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Below is a family biography included in The History of Franklin County, Missouri published by Goodspeed Publishing Company in 1888.  These biographies are valuable for genealogy research in discovering missing ancestors or filling in the details of a family tree. Family biographies often include far more information than can be found in a census record or obituary.  Details will vary with each biography but will often include the date and place of birth, parent names including mothers' maiden name, name of wife including maiden name, her parents' names, name of children (including spouses if married), former places of residence, occupation details, military service, church and social organization affiliations, and more.  There are often ancestry details included that cannot be found in any other type of genealogical record.

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James T. Murphy, Jr., editor and publisher of the New Haven Notes, a weekly newspaper, was born in Culpeper County, Va., in 1856, and is the fourth child born to James T. and Helen M. (Marshall) Murphy, natives of the same county, born in 1818 and 1827, respectively. They were married March 11, 1845, and in 1857 removed to St. Francois County, Mo., and from there one year later to Warren County. In 1864 they came to Franklin County, locating five miles southeast of New Haven, on a farm. In 1880 they came to New Haven, and here the father engaged in the lumber business. He has been justice of the peace for nearly twenty years, and is much respected in the community in which he is living. He is of Scotch-Irish descent. The mother is also living, and both are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church South. James T. was reared at home on a farm, and had the advantages of a common-school education until eighteen years of age, after which he attended a private school at Bethel, and one year at Central College at Fayette. In 1876 he engaged in teaching, which occupation he continued for five years. During 1880 and 1881 he was principal of the New Haven School, after which he engaged in the lumber business with his father, and has continued at this ever since, under the firm title of Murphy & Son. In October, 1885, he assumed charge of the New Haven Notes, which he has since continued to edit and publish. March, 1879, he married Miss Letitia, daughter of George and Amanda E. Patton. She was born in Franklin County, and the result of her marriage was the birth of two children: Nettie Vera and Helen Esther. Mr. Murphy is a Democrat in politics, and cast his first presidential vote for Hancock. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church South, and his wife is a member of the Baptist Church.

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This family biography is one of 305 biographies included in The History of Franklin County, Missouri published in 1888.  For the complete description, click here: Franklin County, Missouri History, Genealogy, and Maps

To view additional Franklin County, Missouri family biographies, click here

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