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John Murphy was born ca 1803 in Co. Down or Co. Cork, Ireland. He died 19 Feb 1879 in Newaygo Co., MI at age 76. He married Elizabeth Murphy (her maiden name) born ca 1821 in Ireland. She died 20 May 1895 in Garfield Twp., Newaygo Co., MI. Elizabeth Murphy, the mother of either John Murphy or Elizabeth Murphy was buried in the Pioneer Cemetery east of Fremont.
John, age 30 and Elizabeth age 26, arrived in New York harbor on the sailing ship, Patrick Henry from Liverpool on 6 November 1850 after a journey of 30 days on the ocean. They came to Newaygo Co. where John took up farming. In 1856 he was residing in Brooks Twp. when he applied for citizenship. Their first son Mathias (Matthew) was born 17 May 1859. James was born 16 April 1862. Family stories tell of Elizabeth walking to Grand Rapids, Michigan to have James baptized in the Catholic Church and then walking back home again with a carpet under her other arm. On Oct 23, 1867 John signed a Warranty Deed for the North Half of Southwest Quarter of Section 5, Township 12, North Range 13 West. This was in Sherman Township where he resided in 1870. John is buried in St. Mary's Cemetery in Croton, Michigan. Family stories tell of the procession leaving Newaygo very early in the morning carrying John's body by horse and buggy to Croton for burial, a journey of perhaps 3 hours (15 miles) each way. His tombstone lists his age as 76. His wife, Elizabeth is buried in Maple Grove Cemetery in Fremont, Michigan.
James Murphy married on 9 July 1890 to Effie Mae Purcell, daughter of Peter Purcell and Mary Ann Barden. He worked in the lumber camps in Newaygo area before operating his own farm and engaging for a number of years in the produce and hay business. He took over the family farm in Garfield where they lived for over 30 years until 1925 when they assumed the superintendency of the Newaygo County Farm east of Fremont. They were in charge of that institution until 1945 when they retired to a home on East Oak Street in Fremont. James and Effie were members of All Saints Catholic Church. James died 16 April 1948 and Effie died 16 November 1962 at age 89. Both are buried in Maple Grove Cemetery.
James and Effie had 7 children: Mary Gladys, Margaret Lena, Matthew Carleton, Franklin Clifford (Pat), James Donald, Jessie May, and Joseph Lee. Mary Gladys was a teacher. She married Louis Ruprecht and moved to the Sitke, Michigan area. Lena was an elementary teacher and taught in many of the rural schools in Newaygo County. She married Erwin Griswold, who owned the Fremont Dairy. Carl was employed at Continental Motors and lived in Grand Haven. Clifford worked for Standard Oil and then was president of Northwestern Oil and Terminal in St. Ignace, Mackinac Co. Michigan. J. Donald was a prominent lawyer in Fremont until his death in 1994. Jessie married Gettes (Doc) Gorham. She was employed at several Insurance Agencies in the Muskegon area until she retired. They later moved to Montague where she died in 1998. Joseph ran several filling stations in the Muskegon area. He was treasurer of Neway Equipment Co. of Muskegon.
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