My great-grandfather, Edward Richard Murphy

 I knew my great-grandfather, Edward Richard Murphy. I was ten years old when he died. It occurred to me that I was probably the only person living who remembers him. My sister was only one year old when Edward died. But then I remembered that I have a cousin who also has memories of him. So it is time that Edward is memorialized in this blog.

Edward Richard Murphy was born in Peoria, Peoria County, Illinois to William and Elizabeth Smyth Murphy on the 3rd of September 1880. The family was living at 1503 S. Adams St., in Peoria. Edward was the youngest of six children.  

Between 1880 and 1882, the family moved from Adams St. to 311 Chicago St. in Peoria. Edward was two years old when his mother died giving birth to a stillborn baby girl. His mother's death left his father with six children at home to care for. In 1884 Edward's father remarried, a year after his wife Elizabeth's death. He married Anastasia Heneberry Cunningham who was a widow with six children. 

In January of 1890, Edward's stepmother died. He was ten years old. Sadly, his father died in December of 1891. My guess is that the only real stability Edward had in his life during his younger years probably came from his siblings, most likely his sister who was ten years older than him. 

Edward's only sister married in 1896. The first record I have of Edward following his birth record is from 1899 when he was listed in the Peoria City Directory as a clerk at SC Bartlett and resided at 1018 First St., where his sister, her husband, and their baby lived. Edward was listed in the 1900 Peoria Census with his brother Emmett. They were living with their sister and her family. Both were listed as Clerks at SC Bartlett Board of Trade.

In 1902, at the age of twenty-three, Edward married Kathryn "Kitty" Hanauer. She was twenty years old. Their witnesses were Edward's brother, Charles Murphy, and Katherine Lyons. In December of that year, Edward and Kathryn were witnesses to the marriage of Charles and Katherine's marriage!

In 1903, Edward and family were living at 211 Armstrong Ave. in Peoria, Illinois

Sometime in 1903-the family had moved to 521 Fredonia Avenue in Peoria, Illinois. The picture below is of a pregnant Kitty awaiting the arrival of their first child!

A year after their marriage, Edward and Kitty had a daughter, Genevieve Elizabeth. Elizabeth was the first name of both Edward and Kitty's mothers. I would love to know where the name Genevieve was from!

1904- Genevieve Elizabeth Murphy 13 months old.

Edward and Kitty's first son was Edward Francis Murphy who was born on the 20th of August in 1906 (my grandfather). He and Genevieve were listed in the 1910 Peoria Census with their parents. Edward was listed as a Clerk at the Board of Trade (he was still with SC Bartlett). The family was still living at 521 Fredonia in Peoria.

Edward F. and Genevieve Murphy:

Land Records for Peoria Illinois show that Edward R. Murphy purchased property from W.S. Parry and Alice E. Clarke for $341.25. It was for Lot 163 in Clarke Place.2 He also purchased Lots 15,16,17,18,19, and 20 in Dobbins Subdivision.

By 1912, the family had moved to 121 Clarke Avenue in Peoria.  Edward was still working for SC Bartlett as a clerk. In 1918, he was listed as a Buyer for SC Bartlett.

121 Clarke Ave. in Peoria, Illinois

The 1918 WWI Draft Registration Card shows Edward listed at 121 Clark and was a Grain Dealer for SC Bartlett. Edward was marked as "Short" with blue eyes and black hair.

In 1920, the Peoria Census listed Edward, Kitty, Genevieve, and Edward along with Edward's mother-in-law Elizabeth Hanauer living at 121 Clark St. in Peoria. Edward was listed as a Vice-President for Stacy Grain. Elizabeth is listed as a Nurse (she was a midwife). On the 16th of October of 1920, Edward's brother Patrick Murphy died, the first of his siblings to pass away. Patrick was fifty-two years old. Edward was forty years old at the time.

March of 1921 brought a new addition to the family. Joseph Francis Murphy was born to Edward and Kitty! Edward was forty years old. Their children Genevieve and Edward were seventeen and fourteen years old, respectively. In 1924, another brother, Charles Murphy died. 

1921 Edward R. Murphy holding his new son Joseph.

In 1927, Edward and Kitty's son Edward married Mabelle Linnea Seeber. And the following year, their first grandchild was born, Patricia Genevieve. She was named after Edward's brother Patrick and his daughter Genevieve.

Edward turned fifty years old in 1930. The Peoria Census shows him living at 121 Clark Ave. in Peoria with Kitty, Genevieve, and Joseph. In 1931, Edward's oldest brother James Francis Murphy died. The 1930s brought more changes to Edward's family. Another grandchild, Edward Charles Murphy, was born in 1933. 

Edward continued to work for SC Bartlett until 1936. At that time, Edward was listed as a grocer, living on Columbia Terrace. 

1937-house and shop at the corner of Columbia Terrace and Bestor in Peoria, Illinois.

