PAT MURPHY FOUND TO BE SICK AND NOT INSANE

Summary

Butte Miner next-day coverage of the same 7 Jan 1908 Judge Donlan commission hearing reported by the Butte Daily Post. Shorter than the Butte Daily Post account but adds the ELLEN MURPHY identification by name (Butte Daily Post called her only "Mrs. Murphy"): > 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. ## KEY ADDITIONS TO THE BUTTE DAILY POST ACCOUNT 1. **The complaint was sworn to by his wife, Mrs. Ellen Murphy** — Ellen herself initiated the insanity proceedings (a major detail about her agency and the family's desperation by January 1908). 2. **"Maggie Murphy, a sister, and Mary Sullivan"** — Butte Miner says **MAGGIE = SISTER**, Mary Sullivan separately (relationship unspecified in this account). Conflicts with the Butte Daily Post Jan 7 ("Maggie Murphy a niece, and Mary Sullivan, a sister of Patrick Murphy"). See the companion clipping's metadata for the disambiguation. 3. "Mrs. Murphy stated that her husband was a great care to her, as he was in bed sick most of the time" — confirms PJM was bedridden / non-functional invalid by Jan 1908.

People

• Patrick Murphy (my ancestor)(as printed: Pat Murphy)
  role: subject · family confidence: 100 certain
• Ellen (Lyne) Murphy (b. Ardgroom; m. Patrick Murphy 1881; d. Butte 1935)(as printed: Mrs. Ellen Murphy)
  role: witness wife complainant · family confidence: 100 certain

  Named in this clipping as Ellen Murphy explicitly. She swore the insanity complaint herself — major detail of her agency in initiating the 1908 commitment chain.

• Mary (Murphy) Sullivan (PJM's sister; m. a Sullivan; Butte 1908; possibly Yellowstone-county Mary A. Sullivan 1909 probate)(as printed: Mary Sullivan)
  role: witness · family confidence: 95 certain

  Same person as in the Jan 7 Butte Daily Post (where she is explicitly named PJM's sister). Butte Miner here does not specify relationship.

• Miss Margaret Murphy (b. ~1867-70 Eyeries Co. Cork; emigrated 1892; never married; sister of Pat the bartender)(as printed: Maggie Murphy)
  role: witness sister or niece of pjm · family confidence: 95 certain

  Per this Butte Miner: "a sister" of PJM. Conflicts with the Jan 7 Butte Daily Post ("a niece"). See companion clipping's open question.

Places

• Butte, Montana (primary)
• Silver Bow County, Montana (primary)

Themes

• irish_american_community
• court_proceedings
• public_health

Story threads

• The Pat-and-Ellen Murphy household — Butte 1887 to LA 1980

Tags

• source_primary_family
• direct_family
• evidence_corroborating
• book_chapter_material

Source type

news_report, court_record

Related sources

• 1908-01-07 — The Butte Daily Post, p.6 — JOHN BARLEYCORN IS VERY BUSY MAN — HE SENDS MURPHY TO THE POOR FARM, AN INVALID; BOYLE GOES TO THE ASYLUM
• 1908-03-23 — Montana State Hospital admission records — Patient P. J. Murphy — Patrick J. Murphy asylum admission record — Warm Springs MT, 23 March 1908, age 52, bartender, 8 children only 3 living

Open questions

• Maggie Murphy — SISTER (this Butte Miner) or NIECE (Butte Daily Post Jan 7)? See companion clipping's open question.