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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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