However, The 1940 Peoria Census lists Edward as age 59 and employed as a Grain Dealer, Board of Trade, which indicates that he was still working for SC Bartlett. In this census, Kitty was listed as the proprietor of a grocery store.  It also showed Genevieve, age 36, as a secretary at a hotel (Pere Marquette Hotel). She had completed four years of high school. Joseph was listed as age 19 and had completed one year of college.

In 1942  Edward's WWII Draft Registration listed him as age 61, living at 901 Columbia. He was employed by Stacy Grain (which may have been SC Bartlett). Edward and Kitty's son Joseph's Draft Registration listed him as age 20, a student at the University of Illinois in Champaign Urbana, Illinois.

From 1943 to 1945 Joseph served overseas in the United States Air Force. "Joe" married Catherine Freeman in 1948. They briefly lived in Chicago, but by 1950 Joe and Cathy had moved to Indianapolis. 

In 1944 Edward's sister Alice Murphy Cody died. She had dementia for several years and was kept at her home. I'm sure it was hard for Edward to lose her, the only mother figure he had known. He had two more brothers die, both in January of 1949. They were Robert Emmett Murphy and William Henry Murphy. Robert had spent the majority of his life in an institution in St. Louis. He was diagnosed with depression and dementia. Edward was then the only one of eight children left living. 

1947- Edward and Kitty in front of their home at 901 Columbia Terrace, Peoria, Illinois.

Edward and Kitty were listed in the 1950 Peoria Census still living on Columbia Terrace in Peoria. It appears that Edward had retired. He was listed as age 69 and had a confectionary retail candy and ice cream store. Genevieve was still living with her parents. She was forty-six years old and an Executive secretary at a hotel (the Pere Marquette Hotel in downtown Peoria).

In 1952 Genevieve (age forty-eight) married Wayne Matheny (age thirty-six) who went by "Wayne West", his show name. He had popular shows on the radio and later became a popular  TV star in Peoria.

1952-Edward and Kitty's 50th wedding anniversary. Pictured standing are their children Edward F., Genevieve, and Joseph Murphy.

I remember going to Edward and Kitty's little store on Columbia Terrace. It was attached to their home and next door to a grade school, so they often had many customers there. What I recall was the wonder of all the candy and ice cream. I was only five or six years old. And, of course, I was allowed to get whatever I wanted!

By 1955, Edward and Kitty were living in an upstairs apartment in the house where Genevieve and her husband lived. It was at 115 Samuel in Peoria Heights, Illinois. I have very clear memories of being there, but all I really remember of Edward (my great-grandfather) was of him sitting in a chair reading either a newspaper or a book. I also remember that he had a great smile! He was a very self-educated man and hated President Roosevelt. He was a very quiet man, small in stature.

Edward Richard Murphy died on the 12th of December 1959. He was seventy-nine years old.  His obituary stated that he had been "in failing health for about four years" and that he "had made his home for the last two years with his son, Edward F. Murphy". I was quite sure that this was untrue and so I sent for and received his death certificate. As I had recalled, he was in the Peoria State Hospital for two years and died there. My guess is that the family did not want it known that he had died there and thus changed the circumstances for the obituary.

Edward was survived by his wife, Kitty, his three children, six grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren. Sadly, his wife Kitty died in August of 1963 and his son Joe died in October of 1963. His son Edward died in 1976 and Genevieve died in 1992.  

Alice "Allie" Reade

For a St. Patrick’s Week Challenge, I am writing about my great-great-great-grandmother Mary Alice “Allie” Reade. She is as far back as I have been able to go with my Murphy ancestry, and she was one of the first I found when I went searching for Murphy relatives at the local Catholic cemetery in Peoria in about 1995. It saddens me that I don’t know a lot about “Allie”. She proved to be one of those elusive women who quietly lived out their lives. Yet she must have been a strong woman to endure as she did.

 Alice was born in 1801 in County Kilkenny, Ireland. Her parents were James and Alice "Ally" Lawlor Reade. Known siblings of Alice were Anne, Bridget, Joan, Thomas, and Catherine. Alice married James H. Murphy on the 23rd of October in 1831 in Kilmacow Parish, County Kilkenny, Ireland. Alice was thirty years old and James was twenty-eight years old at the time of their marriage. Alice’s sister, Anne Reade, was a witness to the marriage, along with Thomas Holden. 

James and Alice had seven known children all born in County Kilkenny: Johanna Murphy, born 25 March 1832; James Reade Murphy, born 25 July 1833; Mary Murphy, born around 1837; William Henry Murphy, born in 1838 (my great-great-grandfather); Catherine Murphy, born 19 March 1839; Ellen Murphy, born 05 May 1841; and Margaret Murphy, born 8 August 1844. Alice’s sisters, Bridget and Joan, were godparents for two of Alice’s children.

