Santa Clara County
Biographies
MARTIN MURPHY, SR.
MARTIN MURPHY, Sr.
The founder of the Murphy family in America was Martin Murphy, Sr.,
from whom have descended several generations of worthy men and women, each generation
having a son to bear the name of the original emigrant. Born, reared and
married in Ireland, be brought his family from County Wexford to America and
settled near Quebec, Canada, about 1820. He was then in the prime of manhood,
having been born November 12, 1785. His wife, Mary Foley, was a
member of a family afterward prominent in the United States, two of that name
becoming archbishops. Dissatisfied with political conditions in Ireland, Martin
Murphy hoped to bring greater advantages to his children by taking them to
America. Accompanied by all of them except the two eldest, Martin and Margaret,
he and his wife crossed the ocean and settled in the township of Frampton, near
Quebec, where he began to clear and improve a tract of raw land. Two years
later his son and daughter joined him from Ireland.
With all of his family
except his sons Martin and James, in 1840 Martin Murphy, Sr., went to
Missouri, making the trip on the St. Lawrence river past Montreal and across
the Lake St. Louis to Kingston; thence across Lake Ontario and up the
Niagara river to Lewiston, near the Falls; thence across the country to
Buffalo; from there across Lake Erie to Cleveland; by canal south, across Ohio,
to Portsmouth on the Ohio river; next down the Ohio to the Mississippi and up
the latter river to St. Louis, from which point they proceeded up the
Missouri river to their destination in the Platte purchase, a few miles below
the present site of St. Joseph, Mo. Purchasing several hundred acres,
Mr. Murphy named his new home Irish Grove in honor of his native land. The
soil was rich and the harvests large, but the family suffered from malaria, the
disease so dreaded in all frontier regions where the soil is first upturned by the plow, thus
filling the atmosphere with the germs of fever and ague. The Murphy family were
not exempt from suffering and death. The wife and mother fell a victim to the
disease, and three daughters of the oldest son, Martin, also passed away.
Mr. Murphy was a devout Roman Catholic and felt he was not justified in
remaining in a region where his family could not have the ministrations of the
priest in sickness and death, and where his children and grandchildren lacked
religious training.
About this time Father
Hookins, Catholic missionary, visited the home and
administered the sacraments to the family. When they told him of the problem
before them, he described to them the climate of California, of which he had
heard much, and stated that there they would find Roman Catholic churches and a
government in which Catholicism was the established religion. The priest knew
nothing concerning the location of California except that it lay west from
Missouri on the shore of the Pacific ocean. Meagre as
was the information obtained, the Murphy family without hesitation resolved to
cross the unknown deserts and mountains and seek a home in the Sunset Land. The
reader of the present day cannot understand the magnitude of the journey
attempted. The twentieth century traveler, as he speeds across the country on the
modern palace cars, surrounded by every luxury, and ill-pleased at a few hours’
delay in crossing the continent, could not appreciate the journey of this
pioneer family who had their own path to blaze through forests, their own trail
to make over the plains, and their provisions to bring with them for a journey
of six months or, if need be, a year or more.
On the 1st
of March, 1844, the family reached Nishnabotna, about
fifty miles south of Council Bluffs, in the northwest corner of Missouri. There
they were joined by Dr. Townsend and others, the most of whom were bound
for Oregon. With Dr. and Mrs. Townsend was the latter’s brother, Moses Schallenberger, now of San Jose, who is the sole survivor
of this expedition made sixty years ago. In the eleven wagons bound for
California were the following-named persons: Martin Murphy, Sr.; Martin Murphy,
Jr., wife and four children (James, Martin, Patrick W. and
Bernard D.); James Murphy, wife and daughter Mary; Bernard Murphy, John
Murphy, Ellen Murphy, Daniel Murphy, James Miller and his wife (formerly Mary
Murphy) and their children; Mr. Martin, father of Mrs. James Murphy;
Dennis Martin, Patrick Martin, Dr. and Mrs. Townsend, Allen Montgomery and
wife, Captain Stevens, Mr. Hitchcock, Mrs. Patterson and family, Mat
Harbin, Mr. Calvin, John Sullivan and sister, Robert Sullivan, Michael
Sullivan, John Flomboy, Joseph Foster, Oliver Magnet
(a Frenchman), Francis Delanet, old
Mr. Greenwood, John Greenwood, Britton Greenwood and Moses Schallenberger.
At Council Bluffs the
party organized the entire company for defense. Captain Stevens was put at the
head, with corporals of guards from among the younger men. After experiencing
great difficulty in getting their cattle across the Missouri river, they found
themselves in the Otoe country. Owing to the bad reputation of this tribe of
Indians, a strict watch was kept at night and the cattle were chained to wagons
at night. Next they proceeded to the country of the Pawnees, where they found a
village previously raided by the Sioux. The males had been almost exterminated
and there was nothing to fear from the infirm old men, the women and children
that were left. Before reaching Laramie herds of buffaloes were encountered,
and the young men of the party greatly enjoyed a hunt. About four thousand
Sioux were encamped around Fort Laramie, but when the expedition noted the
squaws and children with the braves, they knew there was no danger, as that
tribe is averse to fighting when accompanied by their families. The party
remained at Laramie several days and found plenty of grass for their stock.
