The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1880-04-29
MURPHY AT HONE.
His Children Gathered Together
Again After Ten Years
Separation.

Francis Murphy, the temperance
orator, stood in the center of his par
lor Saturday evening, says the Phila-
delphia Sunday Times, welcoming the
friends who called to see him for the
first time in his beautiful new home.
MIR. Murphy was surrounded by all
his children, four manly sons and two
daughters. There were the eldest son,
William, aged %, who has Just finish
ed his education, and viii tomorrow
enter upon Il new field of effort in the
counting room Of one of the great man
ufacturing firms of this city; Edwin,
the second son, perfect picture of his
father, minus the heavy mustache and
the wrinkles that time leaves on the
face of middle age, a young man who
after having made some reputation as
lecturer is now bending his energies
to the study of the law; Mary, an ac-
complished young lady Of twenty, who
takes the place in the household that
her mother could have filled if she had
lived Robert, like his brother Edwin,
law student, in the office of District
Attorney Horace Rose, of Johnst0wn :;
John, a handsome lad Of fourteen, still
busy with his school-books; and finally
Josephine, q refined little lady, aged
ten years.
The last time that Mr. Murphy and
all of his children were together before
last night was nine years ago, when the
eldest was thirteen and the Youngest
one year old. The mother has lust
died, and the father was too poor to
maintain even the humble home from
which the mother had been taken.
He had Just left the old life Of dissipa-
ton and drunkenness behind him and
struck out in the new course. Neither
himself nor any one else dreamed then
that he was ever to become the famous
lecturer that Francis Murphy is now.
He had indeed talked once or twice in
public and told his touching story in
feeble, bashful way, but it was not for
year or two after this that lie devel-
oped that remarkable power to move
men and women to laughter and tears
that has made his name familiar from
Maine to California. At that time he
was glad to be able to buy a loaf of
bread and quart Of milk to divide
among his little ones. So Mary and
Baby Josephine were sent to an orphan
asylum and the boys were placed upon
farms. Although Mr.. Murphy gave
himself up to temperance work, his
fame spread very slowly. When he
had been able to save forty dollars he
took his little girls out of the asylum
and put them in Christian homes,
where he maintained them. Not long
after this he organized national gos-
pei temperance meeting in Maine, and
it was here that he made his first great
success, and the people saw that good
temperance lecturer had sprung up
among. DR.. Dio Lewis, who had
great popularity in that section in those
days, was to follow Murphy, but after
the young Irishman had got through
the doctor got up and embraced him
and declared that no man could speak
after that. Demands for Mr.. Muir
phys services came from all parts of the
country, and from that time on Mr..
Murphy nor his family never suffered
from actual poverty, though it was a
long time before he scored his great
success, which did not happen until
about four years ago, when he began
his famous campaign in Pittsburgh,
having already worked with gratifying
success in Illinois and Iowa. Mr. Muir
ply says that his object in life outside
of his public work has been to educate
his children and to make them good
and useful men and women. He is
very happy in his home, which is q
gift from his many friends III Philadel-