NY arrival of Ellen Murphy 30 + James Murphy 4 (= JJM), destination Miles City Montana

New York, Passenger and Crew Lists (including Castle Garden and Ellis Island), 1820-1957 · Port of New York, USA · ~1887

date confidence: estimated

passenger listprimary focus

Summary

Page from the New York passenger and crew list (Castle Garden / Ellis Island), Roll M237 1820-1897, image 373/708. Ship and exact arrival date are at the top of the manifest page (not visible in this crop) — Roll M237 contains pre-1897 (i.e., pre-Ellis-Island, Castle Garden era) NY arrivals. Murphy family entries (group 120 on this manifest page): - **Ellen Murphy**, 30, F, Matron, destination **Miles City Montana** - **James Murphy**, 4, M, Child, destination Miles City Montana Adjacent entry just above (row 9 of family 119 or similar): - **Murphy**, 25, F — surname ditto; first name not visible in this crop. Possibly a sister-in-law travelling with Ellen. CONFIRMS: 1. **Ellen + JJM emigrated together**, with JJM age 4. 2. **Destination Miles City Montana** — Patrick had moved from Jamestown ND (1884) to Miles City Montana by the time Ellen joined him c. 1887. This bridges the Jamestown chapter and the Butte chapter. 3. **JJM age 4 in ~1887** confirms his July 1883 birth date against the 1900 census's "immigrated 1892" claim. The 1892 census-reported date is wrong by ~5 years — Ellen + JJM actually arrived c. 1887. (Possible explanations: census informant confusion, or a second voyage by Ellen and JJM after a return trip to Ireland; the latter is unlikely.)

People

Also mentioned

  • Murphy · possible_relative

    Female passenger age 25, surname Murphy, row immediately above the Ellen+James pair. First name not legible in this rendering. Possibly Patrick's sister Catherine (b. ~1864, would be ~23 in 1887) or another Murphy relative travelling with Ellen. Worth a vision pass to read the full row.

Places

Themes

Story threads

Tags

  • source_primary_family
  • evidence_corroborating
  • direct_family
  • book_chapter_material

Related sources

Open questions

  • Ship name + exact arrival date — not visible in this image crop. The manifest page would have the steamship name and date at the top. Worth a vision pass with --focus on the page header.
  • The "Murphy 25 F" passenger immediately above Ellen — first name not readable. Could be Catherine Murphy (Patrick's sister) or another relative. Vision pass would resolve.
  • The image filename says "Ellen Murphy 30 and James Murphy 4" — these ages match a ~1887 arrival; consistent with JJM age 4.

Source ID: _unknown-date_ny-passenger-list_ellen-and-james-murphy-arrival

Reference: Roll M237, 1820-1897, Roll 586, image 373 of 708

Accessed by lukedmurphy on 2026-05-27.