Husband Capt. Samuel Murphy 1 2 3
Born: 1756 - Bullskin, Frederick Co, VA 2 3
Christened:
Died: 1850 - Armstrong Co, PA 4
Buried:
Father: Richard Murphy ( - ) 5
Mother:
Marriage:
Wife Elizabeth Powers 1 3 6
Born: 1766 - Maryland 3
Christened:
Died: 1820 - Armstrong Co, PA 3 4
Buried:
Children
1 M William Murphy 3 4
Born:
Christened:
Died: Bef 1883 - Washington Co, OH
Buried:
2 M Thomas Murphy 3 4
Born:
Christened:
Died: Bef 1883 - Mississippi
Buried:
3 F Ann Polly Murphy 7
AKA: Mary Murphy 3 4
Born:
Christened:
Died: Aft 1883
Buried: - Freeport, Armstrong Co, PA
Spouse: James Patterson ( - ) 3 8
4 M Capt. James P. Murphy 3 4
Born: 10 Sep 1796 - Sharpsburg, PA 4
Christened:
Died: Aft 1883
Buried:
Spouse: Did Not Marry
5 F Elizabeth Murphy 3 4
Born:
Christened:
Died: Bef 1883
Buried:
Spouse: Benjamin King ( -Bef 1883) 3 4
6 F Margaret Murphy 3 4
Born:
Christened:
Died: Aft 1883
Buried:
Spouse: Did Not Marry
7 M Samuel Murphy 3 4
Born:
Christened:
Died: 1872 - California 1
Buried:
8 M Benjamin Murphy 3 4 9
Born: 10 May 1805 or 1815 - South Buffalo Twp, Armstrong Co, PA 3 4
Christened:
Died: 1889 - Freeport, Armstrong Co, PA 3
Buried:
Spouse: Jane Green ( - ) 3 4 9
9 F Nancy Murphy 4
Born:
Christened:
Died: Aft 1883
Buried:
Spouse: Did Not Marry
10 F Susan Murphy 4
Born:
Christened:
Died: Aft 1883
Buried:
Spouse: William Truby ( - ) 4
11 M John Murphy 4
Born:
Christened:
Died: Aft 1883
Buried:
Spouse: Did Not Marry
12 M George P. Murphy 4
Born: 17 Mar 1815 4
Christened:
Died: 17 Feb 1907 4
Buried:
Spouse: Margaret Walker (1814-1892) 4
Marr: 21 May 1840 4
13 M Sylvester Murphy 4
Born:
Christened:
Died:
Buried:
General Notes: Husband - Capt. Samuel Murphy
Be-ing left an orphan at an early age, he was reared by Colonel Stinson, a Revolutionary officer. When he first came to Pennsylvania it was on a trip to Pittsburgh to get a saddle for a certain doctor. In 1774 he was with the Earl Dunmore expedition, going into what is now southern central Ohio. Becoming a member of the 8th Pennsylvania Regiment he served through the Revolutionary war. He was cap-tured by the Indians on the north fork of Salt river, in Kentucky, in the fall of 1781 and held prisoner one year, being taken by Simon Girty to an island in the St. Lawrence river, sixty miles above Montreal. His services dur-ing the Revolution and subsequent Indian wars were notable and highly valued, Major Denny calling him the best soldier he ever knew. He was very well acquainted with General Washington, and it is related that in his boyhood, at the instigation of Colonel Stinson, he played a practical joke on the General which so amused the latter that he gave him a silver coin. Shortly after the close of the Revolution he removed with his family to what is now Sharpsburg, living there, with the exception of some brief ab-sences, until 1798. In 1792 he was appointed ensign and served six months. At the time of Massy Harbison's capture he and several others went out in an attempted rescue, but were unable to overtake her captors. In 1794 he was again appointed ensign. He assisted in laying out the town of Erie, and in 1798 came to Armstrong County, where the rest of his life was spent. He settled and "followed the quiet vocation of farming," though for several years he plowed Murphy's Bend with his rifle on his shoulder. Here he died. He was a large man, six feet, six inches in height, well built and powerful, well adapted physically for the dangerous and adventurous career which he led during the first half of his long life. His valor, courage and endurance stood him in equally good stead in his experience as a pioneer, and he was always highly esteemed among his asso-ciates. [HAC 1914, 814]
He was left an orphan when very young and was taken into the family of a Colonel Stinson, who cared for the boy and reared him to an honorable manhood. When about eighteen years of age, in 1774, he enlisted in the Eighth Regiment Pennsylvania Troops, and continued in the service during the entire revolutionary period. In the autumn of 1781 he was captured on the north fork of the Salt river, Kentucky, by a band of Indians led by Simon Girty, the white renegade of infamous memory. He was carried to Canada and confined on an island in the St. Lawrence river, sixty miles above Montreal. One quiet morning the sentinel informed him "Cornwallis is taken." Murphy jumped to the ceiling of the guard room, giving a wild war whoop in his exultation; a singular fact, as he informed the guard, was, he had dreamed three nights in succession that Cornwallis had surrendered. After the close of the war he rendered important and extended service in defense of the frontier against the Indians. In February, 1794, by act of the Pennsylvania assembly, a company was raised in Allegheny County for frontier defense and of this company Samuel Murphy was appointed ensign. He was well known and famous both as a soldier and a pioneer. He enjoyed the personal friendship of George Washington, having known him in the earlier days in Frederick county (Washington's home), of which the general, then a young man, was twice elected to the Virginia house of burgesses. Shortly after the close of the revolution, Captain Murphy removed to what is now Sharpsburg, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, where he remained, except for a brief absence, until 1798. He then moved to South Buffalo township, Armstrong County, and settled on what became known as the "Murphy farm," where he followed the quiet, peaceful vocation of a farmer until his death at the extreme age of ninety-four years. He had the reputation of being one of the best and bravest soldiers in the army and was always faithful in the discharge of every duty whether civil or military. [GPHNP, 462]
General Notes: Wife - Elizabeth Powers
She was a native of Virginia and member of one of the oldest families of that State. She refused a title to marry Captain Murphy, who according to family tradition was a very homely man, but of noble character.