Mary (Murphy) Sullivan (PJM's sister; m. a Sullivan; Butte 1908; possibly Yellowstone-county Mary A. Sullivan 1909 probate)
Also known as: Mary Sullivan
family confidence: 75 — strongMurphy (paternal)
PJM's sister Mary, who married a (unidentified) Sullivan and was a Butte resident in January 1908. Explicitly identified as PJM's sister in the 1908-01-07 Butte Daily Post: "Mary Sullivan, a sister of Patrick Murphy." Testified at PJM's Jan 7 1908 insanity commission hearing (alongside Ellen Murphy and Maggie Murphy). POSSIBLY = the Mary A. Sullivan of Yellowstone county appointed guardian of Margaret Murphy in the 1909-04-07 probate of the Ellen Murphy estate (would make the 1909 probate a directly family event, not a peripheral namesake). Pending corroboration. Mary Sullivan-Murphy was therefore JJM's PATERNAL AUNT — new aunt added to the family tree from the 1908 commission coverage. An older stub record for the same 1908 witness was merged here 2026-10-03. **Who she was: candidates weighed 2026-10-03.** The two reports of the 7 Jan 1908 hearing differ. Butte Daily Post, 7 Jan: "Maggie Murphy, a niece, and Mary Sullivan, a sister of Patrick Murphy". Butte Miner, 8 Jan: "Maggie Murphy, a sister, and Mary Sullivan". Maggie was Patrick's sister (1910 census, 1912 obituary), so the Post has at least one label wrong. - **Niece Mary Sullivan** (b. 28 May 1886, Ardgroom), second child of Patrick's sister Kate and Paddy "Tailor" O'Sullivan (Annals II p. 270). Fits if the Post swapped its two labels. Her sister Nora came to Butte in 1906 and was in Ellen's household in 1910; brother Phil also "went to Butte"; the family tree puts the 7 Jan 1908 event on her. No record yet places her in Butte. - **Sister Mary (Murphy) O'Sullivan** (bapt. Dec 1846, Ballycrovane), Seamus Mór's eldest, "first wife of her 3rd cousin Jack O'Sullivan" ("Jack Dorohy") of Deargrua, who "later married Nora O'Sullivan" of Caolrua (Annals II p. 270). The "Mary Sullivan, Patrick's sister" of Dan Murphy's 2022 Castletownbere note. As a first wife she presumably died in Beara before Jack remarried; nothing places her in Butte. - **Ellen's sister Mary Sullivan** (b. c. 1856-62), daughter of Margaret Shea's first marriage to John Sullivan: "Her first husband died after a few years of married life leaving her with one daughter, Mary" (Terese Murphy to Imelda, 20 Sept 1971, the only source for her). A full sister, not a half- sister, if Ellen was also John Sullivan's daughter, as now recorded. No register entry for her has been found, and it is not known whether she came to Butte. Not settled. A Butte directory entry or passenger manifest for the niece, or the Annals' Deargrua entry for Jack Dorohy's two families, would decide it.
Facts
Each fact shows how sure the archive is of it (0–100) and the sources it rests on.
- Birth:
- unknown date, Clounaglaskin 502026-05-27 — Luke Murphy family tree (Ancestry.com)No source gives her birthplace. Clounaglaskin comes from the disfavoured Tady framework; the tree's witness record says only 'Cork, Cork, Ireland' (uncited).
- Residence:
- Butte, Montana
| Date | Fact | Conf. | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1908-01 | residence · In Butte in January 1908 (Butte, Montana) Inference from her testimony in court; neither report gives an address. | 75 | 1908-01-07 — The Butte Daily Post, p.6; 1908-01-08 — The Butte Miner, p.12 |
| 1908-01-07 | event · Testified at Patrick Murphy's insanity hearing before Judge Donlan: 'Maggie Murphy, a niece, and Mary Sullivan, a sister of Patrick Murphy, testified to the same facts' (Post); 'Similar testimony was given by Maggie Murphy, a sister, and Mary Sullivan' (Miner) (Butte, Montana) Two reports of the same hearing. | 100 | 1908-01-07 — The Butte Daily Post, p.6; 1908-01-08 — The Butte Miner, p.12 |
| — | description · The tree holds a 'Mary Sullivan' (@I322232832296@), born Cork, spouse 'Sullivan', the 7 Jan 1908 event, died 1910 at Butte (uncited) That the tree says it; the death is unverified (25). | 100 | 2026-05-27 — Luke Murphy family tree (Ancestry.com) |
Relationships
Family (blood)
- sister of Patrick "Pat" J. Murphy (Cork-born bartender / shoemaker; d. 1912 Warm Springs MT)10Only the Post says 'a sister', in a sentence whose other label is wrong. Patrick's only known sister Mary (Dec. 1846) was 'first wife' of Jack Dorohy O'Sullivan in Beara, so apparently dead before he remarried (5). 'Sister' as sister-in-law (Ellen's sister Mary) would make the edge wrong in kind. · 1908-01-07 — The Butte Daily Post, p.6; 1908-01-08 — The Butte Miner, p.12; undated — Riobárd Ó Dwyer, "Who Were My Ancestors? Annals of Beara," Volume II
Nexus
Open the full web →blood relationmarriageother documented tienamed in the same sources (×count)circle colour = family branch
Appears with
- Patrick "Pat" J. Murphy (Cork-born bartender / shoemaker; d. 1912 Warm Springs MT)2 shared sources
- Ellen (Lyne) Murphy (b. Ardgroom; m. Patrick Murphy 1881; d. Butte 1935)2 shared sources
- Miss Margaret Murphy (b. ~1867-70 Eyeries Co. Cork; emigrated 1892; never married; sister of Pat the bartender)2 shared sources
- Judge Michael Donlan (Butte; heard the 1908 insanity complaints against Patrick J. Murphy)2 shared sources
- Barney Boyle (Kildare, 1908)1 shared source
Sources linking to this person
≥75 — High confidence — 2
- 1908-01-07 — The Butte Daily Post, p.6JOHN BARLEYCORN IS VERY BUSY MANrole: testifying_sister · identity 95 family confidence on this source: 95 · as printed: Mary Sullivan
Identity: The witness 'Mary Sullivan'; the record is this witness.
- 1908-01-08 — The Butte Miner, p.12PAT MURPHY FOUND TO BE SICK AND NOT INSANErole: testifying_witness · identity 95 family confidence on this source: 95 · as printed: Mary Sullivan
Identity: The same witness in the Miner's report.