Thomas Murphy (Collector of the Port of New York)

Thomas Murphy (1821 – August 17, 1901) was an Irish-American businessman and politician from

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, serving as a New York state senator for a total of three terms, 1866 through 1867, and in 1879. He had joined the Republican Party and made his fortune selling equipment to the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union of the collective states. It proved essential to th ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

. Afterward, he became part of the political machine run by US Senator from New York

Roscoe Conkling Roscoe Conkling (October 30, 1829April 18, 1888) was an American lawyer and Republican politician who represented New York in the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate. He is remembered today as the leader of the ...

, and was appointed as the

Collector of the Port of New York The Collector of Customs at the Port of New York, most often referred to as Collector of the Port of New York, was a federal officer who was in charge of the collection of import duties on foreign goods that entered the United States by ship at t ...

from 1870 to 1871.

Life

Murphy was born in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

in 1821. He emigrated to the United States as a young man and entered the fur business. He became interested in politics, joining first the Whig party and later the Republicans. In 1848, he married Mary Gibbs (died 1897), and they had five children. Their son, Edgar Gibbs Murphy, became well known as a champion pigeon-shooter. Another son, Thomas Vinton Murphy, married Cora Howarth. They had a business running munitions and a gambling house in the 1880s.Lillian Gilkes, ''Cora Crane: A Biography of Mrs. Stephen Crane,'' Indiana University Press; 1st edition (1960) Murphy made his fortune selling equipment to the Union Army during the

, and soon thereafter became involved with the Republican political machine run by

. He was a member of the New York State Senate (7th D.) in

1866 Events January–March * January 1 ** Fisk University, a historically black university, is established in Nashville, Tennessee. ** The last issue of the abolitionist magazine '' The Liberator'' is published. * January 6 – Ottoman t ...

and

1867 Events January–March * January 1 – The Covington–Cincinnati Suspension Bridge opens between Cincinnati, Ohio, and Covington, Kentucky, in the United States, becoming the longest single-span bridge in the world. It was renamed a ...

. In 1870, Conkling asked President

Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union Ar ...

to appoint Murphy to the office of Collector. Murphy antagonized other New York Republican factions by firing their members from Custom House jobs and replacing them with men loyal to Conkling. Murphy became sufficiently unpopular so that Grant was forced to replace him, appointing Murphy's friend,

Chester A. Arthur Chester Alan Arthur (October 5, 1829 – November 18, 1886) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 21st president of the United States from 1881 to 1885. He previously served as the 20th vice president under President James ...

, to the post in his place. After his removal, Murphy ran for Congress from

New York's 9th congressional district New York's 9th congressional district is a congressional district for the United States House of Representatives in New York City, represented by Yvette Clarke. The district is located entirely within Brooklyn. It includes the neighborhoods of ...

, but was defeated. He was elected again as a member of the State Senate in 1879. He eventually owned a horse farm in Deal, New Jersey. He died at his home in 1901 of kidney disease. His funeral was held at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York. He was buried at Woodlawn Cemetery in

the Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Murphy, Thomas 1821 births 1901 deaths Politicians from New York City Collectors of the Port of New York Irish emigrants to the United States (before 1923) New York (state) Whigs 19th-century American politicians New York (state) Republicans Deaths from kidney disease People from Deal, New Jersey