JAMES MURPHY DIES ON COAST

Summary

Sub-head: "Former Manager of Boys' Department at Hennessy's Illness Victim." **James Murphy, about 55, former Butte business man**, died at his home in Los Angeles, Calif., Saturday night (Dec 17 1938). Career: "Mr. Murphy for a number of years was manager of the boys' department in Hennessy's store. Later he was associated in a clothing store where Walker's Cigar store now is located. About 10 years ago he went to Los Angeles with his family." "Since moving to Los Angeles Mr. Murphy has been manager of the boys' section of two department stores. More recently he sold men's clothing. About a year ago he was forced to retire because of ill health." Last visit to Butte: "last summer when he spent about three weeks in the Mining city." Origin: "He was a native of Ireland but had lived in Butte for a number of years." **Survivors:** - Brother **Dan**, employed at Boucher's men's clothing store (Butte) - Sister **Theresa Murphy**, of Seattle - Wife (unnamed) - Four daughters: **Agnes, Inelda, Joan and Dahl** - Son and daughter-in-law: Mr. and Mrs. James Murphy Jr. - Mother-in-law: **Mrs. Mary Kelly**, all of Los Angeles Dan Murphy left Butte yesterday (Dec 18) for Los Angeles to attend the funeral. ARCHIVE SIGNIFICANCE. **This is the obituary of the LA Murphy patriarch** — directly identifies with the existing `person_james_murphy_son_of_pat_and_ellen` (father of James J. Murphy Jr. b. ~1914, Agnes Terese Murphy b. somewhere 1910s, etc.) and `person_mrs_james_j_murphy_la_1940` (mother of James J. Jr., Agnes Terese, Dahl, Imelda, Joan Claire per the 1940 Llewellyn wedding). The 1938 obit names four surviving daughters as Agnes / Inelda / Joan / Dahl — exact match with the four daughters named in the 1940 wedding coverage (Agnes Terese / Imelda / Joan Claire / Dahl). **Key new biographical facts** (per the obit's verbatim statements): (1) **b. c. 1883** (age "about 55" at death Dec 17 1938 ⇒ born c. 1883). Slightly later than the existing implied birth date. (2) **Native of Ireland** (specifically stated). The existing Pat-Ellen line has Pat as Cork-Irish-born (1859, in Butte c. 1887). James as son of Pat-Ellen would be Butte-born unless emigrated young; the 1938 obit says he was born in Ireland — i.e. James emigrated as a child or was born just before Pat & Ellen's emigration. The Pat-Ellen-Patrick-Murphy thread previously had this open. (3) **Moved to LA "about 10 years ago"** ⇒ Butte → LA c. 1928. Bookends the Butte residency. (4) **Career at Hennessy's boys' department in Butte** before the LA move. Same boys' department where JJM-Centerville-AOH worked 1898-1915 — this 1938 James Murphy was either a successor or co-worker. Worth noting the boys'-department identity match. (5) **Wife was a daughter of Mrs. Mary Kelly of LA**. The wife's maiden name is therefore Kelly. New genealogical fact for the LA Murphy household. (6) **Brother Dan** (= existing `person_daniel_l_murphy_son_of_pat_and_ellen`) employed at **Boucher's men's clothing store in Butte** as of 1938. Adds Boucher's employment to the Dan Murphy record (= the same Boucher's whose hockey team played Murphy-Softley's in 1923). Dan still in Butte 1938; later in Seattle/Wyoming by 1980. (7) **Sister Theresa Murphy of Seattle** — already documented as `person_theresa_murphy_daughter_of_pat_and_ ellen`. Per scope-shift directive: holding all of the above as fact-derivations from the obituary text; NOT promoting any family_confidence changes on people.yaml. The book-supplemental records will arrive in a future folder. **PARENTAGE CONFIRMED PER USER SIGNAL (2026-05-26):** The 1938 obit's "Survivors" section names only siblings, wife, children, and mother-in-law — it does NOT name parents. However, the user confirms (drawing on family knowledge and the supplemental records that will arrive in a future folder outside archive/clippings/) that **this James Murphy IS the son of Patrick Murphy (the bartender d. 1912-04-23 at 3 West Agate) and Ellen Murphy (d. 1935-08 at the Fox Hotel)**. Identification therefore rests on (a) family-composition pattern match with the existing Pat-Ellen-James-Daniel- Theresa record cluster — brother Dan, sister Theresa Murphy of Seattle, son James Jr. all align — PLUS (b) user-supplied parentage confirmation. The combination upgrades this from inference-by-pattern to confirmed identification. Per the user's vigilance discipline, the parentage claim is explicitly flagged as USER-CONFIRMED, NOT text-evident from the 1938 obit alone.

