Jeremiah Murphy was born in Maine 28 November 1855, the son of Jeremiah and Mary Murphy
From the 1880 census, we know that Jeremiah was 25 years old, and a harnessmaker, as previously reported by his descendants. He was living with his mother, Mary, his older brother Edmund, a harnessmaker, and his younger brother Daniel, also a harnnessmaker, in Long Island, Queens, New York City. The census recorded their name as MURPHEY.
Jeremiah Murphy married Eliza J. HOLLINGSHEAD in the early
1880's. She is the daughter of Samuel HOLLINGSHEAD and Jane
Allison WILSON. We believe this for two reasons. #1, their second child
had the middle name of Wilson, which is Jane's maiden name, and #2,
Robert Wilson Murphy's son Gerald said when he was a child he would
travel every summer from Buffalo down to Huntingdon to visit his
grandmother's family.
Jeremiah MURPHY and Liza HOLLINGSHEAD had the following known children:
Joseph (Joe)
MURPHY was born about 1885
Robert Wilson MURPHY was born 29 November 1889 in Long Island City, Queens, New York.
Hortense MURPHY, born about 1900, died 18 February 1914 in Queens, New York, at age 13.
We know from Robert Wilson Murphy's children that Robert Wilson MURPHY'S father, Jeremiah MURPHY, was a harness salesman and that his brother Daniel MURPHY was a harness maker.
We are also told that Jeremiah went off to work one day and never returned.
It is not known if he died in an accident, was killed somehow, or he just
abandoned the family. From the 1930 census for Robert W. Murphy we also know
that Jeremiah was born in Maine. So with this little information we were
off in search of Jeremiah MURPHY, senior. Once we had the information that
Jeremiah was born in Maine, and not New York as the 1920 census says, we
were able to find Jeremiah in the 1880 census and probably his father in
the 1850 census.
From the 1900 census we find Eliza Murphy, age 40, born August 1859, living at 78 East Avenue, Queens. It says she is widowed, had 4 children, 2 of whom are living. Her occupation is boarding house. She was born in Pennsylvania, as were her parents. Also in the residence are Joseph, born Nov. 1885 in Ohio, Robert, born May 1889 in New York. It lists her sons parents as both being born in Pennsylvania. It may be she did not know her deceased husband was born in Maine. Also, she gave the wrong birth month for Robert. Maybe she reversed the birth months and Joseph should have been May. Also in the residnce are two boarders, William Weir, age 52, (born March 1848) a Bridgeman, born in Delaware and Owen Sweeney, age 39, (born October 1860)born in Ireland, a Molder by trade.
From the 1910 census we find she is now using the name Lydia
Murphy, age 50, had 4 children, two of whom are living. She is listed
as born in Pennsylvania, as were her parents. Also in the residence are
Robert, age 20, born in New York, father born in Maine, and mother born
in Ireland. (I think Eliza/Lydia mistakenly gave her husband's mother's
birthplace rather than her own here. Robert's mother was obviously born
in Pennsylvania.) Robert's occupation is a varnish maker. Also in the
residense is Hortense Murphy, age 11, father's birthplace unknown,
mother's birthplace Pennsylvania. They are living at 65 Hunter Street,
Queens.
So we have some questions here with this census. Hortense was not
listed in the 1900 census. Was she really born before 1900? Was she
really Lydia/Eliza's daughter? Lydia/Eliza says she had 4 children, 2
still living.....but we know Robert and Joseph are still living in
1910, so she did not count Hortense.
From the 1930 census we find Lydia Murphy living at 4505
Broadway, First Assembly District, Queens. New York. She is age 63,
born in Pennsylvania, as were her parents, She is widowed, first
married at age 23. Also living there is her son Joseph, age 41, born in
Ohio, father born in Maine, mother born in Pennsylvania. He is
divorced. married at age 20. He is an accountant for a book shipping
company.
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This page last updated on 21 September 2016
