Connecticut western news., 1911-06-08
The Murphy Movement ''
A Crusade That Converted Whole |
 Towns to Total Abstinence.

A Crusade That Converted Whole
 Towns to Total Abstinence.
 The readers, of the last generation back, will readily remember the. great "Murphy movement" that swept over the country like wildfre, in 1877 and 1S7S-a wave of temperance evangei zatlon that carried everything before it and enrolled the people into the ranks ot the blue ribbon order by the thousands and tens of thousands. The movement spread across the ocean and Great Britain became Murphyized almost as thoroughly as America. It became known as the greatest awakening of the Nineteenth Century, this movement, started by Francis Murphy, who had been rum seller and drunkard, and whose reformation and conversion were experienced while he was an inmate of a prison cell in Portland. Maine.
 The newspapers of the country were full of the great things accomplished by Francis Murphy and the corps of eloquent apostles who had enlisted under
 
 crusade, and Canaan was in the right mood and spirit to respond when the movement struck here, Feb. 28. 1878, with those two persuasive and magnetic advocates, Messrs. Love and Miller, to expound the Murphy temperance gospel. Meetings were held in the Methodist church and on the very first night that sacredtedifice was packed to the doors with the strangest, most inassorted assemblage ever seen there before, or since-saints and sinners. old soaks and lifelong teetotalists, rich and poor, members of all churches and members of no church, old and young, were drawn together by the irresistible mag netism of the Murphy movement. And when, after the fervid exhortations of the speakers, an invitation was extended to come forward and sign the Murphy pledge. these people scrambled over one another in their eagerness to get to the platform and have the blue ribbon tied in their button-hole
 The whole town went temperance crazy, and the person who appeared on the streets without blue ribbon in his button-hole- was viewed askance as a sort of social outcast. Several meetings were held in close succession, one of which was addressed by Med" Murphy, Francis's son, who ultimately became ,I as forceful worker in the gospel tenn perance fields as his distinguished father.
 Several hundred signatures were se- cured to the pledge and The News each week printed the names of the signers in solid columns as ''roll of honor" The Warner House was made temper ance hotel" by Landlord Warner and free reading room was opened there under the auspices of local temperance organization that was formed for carry ing on the work started by Love, Miller and Murphy.
 Francis Murphy, himself, never visited Canaan, but he was the central figure in a monster temperance meeting i'll Great Harrington. on March 28 of that year, which was made red-letter day ln the annals of the whole Berkshire valley, excursion trains being run from both ends of the Housatonic railroad for the occasion.
 The temperance society referred to above, was oficered as follows:
 Presidential. T. Roraback.
 Vice -presidents-Z. T. Adams, Frank A. Peet, Stephen Malloy, Mrs. Law renee, Wallace A. Roberts, Mrs Sardam. Corresponding secretary-J. B. Reed.
 Recording secretary-Henry P. Lynch.
 Treasurer-George L. Parsons. l Managers-Henry o. Stevens, John P. Shields, Edmund D. Lawrence, Horace B. Stevens, Henry M. Adams.
 Committee on Increase of Member ship-S. A. Herman, W. A. Roberts, I. N. Beebe. Thomas Buckley, s. O. Cummings, Thomas Riley, H. O. Barnes. Frederick Reed, William Sardam, Geo. Clark, Joseph Ives, Horace Holt, Wm H. Newport, Charles II. Marvin.
 On Reclaiming the Fallen-J. l.. Bragg, J. L. Pease, E. R. Lorraine, c. Lynehan. Jr., William German, Stanley Barnes, George Langdon, Henry Boards ley, M. N. Clark, P. P. Gilmore, J. G. Beebe, R. H. Marvin, Albert Sanford.
 On Employment-L. Dunning, D. Griffith, O. 0. Adams, 5. w. Barnes, E. D. Lawrence, A. T. Roraback, G. K. | Goodwin, Samuel Ryder, Wm. Sardam. J. G. Lawrence, H. B. Stevens, w. A Lawrence.
 On Relief-H. O. Stevens, Chas. Gill lette, Edwin Barnes. E. s. Roberts, Mrs. Louisa Smith, Mrs, I. N. Beebe, Mrs o. s. Rood, Mrs M. L. Reid, Mrs. A. T Roraback, Miss Bertha J. Granger, Mrs. F. E. Ryder, Mrs. Ellen Malloy. Miss Julia Sanford, Miss Mary Emmons, Miss Minnie Briggs, Mrs. L. Stevens, Miss Chloe Lawrence, Mrs, R. H. Marvin.