Los Angeles County
Biographies
CLYDE FRANCIS MURPHY
Clyde Francis Murphy, member of the well known Los Angeles law firm of Murphy & Doherty, with offices at 617 South Olive street, has been particularly interested and successful in trial work. Born at Great Falls, Montana, October 3, 1899, he was christened Francis Clyde Murphy but has always been known as Clyde F. Murphy. His parents were Charles Francis and Mary Elizabeth (Coddington) Murphy, the former born at Caledonia, Minnesota, May 4, 1861, and the latter near Lansing, Michigan, in 1869. Both the paternal and the maternal grandparents of our subject came to the United States from Ireland. Charles Francis Murphy, the father of Clyde F. Murphy, at the time of his death was general superintendent of the Butte, Anaconda & Pacific Railway and was the oldest railroad official in the state of Montana in point of service. He was mayor of Great Falls from 1909 until 1911 and while living at Anaconda represented his district in the legislature for more than a dozen years. His death occurred at Anaconda, Montana, November 9, 1931.
Clyde F. Murphy became a grammar school pupil at Great Falls, Montana, about 1906 and there attended school for about five years. On the 11th of November, 1911, he removed to Anaconda, Montana, where he completed the grade school work and also spent four years in high school. He enlisted in the United States Training Station on Goat Island, San Francisco, until the 6th of August following, being thereafter stationed at the United States Naval Hospital at Bremerton, Washington, until December 12, 1917. From the latter date until July 4, 1918, he was aboard the U.S.S. Great Northern, after which he was in the Cumberland Street Hospital of Brooklyn, New York, until August 15, 1918. He was next aboard the U.S.S. Mercury until December 31, 1918, then at the United States Naval Training Station at Hampton Roads, Virginia, until March 1, 1919, and from the latter date until September 26, 1919, was aboard the U.S.S. Breese. Thus it will be seen that his military record extended over a period of thirty months. As previously stated, he enlisted May 4, 1917, in the United States Navy Hospital Corps as hospital apprentice and was advanced successively to hospital apprentice first class, third class pharmacists mate, second class pharmacists mate, first class pharmacists mate and finally to chief pharmacists mate at the age of nineteen years. He spent more than one and one-half years in transport service, making nine trips overseas during the period of the World war, and receive his honorable discharge on the 26th of September, 1919.
Following his return to civil life Mr. Murphy enrolled at the University of Montana on the 1st of October, 1919, and on the 15th of June, 1923, was graduated from that institution with what is known as a Certificate of Graduation. He did not receive a degree by reason of not having [met] earlier educational requirements. Beginning the practice of law in Los Angeles in 1923, he worked in two small offices of the city until January 19, 1925, and then became associated with page, Nolan, Rohe & Hurt at 1010 Bank of America building in Los Angeles. During the nearly five years of his connection with that firm and its successors, Page, Nolan, Rohe & Freston and then Rohe & Freston, Mr. Murphy specialized entirely in trial work. On the 1st of November, 1929, he became a member of the firm of Mulroney & Murphy, with offices in the Bank of America building, which partnership relation was maintained until October 1, 1930. From the latter date until July 1, 1931, he continued in practice as a member of the firm of Mulroney, Murphy & Doherty, with offices at 617 South Olive street in Los Angeles, but four years ago the present firm of Murphy & Doherty was organized. Mr. Murphy is engaged in the general practice of law but has a special leaning for trial work of all kinds. Many lawyers have retained him to assist in work of this character.
On the 10th of August, 1926, at Missoula, Montana, Mr. Murphy was united in marriage to Miss Kathryn Hennessy Donohue, who was born at Hamilton, Montana, December 3, 1899, her parents being Daniel J. and Kathryn (Hennessy) Donohue, the former a native of Ireland, while the latter was born in Nova Scotia of Irish parentage. Daniel J. Donohue was a protoge [sic] of Marcus Daly of Montana, for whom he managed a store in Hamilton, Montana, for a number of years prior to his removal to Missoula, where he opened a large department store under the name of “Donohues,” which business he recently sold to Montgomery Ward. Mr. Donohue is a very prominent and influential citizen of western Montana. His wife is a sister of Dan Hennessy, one of the foremost citizens of Butte, Montana, in the early days. It is worthy of note that Mr. and Mrs. Donohue as well as Dan Hennessy became close friends of John Steven McGroarty during the period of the latter’s residence in Montanan, and both Mr. McGroarty and Daniel J. Donohue were intimate associates of Marcus Daly, whose name is inseparably linked with the growth and development of the state of Montana.
Mr. Murphy is a democrat but does not engage in any political movements. In religious faith he is a Catholic and fraternally identified with the Knights of Columbus. He is also a member of Sigma Chi, a social college fraternity, and Phi Delta Phi, a local fraternity, and he belongs to the Beach Club of Santa Monica. His hobby is the study of Shakespeare, which he has followed for a great many years, and he is a member of a group known as the Lovers of Shakespeare Society, which has studied the philosophy of the Bard of Avon as distinguished from the dramatic aspects. Mrs. Murphy is secretary of the Los Angeles Browning Society, of which she has been a member for several years, and like her husband is highly esteemed in social and cultural circles of the community.
Transcribed by K.V. Bunker.
Source: California
of the South Vol. V,
by John Steven McGroarty, Pages 690-692,
Clarke Publ., Chicago, Los Angeles,
Indianapolis. 1933.
© 2013 K.V. Bunker.
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