UNDER CONSTRUCTION (NOTE: The research on the MURPHY family is an on-going venture by cousins, Vickie ERWIN, Linda WARREN, Pam DeWITT and Deborah DAIL. Deborah DAIL compiled the research and wrote the following narrative. - Updated May 26, 2003) Murphy Family in Denton County, Texas
By Deborah Boone Dail
2nd great-grandaughter of Henderson MURPHY
1. The Murphys in the Peters Colony, 1843-1846
Henderson Murphy and his wife, Ruth Phillips Murphy, were among the first settlers in the area of Texas that later would become Denton County. Though the exact dates of their births are not known, one can infer from their ages at the time of their marriage that Henderson was born in or about 1822, and that Ruth was born in or about 1825. Official records in Denton County state Henderson’s birthplace as Kentucky and Ruth’s birthplace as Ohio. Research has not yet revealed the names of Henderson’s parents. We do know, however, that Ruth’s father was William Phillips, who came to Texas at or about the same time that Henderson and Ruth Murphy came to the state. Henderson and Ruth came to Texas as members of the Peters Colony, a group of settlements in the central and northern portion of the Republic of Texas.
Peters Colony promoters and the Republic of Texas formed the colony under the terms of a series of contracts between the colony’s promoters and the Republic. At the time of the formation of these contracts, the Republic was engaged in a desperate attempt to recruit settlers who would provide a defense against Indian and Mexican attacks. Since 1836, Texas had been attempting to recruit colonists by promising them free land in return for their taking up residence on the land and bearing arms against the Indians and Mexicans. In 1841, a group of men in Kentucky and England decided to obtain money and land by contracting with the Republic to bring settlers to the area. W.S. Peters, an Englishman who had lived in Kentucky since 1820, led the group, and the colony bore Peters’ name. Under the terms of the Peters Colony contracts, male settlers would receive full and absolute title to either 320 acres (for an unmarried male) or 640 acres (for a married male who was head of household), on condition that, after a certain period of time, the settlers “shall have built a good and Comfortable Cabin upon [the land], and shall keep in Cultivation under good fence, at least fifteen acres on this tract.” Though one can only speculate about where and when Henderson Murphy first became interested in obtaining land in Texas, it seems likely that, as a citizen of Kentucky, his interest was sparked by the activities of Peters Colony promoters in that state. The promoters operated mainly out of Louisville, Kentucky, between 1841 and 1848. From 1841 untill 1844, the promoters of the colony depended upon word-of-mouth advertising to make known their land offerings in Texas. But on July 1, 1844, they began issuing written advertisements. Henderson Murphy may have lived in the Louisville area and have heard of the Peters Colony first-hand, or he may have lived elsewhere in Kentucky and learned about the colony through other persons. Henderson probably heard of the colony through word-of-mouth advertising, because, according to the colony agent’s report issued in 1850, Henderson Murphy could neither read nor write--an unfortunate disability shared by 24.8% of all Peters Colony settlers. This disability, however, would not prevent Henderson Murphy from becoming, within three decades, one of the wealthiest, most beloved, and most influential citizens of Denton County. Assuming that Henderson heard of the Peters Colony while he lived in Kentucky, he would have applied, as an unmarried man, for 320 acres of land. But love—or Irish luck—would soon enable Henderson to acquire twice as much land and to stand the chance of gaining control of, if not outright ownership of, an additional 640 acres. Henderson’s opportunity to increase the size of his land holdings arose when he married Ruth Phillips. Circumstantial evidence indicates that Henderson met and married Ruth while they both were traveling to Texas with a wagon train. Persons who applied for land under the Peters contracts almost always made the journey to the colony in a series of wagon trains, each train consisting of a group of 3 to 10 families. These wagon trains made their through several states, including Arkansas, camping from time to time in whatever state they found themselves. Evidence indicates that Ruth’s father, William Phillips, and his three children were either living in or traveling through Arkansas in 1843. Because William, Ruth, and Henderson all arrived in Texas with the first wave of Peters Colony settlers (those who arrived in the colony before July 1, 1845) and because the Phillips family and Henderson Murphy were together in Arkansas in October of 1843 (assuming that Ruth Phillips was living with or traveling with her father when she married Henderson Murphy), it seems likely that Henderson Murphy and the Phillips family were fellow travelers in one of the Peters Colony wagon trains. William Phillips and the newly married Murphys apparently reached the Peters Colony together, sometime between October 1843 and July 1, 1845. Fortune smiled on Henderson when he married Ruth Phillips. By marrying Ruth, Henderson obtained the right to twice as much Texas land as he could have obtained as a single man: 640 acres, rather than 320, and he also stood a good chance of gaining control of yet another 640 acres. His wife, Ruth, as the oldest of William Phillips’ three children, stood to inherit a good portion of Williams’ newly acquired land in the event of his death, and she would likely be made a trustee of Williams’ sons’ portion until they came of age. Of course, in that era, Ruth, as a woman, would be expected to resign her position as trustee in favor her husband, Henderson, thus giving him control over the Williams trust. William Phillips did, in fact, die soon after he reached Texas, leaving to his beneficiaries the Texas land that he himself was denied the privilege of enjoying. In his will, Phillips appointed as executor of his estate his new son-in-law, Henderson Murphy. Henderson supervised the distribution of Williams’ estate, which passed to his beneficiaries, one of whom was, of course, Ruth Phillips Murphy. Ruths’ portion consisted of land on Hickory Creek, near present-day Denton. On May 27, 1854, Ruth entered into an indenture with her husband Henderson regarding the Hickory Creek land she had inherited from her father. An indenture, in real estate conveyances, consists of a deed to which two or more persons are parties, and in which these enter into reciprocal grants and obligations toward each other. The indenture gave Henderson Murphy certain rights in the Hickory Creek land that Ruth inherited from her father, but also made him subject to certain obligations concerning that land. This indenture marks the first in a series of repeated instances in which Henderson Murphy would obtain control of Peters Colony land that was originally owned by another person. One who examines Henderson’s rise to power and influence in Denton County cannot help but note his amazing gift for acquiring land—often at little or no cost, and apparently without any impropriety. As will be seen throughout this narrative, Henderson Murphy seemed to draw land to himself in much the same way that a magnet draws a piece of metal. By the late 1800s, Henderson Murphy would be one of the wealthiest men in Denton County, with land holdings that included large tracts of pasture land and township lots in that county, as well as large tracts of pasture land in Cooke County, to the north of Denton County. Henderson and Ruth used all their land to good advantage, beginning with the use of the Hickory Creek land as the site for their home, into which was born, circa 1846, the first of their children, a daughter, Minerva Jane. Approximately two years later, the couple became the parents of Robert (Bob) Murphy, their first son; and the following year, they were blessed with a second daughter, known now only by her initials, R.E. Because of litigation regarding the lands involved in the Peters Colony, Henderson Murphy did not receive his own land certificate until 1850, when Texas Land Commissioner William Ward issued the certificate to Henderson for the 640 acres of land that he and Ruth had improved. That land lay in the vicinity of the Alton settlement, near Hickory Creek, which later would become the county seat of Denton County The lives of Henderson and Ruth were to be intimately connected to Denton County: its government, its businesses, and its social life. Therefore, in order better to understand the Murphy family, it is helpful to understand the beginnings of Denton County.
