John Murphy
Mr. Murphy was born in Ireland and came to Wiconisco sometime along 1850. He assisted materially in the development of the town and today stands out as one of not only Wiconisco‘s respected citizens, but also the entire valley.
Mr. Murphy has engaged in the hotel business for thirty-two years, but immediately upon prohibition enactment, discontinued the same and entered the grocery business. He has served the county as commissioner and while serving, was instrumental in having the taxes adjusted from 8mills on two-thirds value to 3 mills on half valuation.
At the outbreak of the Civil War he served a period of several months before being mustered. In October 1864 he enlisted in the regular army and was assigned to the 3rd Pennsylvania Cavalry. He served as an orderly to the staff of President Abraham Lincoln, and rode into Petersburg, Virginia, with the staff when that city fell. A unique experience of Mr. Murphy is that he carried the last message issued by General Mead in the Civil War. He carried this message and delivered the same a few minutes prior to Lee’s surrender. He served throughout the entire period of the war and was mustered out of the army with the 5th Pennsylvania Cavalry.
Mr. Murphy is of a jovial nature and known to every child in the community. He is a friend of everybody and a real citizen of the country.
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From: “Who’s Who in Millersburg, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania,” Lykens-Williams Valley History-Directory and Pictorial Review, by J. Allen Barrett, published in 1922.
The gravemarker picture is from Ancestry.com. John Murphy is buried in the Irish Catholic Cemetery in Lykens, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania.
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