James W. Murphy (September 27, 1852 – December 25, 1913) was an American

merchant A merchant is a person who trades in commodities produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Historically, a merchant is anyone who is involved in business or trade. Merchants have operated for as long as indust ...

farmer A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, raising living organisms for food or raw materials. The term usually applies to people who do some combination of raising field crops, orchards, vineyards, poultry, or other livestock. A farmer mig ...

and politician who served as a Democratic member of the

Wisconsin State Assembly The Wisconsin State Assembly is the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Together with the smaller Wisconsin Senate, the two constitute the legislative branch of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Representatives are elected for two-year terms, ...

from Marquette County and of the Wisconsin State Senate from

Milwaukee County Milwaukee County is located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. At the 2020 census, the population was 939,489, down from 947,735 in 2010. It is both the most populous and most densely populated county in Wisconsin, and the 45th most populous coun ...

Background

Born in

Little Falls, New York Little Falls is a city in Herkimer County, New York. The population was 4,946 at the time of the 2010 census, which is the second-smallest city population in the state, ahead of only the city of Sherrill. The city is built on both sides of the ...

, he came to

Briggsville, Wisconsin Briggsville is a Census-designated place in the southwest corner of Marquette County, Wisconsin. It is located on Wisconsin Highway 23 in the town of Douglas. It uses ZIP code 53920. Geography Briggsville is located on the eastern side of M ...

with his family in 1854. He graduated from the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin founded the school in 1842. The main campu ...

in June 1868, and moved to

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

, where he lived for several years before returning to Briggsville. He became a merchant and farmer. As of 1879, he had held the offices of

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

clerk and town supervisor, and was chairman of the Marquette County

board of supervisors A board of supervisors is a governmental body that oversees the operation of county government in the U.S. states of Arizona, California, Iowa, Mississippi, Virginia, and Wisconsin, as well as 16 counties in New York. There are equivalent agenc ...

Assembly and Senate

He was elected to the Assembly for 1879 to represent Marquette County to succeed fellow Democrat

William H. Peters William H. Peters was a Wisconsin lawyer who served as a Democratic member of the Wisconsin State Assembly. Biography Peters was born on November 26, 1825, in Summerhill, New York. He became a lawyer. Political career Peters was a member of t ...

, receiving 953 votes against 718 for former Republican Assemblyman Robert Mitchell (running as a Democrat) and 69 for Greenbacker 0. C. Pomeroy. At that time he was the youngest man ever elected to the Assembly. He did not run for re-election, and was succeeded by Republican Charles S. Kelsey. Murphy served fifteen years as chairman of the central committee of the Wisconsin Democratic Party, and was elected in 1890 as president of the Jefferson Club - the largest Democratic club in the old

Northwest Territory The Northwest Territory, also known as the Old Northwest and formally known as the Territory Northwest of the River Ohio, was formed from unorganized western territory of the United States after the American Revolutionary War. Established in 1 ...

. He was appointed a

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional serv ...

inspector Inspector, also police inspector or inspector of police, is a police rank. The rank or position varies in seniority depending on the organization that uses it. Australia In Australian police forces, the rank of inspector is generally the ne ...

in June 1885, serving until July 1889. He was elected to the Wisconsin State Senate from the Fourth District in 1892, with 5,215 votes to 4,824 for Republican ex-Congressman Isaac W. Van Schaick, 98 for Prohibitionist William Bendile, and 86 for Meschaff, Populist. In September 1893 he was appointed the United States Collector of Internal Revenue for the First (eastern) District of Wisconsin. He resigned his Senate seat, and was succeeded by Republican

James C. Officer James C. Officer (1859–1910) was a member of the Wisconsin State Senate. Biography Officer was born on January 23, 1859, in Vernon County, Wisconsin, as the oldest child of Mary Ann Spencer and Elias Crumbaker Officer. He graduated from the Uni ...

. He moved to

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

in 1900, and died there on December 25, 1913 at the home of his son W. A. Murphy, leaving behind a widow, two sons and a daughter. He is not the same person as James William Murphy, mayor of Platteville, Wisconsin and member of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Murphy, James W. 1852 births 1913 deaths Farmers from Wisconsin Businesspeople from Wisconsin County supervisors in Wisconsin People from Little Falls, New York People from Briggsville, Wisconsin People from Milwaukee University of Notre Dame alumni Wisconsin city council members Democratic Party Wisconsin state senators Democratic Party members of the Wisconsin State Assembly 19th-century American merchants