2. The Murphys and Denton County, 1846-1856 Henderson and Ruth Murphy had been living on their Peters Colony land for approximately one year, when, on April 11, 1846, the Texas legislature appointed a commission for the purpose of locating the center of a new county in the north-central portion of Texas, to be named Denton County. The legislature ordered the commission to propose two sites, each within three miles of the center of a particular section of land, as possible county seats. According to the terms of the order, both sites were to be submitted to the residents of the county, and an election was to be held to allow the voters to choose their preferred site, which was to be named Pinkneyville. The commissioners held an election later in the year 1846, and voters chose a site approximately 1 ¼ miles southeast of modern-day Denton to serve as Pinkneyville, the county seat of Denton County. Pinkneyville, however, had no buildings; in fact, it had no improvements of any kind—not even a courthouse. Judge John T. Mills, who presided over the Ninth Judicial District, was forced, when in Pinkneyville, to hold court under the shade of a large post-oak tree. By 1848, most settlers in Denton County wanted to be rid of the woodland county seat. In addition to being too primitive for their likings, Pinkneyville was too far away from the settlements to be convenient to the settlers. In 1848, the Texas Legislature, in order to accommodate the settlers’ needs, changed the county seat from Pinkneyville to a location described as “Section 1, Township No. 4, north, in Range No. 3, west, in Peters Colony.” The legislature decreed that the name of the new county seat was to be “Alton.”. Alton was located on a high ridge between Pecan Creek and Hickory Creek. However, a serious problem soon arose with the Alton site: the city builders could not find a water supply. So, once again, the legislature changed the location of the county seat. On November 26, 1850, the legislature decreed that a new “seat of justice” was to be created for Denton County, though it was to retain the name Alton. The settlers of that day referred to the new county seat as “New Alton” to distinguish it from the earlier, waterless Alton, on the ridge, which they called “Old Alton.” The Legislature chose as the site of this new county seat the residence of Alexander E. Cannon, located on Hickory Creek, about 5 miles south of modern-day Denton’s town square. Apparently, Mr. Cannon’s house was the only building in Alton at that time. Besides bringing in a new county seat, the year 1850 also brought in a sign of administrative government: the newly created county of Denton took its first census. During the following year, 1851, those persons interested in Denton County’s new county seat gathered together and built themselves a courthouse, rather than continuing judicial proceedings in a private residence. The volunteers built the courthouse at Alton of hewn logs. The building was 20’ x 20’, “13 rounds high,” covered with 2-foot boards held on by weighted poles. It had a puncheon floor, a board door, a judge’s stand in the west end, a stick-and-mud chimney in the east end, and split-log benches. The judge’s stand was built of burr oak boards and was “four feet square.” Henderson and Ruth Murphy may or may not have been involved in the building of the first Denton County courthouse at Alton, but they originated the business activity in the town, and Henderson soon became active in Denton County politics. Henderson and Ruth are remembered as a “friendly and industrious” couple, who applied themselves vigorously to building up the new county, and in the process building up their own fortune. In 1852, the year after the courthouse was completed, the Murphys built and opened the first general store in Alton. Between 1852 and 1854, three other Denton County men also built stores in Alton: Jim Chisum and John L. Long built stores in Alton in 1853, and J.M. Smoot & Co. built a store in 1854. Showing a competitive business streak that would characterize him throughout the remainder of his life, Henderson responded by building, in 1854, the first hotel in Alton, the Murphy Hotel. J. N. Rayzor, a Denton County resident, describes the Murphy Hotel as “built of studding made of small saplings and sided up with puncheons hewed from split logs.” The Murphy Hotel soon became the center of the Alton community. The Murphys, ever true to Henderson’s Irish descent, sold whiskey at the hotel and at their general store for 25 cents per quart, or 10 cents per drink. Alton’s Methodists and Baptists apparently were not unduly offended by the Murphys’ retail alcohol business. These denominations held regular church services in the hotel each Sunday. Besides being used as a saloon and house of worship, the Murphy Hotel was the site of entertainment for a number of prominent persons, particularly during times when court was in session. One of these persons was J. W. Latimer, editor of the Dallas Herald, who visited the Alton settlement on May 26, 1856, in order to attend a court session presided over by Judge Nathaniel Buford. Latimer returned to Dallas to write an editorial, in which he stated that Denton County had, especially its western portion, made significant advancements since it formation, but that the town of Alton had not. Latimer stated that, while he considered the Alton townspeople whom he met during his visit there to be “hightoned” persons, the majority of Denton County citizens supported a move of the county seat from the Alton settlement to a more convenient location.
3. The Murphys in the Town of Denton, 1856-1860
From 1856 to 1860, Henderson and Ruth enjoyed a growing family, as well as the affection and respect of their community. By 1856, three more sons had been born to Henderson and Ruth: James William (Jim), born in 1852; Joseph T. (Joe), born in 1855; and Henderson, Jr., born in 1856. The family suffered a severe loss sometime before 1860, however, when little R. E., Henderson and Ruths second daughter, died before she reached her 10th birthday. In 1856, despite his illiteracy, Denton County voters elected Henderson Murphy to the office of County Treasurer, demonstrating their respect for his integrity and his talent for managing money. In that same year, Denton County Commissioners called a special election for the purpose of changing the county seat. The State legislature gave Denton County voters a choice between two sites as their new county seat: a site near Hickory Creek and a site further east of that point. The voters chose the latter, which today forms the town square of Denton. In 1857, the county seat officially moved from Alton to Denton, and Henderson Murphy was among a group of Alton businessmen and civic leaders who celebrated the move by deliberately burning down the Alton courthouse during a drinking party. One Denton County historian reports on this festive gathering: The boys said they ‘cremated’ it. Perhaps
they should have said they ‘liquidated’ it or
‘spirited’ it away, for Tom and Jerry [a
mixed alcoholic drink, popular in that day]
flowed freely and helped make it a ‘spirited’
occasion. Henderson and Ruth Murphy had cause to celebrate the change in Denton County’s county seat, because they had purchased land in the new Denton township on which to set up their hotel. It is likely that Henderson Murphy, and possibly Ruth Murphy and the Murphy children, were among the settlers who gathered on January 10, 1857, on a sandy, wooded knoll which today holds the historic Denton County courthouse. On that day, the square looked vastly different than it looks today: “[T]he little knoll was covered with post oak trees with low hanging limbs rising out of a thick tangled undergrowth of small bushes, briars, and vines.” The settlers, most of whom came from Alton, were present on the knoll to purchase, at auction, lots in the new township of Denton. More than 20 families were represented on that day. Historian C.A. Bridges describes the challenging conditions under which the family representatives gathered: A very heavy snow fell on January 8, and the tenth day of January turned out to be an extremely cold day. The would-be bidders wrapped old sacks around their feet and hovered around camp fires, while the women and children huddled up in the wagons covered up with such robes, blankets, and other wraps as they had brought along. This heavy snow storm and the bitter cold spell that followed it was remembered for a long time afterwards as one of the worst that Denton ever experienced. The Murphys purchased at least one lot for the purpose of establishing their hotel in the new town, but they also obtained other lots in the township. In fact, by the mid-1800s, the Murphys owned all the township land just north of the town square. The Murphys, like other buyers at the auction, were able to obtain Denton township lots at a bargain price. Most of the lots sold at the January 8th auction for between $25 and $30 each. Within a short span of time, Alton businessmen, including Henderson Murphy, had moved their businesses to the burgeoning town of Denton. The town soon boasted a courthouse, a law office, two stores, a blacksmith shop, and the Murphy Hotel.
