"History of Southern Oregon, Comprising Jackson, Josephine, Douglas, Curry and
Coos Counties.  Compiled from the Most Authentic Sources."  A. G. Walling,
Publisher.  Portland, OR.  1884.  pg. 534.

JOHN MURPHY

     A little way off the road leading from Ashland to Major Barrons, and
nestled among the mountains, is the home of this old pioneer.  It is a lovely
spot and we have selected it as one of the illustrations in these pages.  John
Murphy was born in county Cork, Ireland, in December, 1820.  He came to the
United States in May, 1847, and located in Orange county, New York; thence to
Iowa in 1852, settling in Lee county.  The following year he crossed the plains
to Oregon, with some of the settlers who are now his neighbors, and located in
Jackson county.  After working for a short time at the Mountain House ranch, he
settled on his present farm which consists of twenty-two hundred acres.  In 1853
Mr. Murphy joined Captain Williams' company and engaged in the war with the
Rogue River Indians, remaining until its close. In 1854 a band of marauding
Indians came near Mr. Murphy's house, where they killed an ox belonging to Myron
Sterns.  A party of settlers followed the Indians, and coming up to Murphy's
cabin and not finding him there they supposed he had been killed.  But when they
had proceeded a little way up the creek there was Mr. Murphy planting potatoes
and he knew nothing of the Indians having been in the neighborhood.  The subject
of our sketch joined the settlers, who followed the trail of the Indians to
Grizzly Rock, put them to rout and broke up their camp at that place.  In July,
1858, Mr. Murphy went to San Francisco and married Mary Goodwin.  Mrs. Ann
Murphy, the mother of the subject of this sketch, is now residing near Ashland
with her daughter and enjoys good health, her reasoning faculties are well
preserved and she is now ninety-two years old.
 

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Submitted to the Oregon Bios. Project in July 2005 by Diana Smith.  Submitter
has no additional information about the person(s) or family mentioned above.