Obituary for Felix G. Murphy (1826-1915)
No. 096 - Uncited clippings from the "Neva Murphy Hubbard Collection" of
Beth Rengers Talken, 1998.
Felix G. MURPHY, the oldest citizen of Moab, and a resident of this place for the past
36 years, passed away at 9:30 Tuesday evening at his home, of general debility. Mr. MURPHY
was 89 years old.
His health had been failing for the past year, but it was not until a few weeks ago that
his condition became serious. For several days before the end it was known that he could
not recover, because of his advanced age. Mr. MURPHY died peacefully and without pain.
Funeral services were held yesterday from the WARD meeting house, and a large number of
friends were present. John DALTON offered the opening prayer, and the choir sang two
selections. The speakers were D. A. JOHNSON, Howard W. BALSLEY, Frank M. SHAFER and Bishop
John PETERSON. All of the speakers praised the good life of Mr. MURPHY, and paid glowing
tributes to his indomitable spirit in pioneering the way for civilization in the west.
Howard W. BALSLEY sang "Saved by Grace," and the closing prayer was given by
Frank M. SHAFER.
All of Mr. MURPHY's children were present at the services except Felix G. MURPHY, Jr., who
will not arrive until tomorrow.
With the death of Felix G. MURPHY, an eventful career is ended. He was one of the first
pioneers of the west, and practically all of the years of his life were spent in blazing
the trail for the civilization of today.
Mr. MURPHY was born at Louisville, Kentucky, February 28, 1826. Before he was out of his
teens he was doing a man's work in the protection of the frontier from the Indians.
In 1833 his family moved from Louisville to Missouri. Here he lived until 1847, when he
volunteered as a soldier to fight the Indians who at that time were leading a war of
extermination against the whites on the frontier. Many exciting experiences he went
through in those stirring times.
A short time after he enlisted he left with a small party of soldiers to follow some
Indians who had killed some whites at the mouth of the Platte river. When the soldiers
arrived at that place they found that the Indians had not only killed a number of whites,
but had stolen seven wagon loads of supplies which belonged to some Mormon immigrants. The
Indians were found by the soldiers, but they escaped and the immigrants' teams were never
recovered. The soldiers returned to Fort Kearney, where they helped build the famous fort
at that place.
The following spring a party 48 men started for Oregon. Mr. MURPHY accompanied them as far
as Platte, and returned to Fort Kearney with the mail. He made this trip three times, his
route being along the Arkansas river. On one of the trips he was discovered and attacked
by a band of Indians who had just waylaid goverment supplies bound for Mexico. A running
fight ensued but Mr. MURPHY escaped without injury.
Following his services at Fort Kearney he returned to Fort Leavenwoth, Kansas, where he
was released from services. He then returned to his home at Troy, Mo. His adventurous
nature, however, was not satified with the quiet life at home, and on March 3, 1849,
following the gold strike on the Pacific coast, he started for California with a train of
men to prospect for the elusive yellow metal. The party experienced no end of trouble with
the Indians, and at one point on their journey, on the Cimarron river, Colorado, they
buried the bodies of seven men and one baby that had been killed by the savages. While in
Colorado the party joined Major HART and proceeded to Old Mexico. Here they outfitted
again, and went by way of Tucson and Pimo village, and thence down the Gila river by boat
and wagon to the Colorado river. They crossed that stream at Fort Yuma and went across the
desert to San Diego. They journeyed from that place to San Francisco by ship, and reached
Sacremento [sic] on March 17, 1850.
Mr. MURPHY remained in California for nine years, and in 1859 he want to Virginia City,
Nevada. Eleven years later he came to Utah, residing at Park City and Midway for ten
years.
In 1874 Mr. MURPHY married Miss Mary E. FAUSETT, and six years later in 1880, the family
moved to Moab, where they have lived ever since. Mr. MURPHY was one of the earliest
pioneers of this valley. It was through the hard work of such men as he that the town was
built up, and the present inhabitants of this valley are indebted to Mr. MURPHY and his
early associates for the many advantages enjoyed here today.
Mr. MURPHY is survived by his widow and nine children, who are: Felix G., Jr., William J.,
Hebert Thomas, Amber J., Victor and Otto MURPHY; Mrs. J. T. DUNCAN and Mrs. Pearl KNIGHT.
All of Mr. MURPHY's children live at and near Moab.
Felix G. MURPHY was a member of the Mormon church. He was a good citizen and was revered
by every resident of Moab, both old and young. He lived a life of usefulness, and his
future reward will surely be commensurate with the great good he did on this earth.
Note regarding clippings from the "Neva Murphy Hubbard Collection": Neva Murphy Hubbard (1886-1971) lived all of her life in Lincoln County, MO. She collected a large file of clippings of Lincoln County residents. The majority of the clippings were without citation. Beth Rengers Talken, beneficiary of the collection, has transcribed them for inclusion in our Lincoln County Heritage Records.
Submitted to HERITAGE PAGES of LINCOLN COUNTY, MISSOURI by Beth Rengers Talken, 18 September 1998.
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