There they traded some of their horses for Indian ponies, thinking they would
be more hardy on the plains. In resuming the march still greater precautions
were exercised to prevent surprise by the red men. Wagons were kept close
together, so they might be formed into a corral if necessary. Fortunately,
however, no Indians were met until they reached the Snake nation. The route
continued up the Platte and Sweetwater, and on to the summit of the Rocky
mountains, after which they saw no more buffaloes, but deer and antelope were
plentiful and furnished an abundance of fresh meat. From the mountains the
party moved toward Green river by way of Little and Big Sandy, and during this
trip experienced for the first time the suffering caused by lack of water.
The route now lay
toward Bear river, where they found “Peg-leg” Smith, an old mountain trapper
living alone in the hills. Some of his ponies were secured in exchange for the
worn-out horses of the expedition. Going down Bear river they reached Fort
Hall, where those bound for Oregon bade farewell to the others. There they
bought flour at $1 per pound. The Murphys and
Townsends had started with an abundance of flour and provisions, but had given
to others less abundantly supplied, and therefore were forced to replenish
their store. After several days at Fort Hall the California party, consisting
of eleven wagons as before stated, continued the journey, entering a region
where they were forced to travel without map, chart or guide. They crossed the
country to Beaver creek or Raft river, and followed it for two days, then
crossed westward to Goose creek, thence to the headwaters of the Humboldt, and
from there to the Truckee river, which they named after an old Indian who had
guided them there. The journey up the Truckee to the summit of the Sierras was
one never forgotten by any participant in the trip. The river was so crooked
that one day they crossed it ten times in traveling a mile. The oxen and men became
greatly fatigued by the incessant labor. Each clay the route became more
difficult. Finally they were compelled to travel altogether in the bed of the
river, which made the feet of the cattle so sore that they could hardly be
driven. Then came a snow one foot deep, burying the grass, so that the cattle
had nothing to subsist on but the rushes occasionally found. At what is now the
city of Truckee the party went into camp to decide as to their future course.
It was agreed that a few of them should leave the wagon and follow the main
stream, while the others should go by way of the tributary, as that seemed a
more practicable route for the wagons. Those with the wagons traveled up the
Little Truckee to Donner Lake, and after some difficulty they selected a route
for crossing the mountain. The oxen were so worn out that it was decided to
leave the wagons, but some determined to take their vehicles a little further
at least. In going up the mountain it was necessary to unload wagons and carry
the contents up. At the summit they turned toward the headwaters of the Yuba
river, where the able-bodied men started for Sutter’s Fort, then known as New
Helvetia, and now the city of Sacramento. They walked and drove the cattle. The
others remained in camp. Thus were the first wagons that ever made tracks in
California brought across the mountains.
Those who remained
with the wagons on the Yuba were Mrs. Martin Murphy, with her four boys,
Martin, James, Patrick W. and Bernard; Mrs. James Murphy and her daughter
Mary; James Miller, wife and three children; Mrs. Patterson and her
children; and the father of Mrs. James Murphy. Their camp was moved two
days’ journey down the hills and a camp was established where was born the
first white child born in California. She was Elizabeth, daughter of Martin
Murphy and afterward the wife of William Taaffe.
Meanwhile the party that had left the wagons at the forks of the Truckee
followed the main stream and were the first white people to see Lake Tahoe.
Thence they went across the hills to the headwaters of the American river and
from there down to the valley, where they arrived after twenty-one days. At
St. Clair’s ranch they were hospitably received and generously
entertained. Thence they went to Sutter’s. They there learned that Micheltorena had been appointed governor of California,
with civil and military authority. Alvarado, Vallejo and Castro had resolved to
resist his authority. Members of the Murphy party went to the assistance of Micheltorena and did good service as far as Santa Barbara,
where, being no longer needed, they started to return to their women and
children. They arrived at the wagons about the time that Schallenberger
was rescued by Martin, and the emigrants were delighted to meet again after so
many perils. The next day they pushed forward, but found Bear river swollen to
a lake ten miles wide. Supplies again ran low. Two deer had been killed, but
the venison was soon eaten. Three days passed without food, and finally, in
despair, they killed a two-year-old horse, which they induced Mr. Murphy
to eat by representing to him it was a heifer. Soon afterward the waters
receded so that they were able to reach Feather river, where Captain Sutter had
prepared a boat to ferry them across. With the crossing of the river, their
hardest trials were over and their long and perilous journey practically ended.
After a short rest at Sutter’s Fort they separated, each to seek a location and
establish a home.
Martin Murphy, Sr.,
with the unmarried members of his family, came to Santa Clara county and
purchased the rancho Ojo de Agua de la Coche, on the Monterey road, south of San Jose. There he
remained for a long period, honored by all. During the last years of his life
he made his home in San Francisco, but spent much time visiting the different
members of his family. He died at the home of his daughter, Mrs. Margaret Kell, near San Jose, March 16, 1865. His death was mourned
by all. Courts adjourned and business was suspended, while from every section
of the country people came to pay the last tribute of respect to this honored
pioneer.
Transcribed by Marie Hassard 14 August 2014.
Source: History
of the State of California & Biographical Record of Coast Counties,
California by Prof. J. M. Guinn, A. M., Pages 425-428. The Chapman
Publishing Co., Chicago, 1904.
© 2014 Marie Hassard.