Moses Murphy (abt. 1829 - 1865)

Born about 1829 in Missouri

Ancestors

Husband of Margaret (Sartain) Watkins — married 26 Feb 1858 in Howard, Missouri, United States

Descendants

Died 23 Mar 1865 at about age 36 in Alton, Madison, Illinois

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Biography

Moses Murphy^[1] was born about 1829. He is the son of John Murphy and Elizabeth McLain or McLean.

In 1840, Moses likely resided with his father, John Murphy, in Marion, Saline Missouri:^[2]

John Murphy

Home in 1840 : Marion, Saline, Missouri

Males - 10 thru 14: 2 [Albert, Moses]

Males - 20 thru 29: 1 [perhaps William]

Males - 40 thru 49: 1 [John]

Females - 5 thru 9: 2 [Mary J., Almarinda]

Females - 15 thru 19: 1 [Elvira]

Females - 40 thru 49: 1 [Elizabeth]

Persons Employed in Agriculture: 3

Persons Employed in Manufacture and Trade: 1

Free White Persons - Under 20: 5

Free White Persons - 20 thru 49: 3

Total Free White Persons: 8

Total All Persons - Free White, Free Colored, Slaves: 8

In 1850, 21-year-old Moses resided with his parents in Saline County, Missouri. The census recorded his birth in Missouri. The same document recorded his father, age 60, born in Ireland and his mother, age 54, born in Pennsylvania.^[3]

John Murphy

Age 60, Birth Year 1790, Birthplace Ireland

Home in 1850 District 90, Saline, Missouri

Occupation Farmer, Industry Agriculture

Real Estate 200, Cannot Read and Write Y

Line Number 10, Dwelling Number 108. Family Number 108

Household Members

John Murphy Age 60

Elizabeth Murphy Age 54

William Murphy Age 28

A[l]bert Murphy Age 23

Elvira Murphy Age 26

Mary J. Murphy Age 19

Almarinda Murphy Age 15

Moses Murphy Age 21

Moses married Margaret Sartain, the daughter of Wright and Nancy Sartain of Howard County Missouri, on 26 February 1858 in Howard County, Missouri.^[4]

In 1860, Moses resided with his wife, Margaret, in Jefferson Township, Saline County, Missouri. A nine-month-old Martha Wilhite was living with the couple.^[5] (Could this indicate Margaret had a previous marriage/partnership or did they simply care for the infant?)

Moses and Margaret had two children: William Wright Murphy, born in 1861, and Nannie Price Murphy, born in 1863. See Margaret's biography for documentation of these children.

During the Civil War, Moses served in Douglas' Regiment as a conscript from Howard County, Missouri. Read background on the American Civil War. Moses was captured 9 Nov 1864 at Cassville, Missouri. He was received at Alton Military Prison in Madison County, Illinois on 3 Dec 1864.

A section of wall of the old state penitentiary that held Confederate prisoners remains as a ruin in downtown Alton, Illinois:

Ruin of Alton Prison[6]

Ruin of Alton Prison[6]

Ruin of Alton Prison[6]

Ruin of Alton Prison[6]

On 21 March 1865, Alton Prison's Island Quarantine Hospital was closed because of flooding. On 23 March 1865, Moses Murphy died at the prison of chronic diarrhea.^[7] His youngest child, Nannie, was not yet two-years-old.

Moses Murphy's name is included on the plaques at the North Alton Confederate Cemetery in Alton, Illinois.

In late 1861, Union Gen. Henry Halleck received permission to use the former Illinois State Penitentiary in Alton, Illinois, as a military prison. The old prison had 246 cells, a hospital, a warden's house, and long-standing problems with drainage and sanitation....A U.S. Army inspector reported that the prison could house up to 1,750 prisoners....Between February 1862 and the end of the war, 11,760 Confederate prisoners entered the prison at Alton. Nearly 1,300 died there and were buried on the grounds....Prisoners were placed in individual coffins in trenches. Each grave was marked with a numbered stake....The federal government assumed ownership of the cemetery in 1867....in 1899...even using the record book, it was 'utterly impossible to identify the graves of those buried there.'...The Commission for Marking Graves of Confederate Dead tried without success to document these burials in 1907. Finally, the Commission hired Van Amringe Granite Company to erect the existing 57-foot-tall obelisk, which was completed in December 1909. Bronze plaques on the base contain the names of 1,354 soldiers buried here and those buried in the smallpox hospital cemetery. Names of civilians who died at the prison were omitted from the plaques.^[8]

North Alton Confederate Cemetery[9]

North Alton Confederate Cemetery[9]

North Alton Confederate Cemetery[9]

North Alton Confederate Cemetery[9]

North Alton Confederate Cemetery[9]

North Alton Confederate Cemetery[9]

North Alton Confederate Cemetery[9]

North Alton Confederate Cemetery[9]

North Alton Confederate Cemetery[9]

Sources

1. ↑ Biography in progress (Apr 2021). Feel free to contact SD if you have questions, to collaborate, or as a courtesy before making changes.
2. ↑ Sixth Census of the United States, 1840. (NARA microfilm publication M704, 580 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C., Year: 1840; Census Place: Marion, Saline, Missouri; Roll: 232; Page: 93; Family History Library Film: 0014858
3. ↑ Seventh Census of the United States, 1850; (National Archives Microfilm Publication M432, 1009 rolls); Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29; National Archives, Washington, D.C., Year: 1850; Census Place: District 90, Saline, Missouri; Roll: 419; Page: 9a Image
4. ↑ Marriages, Howard County, Missouri Image
5. ↑ 1860 U.S. census, population schedule. NARA microfilm publication M653, 1,438 rolls. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d., Year: 1860; Census Place: Jefferson, Saline, Missouri; Page: 554; Family History Library Film: 803645 Image
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3} Ruin of Alton Military Prison in downtown Alton, IL, photographed by SD on 30 Dec 2020. Copyright SD.
7. ↑ Alton, Ill., Register No. 8; page 66. Image
8. ↑ U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, National Cemetery Administration, interpretive signage at the North Alton Confederate Cemetery
9. ↑ ^{9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 9.6 9.7 9.8} North Alton Confederate Cemetery, 635 Rozier St., in Alton, IL, photographed by SD on 30 Dec 2020. Copyright SD.