The Murphy Hotel in Denton The Murphys moved their family and their hotel from Alton to Denton in 1857, setting up the hotel at a site on the southeast corner of the town square. One Denton resident, whose father remembered both the move and the Murphys, re-tells her father’s account of the move, as well as his description of pertinent characteristics of the hotel’s owners: Mr. Murphy was a clever man who knew the
value of a dollar . . .He understood that a
good show could be translated into extra
customers for his tavern and hotel. He also
knew that building another hotel in Denton
would be expensive and that he would have to
wait for materials and extra hands. During
the building, he would lose business; so, he
made the decision to roll the hotel with all
its furnishings and goods inside, to Denton. He raised the stout little building, corner
by corner, until it was high enough off the
ground to slide logs of similar size under
the sturdy floor. A good, sound team of
mules supplied the power to get the hotel
rolling northward toward its new home in
Denton. The logs acted as wheels, and as
they rolled out behind when the building
passed over them, they were picked up and
carried around to the front of the procession
and pushed back under the floor. He definitely got his money’s worth in
attention. People stood along the route from
Alton to Denton to watch the handsome and
sturdy little hotel roll away down the road.
The whole parade was given more customer
appeal by Mrs. Ruth Murphy [far along in
pregnancy at the time], who, lacking a
convenient place to make the trip, sat on the
front porch and worked contentedly at her
knitting. Papa said she looked very calm for
a woman who was being rolled down the public
road in a rocking chair. Her rocking chair
did experience a few jolts as the hotel
lurched over the dirt track from Alton to
Denton, and the sand became deeper as they
neared the square. But the mules strained to
keep the hotel moving along on its log wheels
until it rested on its new foundation. Mrs.
Murphy apparently wasn’t too upset by the
public spectacle of moving her home and
business, because she bore Mr. Murphy a son
shortly after the eventful day. John Murphy
was the first Anglo male to be born in the
official city limits of the new town of
Denton. The narrator of this account apparently missed the connection between the bumpy ride and Ruth Murphy’s delivery of a child soon afterward. Any woman who has experienced pregnancy and delivery, however, would have noted that, calm or not, a pregnant woman who has been rolled over six miles of bumpy dirt road on log wheels might well go into labor rather soon after completing the journey! C.A. Bridges states that, during the first eighteen months of his hotel’s operation in Denton, Henderson probably hired other men to manage the hotel for him while he closed up his business affairs at Alton, attended to his official duties as County Treasurer, and moved his family to Denton. R.W. Throckmorton appears to have been the first manager of the hotel, followed by Lewis M. Fry. By June of 1859, however, the Dallas Herald, in an advertisement for the hotel, listed Henderson Murphy as its proprietor. The Murphy Hotel served Denton not only as a saloon and hotel, but also as a restaurant, wagon yard, and social center. When the editor of the Dallas Herald visited the hotel in mid-December of 1858, he was impressed with the sumptuous style of the hotel, a style which, he noted, never slacked, even during times when the hotel overflowed with guests. The editor returned to Dallas to write that the hotel “thronged during his stay, but the table constantly groaned beneath a profusion of the substantials of life, and the stable had everything calculated for the comfort of the beast.” The following year, Judge Joseph A. Carroll, for whom Denton’s Carroll Boulevard and Carroll Courts Building are named, married Celia J. Burris at the Murphy Hotel. Sometime before 1860, Henderson and Ruth’s daughter, Minerva Jane, married John Hughes. The couple settled in Denton and maintained a close relationship with Henderson, Ruth, and their sons. For more information on Minerva Jane Murphy Hughes and her descendants, see Minerva Jane Murphy Hughes and Descendants, written by .
4. The Murphys During the Civil War Era, 1860-1865
By the 1860’s, the Murphy family had grown, both in numbers and in influence among the citizens of Denton County. Two more sons were born to Henderson and Ruth during this decade: Lee, born in 1862, and Richard D., born in 1866. The couple also became grandparents when, on January 14, 1861, their daughter, Minerva Jane Hughes, gave birth to a baby boy, John Henderson Hughes, who would be called Henderson, in honor of his grandfather. Little Henderson was the third child to be born in the town of Denton. The Murphy Hotel continued to be an important community center, and the citizens of Denton County elected Henderson Murphy to a second term as County Treasurer in 1862.
