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Murdock, Samuel 1817-1897

MURDOCK, PATCH, PARTCH

Posted By: Dan McDougall (email)
Date: 2/19/2006 at 02:20:42

AT REST.
Honorable Samuel Murdock Is No More.
Passes Away at His Home at 5:10 p.m. Tuesday.
Was an Iowa Pioneer and an Able Lawyer.

Samuel Murdock died at Elkader, Iowa, on the 26th day of January 1897, at 5:10 o’clock p.m., after an illness of nearly three months, from the effects of a paralytic stroke. He was aged 79 years 10 months and 13 days at the time of his death.

His father and mother were of Scotch parentage and were born and raised in the county of Armaugh, Ireland; emigrated to America in 1812 and settled near Pittsburg, Pa., where the deceased was born on March 13, 1817. In 1827 the family removed to Cleveland, Ohio, and settled text obscured farm near that city in the (text obscured) Rockport. Here Samuel Murdock grew to manhood and received such education as the common schools afforded. He taught school in several places in Ohio and studied law with Hon. Reuben Wood one of the supreme judges and afterwards governor of that state. In the fall of 1841 he left Ohio and came to Iowa; arriving at Davenport to which point he walked most of the way from Chicago. Remaining for a few days rest, he shouldered a heavy pack and again started on foot across the country on an Indian trail for Iowa City which place he reached after two days of weary travel. He remained there for over a year and was admitted to the bar of Johnson county. Coming to Dubuque on a tour of inspection of the country he heard of the beautiful prairies of Clayton county and starting out arrived at Jacksonville – now Garnavillo – on August 9, 1843; here he staked out a claim one and a half miles south of Garnavillo which he made his home, and which was known far and near as “Judge Murdock’s Evergreen Farm” – noted for its beautiful evergreens and large orchard – a rare treat for the eye to behold in northeastern Iowa. He was the first lawyer who permanently settled north of Dubuque.

In the year 1845 he was elected a member of the territorial legislature from the counties of Dubuque, Delaware and Clayton. In 1848 he was elected school fund commissioner, an office which he held for four years. During this time he sold most of the school lands of Clayton county.

In 1855 he was elected the first judge of the tenth judicial district which included ten counties. In 1869 he was elected a member of the thirteenth general assembly.

Judge Murdock was a lawyer of great ability and as lawyer and detective has taken a prominent part in many of the most important cases in Clayton county. In the summer of 1869 he unearthed the “Hagerty Massacre” and lodged the murderer in the penitentiary for life. As a prosecutor and trial lawyer he was alert, faithful, courageous and left nothing undone; he was a tireless worker and so far as could be observed had no fear of man. In the field of literature Judge Murdock was known as a writer of ability; he was familiar with and wrote learnedly on the important topics of his time; but over and above all this the crowning virtue of his life, - known and read of all who knew him – was his gladness of heart that always responded to the call of distress from the poor and needy. As a lawyer, citizen, neighbor or friend no one applying to Judge Murdock for help was ever turned away.

He leaves surviving him his wife and two daughters, Marion and Amelia, to mourn the loss of a kind husband and father. The whole community sympathise with the bereaved family and with numerous friends throughout the County and State regret the departure of their friend Judge Murdock.

(source not given)

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Added by S. Ferrall on 09/06/2009:

here is another obituary for Judge Murdock .....

Samuel Murdock Dead.
Upon the occasion of the death of Hon. Sam'l Murdock which occured at his home in Elkader Jan. 20th, 1897, the 'Dubuque Herald' made the following comment on his past life work.

This ever removes another of Iowa's old and honored citizens whose name has been closely interwoven with her early history and in the hearts of the people whose memories go back to the good old days of pioneer life of simplicity, but of good fellowship and peaceful pleasures, that are seldom found in the feverish and restless spirit that follows in the wake of change and progress, in strife and turbulent tide of city life. Judge Murdock was was well known among the older residents of Iowa, who must ever remember him as a man of strong integrity, of brilliant mind, and yet whose nature was full of the milk of human kindness and a gentleness that was as tender as the heart of a child.

