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.