5. The Murphys During the Post-Civil War Era, 1865-1870. When the Civil War ended in 1865, Denton County experienced a series of violent attacks by Indian tribes, and citizens of the county called upon Henderson Murphy to assist in persuading the State to send protective assistance to the county. These attacks apparently began when the Indians discovered that Confederate military posts had been abandoned, that the Federal government had disarmed Denton County citizens, and that the Federal troops assigned to protect the county were slow-moving and ineffective in their response to Indian attacks upon the citizenry. A meeting was held in Denton on October 4, 1866, for the purpose of addressing the problem of the Indian threat. Those citizens present at the meeting elected a committee of five men to draft a letter to the Governor of Texas, describing the plight of the county and asking for State assistance in defending the county from the Indians. The citizens elected Henderson Murphy to this committee, demonstrating yet again their faith in his intelligence and judgment, despite his illiteracy. While Henderson and Ruth continued to be politically and socially prominent in Denton County, they suffered in 1868 the second of the tragedies that were to befall the family. Sometime in that year, two-year-old Dick Murphy, Henderson and Ruth’s fifth son, became seriously ill. Doctors diagnosed Dick with meningitis. Though the little boy survived his bout with the illness, he emerged from the fever permanently disabled. The illness had left him unable to speak or to hear. For more information on Dick Murphy and his descendants, see Richard Dennis Murphy and His Descendants, written by . Meanwhile, State assistance for the Denton County citizens was not forthcoming, for the county continued to experience Indian raids well into the late 1860s, one of which directly involved the Murphy family. On the night of October 28, 1868, a band of several hundred Comanche and Kiowa Indians entered Denton and quietly stole nine horses from the stables at the Murphy Hotel, while young Henderson Hughes and his uncle, Lee Murphy, slept soundly inside. The Indians mingled the horses they took from the hotel with horses and cattle that they had stolen from several other Denton County locations, then headed back toward their reservation in Indian Territory. A group of Denton County residents pursued the Indians, who continued their ride toward Indian territory, killing two white settlers on the way. Within a few days, the Murphy Hotel was the site of citizens’ meeting held for the purpose of discussing possible solutions to the continuing Indian-raid problems experienced in the county. The citizens elected a posse, led by R. H. Hopkins, who set off to pursue the Indians who had stolen the Denton County stock. After this Indian raid, the Federal government once again allowed Denton County citizens to own firearms and to organize themselves against Indian attacks. Even while dealing with Indian threats, the citizens of Denton found time for social events, some of the more formal of which took place at the Murphy Hotel. For example, the Murphys hosted a party in early December, 1868, which at which “the usual chit-chat and dancing” took place. According to the society column in the local newspaper, on that evening “much of the beauty and chivalry of the town was present” at the hotel. Besides making its hotel available to the frontier community of Denton for its more formal social ceremonies and gatherings, the Murphy family became general care-givers for the citizenry. Denton County residents often called upon members of the family to assist in solving minor emergencies. For example, during Christmas week Bob Murphy, Henderson and Ruth’s oldest son, was called upon by a Denton businessman to assist in dealing with a theft of some of his goods. According to Jim Grober, a resident of Denton County at the time: A seventeen-year-old Negro named Charley Reed
was discovered in J. M. McNeil & Co.’s store
about six o’clock on Thursday night of
Christmas week. Jim Smith happened to go to
the store and opened the door and found the
Negro with his arms full of Christmas goods
and filling his paunch full of candy and
sugar. Smith, who “was really afraid the Negro was going make himself too sick to enjoy his Christmas dinner,” called for Bob Murphy, who assisted Smith in arresting the boy—supposedly out of concern for the young man’s digestion.
6. The Golden Years for the Murphy Family, 1870-1875. By 1870, Denton had a population of 361 persons, and the Murphys continued to be heavily involved in the business and social aspects of the town and county. During the early 1970s, Henderson Murphy entered into a second business venture. He became a partner with William Riley Wetsel in the Parlour Saloon, located on the north side of the town square, to the left of the county courthouse and its attached law offices and to the right of Dr. Ross’ drug store. The Parlour Saloon carried “liquors of all kinds, cigars and oysters for sale, as well as sardines, crackers, and canned fruits.” The saloon also featured an especially fine billiard table. The Murphy Hotel remained located on the southeast corner of the town square, and it continued to be a social center for the community. From time to time, Henderson allowed other businessmen to operate their businesses in his hotel; for example, a man named Joshua Zumwalt operated a shoe store in the Murphy Hotel during the late 1870s. Henderson Murphy had by this time become one of the wealthiest and most beloved citizens in Denton County. Historian Bates remembers that “[Henderson Murphy] was a man in good financial circumstances, owning large cattle interests in the county as well as real estate, at one time owning all of the property just north of the public square, including the county jail property.” In 1874, Henderson was taxed for 1,400 cattle, 32 horses, four lots, and additional property—the total of all being $21,460, quite a large estate for a Denton County citizen of that era. Historian Charles L. Martin describes Henderson Murphy as a man of “irreproachable character, who stood high for integrity and honesty with everyone who knew him.” By the 1870s, Denton citizens had come to depend upon the Murphys and their hotel to such an extent that Henderson served as a father figure to the community. In fact, many citizens of Denton actually depended upon Henderson to inform them of when it was time for their meals. Near the front entrance to the Murphy Hotel, Henderson erected a sturdy triangle, which he or one of his employees rang at mealtime each day at noon to call hotel customers to the dining room. People in and near the town square depended upon the sound of the triangle to tell them when it was time to have their mid-day or evening meals. When the hotel’s cook accidentally broke the triangle ceased to function early in February of 1870, the citizenry was thrown into confusion. In mid-February of 1870, Jim Grober complained in a letter to a friend, “Last Monday, the cook at the Murphy House wrecked the triangle which called us to eat, and now we have to guess when it is time to feed.” In addition to caring for the Denton citizens by reminding them of when to eat, Henderson and Ruth Murphy opened their home to persons who needed a temporary place of residence. One of these persons was rancher and store owner Bob Carruth, who moved to Denton County in 1870. Carruth lived for a time with the Murphys and worked for Henderson. These were the golden years for the Murphy family. By the mid-1870s, Henderson and Ruth had raised a large family of children who themselves were active in business and ranching and many of whom were busy rearing children of their own. The Murphys had survived the difficult Civil War years and the Indian threat; had grown wealthy by hard work, thrift, and good fortune; and enjoyed the affection and respect of their community. During the late 1870s, Denton County citizens were becoming excited about the prospect of a railroad coming into Denton, and Henderson Murphy, seeing a railroad as a money-making blessing for his business enterprises and cattle ranching, was probably the most excited of all. By that time, the Transcontinental Railroad (also known as the Texas-Pacific Railroad) was being laid. Henderson believed that this railroad could and should pass through Denton, and he applied himself to doing all that he could to bring in the railroad. Henderson knew that if he could whip up enthusiasm among Denton County citizens for the railroad, they would begin efforts to persuade the railroad companies to place a rail line in Denton. To this end, Henderson began talking to his fellow businessmen and farmers about the advantages that would come to them if a railroad were to pass through Denton. To increase public awareness of the advantages of the railroad, Henderson decided to use the Murphy Hotel building as an advertising medium. He planned his advertisement in the form of a new name for the hotel, prominently displayed across its front. He ordered a new sign to be painted, which contained the words “Transcontinental Hotel,” in honor of the railroad that he was certain would come to Denton, and when the sign was finished, Henderson set about to place it the front of his hotel. Shortly after beginning this task, he realized that the sign was quite a bit longer than the hotel’s width. Disappointed, but not defeated, Henderson—determined to carry through with his advertising plans—ordered the sign to be hung on the hotel front, regardless of the fact that it was the wrong size. He simply allowed the ends of the sign to extend beyond the front walls on either side. From that day on, the Murphy Hotel became the Transcontinental Hotel. In what must have been a tremendous disappointment for Henderson Murphy, the Transcontinental Railroad became embroiled in litigation late in the 1870s and was not completed until 1881. By 1881, however, the Murphys had suffered tragedies of so overwhelming a nature that the coming of the Transcontinental could bring them no joy. Though they had no way of knowing it at the time, the Murphys’ fall from wealth, social status, and family stability was heralded by a seemingly inconsequential event, which occurred sometime in 1871 or 1872. During those years, Denton County was experiencing the difficulties involved with Reconstruction, law enforcement was weak, and the crime rate was high. It is not likely that the Murphys or any other of the respectable citizens of Denton took much notice when, in Bridges’words, “Into this era of turmoil, lawlessness, and recklessness came Sam Bass to Denton.”
