Santa
Clara County
Biographies
HON.
BARNEY D. MURPHY
HON. B. D. MURPHY. When the Murphy family crossed the plains
Martin Murphy (2d) was accompanied by his son, Barney D., who was then a child
of three years, having been born in 1841.
Among the eight children comprising the family he was third in order of
birth. His earliest recollections
cluster around the state which has been his lifelong home. On the broad expanse of the homestead, with
its herds of cattle and great fields of grain, he early proved himself a
valuable assistant in the laborious task of managing the vast property, and
there, too, he formed the broad ideas, the habits of tireless energy and the
wise judgment that characterized his later business career.’
After having graduated from Santa Clara
College in 1862, Barney D. Murphy took up the study of law and continued until
he was admitted to the bar. Afterward,
with D. M. Delmos, he formed the firm of
Murphy & Delmos at San Jose. During the ‘70s he turned his attention to
the banking business, having a large amount of capital which he believed could
be successfully invested in this manner.
On the incorporation of the Commercial & Savings Bank of San Jose he
was made its president and continued in that position until 1895, when he sold
his interest and resigned the presidency.
Meanwhile he had become interested in other activities. Inheriting large tracts of land, he gave
considerable attention to the supervision of his properties, which included
fourteen thousand acres in San Louis Obispo county,
six thousand acres in Santa Barbara county, large tracts in Santa Clara county
and valuable real estate in San Jose. In
his possession he still retains the old homestead and the house that was
brought around the Horn from Boston.
With many important movements, both of a
public and political nature, the name of Hon. Barney D. Murphy was
associated. For four terms he officiated
as mayor of San Jose. All of his salary
during that period was donated to the free public library. For one term he served in the state
legislature as a member of the assembly and for two terms he was a state
senator. He was one of the original
trustees having in charge the location of Lick observatory at Mount Hamilton
and took an active part in the work of construction. From 1899 to 1903 he held office as bank
commissioner of California and meanwhile made his headquarters in San
Francisco, but in the latter year he resigned the office and retired to private
life. His marriage united him with Miss Annie L.
McGeoghegan, who was born in New York City, and is a
sister of John T. McGeoghegan. At her death in 1902 she left one son and
five daughters, three of the children having preceded her in death.
[Inserted by D. Toole]
Hon. B. D.
Murphy
1911
Dec 31, Oakland Tribune, P26, Oakland, California
Barney
Murphy Died Rich
Hon.
Bernard D. Murphy, who has just passed away, died poor, but his account with
his fellowmen was closed with a clean balance sheet. No great calamity, as calamities are
understood, bereft him of his fortune.
Neither wild speculation nor dissolute habits empoverished[sic] him. Yet he was born to wealth and died a poor
man. Yet no man ever heard Barney Murphy
pity himself or complain that the world had not played him fair. Perhaps he regretted the loss of his fortune,
but it is certain that he never regretted the loss of his money half as much as
he did the loss of confidence he reposed in his friends. In the parlance of the day he was a good
thing. He believed in men. He was always willing to help a friend, to
aid him with money and credit, to do anything that a kindly, generous heart
could prompt in aid of others. His
confidence was abused, his friendship played upon, and his generosity turned to
his disaster. Did he avoid any
responsibility on that account? Not
he. Barney Murphy was not a man to
grieve over the loss of money. He paid
every dollar of the money he had stood good for in endorsing for friends. He stripped himself of his fortune that no
one might say that Barney Murphy caused him the loss of a dollar. When in the heyday of his popularity and
wealth he stood aside that friends might take the road to preferment. He stayed behind and helped with his money
and influence.
The
rest of the story is not to the honor of the human race. In his old age Barney Murphy had to work for
a small salary among small politicians who would have regarded him with awe and
paid him exaggerated reverence in the days of his wealth and political power,
but his spirit remained unbroken; his heart was as warm and his impulses as
generous as when his voice was potent in public councils and his possessions
princely. It is a high tribute to a man
to be able to say that he bore misfortune, poverty and ingratitude with the
same dignity that distinguished him in wealth and power. He as modest when he could
command. His dignity was not less
when his fortune had taken wings than it was in the days when his influence
counted for so much. On his tomb could
be truthfully written: He was never false
to a friend or a trust. He was so
honest-hearted himself that he could not believe other men were false,
treacherous and mean. He paid the
penalty of his faith in human nature, but he paid it like a man. No lament ever came from him. His was the stout pride that stifled repining
and concealed wounds, fronting misfortune with the same equanimity that faced
prosperity, honor and adulation.
