John Murphy (1786 – September 21, 1841) was the fourth Governor of the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,765 ...

, serving two terms from 1825 to 1829.

Biography

Early life

John Murphy was born in 1786 in

Robeson County, North Carolina Robeson County is a county in the southern part of the U.S. state of North Carolina and is its largest county by land area. Its county seat is and largest city is Lumberton. The county was formed in 1787 from part of Bladen County and named in ...

. He attended South Carolina College, now the University of South Carolina, where he was a member of the Clariosophic Society. Among his classmates at South Carolina College were John Gayle and James Dellet. Gayle also became Governor of Alabama while Dellet became a U.S. Congressman from

. Murphy graduated in 1808.

Career

He became a clerk at the South Carolina Senate. He was a trustee for the University of South Carolina from 1808 to 1818. In 1818, he moved to Alabama and was elected to the

Alabama House The Alabama State House of Representatives is the lower house of the Alabama Legislature, the state legislature of state of Alabama. The House is composed of 105 members representing an equal number of districts, with each constituency containi ...

in 1820 and the

Alabama Senate The Alabama State Senate is the upper house of the Alabama Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Alabama. The body is composed of 35 members representing an equal number of districts across the state, with each district conta ...

in 1822. He was elected Governor of Alabama in 1824, and in 1827 he was elected for a second term. He represented Alabama in 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 chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

from 1833 to 1835.

Personal life

Under the date of April 2, 1834,

John Quincy Adams John Quincy Adams (; July 11, 1767 – February 23, 1848) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, and diarist who served as the sixth president of the United States, from 1825 to 1829. He previously served as the eighth United States ...

records in his diary that Congressman

James Blair James Blair may refer to: *James Blair (Australian judge) (1870–1944), Australian judge, lawyer, and politician *James Blair (cricketer) (1900–1961), Australian-born New Zealand cricketer * James Blair (farmer) (1825–1901), Scottish-born farm ...

"shot himself last evening at his lodgings ... after reading part of an affectionate letter from his wife, to Governor Murphy, of Alabama, who was alone in the chamber with him, and a fellow-lodger at the same house." ''Diary'' (New York: Longmans, Green, 1929) p. 434.

Death

He died in 1841 in

Clarke County, Alabama Clarke County is a county located in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Alabama. As of the 2020 census, the population was 23,087. The county seat is Grove Hill. The county's largest city is Jackson. The county was created by the l ...

. Murphy was buried in Gosport.

References

External links

1786 births 1841 deaths University of South Carolina alumni Democratic Party governors of Alabama People from Robeson County, North Carolina Jacksonian members of the United States House of Representatives from Alabama 19th-century American politicians Democratic Party members of the Alabama House of Representatives Democratic Party Alabama state senators {{Alabama-politician-stub