7. The Murphy Familys Fall, 1875-1880. Henderson and Ruth Murphy could not have known that the arrival of Bass was a precursor to the tragic fall of the Murphy family in Denton County. To many citizens of Denton County, Indiana-born Sam Bass seemed harmless, even likeable. In a town filled with rough-and-ready types who had emigrated to Texas from other states, Bass probably did not stand out from other cowboys who had drifted into Texas for various reasons and sought to take up residence. But Bass did differ in one substantial way from the pioneers who built and maintained Denton township and Denton County. While the solid citizens of the frontier town were willing to work hard and for long periods of time in order to establish a home and income for themselves and their families, Bass sought to have a home and money quickly—and with as little work as possible. Bass knew how to charm people. He understood that, in order to gain access to the homes of other people (Bass apparently never had a house of his own) and to get money on a short-term basis, he had to appear hard-working, friendly, and generous. By assuming such a demeanor, Bass first insinuated himself into the good graces of Bob Carruth, who lived with and worked for Henderson and Ruth Murphy, and who owned some land and cattle of his own in Denton County. Carruth’s land lay near Denton Creek, and Bass went to live on that land for a period of time. By working for Carruth, Bass had opportunity to meet and develop a friendship with the Henderson and Ruth Murphy’s sons, particularly with Jim Murphy, who was close to Bass’s own age. Perhaps seeing the prosperity of the Murphys made Bass even more eager than ever to enjoy the benefits of wealth and privilege—but without expending the kind of patient labor and hardship that Henderson and Ruth Murphy had endured in the process. Bass could not have helped but notice that his friends, the Murphy boys—Bob, Jim, Joe, Lee, Dick, and John—enjoyed a standard of living far in excess of the manner in which Bass lived, as a orphaned and penniless drifter. But instead of inspiring him to work hard to attain a standard of living similar to what the Murphys enjoyed, his exposure to the Murphy family appears merely to have increased Bass’s desire to have money quickly, without working for it. At any rate, after laboring as a ranch-hand for Bob Carruth for a few months, Bass seems to have decided that he could get money more easily some other way. He quit his job with Carruth, and nosed about for a new home and source of income, finding both these at last with Denton County Sheriff William Franklin (Dad) Egan. During his employment with Sheriff Egan, Bass assumed whatever mask he needed to gain acceptance by those he intended to use at a later time. He soon came to realize that his job with Sheriff Egan gained him certain advantages, so to gain those advantages Bass donned a mask of modesty, industry, thrift, and courtesy. It was to Bass’s advantage to work for Egan. Through his work for Egan, Bass became familiar with Denton County’s respectable citizens, as well as with the often maze-like roads of Denton County. By becoming familiar with the county’s citizenry, Bass ingratiated himself into the very warp and woof of Denton County society. By becoming familiar with Denton County’s roads and countryside, he gained knowledge of every hiding place and hidden path in the area. By 1875 Bass was a well-established person in Denton, known and liked by almost every person with whom he came into contact. But Bass was growing uncomfortable and restless under his mask of respectability. Having laid the groundwork for his future criminal activities by insinuating himself into the affections of the citizenry and by learning the layout of Denton County’s terrain, he began keeping his eyes and ears open for a way to make easy money. Though he continued his friendship with Bob and Jim Murphy, his inner radar—ever searching for excitement and a way to make a quick dollar—led him to seek a different type of man as a friend. At last he found a comrade who shared with Bass the love of quick money and the distaste for hard work: local cattle rustler Henry Underwood. At about this same time, Bass began to frequent local horse races, hoping to become rich by racing his mare, Jennie. In late 1875, the Murphy family rejoiced over the birth of two twin granddaughters of Henderson and Ruth Murphy, and Sam Bass temporarily left Denton. On October 12, 1875, Mary Paine Murphy, whom Jim Murphy had married in _____,gave birth to twin daughters, whom Jim and Mary named Nanny _______ and Zula Pearl. A few weeks later, Bass, who apparently felt that the time had come when he could abandon his mask of respectability, ceased working for Sheriff Egan and abruptly left Denton for San Antonio, taking with him his mare and a jockey to ride her. Shortly after Bass’s departure, Henderson and Ruth Murphy experienced the first in a closely connected series of events that would all but destroy the Murphy family. At approximately two-o’clock in the morning on December 23, 1875, a mysterious fire broke out in the Denton County courthouse, which stood on the north side of the town square near, perhaps adjacent to, Henderson Murphy’s and Rylie Wetsel’s Parlour Saloon. During that early morning hour, a heavy rain was falling in Denton, yet the blaze in the courthouse reached massive proportions. The fire spread from the courthouse to other businesses on the north side of the town square, including the Parlour Saloon. The courthouse (along with most of the records inside it) and saloon were completely destroyed. Local law enforcement officials suspected arson. The loss of the saloon was a major, but not fatal, blow to the Murphy family. Losing the saloon probably seemed a minor setback when compared to the other tragedies that Henderson and Ruth had faced: the death of William Phillips, Ruth’s father; the death of Henderson and Ruth’s infant daughter, R.E.; and the sadness the couple experienced regarding the deafness and muteness of their son Dick. But the Murphys could still rejoice over their growing family, their prosperity, and the many friends they had in Denton County. Had the late 1870s held nothing more terrible in store for them, Henderson and Ruth could easily have recovered from the loss of the Parlour Saloon. Law enforcement’s suspicions of arson in the burning of the courthouse and saloon were heightened when a second mysterious fire occurred within days after the first conflagration. In the aftermath of the first fire, the few records that survived in the burned courthouse were transferred to the Cumberland Presbyterian Church (present-day St. Andrew Presbyterian Church), located on the corner of West Oak and Bolivar Streets. Yet within a few weeks of that move, a fire broke out in the church, completely destroying it and the few remaining county records contained in it. This time, suspicion found a focus: Sam Bass’s ne’er-do-well friend, Henry Underwood. Underwood was eventually indicted for arson and jailed for approximately six months. But Denton County District Attorney Emory Smith later dismissed the charge