The daily gazette., 1880-04-13
Murphy at Home.

HIS CHILDREN GATHERED TOGETHER
AGAIN, AFTER TEN YEARS sEPARA-
| TIoN.
| Francis Murphy, the temperance
orator, stood in the centre of his parlor
last evening welcoming the friends who
called to see him for the first time in
his beautiful new home. Mr.. Murphy
was surrounded by all his child en-,
four manly sons and two daughters.
There we're the eldst son, William,
aged %, who has just finished his ed
ucation and will tomorrow enter upon
a new field of effort in the counting
room of one of the great manufacture
ing firms of this city +; Edwin, the sec-
ond son, perfect picture ofhis father,
minus the heavy moustache and the
wrinkles that time leaves on the face
lof middle age, young man who after
having made some reputation as lee
turer is now bending his energies to
the study of law Mary, an accom-.
plished young lady of twenty. who
takes the place in the household. that
her mother could have filed, If she had
lived Robert, like his brother Edwin.
a law student in the Office of District
Attorney w. Horace Rose, of Johns
town John, q handsome lad of four
teen, still busy with his school books,
and finally Josephine, refined little
lady, aged ten years.
+ The last time that Mr.. Murphy and
all of his children were together be-
fore last night was nine. years ago,
when the oldest was thirteen and tie
youngest one year old. The mother
had just died and the father was too
poor to maintain even the humble
home from which the mother had been
taken. He had but just left the old
life of dissipation 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 Fran
cis Murphy is now. He had indeed
talked talked once or twice in public
and told his touching story in feeble,
bashful way, but it was not for a year
or two after this that he developed
that remarkable power to move men
and women to laughter and to tears
that has made his name familiar from
Maine to California, At that time he
was glad to buy D. loaf and a quart 6f
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 tenn
perance work his fame spread very
slowly.
When he had been able to save forty
dollars he tool, his little girls. out, of
the asylum and put them in Christian
homes, where he maintained them
Not long after this he organized ma
tional Gospel temperance meeting in
Maine, and 1t was here that he made
his first great success, and the people
saw that great temperance lecturer
had sprung up among them. DIR. Dio
Lewis, who had great popularity in
that section in those days, was to fol-
low Murphy, but aiterthe young Irish.
man had got through the Doctor got
up and embraced him and declared
that no man could speak after that
Demands for Mr.. Murphy's services
came from all parts of the country,and
a. 'NtaA ohoo oihiO Ou WI. murphy llOT Ills
family never suffered from actual pow
erty, 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 Pittsburg, having already worked
with gratifying success in Illinois and
Iowa. Mr.. Murphy says that his OBJ
lect inaife outside of his public work
has been to educate his children and
to make them good and usefal men
and women. He is very happy inuhis
home, and it is fine sight to see the
perfect good feeling and mutual esteem
and love that exists between him and
his boys, who are well educated, &C.
young men. lliI5ao srr .
A large number of gentlemen and
ladies' called upon Mr.. Murphy b. last |
night 20 welcome him to a perm anent |
residence in this city. The committee
with whom Mr.. Murphy is working
wish it understood that the gift of the
new house is not the individual dona-
tion of the committee, nor is it an act
Of the Young Mems Christian Associa-
tion. The home is gift from Mr..
many friends in the city, the |
merely acting as agents in
,he purchase and presentation.