James Joseph "James J." Murphy (b. 1883 Ardgroom; d. 1938 LA)

Also known as: James J. Murphy, J. J. Murphy, James Joseph Murphy, James Murphy of the Hennessy store, James J. Murphy of Centerville, James J. Murphy (LA), J. J. Murphy (LA boys'-dept manager J. W. Robinson & Co.)

family confidence: 95 — certain (corroborated)

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THE USER'S JJM — the nucleus of the family tree per the 2026-05-27 GEDCOM. Born 26 July 1883 Ardgroom, Co. Cork, Ireland (anchored to the Ancestry source-citation Irish Catholic Parish Registers). Eldest son of person_patrick_j_murphy_bartender_1908 and person_ellen_murphy_fox_hotel_1935. Arrived US 1891-1892 via New York. Lifelong Butte resident 1892-c.1928, then LA. **Career arc** (consolidated from the former person_james_j_murphy_centerville_aoh record, merged 2026-05-27 once the user identified A=C): - 1898: Hennessy's cash boy (Butte) - 1904: Hennessy's boys' department head - 1908-10-19: m. Agnes Kelly at St. Lawrence church Butte (best man Charles H. Gallagher; bridesmaid Miss Mamie Kelly the bride's sister) — see 1908-10-24 Butte Miner and 1908-10-25 Anaconda Standard wedding write-ups - 1915 (Jun): Hennessy's store superintendent - 1915-1920: Hennessy's Centerville branch manager - 1920 (Mar): founding partner of Murphy-Softley (ladies' apparel, 22 W. Park st Butte — per 1923 directory) with Edward W. Softley - 1924 (Aug 30): Murphy-Softley going-out-of-business sale - c. 1928: moved family to Los Angeles - LA: Buyer, Dept Store (per 1930 federal census) → manager boys' section J. W. Robinson & Co. and another LA department store; later men's clothing - c.1937: forced to retire due to ill health (per 1938 obit "About a year ago he was forced to retire because of ill health") - 1938-summer: last visit to Butte (~3 weeks; "appeared unusually healthy" per friends, per 1938 obit) - 1938-12-17: d. Los Angeles age 55 — per the 1938-12-19 Montana Standard obit ("He was a native of Ireland", "about 55"; Opus vision pass 2026-05-28 confirms "about 55" — the Sonnet version's "about 50" reading was wrong) **Murphy-Softley building afterlife** (new finding from 1938 Opus pass): "Later he was associated in a clothing store where **Walker's Cigar store** now is located" — i.e., the 22 W. Park Murphy-Softley storefront was occupied by Walker's Cigar by 1938. **Residence sequence** (primary-source-verified, 2026-05-28 directory + census vision pass): - 1900: 407 W Cobban (with Pat + Ellen, age 16) - by 1904: 120 W Quartz (with parents) - 1900 directory only: boarding entry at 406 E Mercury (downtown near Hennessy's, separate young-clerk listing) - 1908 Oct (wedding): moved out to a Butte residence - 1909-c.1913: 505 W Galena (tenant in Ellen's apartment building) - by 1914: 423 N Jackson, Centerville (per 1914 directory; held through 1918 WW1 draft) - by Jan 1920: 2745 State Street, Butte (per 1920 federal census — predates Murphy-Softley founding by 2 months) - 1920-1928: 2745 State Street (held through Murphy-Softley run + likely up to LA move) - 1930: 4334 Victoria area, Venice Township Prec-1, LA (per 1930 federal census, owned $8,750 home) - 1936-1938: 4339 Victoria Ave, LA **AOH career** (from the former Centerville-AOH record): - 1909 (Dec): AOH Division 2 president (with Patrick Lyne as sentinel) - 1910 (Jun): AOH chief sentinel; 100 candidates initiated at Centerville under his oversight - 1911: planned the Irish-American Ball at Columbia Gardens - 1912-1913+: AOH Silver Bow County president - 1916: AOH state treasurer; Friends of Irish Freedom branch organiser - 1920: bond campaign for Irish Republic / Irish Independence support - 1921: Silver Bow delegation to AOH state assembly - 1922 (Mar 17): St. Patrick's banquet self-reported birthplace "Cork, Ireland" (matches GEDCOM Ardgroom) - Cousins Robert and Richard Dwyer drowned at Kilcatherine (Beara) in the 1918 Armistice Day fishing accident — confirms the West Cork / Beara family ties (same parish region as Ardgroom) **LA family**: Household lived at 4339 Victoria Ave LA 1936-1940 and house 4334 (likely Victoria Drive/Ave) per 1930 federal census (Venice Township Prec-1, LA County, ED 19-1536, sheet 15B), owned $8,750 home with radio. NOTE: the "Romping Child" 1930 LA Times clip cited 4300 Victoria Dr; the 1930 census reads 4334; the two close numbers are either a contemporaneous move or one mis-reads the other — worth a future cross-check. All six children enumerated alive at the 1930 census (15 April 1930): Agnes T (20, Telephone Co clerk), Ellen [= Eileen] (18), James J Jr (16), Imelda (12), Joan (8), Frances (6). Frances died 18 June 1930 LA (per GEDCOM, 2 months after the census) — the "Romping Child" LA Times piece must have been published in the brief April-June 1930 window. Children per the user's GEDCOM and the 1940 LA Times Llewellyn-Murphy wedding: Agnes Terese (m. John Paul Ward Llewellyn 1940), Eileen, James Joseph Jr. (m. Marie A. Schueller), Imelda Mary, Joan Claire, Frances M. Per the 1938 obit + 1940 wedding: surviving daughters Agnes / Imelda / Joan / Dahl + son James Jr. The mystery "Dahl" is most likely Eileen — the 1924 school census shows her as "Eileen", the 1930 federal census shows her as "Ellen" (= name variation), and "Dahl" may be a third recorded form or a middle name. Surviving siblings in 1938: brother Dan (= person_daniel_l_murphy_son_of_pat_and_ellen) at Boucher's men's clothing in Butte; sister Theresa Murphy in Seattle. **Distinct from**: - person_james_j_murphy_butte_died_1927 — the "OTHER James J. Murphy" the user separately filed (d. 1927 age 58 at 79 Missoula avenue Butte). Coincidence of surname + Cork-Ireland + Butte; widow ALSO named Agnes Murphy (different woman). NOT family.