against Underwood on grounds of insufficient evidence. During Bass’s absence from Denton and Underwood’s legal problems, the Murphy family set about to recover from the fire that had destroyed the Parlour Saloon. The family continued, during this time, to be a model of prosperity and family stability. The Transcontinental Hotel continued to be a social center of the community, and the family continued to enjoy prominent social status, being well loved and respected by the citizens of the town and county. And so a couple of peaceful years passed. Nothing could have prepared the family for the downfall that was looming on the horizon. Around midnight on January 15, 1877, a fire started in the office of the Denton Monitor, located on the north side of the square, near the Transcontinental Hotel. Undetected until it was too late to prevent disaster, the fire spread to the hotel and completely destroyed it. Sometime before the fire, Henderson and Ruth Murphy apparently had sold their little log hotel to new owners. A newspaper account of the incident reports $3,000 in losses to “the heirs of John Shipley, owners of the Transcontinental Hotel.” Yet even if the Murphys no longer owned the hotel at the time it burned, they must have been deeply affected by the loss of the sturdy little log building into which they had poured so much of their time, talent, money, and energy for over twenty years. Furthermore, evidence of the hotel being owned by someone other than the Murphys conflicts with other evidence, which indicates that young Henderson Hughes was employed by his grandfather at the hotel in late 1877, when Sam Bass returned to Denton. In 1877, certain rumors had leaked back to Denton County from the town of Deadwood in the Dakota Territory, to which Bass had traveled between the time he left Denton in 1875 and the time he reappeared in Denton in 1877. The rumors concerned Sam’s downward spiral into debased living. According the word on the street and in area newspapers, Sam Bass was now a fugitive from justice. After a brief sojourn in San Antonio, where Bass enjoyed considerable financial success through horse racing, he inexplicably ceased horse racing as abruptly as he had ceased working for Sheriff Egan. With his a new friend Joel Collins, Bass traveled to Dakota Territory, finding on the way a host of kindred spirits—young men who intended to enrich themselves in the quickest way possible, even if it meant taking the property of other people. Bass and his gang first robbed a series of stagecoaches, then, on September 18, 1877, they robbed a Union Pacific train, escaping with at least $65,000 in gold coins. In the aftermath of this robbery, law enforcement officials in several states combined their effort to capture the Bass gang. Several members of the gang were killed by law-enforcement officers during this process, but Sam Bass—ever the artist at escaping accountability—somehow survived, eluded arrest, and, by November of 1877, was back in Texas. Upon reaching Denton, Bass lost no time in seeking out the Murphy family. In fact, one of the first people to see physical evidence of Bass’s train robbery was Henderson’s grandson, young Henderson Hughes. According to one historian’s account, Henderson Hughes often worked for his grandfather tending the teams of horses and mules in the Murphy’s wagon yard, attached to the Transcontinental Hotel. Shortly after returning to Texas, Bass boldly drove his wagon up to the hotel and parked it in the wagon yard, placing it under the care of Henderson Hughes and his uncle, John Murphy. While tending the wagon, Henderson Hughes, having heard the rumors of the train robbery in Dakota, became curious as to just what Bass had hidden away underneath the sheet that covered the back of his wagon. Eventually, Henderson could stand the suspense no longer. He lifted the corner of the sheet and peeked beneath it. Seeing several sacks under the sheet, he opened them one by one. Each sack was filled with $20 gold pieces—Bass’s loot from the Dakota train robbery. Terrified, young Henderson closed the sacks, dropped the wagon sheet, and backed away from the wagon. He told no one about what he had found until years later. We cannot know whether young Henderson’s silence was caused by fear of Bass or by loyalty to him. Henderson Hughes, however, that day joined the ranks of those persons who would, by silence, prevent law enforcement from apprehending Bass and his gang of thieves. When Bass returned alone to Texas, he built a camp for himself near Cove Hollow, an overgrown ravine just north of the Denton County line in Cooke County. Cove Hollow lay on or near land owned by Henderson Murphy. Apparently, the Murphy land in Cooke County came under Henderson’s ownership after first being owned by one Thomas Murphy, who patented 245 acres of Cooke County land in the Peters Colony at approximately the same time that Henderson Murphy patented his land in Denton County. Henderson’s and Ruth’s sons Bob and Joe, along with their families, appear to have established homes on this land, which is located near the small town of Rosston. Thomas Murphy also patented 75 acres of land just across the Cooke County line in the extreme northwestern portion of Denton County, and Henderson and Ruth appear to have owned a house on this land, where Jim and Molly Murphy and their two daughters occasionally lived. After setting up his hide-out in Cove Hollow, Sam Bass renewed his friendships with Bob, Joe, and Jim Murphy. Bass and his gang were, however, friendlier with Jim than with any other of the Murphy sons. Looking back over a century’s passage, one wonders at the willingness of the Murphy boys to remain friends with Bass once they learned of his crimes in Dakota, law enforcement’s ongoing search for Bass, and the deaths of so many of Bass’s companions in Dakota and Kansas at the hands of law-enforcement officers. Yet, the Murphy sons, like many Denton County citizens, appear to have remained cordial to Bass and has gang, in spite of their violent and criminal conduct. For almost a full year, no one—not even Denton County law enforcement—attempted to hold Bass accountable for his lawlessness. Texas Express detective Sam Finley, after searching the Denton County countryside for Bass in 1878, returned to Fort Worth to report, “I found Bass is known by everybody, and two-thirds of the people are indebted to him for personal favors, and those who are not are afraid to expose his whereabouts.” Finley reported that Sheriff Egan, who had employed Sam for a considerable time, told Finley that he was afraid to go after Bass, because “it would be certain death.” It is hard to know how Bass succeeded in getting Denton County citizens to collude with him, but Sam Finley’s assessment probably explains the collusion accurately as being the result of a combination of greed, gratitude, and fear. Bass was generous with his stolen gold; he gave it away freely to the poorer of Denton County’s citizens, thus buying their loyalty. As late as 1952, the Denton Record-Chronicle printed an explanation of how Bass charmed the poorer class of Denton County citizens:
Most of the old-timers thought real well of
