MURPHY, William F. 1852-1934

MURPHY

Posted By: Tammy (email)
Date: 4/3/2017 at 08:51:02

Wm. F. Murphy, Grundy Pioneer, Dies In Waterloo

Came To County With Team Of Oxen 65 Years Ago And Bought Farm In Grant Twp. For $1.25 An Acre

William F. Murphy, who emigrated to Grundy county with five of his brothers and two sisters 65 years ago, and who came here from Dubuque county behind teams of oxen, died at his home in Waterloo at 5 o'clock Tuesday morning of a complication of diseases due to advanced age. He would have been 82 years old had he lived until the coming November.

Mr. Murphy was born in Dubuque county in 1852. He was a son of Mr. and Mrs. Patrick Murphy. When he was 17 years of age, in company with his five brothers, John P., Patrick, Steve, James and Tom, and two sisters he came to Grundy county. The trip was made with the help of an ox team and it took more than a week. Now the same trip can be made in two hours with a car. The Murphy family settled on farms in Grant township. Each of them obtained a farm which they bought from the government at the time for $1.25 an acre. This large family became the backbone of what was later known as the Murphy settlement in Grant township. Only two members of this pioneer family now remain. They are John P., who is making his home with his daughter in Ackley, and Tom, who resides at Waterloo.

William Murphy was married to Miss Ella Murphy on Oct. 11, 1880. Mr. and Mrs. Murphy resided on their farm in grant township until 1916 when they moved to Cedar Falls. Five years ago they moved to Waterloo.

Surviving relatives are the widow, four sons and two daughters. The sons are J. L. of Grant township, W. J. of Waterloo, C. J. of Grant township, and Dr. George Murphy of Waterloo. The daughters are Mrs. J. H. Baum of Altoona, Pa., and Mrs. Lynn Shope of Des Moines. There are 20 grandchildren.

Funeral services will be held at Sacred Heart Catholic church in Waterloo at 9 a.m. Thursday. The services will be in charge of the local pastor, Rev. Fr. E. J. Dougherty. Burial will be in the cemetery adjoining St. Mary's church in Grant township, which Mr. Murphy helped to build and of which he was a member until he removed from Grant township.

Murphys Were Dominating Family In East Grundy
In an early day there were three families of Murphys who owned a large share of Grant township, and the vicinity in which they resided was known far and wide as the Murphy Settlement. The families were known as the "Red John Murphys," the "Black John Murphys," and the "Dubuque Murphys." William Murphy was a member of the Dubuque family. They were not related, though there grew up among them a fine feeling of fellowship, loyalty and co-operation which cemented them into a clan that made them one of Grundy county's most thrifty and outstanding families.

--The Grundy Register (Grundy Center, Iowa), 3 May 1934, pg 1