Biography of Felix G. Murphy (date unknown)
No. 246a - Uncited clippings from the "Neva Murphy Hubbard Collection" of
Beth Rengers Talken, 1998.
Felix G. MURPHY Moab's oldest citizen, was born at Louisville, Kentucky, February 28,
____6, and he is now 84 years of age. His life has been as stirring as it has been long.
When yet a boy he was doing a man's work in the protection of the frontier settlements
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 a stirring tale can he tell of those troublous times--tales of bloody massacres
perpetrated by the red men, and of acts of heroism by the sturdy pioneers.
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 Mormon immigrants. The
Indians were found by the soldiers, but they escaped and the immigrants' teams were _ever
recovered. The soldiers returned to Fort Kearney where they helped to build a fort.
In the spring a party of 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 ____ times, his
route being along the Arkansas river. On one of these trips he was discovered and attacked
by a band Indians who had just waylaid government supplies for Mexico. A running fight
ensued and Mr. MURPHY escaped without injury.
Following his services at Ft. Kearney he returned to Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas, where he was
released from service. He then returned to his old home at Troy, Mo. However his
adventurous nature was not satisfied with life at home. On March 3, 1849, following the
gold strike on the pacific coast, he started to 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 Indians.
At this point 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. From that stream they passed Ft. Yuma and went across the
desert to San Diego. They journeyed from that place to San Francisco by ship, and reached
Sacramento on March 17, 185_.
In 1859 Mr. MURPHY went to Virginia City, Nevada, and eleven years later came to Utah. He
lived in Park City and Midwa_ for ten years. In 1874 he married Miss Mary E. FAUSETT.
Mr. MURPHY came to Moab in 1880, when the town was first being settled. It was by the hard
work of such men as he that the town survived the troublous days when its settlement was
hindered by unfriendly Indians.
Felix G. MURPHY is a member of the Mormon church. He is a faithful citizen and is revered
by all who know him. He is the father of nine children and has several grandchildren.
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, 20 August 1998.
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