For over half a century Judge Murdock has been a conspicuous figure in the history of Iowa, as the first lawyer of Clayton county, the first Judge of the Tenth judicial district, and on account of the eminent place he had so long held in the political and social affairs of this section of the state.

In 1845 Judge Murdock was elected a member of the territorial legislature and remained in that body until Iowa was admitted as a state. In 1855 he was elected to the position of judge of the Tenth judicial district and held the first courts in several of the ten counties then comprised within the district. Much of his early training was received in the district schools of Ohio, although he had the advantage of several years in a Cleveland academy. He also taught several terms after attaining his majority.

The young man finally made his way by the toilsome ways of primitive travel, by ox teams or by foot through Indian trails to the then far west until he reached Iowa City. As that lace had been fixed upon as the future capital of Iowa, young Murdock determined to locate there and was soon reading law in the office of Bates & Harrison, and in 1842 he was admitted to the bar of Johnson county. Before making his final arrangements for locating, Mr. Murdock came to Dubuque with letters of introduction to leading citizens and while here was impressed with the glowing discriptions given him of the beautiful prairie lands of Clayton county. Starting overland he arrived at what is now Garnavillo, in 1843, and staked a claim just south of the town. This became his home and was highly cultivated by Mr. Murdock for nearly forty years, and was considered the model farm of the state. During his long residence here he kept up his law practice, and with few exceptions has taken part at every term of court held in Clayton county for over half a century, making for himself a remarkable record.

In 1845, Judge Murdock married Miss Lousia Patch, who had resided in the county since 1837. She is a woman of forceful character and strong mental ability. She and two daughters survive the husband and father. Rev. Marian Murdock is well known in ths section. She is the first woman in America to receive the degree of Bachelor of Divinity. She is a fine speaker on pulpit of platform and is a brilliant, scholarly woman. The younger daughter, Amelia, is also devoted to learning and literature; is a fine linguist and a graduate of the Chicago Kindergarten college.

After serving for three years in the legislature Judge Murdock was elected school fund commissioner in 1848, and held the position for four years, during which time he sold most of the school lands, consisting of section 16 and Clayton county's portion of the 500,000 acres allotted to her school purposes. His great discretion and foresight were shown in these transactions. During the war he acted as correspondent from the south and later wrote for northern journals on the exciting events of the times. This brought him into great prominence as a writer, as many of his contributions were marvels of patriotism and genius. During his long professional career Judge Murdock was a most successful lawyer and made a state wide reputation.

In the summer of 1869 he unearthed the "Hagerty Massacre" one of the most cruel murders of modern times. Through his efforts five dead bodies were brought to light, after they had been hidden away for many months in different localities, and then prosecuted the murderers.

Whether as lawyer or politician, Judge Murdock was a brilliant success among public men. As a miscellaneous writer on most important scientific and other subjects, he bore a reputation for clearness and logical composition and in 1893 his able arguments on the silver question attracted wide attention.

A natural orator, Judge Murdock's eulogy on the death of Gen. Grant was conceded by good judges to be one of the finest pieces of English composition ever delivered in the state.

In August of 1895 Judge and Mrs. Murdock celebrated their golden wedding at their pleasant home in Elkader on which happy occasion a great number of personal friends were present from this locality and neighboring sections of the state. None will soon forget the genial greetings and the warm hearted hospitality that on that memorable day fell over the old home like a benediction from the summer skies to diffuse warmth and brightness into the last vanishing years of a noble, useful and virtuous life.

Judge Noble acted as best man to Judge Murdock on that happy wedding day, another of nature's nobleman who passed on but a short time in advance of his nearly life long friend. Judge Murdock will be buried at Garnavillo, where the best and happiest days of his early manhood and middle age were passed.

~Elgin Echo, February 4, 1897

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Added by Joy Moore on 11/25/2020:

Source: Decorah Republican Feb. 4, 1897 P 1 C 5

HON.SAMUEL MURDOCK.
Died Tuesday, Jan. 27th—The Pioneer Judge and Attorney of N. E. Iowa.

On Sunday before election day, while upon a stumping tour, ex-Judge Samuel Murdock was smitten with paralysis. Taken home he did not recover and on the date above given passed from time to eternity.