People

• James Joseph "James J." Murphy (b. 1883 Ardgroom; d. 1938 LA)(as printed: James Murphy)
  role: deceased subject · family confidence: 10 flag
• Daniel L. Murphy (Butte, b. 1894)(as printed: Dan)
  role: surviving brother butte bouchers employee · family confidence: 10 flag
• Theresa Murphy (Seattle)(as printed: Theresa Murphy)
  role: surviving sister seattle · family confidence: 10 flag
• Mrs. James J. Murphy (Victoria Ave LA, 1940)(as printed: his wife)
  role: surviving widow · family confidence: 10 flag

  Adds new fact: wife's mother is Mrs. Mary Kelly of LA, so the wife's maiden name is Kelly.

• James J. Murphy Jr. (b. 20 Mar 1914 Butte MT; d. 1972; user's paternal grandfather)(as printed: Mr. James Murphy Jr.)
  role: surviving son · family confidence: 10 flag
• Agnes Terese Murphy (m. Llewellyn 1940)(as printed: Agnes)
  role: surviving daughter · family confidence: 10 flag

  Print form here is "Agnes" only; the 1940 Llewellyn wedding coverage gives her full name "Agnes Terese."

Also mentioned

• Inelda · surviving_daughter

  = Imelda per the 1940 wedding coverage. Inelda/Imelda spelling drift.

• Joan · surviving_daughter

  = Joan Claire per the 1940 wedding coverage.

• Dahl · surviving_daughter

  Distinctive name. Matches the 1940 wedding's Dahl Murphy.

• Mrs. James Murphy Jr. · surviving_daughter_in_law

  = Marie A. Schueller-Murphy per the 1936-10 marriage-license clipping.

• Mrs. Mary Kelly · surviving_mother_in_law_la

  Mother-in-law of the deceased — i.e., mother of his wife. The LA wife's maiden name is therefore Kelly. New genealogical fact.

• Walker's Cigar store · building_landmark_butte_referenced_as_location_of_later_clothing_store
• Boucher's men's clothing store · bouchers_butte_dan_murphys_1938_employer

Places

• Butte, Montana (primary)
• Los Angeles, California (primary)
• Seattle, Washington (secondary)
• Ireland (secondary)

Themes

• obituary
• death
• irish_american_community
• butte_economic_life
• emigration_from_ireland

Story threads

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

Tags

• candidate_family
• evidence_primary
• heavy

Source type

obituary

Related sources

• 1912-04-24 — The Butte Miner, p.6 — PATRICK MURPHY DEAD.
• 1930-06-18 — The Los Angeles Times, p.22 — Romping Child Drops Dead of Heart Disease
• 1935-08-24_montana-standard_ellen-murphy-fox-hotel-death(unresolved)
• 1936-10-07_los-angeles-times_marriage-license-murphy-schueller(unresolved)
• 1940-11-09_los-angeles-times_llewellyn-murphy-wedding(unresolved)

Open questions

• Update person_james_murphy_son_of_pat_and_ellen with: - Death date 1938-12-17 LA, age "about 55" ⇒ b. c. 1883 - Born in Ireland (per this obit's verbatim) - Career at Hennessy's boys' department before LA move - Moved Butte → LA c. 1928 (10 years before this 1938 obit) - Manager of boys' section at two LA department stores; later sold men's clothing - Forced to retire about a year before death due to ill health
• Update person_mrs_james_j_murphy_la_1940 with: - Maiden name = Kelly (mother Mrs. Mary Kelly of LA per this obit)
• Update person_daniel_l_murphy_son_of_pat_and_ellen with: - Employed at Boucher's men's clothing store in Butte as of Dec 1938 - Still in Butte at that date (later moved to Seattle and eventually died New Castle WY 1980)
• The "5 daughters" claim in the existing person_mrs_james_j_murphy_la_1940 record (James Jr., Dahl, Agnes Terese, Imelda, Joan Claire — 4 daughters + 1 son) matches this 1938 obit exactly. No revision needed.