[Letter written by Isaac Phares Murphy to John J. Murphy of Ogden, 1871, 
Letters of our genealogy by Isaac Murphy South Carolina Union dist. 
Nov the 26th 1871.]
[provided by Joe Murphy]

Mr. John J. Murphy,
Your letter of the 21st instant came to hand in due time, but it has 
not  been convenient to answer it until now.  The connections are in their 
usual health and so far as I have been informed have provisions enough for 
the ensuing year.  As to family records of the Murphy  family genealogy, I 
can obtain but very little.  I can however give some little traditional  
account of the ancestry.

My great grandfather Richard Murphy was kidnapped in Ireland and brought 
to Virginia and sold till he should become 21 years of age, judging his age 
to be seven  years.  After becoming grown he married a daughter of one William 
Bird, a native of England, who then lived in Virginia.  He raised three sons-
Richard, Arthur and Simon.  How many  daughters I do not know, but I have 
heard the names of three men whom three of them married: McGarity, Hinds 
and Edwards.  Richard remained in Virginia where he was born.  Arthur and Simon  
moved to North Carolina.  And eventually Simon moved to South Carolina, having 
married one Holly Duke before he left Virginia.  He had eleven children, among 
whom were three  sons:  Mark, Sion and Bird.  The eight daughters married:  
Delila, the first, Ralph Jackson;  Drucilla, the second, Michael Lee; 
Marian, the third, Thomas Hill.

Mark Murphy, the first son, married Holly Duke.  The names of his children  
were Demarious, Simon, Mariam, John, Joseph, Phares, Jeremiah, Elizabeth, 
Holly, Emanuel and Lemuel.  The time of their births I cannnot say.  Except 
Joseph, who was born the 3rd  of February, 1798.  I have heard of the death 
of all of them, except Joseph and Lemuel, but can't tell of deaths of any 
of them except what you say of Emanuel.  Sion (Simon) Murphy, my father, 
was  born January the 31st, 1765, and died October the 26th, 1845.  He 
married Susan White, who was born the 12th of April, 1780, and died on the 
night between the 11th and twelfth of April,  1851.  They had 10 children.  
Myself, who was born the 20th of August 1798; Nathan, who was  born the 3rd 
day of February 1800 and died sometime in October 1822; Mary was born the 
29th of  August, 1801 and died in Alabama some three or four years ago; 
Sylvia was born the 13th of  May, 1803; Eady [Eddy] was born the 7th of 
October 1805, Hyram was born the 3rd of August  1807; Mildred was born the 
26th of March, 1809 and died in February, 1830; Jason Wiley was  born the 
20th of February 1811; Jeptha Martin was born the 7th of June, 1813; Delila 
was born  the 7th of October 1816. The 4th daughter of Simon Murphy, Sally, 
married Thomas  Greer; the 5th daughter, Elizabeth married Isaac Pearson; 
Bird Murphy, the third son of  Simon Murphy, was born in the year 1772 and 
died in July 1852.  He married Charlotte Duncan,  who was born in February 
1779 and died in Alabama, 1868. They had 8 children, viz. Rachel,  who died 
in infancy; Elisabeth was born the latter part of the year 1795 or the first 
of 1796 and died not far from 1860.  William was born the 27th of June, 1798, 
and died in May 1866. Jesse was  born sometime in the year 1800 and died 1834.  
Thomas was born in the year 1802 or 03.  Susan was  born in 1805 and died in 
the summer of 1845. James was born in the year 1810 and died in the  summer 
of 1862.  Charles was born February 1813.  Zilpha, the 6th daughter, married 
Edmond  Simpson.  Mary, the 7th, married Kindred Bobo; Unity, the 8th, 
married Angus Alexander.  All of  my grandfather's children and their 
companions are dead. Ralph Jackson's family, scarcely a  trace of them 
is to be found in this country.  All dead or moved away.  Very few of 
the Lee  posterity are here.Comparatively very few of the Hill family are 
here.  All of Uncle Mark  Murphy's family are gone from here except a few 
of his Cooper grandchildren.  There are only three of my father's children 
who have died; only four,  however, live in this country.  The Greer family 
are nearly extinct for this country.  The Pearson  family are entirely gone.  
Very few of the Uncle Bird Murphy family are in this country; only  two of 
his sons are living, one in Alabama and one in Mississippi.  The Simpson 
family are  entirely gone. Eight of thirteen of the Bobo children are dead, 
and only five of these 13 Bobo  children have any children in this country.  
The Alexander Family are entirely gone.  Old Grandfather  White was born in 
Virginia near Roanoake River.  I am informed that he lived on Tar River,  N.C.  
for a him  He married a woman by the name of Whitehead.  He moved to this 
country, bringing several of his first children with him.  He had 12 children: 
William, John, who died when  small, Robert, Stephen, Mary, Elisabeth, Tilman, 
Mildred, Elias, Benjamin.  Only 4 of these  12 children have any posterity in 
this country. 
Yours Respectfully,
Isaac P. Murphy