He
died poor. He never fulfilled his
promise. Be it so. Few die rich and still fewer fulfill the
promise of their boast. But no evil can
truthfully be said over Barney Murphy’s grave.
No dishonest money clung to his fingers.
None can say that he did not deal squarely and redeem his pledges,
whether expressed or implied,k and did not bear
himself with fortitude and self-respect under all vicissitudes. Of how many can this be said? We are so prone to judge a man by the amount
of money he possesses or is able to acquire that we unconsciously thrust into
the background the essentials which make up a true man. But let us stop and think a moment. There are rich men living who preyed upon
Barney Murphy’s misfortunes and took advantage of his generosity and
trustfulness. Which of us would not
rather face the hereafter (including the judgment of posterity) with the record
of Barney Murphy than with the money of men who succeeded (in a business way)
where he failed. There is a final assay
in which the dross is separated from the precious metal. In that crucible Barney Murphy will yield a
large percentage of fine gold. The paystreak in him was too big for his company, so he was
plundered of everything but his honor and reputation, and in the possession of
them unstained and undisputed he died rich.
1911
Dec 31, Oakland Tribune, P27, Oakland, California
Bells
of Mission Toll a Requiem
Bernard
D. Murphy Now Rests in the Cemetery at Santa Clara
San
Jose, Dec. 30 – Bernard D. Murphy, the picturesque, kindly, and honorable
citizen of California, who died in San Francisco Thursday morning, was buried
with simple and solemn services from the Mission Church at Santa Clara
today. His body was interred in the
Santa Clara cemetery. Men and women of
social and political prominence from all quarters of the State followed the
remains to the final resting place. The
funeral cortege of only the immediate relatives of the deceased politician
began the march from the home of his daughter, Mrs. Howard Derby, in South
Priest street, this city. At 10:30 it drew up in front of the Santa
Clara Mission which has been transformed into the Saint Claires
Church. With head bared and hearts
heavy, the men and women who knew and loved the charitable Bernard Murphy in
the early days of Santa Clara county followed the
remains into the church. The simple
ceremonies of low requiem mass were celebrated by the Rev. Father John McKay,
of St. Joseph’s church, this city.
Several
times during the ceremony, the old mission bells pealed out their notes of
sorrow – the same bells which had called the departed citizen to mass at the
old Mission in the days before the gringoes
came. On the wall of the old mission was
a tablet placed in the memory of an elder brother, James, who died in
1852. A choir composed of Miss Lillie
Fitzpatrick, soprano, T. Kelley, basso, and E. Martinelli,
tenor, sang the requiem, “Ave Maria,” “Sacred Heart,” and “Jerusalem, My Happy
Home.” At the grave the services were
conducted by the Rev. Father James Morrissey, President of Santa Clara
College. The services here were also
simple. No word of eulogy was spoken,
and none was needed. All realized the
worth and goodness of the man and the words would have been inadequate. Among the prominent men who came from San
Francisco to attend the services were:
Judge Charles L. Welles, Joseph Dimond, Thomas
N. O’Conner, Justus Waddell, Edward F. O’Day, Judge
John M. Burnett, Dr. J. F. Whitney, Dr. A. F. O’Brien, Joseph Kirk and Charles
W. Fay.
The
honorary pallbearers were Frank Hittell, T. I.
Bergin, L. Goodshaux, Sam Ricker and William Glenn of
San Francisco, and N. McLaughlin, Ralph Lowe, S. F. Lieb,
J. W. Findlay and James Enright. The active pallbearers were: John Trimble, Joseph Columbet,
Barney Kell, Clem Columbet,
W. P. Carroll and J. T. McGeoghegan.
1902
Feb 18, Evening News, P8, San Jose, California
The
funeral of the late Mrs. Anna L. Murphy who died
Sunday at Sunnyvale, will be held tomorrow forenoon at Santa Clara.
1902
Jun 9, Oakland Tribune, P3, Oakland, California
Executor
Gets Most of Rieser[sic] Estate
A.
A. Riser, as executor of the state of the late Anna Murphy, has filed his final
account. It shows cash received to have
been $489.85, of which sum $227.37-1/2 goes as fees to the executor, $2 as
notary fees and $150 as attorney’s fees, leaving a balance of $110.47-1/2.
Transcribed by Donna Toole.
Source: History
of the State of California & Biographical Record of Coast Counties,
California by Prof. J. M. Guinn, A. M., Pages 1387-1388. The Chapman
Publishing Co., Chicago, 1904.
© 2016 Donna Toole.