 Sometime in 1848, James and Alice and their seven children (ages four to sixteen) arrived in the United States in New Orleans and spent a year there. They then came on to Peoria County, Illinois settling in Kickapoo Township, Peoria County, Illinois. 

The 1850 Kickapoo, Peoria County, Illinois census shows the Murphy family living with the Philander Chase family. During these times, Philander Chase sponsored families coming over from Ireland. James Murphy ended up working for him for several years, as head gardener and opening up a quarry for him.  

Between 1849 and 1855 some of Alice’s family from Ireland came to the Peoria Illinois area. Patrick Reade and his children settled in Peoria, and Daniel Reade’s children settled in Peoria. I believe that Patrick and Daniel were cousins of Alice. Also, her first cousin, Nicholas Reade Henebery settled in Peoria with his family. Alice’s family appears to have been close to all of these relatives as they are involved through the years with each other, as witnesses to various sacraments, etc.

 Three of Alice’s children married between 1850 and 1860. Johanna married John Ryan in 1852. Mary married James Ryan (brother to John) in 1854 and in 1856, James married Julia Henebery (daughter of Nicholas Reade Henebery, and James’ second cousin). In 1855 James and Alice were listed in Kickapoo, along with one son and two daughters. Living next door to them was their daughter Johanna and her family. 

It seems that the families stayed in Kickapoo in the same places for a few years as they were listed in the 1860 census still next door to each other. In this census, James and Alice were listed with one son, William, and two daughters, Ellen and Margaret, but also living with them was their daughter Mary and her family. Johanna and her family were still next door to James and Alice. James was listed as a farmer.

 Over the next ten years, the remaining children of James and Alice married: Ellen married Edmond O’Neil in 1861; Catherine married John Dolan and William married Elizabeth Smith, both in 1864; Margaret married Francis Smith (brother to Elizabeth Smith) in 1866. All of the Alice’s children were married in Peoria County, Illinois. 

So by 1866, after thirty-five years of marriage, James and Alice Murphy had an empty household. By 1869, James was listed as living in Peoria, so he and Alice must have left farming and moved to the city. By then James was sixty-six years old, and Alice was sixty-eight. In the 1870 Peoria Census James was listed as a City Policeman. They were living next door to their son James R and his family.

 James continued to work and was listed in the 1880 Peoria census as a Policeman for the Depot. In this census, Alice was listed as “Invalid”. The census was taken on the 2nd of June in 1880. Alice died at her son James’ house on the 9th of July in 1880. She was seventy-nine years old. Her cause of death was listed as “Dementia and Old Age”. 

Obituaries found for Alice included the following: From the Peoria National Democrat--July 10, 1880: "DIED Murphy-In this city at the residence of her son, James R. Murphy, corner 2nd and Merriman streets, Mrs. Alice Murphy, wife of James H. Murphy, in the 79th year of her age; Funeral will take place from her son's residence Sunday, at 2 o'clock pm. Friends and acquaintances are invited to attend." 

 From the Peoria Evening Review-July 9, 1880 "MURPHY-In this city at the residence of her son, James R. Murphy, corner 2nd and Merriman streets, Mrs. Alice Murphy, wife of James H. Murphy, in the 79th year of her age. Funeral will take place from her son's residence Sunday at 2 o'clock pm. Friends and acquaintances are invited to attend." 

 And from Peoria Evening Review-July 12, 1880: "The funeral of Mrs. James Murphy, which took place on Sunday was attended by a large concourse of people. The procession of carriages that followed the remains to the grave was nearly a mile long." 

 I do wonder why there was not a church funeral for Alice. The family had been devout, active Catholics. She was buried at St. Mary’s Cemetery in Peoria, Illinois. She shares a tombstone with granddaughters Alice and Jennie, children of her son James R. The tombstone reads: Alice Read Murphy, Alice and Jennie. Her tombstone is next to her son James Reade Murphy's tombstone. 

 Alice’s husband, James H. Murphy, lived for another ten years and stayed with their daughter Ellen in Crescent City, Illinois. James Murphy died in 1890 in Crescent City, Iroquois County, Illinois. He is buried in St. Mary's Cemetery in Gilman, Illinois with his daughter Ellen Murphy O'Neill and family. 

This always strikes me as so sad that James and Alice were not buried together after all that they had lived through. Having seven children, moving to a new country, and then having to deal with Alice’s dementia as they settled into older age must have been so difficult. Surprisingly for the times, none of Alice’s children preceded her in death. Alice had fifty-seven grandchildren when she died. Two more were born after her death. Six of Alice’s children had daughters named “Alice” after her. She left a large family that thrived throughout the years. 

As a side-note: Alice is the first of the Murphy side of the family who I have found with dementia. It has remained constant throughout the years in the direct line through her son William Murphy and his descendants. The family always thought it was from the Murphy side of the family, but actually, in our case, it appears that it is possible that it came from the Reade part of the family.