphy Family.
(Births, Marriages, Deaths records). These will be added to as more information becomes available.
- Daniel W. Murphy (1820-1894)
- William Bowen Murphy (1856-1903)
- Walter D. Murphy (1855-1869)
- Annie Louise Murphy (1863-1909)
- Michael Murphy (1841-1917) & Joanna Murphy (1835-1921) Knockanemore, Ovens
Murphy Archive Documents - Daniel W. Murphy (1820-1894)
Murphy Archive Documents - William Bowen Murphy (1856-1903)
Murphy Archive Documents - Murphy (1855-1869)
Murphy Archive Documents - Annie Louise Murphy (1863-1909)
Murphy Archive Documents - Michael Murphy (1841-1917) & Joanna Murphy (1835-1921) Knockanemore, Ovens, Co. Cork
Michael Murphy (1841-1917) was a first cousin of Rev. Patrick Bowen Murphy.
Census 1901 (March 31) Form A & summary. Link included.
Census 1911 (April 19) Form A & summary. Link included.
Burial site: Kilcrea Friary, Kilcrea, Ovens, Co. Cork. Details courtesy of findagrave.com & Wikipedia.
Census of Ireland 1901 link: http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Cork/Ovens/Knockanemore/1098676/
http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1911/Cork/Ovens/Knockanemore/382910/
Michael & Joanna's Gravesite: Located in Kilcrea Friary, Kilcrea, Ovens, Co. Cork. (Reference also to Michael's father, Bartholomew Murphy)
Kilcrea Friary details: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kilcrea_Friary
Grave details courtesy of 'find-a-grave.com': https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/153320313/michael-murphy?
Kilcrea Friary details: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kilcrea_Friary
Grave details courtesy of 'find-a-grave.com': https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/153320313/michael-murphy?
Article Sources
- William R. Cutter, Genealogical and personal memoirs relating to the families of the state of Massachusetts; (Volume 3) published in New York by Lewis historical Pub. Co. c.1910
- Biographical History of Massachusetts: Biographies and Autobiographies of the Leading Men in the State (volume 6) Published 1916
- http://www.mocavo.com/Biographical-History-of- Massachusetts-Biographies-and-Autobiographies-of-the-Leading- Men-in-the-State-Volume-6-Volume-10/938617/381 & also available at: https://ia800907.us.archive.org/cors_get.php?path=/29/items/biographicalhist10elio/biographicalhist10elio.pdf
- The Ninth Regiment of Infantry, USV in the Spanish American War by F. T. Pope. 1911.
- "The Fighting Ninth for Fifty Years. The Fiftieth Anniversary of the Ninth Regiment, Massachusetts Volunteer Militia". Frank J. Flynn. Published 1911.
- US Library of Congress - The Kentucky Irish American: https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn86069180/1898-10-15/ed-1/seq-1/
- Thanks too to Ronnie Herlihy for copy photos and news snippets. His book on St. Joseph’s Cemetery, Cork will be in bookshops May 2016,
- Kieran McCarthy for permission to reference his work
- T. Hayes for photographs of Ovens Church and one of the church’s Stained Glass windows.
- "United States Headstone Applications for U.S. Military Veterans, 1925-1949," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GPZQ-WQ4?cc=1916249&wc=MDB2-BNL%3A205942801%2C211319801 : 17 May 2016), 1925-1941 > Mumford, Loucion-Nassi, John A > image 862 of 2623; citing NARA microfilm publication M1916 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
- "United States Veterans Administration Pension Payment Cards, 1907-1933," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:939K-XWSH-PM?cc=1832324&wc=M6RY-123%3A162632101 : 22 May 2014), Murphy, Monterville - Murphy, Zora Z. > image 124 of 754; citing NARA microfilm publication M850 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
- July-August 2022: Special thanks to Colm O'Sullivan for additional research details on the Murphy - Ovens family line and photos
- Irish News Archives - Irish newspaper clippings
Online Resources
- Census 1901 & 1911: http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/
- Calendar of Wills and Administration 1858-1920: http://www.willcalendars.nationalarchives.ie/search/cwa/home.jsp
- Tithe Applotment Books : Ireland: http://titheapplotmentbooks.nationalarchives.ie/search/tab/index.jsp