Sam. People liked Sam and wouldn’t give him
away even after the big gold train robbery,
when he and five other took $60,000 in newly
minted gold pieces. Sam was a friendly soul
and got on well with folks, especially farm
people. One finds it more difficult to explain why the wealthy and influential citizens of Denton—like the Murphys—became protective of the stoop-shouldered, shifty-eyed criminal. Perhaps, as one author has suggested, the Murphy boys were attracted to Bass because he was the opposite of all that Henderson Murphy was and had taught them they should be: hard-working, responsible, thrifty, morally upright, and scrupulously honest. Yet, in addition to the Murphys, other reputable citizens of Denton also colluded with Bass; in fact, in other cities and states, rumor held it that Denton law enforcement was deliberately refusing to arrest Bass. The Murphys would come to rue their collusion with Bass, for it was Henderson Murphy’s sons’ association with him that, in the end, destroyed the family. Despite their knowledge that federal and state law enforcement officials were intensely searching for Bass, three of the Murphy sons—Bob, Joe, and Jim—continued to associate with Bass. The three brothers welcomed Bass into their homes on various occasions and provided him with food. Of the three brothers, Jim was the most heavily involved with Bass. In fact, Jim became friend and helper not only to Bass, but to Bass’s entire outlaw gang: [Jim Murphy] was a personal friend of each
one of the robbers, he knew they were
outlaws, his house open to any or all of them
day or night, and he supplied their wants
whenever desired to do so. While his sons cultivated their friendships with Bass, Henderson Murphy apparently concentrated on his ranching, business, and political activities, remaining distant from the outlaw gang. Henderson, careful as always to conduct himself according to principles of integrity and honesty, did not provide any assistance to Bass and his gang. Tragically, in spite of his own innocence, Henderson was not to remain unaffected by his sons’ relationships with the outlaw. Had Denton County’s own law enforcement not deliberately refused to move against Bass and his gang, the downfall of the Murphy family might not have occurred. But Denton County did refuse to move against Bass, and federal and state authorities had had enough. If Denton County wouldn’t do its duty, Texas and the United States would take on the job themselves. And they would begin by moving against Bass’s Denton County enablers and protectors. On Wednesday, May 1, 1878, a federal grand jury in Tyler returned indictments against several Denton County citizens—including Bob Murphy—for being accessories to Sam Bass’s crimes. On Thursday, May 2, Henderson received word that his son Bob had been arrested and carried away to Dallas, where he would be held under federal custody at a Dallas hotel until officials could transfer him to Tyler the following morning. See Biography of Bob Murphy and His Descendants, by . One can only imagine the anxiety in the households of Joe, Jim, and Henderson Murphy on the night of May 2, after they learned of Bob’s arrest. Besides being overwhelmed with concern for Bob’s welfare, the Murphys must have been filled with dread at the knowledge that other members of the family would certainly be arrested soon, just as Bob had been. It appears that Jim Murphy, Molly Murphy, and their young daughters Zula and Nanny spent the night of May 2 with Henderson and Ruth Murphy on their Cooke County ranch. We do not know how the Murphys spent that tension-filled night. We can only imagine the kinds of conversations that took place and the emotions that may have surfaced during that long period of darkness. When morning dawned, the Murphys enjoyed their last sunrise as a close, respectable, and prosperous family. Then, they waited for the inevitable. The wait was not long. After the sun had fully risen on May 3, 1878, Grayson County Sheriff Everheart and his posse descended on Henderson Murphy’s ranch and arrested both Henderson and Jim, charging them, as they had charged Bob Murphy, with being accessories to Sam Bass’s crimes. As law enforcement officials set about arresting Jim and Henderson Murphy that morning, Jim protested that he was innocent of the charge of harboring Bass. Jim asked Sheriff Everheart why he had never told Jim that the sheriff wanted to arrest Bass, implying that, had Jim known, he would have assisted the sheriff in capturing the outlaw. Everheart did not bother with a response; instead, he shoved Jim away from his wife and children, placed Jim and Henderson on horses, and rode away with them to Sherman, from whence they were taken to Tyler on the following day. Charles L. Martin assesses Jim’s guilt in the following manner: “There is but little doubt that Jim Murphy had a general knowledge of the acts of Bass and his men, and after the facts perhaps had full knowledge, and there probably would in all probability have been evidence to convict.” Though Bass doubtless knew of Bob Murphy’s arrest the previous day and Henderson’s and Jim’s arrest the following day, Bass did not turn himself in an effort to save the people whose friend he claimed to be, nor did he in any way come to the aid of the wives and children of Murphy males. Instead, as soon as Bass heard that the Murphys had been arrested, he and his fellow outlaws fled westward to hide out in the wooded areas of Wise, Montague, and Clay counties. Once jailed at Tyler, Jim Murphy agonized over the harm he had caused to his family—particularly to Henderson—by enabling Bass and his gang of thieves: [Jim] knew that his father, Henderson Murphy,
was entirely innocent and he felt that it was
hard for an old man of irreproachable
character, who stood high for integrity and
honesty with everyone who knew him, like his
father, to lay in a dungeon, and he
determined to do something to save his father
and himself. Jim Murphy’s plan involved his assisting law enforcement in capturing Bass, in return for the dismissal of charges against Henderson and himself. Jim first arrived at the idea of delivering Bass to law enforcement as he and Henderson were being transported from Sherman to Tyler. He mentioned the idea to Walter Johnson, the deputy who was transporting the Murphys to Tyler, and Jones reported Jim’s offer to Texas Rangers Junius Peak and Major John B. Jones. Major Jones then discussed the matter with Jim, and the two men reached an agreement. In his affidavit, Jim describes the plan: The Major came and talked with me about the
plan for the capture of Bass. At this time I
made a contract with Major Jones as to what
he would do for me and may father if I would
catch Sam Bass. He said that if I would lay
the plan for the capture of Sam Bass, that he
would have my case and my father’s dismissed,
and that he would see that I should have my
part of the reward and his part, too. He
said he did not want any of the reward, and
that I should have what was right. I worked
this plan under three men, Jones, Peak, and
Johnson. Nobody else was to know anything
about it. They were the men I relied on.
