PAT MURPHY FOUND TO BE SICK AND NOT INSANE

The Butte Miner, Butte, 1908-01-08, p.12

Summary

The FIRST insanity hearing for Pat Murphy — the one the Mar 24 Anaconda Standard later refers to as "examined on a charge of insanity once before, but was not found insane at that time." Held in Judge Donlan's court on 7 January 1908. Complaint sworn by his wife, Mrs. Ellen Murphy. Testimony: "the man was sick, probably from excessive indulgence in strong drink." Mrs. Murphy stated her husband was a great care to her, as he was in bed sick most of the time. Maggie Murphy (sister) and Mary Sullivan gave similar testimony. Outcome: not insane, but committed to the county poor-farm on account of his sickness. Names the three women in Pat's orbit: Ellen (wife), Maggie (sister), and Mary Sullivan (relationship not stated; likely a sister or close family). Together with the Mar 23–24 follow-up this establishes the household: Pat + Ellen + three children + sister Maggie at 120 W. Quartz street, Butte.

People

Patrick "Pat" J. Murphy (Cork-born bartender / shoemaker; d. 1912 Warm Springs MT)(as printed: Pat Murphy)
role: subject · family confidence: 10 flag
Ellen Murphy (wife of Pat, 1908 hearings)(as printed: Mrs. Ellen Murphy)
role: complainant wife · family confidence: 10 flag
Wife of the bartender Pat Murphy. Swore the original insanity complaint. Distinct from person_ellen_murphy_wife_of_dennis_ 1892 (the Cork-1878-marriage Ellen who deserted Dennis Aug 1889) and from person_ellen_murphy_fox_hotel_1935 (the Fox-hotel Ellen who died 1935 in Butte). Three separate Ellen Murphys in the Butte cohort; two-records rule.
Margaret Murphy (alias of person_margaret_murphy_sister_of_pat_bartender)(as printed: Maggie Murphy)
role: testifying sister · family confidence: 10 flag
Sister of the bartender Pat Murphy. Testified at the Jan 1908 hearing. Marg/Maggie/Margaret — same person across variants.

Also mentioned

Mary Sullivan · testifying_witness
Relationship to Pat Murphy not explicitly stated. Possibly his sister-in-law (if Ellen was a Sullivan) or another sister of Pat married to a Sullivan. Sullivan is a Beara surname; worth flagging.
Judge Donlan · presiding_judge
Same Judge Donlan as the Mar 1908 commitment.

Places

Butte, Montana (primary)

Themes

Story threads

Source type

news_item, court_report

Related sources

Transcription

transcription: complete · confidence high

# PAT MURPHY FOUND TO BE SICK AND NOT INSANE *The Butte Miner, Wednesday, January 8, 1908, p. 12.* Pat Murphy was examined in Judge Donlan's court yesterday on a charge of insanity, the complaint being sworn to by his wife, Mrs. Ellen Murphy. The testimony was that the man was sick, probably from excessive indulgence in strong drink. Mrs. Murphy stated that her husband was a great care to her, as he was in bed sick most of the time. Similar testimony was given by Maggie Murphy, a sister, and Mary Sullivan. It was decided that the man was not insane, but he was ordered committed to the county poor-farm on account of his sickness.

Open questions

Mary Sullivan's relationship to Pat Murphy — sister-in-law via an Ellen-Sullivan maiden name? sister of Pat married to a Sullivan? Worth chasing through the 1900 / 1910 census.
The same page carries a "Personal" column whose attorney listing includes Peter Breen, "one of the counsel for the defense in the cases against William D. Haywood and George A. Pettibone" — the 1907 WFM trial. Recorded in this page's page_metadata.yaml peripheral_items.