1885 Stutsman County (Jamestown ND) census — Murphy cluster: Patrick (26, Bartender, Ireland), James (27, Laborer, Ireland), Daniel (28, Bartender, Ireland)

1885 Dakota Territory Census — Stutsman County (Jamestown) · Stutsman County, Dakota Territory (now North Dakota); Jamestown · 1885

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Summary

Full Stutsman County 1885 Dakota-Territory census in xlsx form, with pivot-table summary sheets by occupation/age + a Master sheet listing each individual. ## CRITICAL FAMILY-IDENTIFICATION FINDING Three Murphy adults in Jamestown 1885 — ALL Ireland-born, all bartender/laborer trades: | # | ED | Name | Age | Occupation | Nativity | |---|---|---|---|---|---| | 515 | 44-011-15 | **Murphy, Patrick** | **26** | **Bartender** | Ireland | | 129 | 44-003-29 | **Murphy, James** | 27 | Laborer | Ireland | | 500 | 44-010-50 | **Murphy, Daniel** ("Danl") | 28 | Bartender | Ireland | All three in Jamestown city; all under separate enumeration districts (ED 11, 3, 10 respectively). **PATRICK MURPHY (= PJM the bartender)**: age 26 in 1885 → born ~1859, matches PJM's 1908 self-stated age 50 (b. ~1858), 1912 obit age 53 (b. ~1859), and the asylum form age 52 (b. ~1856). Ireland-born Bartender by 1885 already — the bartender career predates Butte. This is the SAME Patrick Murphy who filed the Stutsman County Declaration of Intent to Naturalize on 4 Nov 1884 (the existing archive's 1884-11-04 declaration record). Patrick was in Jamestown 1884 (declared intent) and 1885 (census) before his 1887-1888 move to Butte (per his 1908 Butte Daily Post testimony "came to Montana 20 years ago" + the 1912 obit's "resident of this city for 25 years"). **JAMES MURPHY (age 27, Laborer)** — POSSIBLY PJM's BROTHER. Close in age (b. ~1858), Ireland-born, same city. Could plausibly be the brother PJM "left in Ireland" per the 1908 asylum clinical notes — OR a separate James Murphy unrelated. Per PJM's clinical notes' "remembers little of family, says he left them in Ireland," it's possible James was a brother who later joined him in America. Held at family confidence 50 pending corroboration. **DANIEL MURPHY (age 28, Bartender)** — POSSIBLY PJM's BROTHER. Same age range (b. ~1857), Ireland-born, same trade (bartender). Could be a brother and the source of the family naming-pattern for PJM's son Daniel L. Murphy (b. ~1893 Butte). Or a separate Daniel Murphy. Held at family confidence 50 pending corroboration. **NO ELLEN MURPHY** in the 1885 census — Patrick was apparently in Jamestown alone in 1885. Consistent with the family reconstruction: Patrick m. Ellen Lyne 13 Feb 1881 Kilcatherine → eldest son James b. 1883 in Ireland → Patrick emigrated alone 1883-1884 → Ellen + infant James joined later (probably 1886-1887) → family moved to Butte ~1888. No "Lyne / Lyon" entries match a known family Lyne in Jamestown 1885 either (the visible Lyons are NY/IL/Wisconsin-born American natives, not Irish Lynes). ## OCCUPATION CONTEXT (peripheral) The 1885 census shows the typical small-frontier-city Jamestown occupation mix: 61 Carpenters, 42 Clerks, 16 Bartenders, 16 Attorneys, 14 Cooks, 12 Boardinghouse keepers, 10 Barbers, 10 Blacksmiths, 10 Butchers, plus tradesmen (Bookbinder, Brewer, Bricklayer, etc.). Patrick + Daniel were 2 of the 16 city Bartenders — a respectable trade in 1885 Jamestown. ## BROADER USE This xlsx is a research-grade primary source covering 2380+ Jamestown individuals. Beyond the Murphy cluster, it's a Beara-and-Irish-emigrant cross-reference database for the Jamestown phase of the family arc (1883-1888 Murphy-in- Jamestown era + the parallel 1883-1898 Klaus-Vennum-Murphy Jamestown cohort).

Household as enumerated

Name as printedRoleAgeBornBirthplaceOccupationConf.
Murphy, Patrickenumerated26~1859IrelandBartender95
Murphy, Jamesenumerated27~1858IrelandLaborer50
Murphy, Danlenumerated28~1857IrelandBartender50

People — link detail

  • role: enumerated · family confidence: 95 certain

    age: 26 · born: ~1859 · birthplace: Ireland · occupation: Bartender

    PJM the bartender in Jamestown 1885 at age 26 — already a bartender; Ireland-born; matches all other PJM age sources to within 1-3 years. Confirms PJM's pre-Butte Jamestown period 1884-1885 (Stutsman declaration of intent 1884 + this 1885 census). Family confidence 95 (raised from the earlier 75 in the cross-referenced declaration document).

  • role: enumerated · family confidence: 50 candidate

    age: 27 · born: ~1858 · birthplace: Ireland · occupation: Laborer

    Plausibly PJM's brother. Same city, similar age, Ireland- born. Held at confidence 50 pending Beara/Cork Murphy-line corroboration. NOT confirmed family. Could be a separate James Murphy of Jamestown 1885.

  • role: enumerated · family confidence: 50 candidate

    age: 28 · born: ~1857 · birthplace: Ireland · occupation: Bartender

    Plausibly PJM's brother. Same city, similar age, Ireland- born, same trade. The naming pattern for PJM's surviving son Daniel L. Murphy (b. ~1893 Butte) could be after this Daniel — a common Irish-American naming convention. Held at family confidence 50 pending corroboration.

Places

Themes

Story threads

Tags

  • source_primary_family
  • candidate_family
  • evidence_corroborating
  • book_chapter_material

Related sources

Open questions

  • Are James (27, Laborer) and Daniel (28, Bartender) — both Ireland-born Murphys in Jamestown 1885 — PJM's brothers? Most plausibly yes given the age + city + nativity convergence; but unconfirmed. PJM's clinical-note "remembers little of family, left them in Ireland" doesn't rule out brothers having later emigrated separately.
  • Where was Ellen Murphy (PJM's wife) in 1885? Not in the Stutsman County census. Most plausibly still in Ireland with infant James (b. 1883 Ardgroom), only emigrating later ~1886-1887.
  • Are Daniel Murphy bartender 1885 Jamestown and Daniel L. Murphy 1880s-1938 Butte different generations of the same family naming pattern (uncle + nephew)?

Source ID: 1885_stutsman-county-nd_state-census-jamestown-murphy-cluster

Reference: Digitized xlsx workbook of the full Stutsman County 1885 census (~2380 individuals on "Master" sheet, ~2562 on the raw "Sheet1"). Columns: number, ED (enumeration district), Name, Age, grouping age, Occupation, Nativity, Foreign, Address, City. Plus pivot/summary sheets (Sheet3 through Sheet9) by occupation and age.

Accessed by lukedmurphy on 2026-05-27.