After a short time Sheriff Everheart worked
into the secret through Johnson. On May 21st, U.S. Attorney A. J. Evans reduced to writing the agreement between Jim and the Texas Rangers, and Henderson Murphy was released from jail. The following day—Wednesday, May 22, 1878--Jim Murphy was himself released from jail, though under cover of secrecy. In accordance with the plan, Major Jones, Junius Peak, Walter Johnson, and Sheriff Everheart reported that Jim had “jumped bond” and disappeared. The reader should consult “Jim Muphy’s Narrative,” in Charles Martin’s book to learn of the heartache, physical danger, and terror that were a moment-by-moment part of Jim’s life from the time he left the Tyler jail until the July day in Round Rock, when Texas law enforcement, with Jim’s help, succeeded in putting an end to Bass’s violent robberies. With courage, and perhaps with a tinge of his apparently characteristic impulsiveness, Jim tried with all his might to make up for what he had done, to restore his family to its position of respect, to restore their husbands to his wife and his mother, to restore their fathers to Jim’s little girls and to Henderson’s other sons and daughter, to restore their grandfather to Henderson’s grandchildren. And his efforts, though unsuccessful, were nothing short of valiant. Tragically, however, the damage that Jim had caused to his family was irreparable. Though Henderson was released from jail immediately after Jim’s agreement with law enforcement was finalized, Henderson returned to Denton County a broken man. Though he lived another decade or so, he spent less and less time among the townsfolk and more and more time on his lonely Cooke County ranch. Originally, Henderson Murphy’s misery was caused by his belief that Jim had, in fact, escaped from the Tyler jail and joined up with the Bass gang as a member, rather than as an infiltrator. Indeed, it was necessary that this story be believed by all of Texas in order for the plan to work. Therefore, when he returned to Denton, Henderson faced the shame of being known as an outlaw’s father. The respectable folk of Denton, who were less inclined than the poor farmers to revere Bass, were disgusted with Jim. They continued to love and respect Henderson, but Henderson’s love for his son and his pain at knowing that the respectable populace now despised Jim, was hard for Henderson to bear. After learning the truth about his son—that Jim had joined with law enforcement in order to rid Texas of Bass, rather than joining with Bass in order to terrorize and rob—Henderson experienced some private comfort. But because he could not make the plan known to the public, Henderson dared not speak up in Jim’s defense when he heard his son being vilified. Placed in this unbearable position, Henderson retreated from public life and into the secluded life of the Cove Hollow ranch. After Bass’s death and the capture of some of the gang members, Jim returned home to Molly and the girls and to his father and mother, but Jim found himself in a horrific social situation. He had no more place among the respectable people of Denton township or Denton County, because those people never quite believed that Jim had infiltrated the Bass gang in order to save his family. They believed he was an outlaw, pure and simple, and that he had attempted to rob the Round Rock bank. They thought he was lying about his deal with law enforcement in order cover up for his criminal activity. At the same time, the poor folk on the outlying farms, who were enamoured with Bass and who had cheered Jim when they heard that he had escaped from jail and joined up the gang, now hated Jim for “betraying” Bass. Jim tried bravely to take up his life again, despite his social ostracism. While Henderson retreated to the isolation of the countryside, Jim opened a saloon on the northwest corner of the town square and set up his household in Henderson’s town home, near the square on McKinney Street, apparently in a determined effort to face down the public criticism and overcome it. For a year, Jim faced the vilification of people from all walks of life in Denton. One can only wonder at the effect of impact upon Molly, Nannie, and Zula, of their husband and father now being a social outcast. During this time, Jim continued to write to Major Jones of the Texas Rangers on Frank Jackson’s behalf. Frank had enlisted Jim’s aid to try to arrange for Frank a plea-bargain arrangement by which Frank would assist the Rangers in capturing the remaining Bass gang members in return for charges against Frank being dropped. Jim’s letters to Major Jones on Frank’s behalf are on file with the Texas State Archives. But Jim had problems other than those caused by social ostracism and by trying to act as amateur defense attorney for Frank Jackson. Jim also suffered from a chronic problem with his eyes, the nature of which is not completely understood. However, Miller states that Jim Muprhy “suffered from an eye ailment common within the Murphy family which caused one of his eyes to have a downward cast. The treatment prescribed by Dr. Ed McMath was an eyewash with belladonna, a crude medicine derived from a plant that caused extreme dilation of the eyes but which was a narcotic poison. Murphy would go to McMath’s drug store on the Denton square and lie on a cot while the wash was carefully administered to his eye so as not to get in his mouth.” From some of my family members, who learned the tale from my grandmother Zula, I have pieced together the following account of what happened on June 5, 1879, when Jim went to Dr. McMath for one of Jim’s regular eye treatments: Dr. McMath led Jim into his little examining room, just off the main area of the pharmacy. The doctor instructed Jim to lie down on a cot. Then Dr. McMath applied several drops of the eyewash into Jim’s eyes. After applying the drops, Dr. McMath warned Jim not to sit up for several minutes, because of the danger that some of the eye drops might accidentally run into his mouth or nose. The doctor then left the examining room to attend to some matter in the main store area. A second or two later, McMath heard a crash. Rushing back into the examining room, he found Jim lying on the floor. Beside Jim, on the floor, lay Jim’s pipe and a burned-out match. McMath knelt beside Jim and asked him what happened. Jim, already feeling very ill, managed to say that he had sat up to light his pipe, and that some of the eyewash had run into his mouth. Within a few minutes, Jim began convulsing. McMath, knowing Jim was doomed to die, called for help, and several men came to help McMath carry Jim to the Transcontinental Hotel, where he was placed on a bed in one of the rooms. Thus, Jim was carried back to a site of his family’s history to spend his remaining hours of life. Molly and other Murphy family members were summoned to the hotel, where they found Jim in agony. His convulsions grew more intense and closer together. His moans and cries were horrible to hear. After several hours of agony, Jim died, leaving behind a grieving and traumatized young wife, two beautiful little twin daughters, a sorrowing sister and brothers, a number of nieces and nephews, and a father and mother broken by the horrors of the past two years. For more information on Jim Murphy and his family, see James William MURPHY and his Descendants, by Deborah Boone Dail. Henderson Murphy died in or about 1895, while living on his Cooke County ranch. Henderson was buried in Denton Cemetery, now historic Oakwood Cemetery, near downtown Denton. After Henderson died, Ruth Murphy lived only for one more year. She died in 1896, apparently in Denton township, and was buried beside Henderson. The actual location of their burial sites has not, as yet, been determined. Tragically, no tombstones are standing to mark the final resting places of these two pillars of the early Denton County community. Similarly, no tombstones exist to mark the final resting places of Jim and Molly Murphy. As of the date of this writing, Murphy descendants do not know even the cemetery in which Jim and Molly are buried. After Ruth Murphy’s death, her children and grandchildren were divided over disputes about the disposition of her property. Fractured by internal dispute and the traumas surrounding the Sam Bass incident, those children and grandchildren dispersed to various parts of the country—with the notable exception of Dick Murphy and his wife, Ida Sigler, whom he married in 1887. Dick and Ida continued to live in Denton County until Dick’s death on December 31, 1908. For the remarkable story of Dick’s life—including his marriage to Ida (herself a remarkable young woman), see Richard Dennis Murphy and his Descendants, written by . The remainder of Henderson’s and Ruth’s descendants grew up largely unaware of each other’s existence until, over a century later, they began discovering each other. On June 5, 2000—the 122nd anniversary of Jim Murphy’s death, an eerie chain of events began that led to a cascade of relationship discoveries by Murphy descendants. That series of events was triggered by a song written and sung by a young North Texas artist named Mark David Manders, and overheard by chance (or by more than chance? by Jim Murphy’s great-granddaughter, Deborah Boone Dail, on her car radio. But that is another story (see Murphys Reunited, by Deborah Boone Dail). |
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