J. Olley (Smith) Murphy (abt. 1814 - abt. 1862)

Ancestors

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Nikki Byer [send private message]

Biography of J. Ollie Smith Murphy

Very little is found on J. Ollie Smith. I can not even tell you what the J. stands for in her name. What I do know is that she was the sixth child of James Smith and Naomi Deneen. According to the book by Warren Scott Smith about James Smith and his family ^[1], J. Ollie was married to James Murphy. Also she was deceased before April 10, 1862. She is not listed in the 1850 Census so many sources say that she died before 1850.

Therefore her birthdate and death dates are estimates. According to the James Smith biography she is listed as letter F in the listing of children of James Smith and Naomi Deneen. Letter E was Harrison Smith born 1813, so we can assume J. Olley was born after 1813. A birthdate is not listed for J. Olley--just that she married James Murphy. Sarah Smith is G, but it only says that she died at age 61 without giving a date of birth. After Sarah, is Matthew Smith (H) born 1817. This leads me to believe that J. Olley Murphy was probably born between 1814 and 1815. Here is all there is for J. Olley in the F section of the biography.

James Smith, Esq., 1780-1861, of Bedford County, Pennsylvania, and his descendants

However in doing the math when applying this information, we run into some problems. In the above excerpt from the James Smith book, it says that in 1850 J. Olley's daughter Sarah Murphy is 45 which means that she was born in 1805 which is before J. Olley was born. The writing on the census report is easy to read and the numbers are clearly written "45".

1850 United States Federal Census for Sarah Murphy

Is it possible that James Murphy was married previously to marrying J. Olley. Sarah and Rosanna could be from this previous marriage. There is very little about anyone in this family.

Death

In the biography, Warren Smith, in discussing the Smith homes, says: It is interesting to note, that with the exception of J. Olley Murphy, who was apparently deceased by 1850 all the rest of the eight males and three females of Jas.Smith had established homes in close proximity to the Jas. Smith homestead.

Sources

1. ↑ James Smith, Esq., 1780-1861, of Bedford County, Pennsylvania, and his descendants

• James Smith, Esq., 1780-1861, of Bedford County, Pennsylvania, and his descendants
• 1850 United States Federal Census Ancestry.com Pennsylvania Bedford Southampton p. 11 of 34 of the census.

This person was created on 16 November 2010 through the import of Morton Family Tree.ged.