Pioneer Isaac Murphy

During the civil war when Gen. Forrest of the Confederate army made a raid into Pennsylvania he gathered up 70 inoffensive farmers and sent them to prison and Jesse Murphy and one other man was all that ever again reached their families. So he sold out what he could and with a span of mules and his family came to Ft. Calhoun, Nebr., and traded his mules to Berthuel Miller, father of David Miller, now of this city. Later he purchased the homestead of Nicholas Rix, on the hill north of our present city park on the site of where had been the council house of the old Fort Atkinson, built in 1820, and where we often visited the family for years and his own son, Isaac, and two of his sisters were members of our choir when we were Methodist pastor on this circuit; and those three were among the body of singers we got to sing at the grave of the mother of Hiram and Allen Craig, and Mrs. Vaughan in 1871, and one day Isaac’s mother showed me with pride a new topped one horse buggy costing $125, she had bought with money she had saved from selling her butter in Omaha, and before he died, in later years at Stanton, he told Isaac he had in his possession a six pound cannon ball he had found at old Ft. Atkinson soon after his arrival. He wanted it taken to W. H. Woods, after his death, which Isaac faithfully did; it is now in the State Historical Society at Lincoln. Just as we were leaving the parsonage for our successor in April, 1872 Isaac came to us to marry him to a daughter of Judge P. N. Stitts, on what is now the Schwager place, her father having been the very first probate judge of Washington county, when the county seat was at old DeSto, and one of our choice friends for years after we came here. One of the Jesse Murphy daughters became the wife of one of Elam Clark’s sons, and is buried here. Seven children were born to Isaac and his wife, who survive him; the mother was buried here in 1888. They live in Arizona, California, Nebraska and Montana, and three of them came with the body. Their father had been killed by a railroad train in Montana; he was 77 years old and was buried October 18, 1922. Rev. Frank officiating. The music was rendered by Miss Daisy Slader of Coffman, and Mrs. Elsie Cook with Miss Grace Neal at the piano. The pall bearers were William Frahm, Henry Jipp, George Rohwer, James Vaughan, Jacob Seirk and Henry Rohwer. Among other present were Chas. Schwager and wife of Omaha, John Carter and wife of Blair and Mrs. Honsacker of Fremont.

W. H. Woods

Note: Per Ft. Calhoun Cemetery listing: Name Isaac Pearson Murphy; born 17 Oct 1845; died 13 Oct 1922; Buried Sec F Lot 87 Sp 4

~~~ Obituary courtesy of the Washington County Genealogical Society. Newspaper clippings on file in the Blair Public Library at Blair, Nebraska.~~~