Arizona Murphys

Hello, cousins!

If you're just joining us, today's post is the second of several posts cataloging the descendants of Rebecca Lucretia Davidson Murphy, who is the granddaughter of Elizabeth Callin Montgomery. Last week gave us a long post listing the family of Lucretia's eldest child, Sarah Frances Murphy Wells - a surprisingly adventurous group of people!

Today, we'll pick up with Lucretia's second child, John:

     B. John D Murphy (1867–1955) was born to Henderson and Lucretia Murphy on 20 April 1867 in Oregon - most likely in Linn County. His family followed his father to Alder Creek, Klickitat County, Washington, where Henderson raised livestock in the early 1880s. John returned to rural Marion County, Oregon, where he married Olive Della Lemmon (1873–1950) in 1898.

Della was born in Indiana on 4 August 1873 to Elijah Lemmon (1832–1876) and Amanda Brenton (1837–1900). Her father died when Della was small, leaving her mother to raise her and her six siblings - three boys and three girls.

John and Della farmed and raised their family in Oregon, appearing in Sherman, Marion County (1900) and Grass Valley, Sherman County (1910), and then in Buhl, Twin Falls, Idaho (1920). By 1924, however, they seem to have decided to retire to Tucson, Pima County, Arizona, where John and daughter Beulah appear in the voter registration rolls.

Della died in Tucson on 1 July 1950 and was buried in South Lawn Memorial Cemetery. John died while under the care of the Twin Pines rest home on 14 August 1955 and was buried with Della.

     1. John Carl Murphy (1902–1968) was born on 18 February 1902, in The Dalles, Oregon. He died on 25 August 1968, in Imperial, California, at the age of 66, and was buried in Evergreen Cemetery in El Centro, California. He appears to have remained single throughout his life.

     2. Beulah A Murphy (b. 1904) was born in Oregon and grew up with her family in the Pacific Northwest. She attended the University of Arizona in Tucson from 1926 to 1930, and after graduating she became a home economics teacher in Casa Grande and in Coolidge. In 1943, she married a man named Gene Stroud in Nogales, Santa Cruz County, Arizona, and moved with him to El Centro, Imperial County, California. They appeared at the same address in the city directories and voter registration rolls from 1946-1952, but Beulah was listed by herself after that, appearing in El Centro as recently as 1957. After that, I do not know what happened to her. (Per cousin Nancy Ellis: "Aunt Beulah was a teacher in El Centro who was widowed.  She was childless so remained close to Grandma and Grandpa Lockhart for the rest of her life.")

     3. Guy Henderson Murphy (1909–1968) was born on 21 January 1909 in Grass Valley, Oregon. In his youth, he farmed with his father. He attended the University of Arizona starting in the mid-1920s, which is where he met Elizabeth Kilborn (1911–1953). They were married on 24 May 1934 in Pima County, Arizona. Elizabeth was the daughter of Joseph Walker Kilborn (1875–1961) and Mary Liscomb (1876–1959), born in Maine on 26 May 1911 and raised in Akron, Ohio.

In 1940, Guy was working as an educational adviser for the Civilian Conservation Corps in Silver City, Grant County, New Mexico, with Elizabeth and two sons. He soon accepted a commission in the U.S. Army, however, and subsequently served for 29 years before retiring as a Lieutenant Colonel.

Elizabeth died in Los Angeles County, California, on 5 October 1953, and she was buried in Foreside Community Church Cemetery in Falmouth, Cumberland County, Maine, where her mother's family originated. Guy remarried Jessie May Higgins (1897–1979) sometime before 1955 when they were stationed in the Washington D.C.-Virginia area.

Guy was only 58 years old when he died on 14 January 1968 in Kerrville, Kerr County, Texas, and was buried with military honors in the Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery in San Antonio. Jessie died on 27 December 1979 in Pecos, Reeves County, Texas, and was buried with Guy. They were survived by Guy's two sons and three grandchildren.

     4. Ross Bengal Murphy (1910–1989) was born in Grass Valley, Sherman County, Oregon, on 16 July 1910. He attended school in Tuscon during the 1920s. He married Wilda Carlisle (1913–2000) on 13 August 1932 in Pima County, Arizona. She was born on 15 August 1913 in Texas, the daughter of Walter Louis Carlisle (1890–1969) and Artie Dosia Coffman (1893–1976).

Ross was a mining engineer, among other things, and he and his family lived in Peru for a time in the 1950s. He was also a pilot of small aircraft. In 1936, his airplane crashed after taking off from Ajo Airport at about 5pm on March 11. According to a report in the Arizona Republic, Ross was an employee of New Cornelia Copper Company and suffered a dislocated hip, loss of his front teeth, concussion of the brain and severe lacerations on his face and body. One of his passengers died, and the other was severely injured.

Ross recovered, and kept flying. However, he died on 5 April 1989 when his homemade plane crashed into the Saguaro Chevrolet car dealership on the Colorado River Indian Reservation, about a half-mile south of Parker, La Paz County, Arizona. Wilda died in 2000, and they are buried in Parker Community Cemetery. They are survived by two sons and several grandchildren. 

     5. Della Mae Eldora  Murphy (1912–1985) was born on 11 August 1912 after her family had moved to Buhl, Twin Falls County, Idaho, and she was brought to Tucson with her parents and siblings while she was young. (per cousin Nancy Ellis: "my grandmother Della Mae Eldora Murphy Lockhart told me that they traveled to Arizona via covered wagon, and actually farmed in Marana.  This is where Della met John Hall Lockhart.")

She married John Hall Lockhart (b. 1907) on 9 July 1931 in Flagstaff, Coconino County, Arizona; her sister, Beulah, was one of the witnesses. John was the son of Lyman Henry Lockhart (1874–1937) and Sarah Savannah Duckett (1875–1908), born in Snyder, Scurry County, Texas, on 1 September 1907.

John was a railroad switchman and yardmaster in Tucson when he met Della. They raised their son in Tucson, and Della died there on 18 May 1985, survived by her husband, son, and five grandchildren. John died in 1994, and they are buried in Tucson Memorial Park South Lawn, in Tucson, Arizona.

(Per cousin Nancy Ellis: "Among many things I have that belonged to my grandma is her union time card, dating to WWII when she worked on the wiring in nose cones of aircraft because of her small build.  I believe that is the only work she ever did outside the home.  Grandpa worked for the railroad his whole life, and I believe exempt from military service because of the necessity of keeping railroads moving.")

       a. John Frank Lockhart, D.D.S. (1933–1995) was born on 30 September 1933 in Tucson, Pima County, Arizona.  After graduating from the University of Arizona, he attended the Washington University School of Dentistry at St. Louis, Missouri. He married his first wife in 1956 and returned to Tucson where he began his dental practice. The couple had five two children before they divorced in 1969.

Sometime after that, Frank relocated to Willcox, Arizona, where he spent the rest of his life. Frank remarried, adopting two step-sons and having another son with his second wife. Frank died on 26 January 1995 in Willcox, Cochise County, Arizona,  at age 61. He was survived by his wife, two daughters, three sons, and nine grandchildren.

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As always, if you've found one or more of your relatives mentioned in this blog, please get in touch. You can comment below (anonymous comments are usually not as helpful), or email "mightieracorns" at Gmail.com.

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...and if you prefer a private group, we still have the Callin Family History group on Facebook for "cousins only" (there will be a question about how you're related to the family before you can join).

Until next time... Happy Hunting!