He was born in Pennsylvania in 1817, of Scotch parentage who came to this country in 1842, and all his early life was spent on a farm. The only special school advantages he received were in two years spent at an Academy in Cleveland. Some years spent in the family of Hon. Reuben Wood, then a Judge of the Supreme Court of Ohio, afterwards Governor, perhaps gave him an inclination towards the law as a profession. In 1841 he came west to Chicago, then to Rock River, across the Mississippi to Davenport, thence on foot, with his pack on his back, following Indian trails, to Iowa City. There he studied law and was admitted to practice in 1842. Seeking a location he went to Dubuque, where he heard of the fertile fields of Clayton county, went thither and located at Garnavillo. He secured a tract of land and resided upon it until 1876, farming as well as practicing law.

In 1845 he married Miss Louisa Partch, and to them six children were born, two only now living. One, Miss Marion, has achieved a high reputation for literary culture, and is now pastor of Unity church, in Cleveland, Ohio. The other daughter is at home with the aged wife and mother.

These facts we glean from a lengthy obituary in the 'Elkader Register'. Judge Murdock's relations to the public we quote at length from that paper:—
Mr. Murdock was the first lawyer who permanently settled north of Dubuque, and during his long residence on the farm he maintained his law practice. In 1845 he was elected a member of the territorial legislature from the counties of Dubuque, Delaware and Clayton, and remained in that body until Iowa passed into a state, and while in that body was mainly instrumental in securing for the state her present northern boundary. In 18{?} he was elected School Fund Commissioner, which he held four years, during which he sold most of the school lands, consisting of Sec. 16 and the county’s portion of the 500,000 acres donated for school purposes.
In 1855 he was elected the first district judge of the Tenth Judicial District, which at that time included ten counties, and in several of these counties he held the first courts, and through this large district he traveled twice each year, generally on horseback, swimming rivers and wading sloughs, and accompanied by a number of attorneys. To this day these journeys form the theme of many a pleasing story among, the older members of the bar of Northern Iowa.
In 1864 he was retained ns an attorney for Hon. James Andrews, of Columbia, Tenn., who had been condemned to imprisonment for the killing of a soldier of a Michigan regiment. Mr. Murdock obtained a hearing and argued the case before President Lincoln and Mr. Andrews was set a liberty.

In 1869 he was elected a member of the 13th General Assembly, in which he distinguished himself in a speech opposing the repeal of the death penalty for the crime of murder. His arguments have since been proven true many times over.

In the summer of 1869 he unearthed the "Hagerty massacre,” one of the most cruel murders of modern times, in which single handed he brought to light no less than five dead bodies, after they had been hid away for over eight months, and he pursued the murderer until he lodged him in the penitentiary for life, Judge Murdock has been a successful lawyer and has been on one side or the other in the most important cases in our courts up to within a year or more.

He was selected by the governor to fill Iowa’s department of anthropology at the Centennial, and although the notice was a short one, yet in a few months he collected and sent to Philadelphia some of the most curious and wonderful specimens of prehistoric man that has ever been unearthed on this continent. Although the collection was small yet it received from the historian of the Centennial the only compliment paid to Iowa for her part in the great show.

Sometime in 1866 Judge Murdock sold his farm at Garnavillo and moved to Elkader, forming a law partnership with the late John Larkin, which continued for several years.

Judge Murdock was a great writer on history, astronomy, geology, archeology, biography, agriculture and obituary. He was always the annual orator at the gatherings of the old settlers and pioneers of the county, and his last speech was always believed by them to be his master piece. Perhaps they were right, for he knew their ways, their feelings better than any other man. He always had something pleasing to say of the living and a sympathetic expression of sorrow for the dead.

On Sept. 11th, 1895, Judge and Mrs. Murdock celebrated their golden wedding, at which many friends testified to their feelings of honor and respect to the venerable judge and his companion. Judge R. Noble acted as spokesman on that occasion, and expressed the wish that the honored bridegroom might recover from his infirmities and be long with his friends. Little did he think then that he would precede his friend to the great beyond.

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