PATRICK J. MURPHY IS FOUND INSANE
The Daily Inter Mountain, Butte, 1908-03-23, p.10
Summary
Single short news item. Patrick J. Murphy, aged 52, a native of County Cork, Ireland, residing at 120 West Quartz street, was found insane by Drs. Horst and Turner this morning and ordered committed to the insane asylum at Warm Springs by Judge Donlan this morning. Sub-heads: "BARTENDER COMMITTED TO INSANE ASYLUM BY COMMISSION. / HE IS GIVEN TO BAD SPELLS. / Wife and Three Children in Danger From Him." Anchor clipping for the "bartender PJM insanity" cluster (six related clippings in this Stage 6 ingest: this commitment, the "well-known bartender" sister-paper coverage same day, an Ellen-and-Maggie defence ("sick not insane"), a "burden to the family / raging drunk", a State Asylum disposition, and a poor-farm follow-up). All six concern this same Patrick J. Murphy of 120 W. Quartz st., a 52-year-old Cork-born bartender. Identity question for person_patrick_j_murphy_butte_aoh: the existing AOH-active Patrick J. Murphy (1889 Reception Committee, 1900 Ward 1 Democratic delegate) shares the name and middle initial. Two-records rule applies: holding this 1908 bartender as a separate record (person_patrick_j_murphy_ bartender_1908) but noting the possible identification.
In its time
Narrative
Patrick J. Murphy, aged 52, a native of County Cork living at 120 West Quartz street, was examined by Drs. Horst and Turner and found insane, and Judge Donlan ordered him committed to the asylum at Warm Springs. Murphy, a bartender, was said to be given to bad spells, with his wife and three children considered in danger from him.
- “HE IS GIVEN TO BAD SPELLS”
- “Wife and Three Children in Danger From Him”
AI-generated (claude-opus-5). Verify against the transcription before quoting.
People
- Patrick "Pat" J. Murphy (Cork-born bartender / shoemaker; d. 1912 Warm Springs MT)(as printed: Patrick J. Murphy)role: subject · family confidence: 100 certain
Cork native + middle initial J + age (b. ~1856) + Butte residence are enough distinguishing detail to flag as a candidate. Wife and three children — including the Ellen and Maggie Murphy who later defended him in the press. Held at 25 (Plausible/Weak boundary). Possible identification with person_patrick_j_murphy_butte_aoh open.
- Judge Michael Donlan (Butte; heard the 1908 insanity complaints against Patrick J. Murphy)(as printed: Judge Donlan)role: committing judge · family confidence: 0 not family
- Dr. Christopher Turner (Butte physician; insanity commissions of 1908 and 1912)(as printed: Dr. Turner)role: examining physician · family confidence: 0 not family
- Ellen (Lyne) Murphy (b. Ardgroom; m. Patrick Murphy 1881; d. Butte 1935)(as printed: Wife)role: wife of subject · family confidence: 95 certain
Also mentioned
- Dr. Horst · examining_physician
Places
- Butte, Montana (primary)
- Warm Springs, Montana (secondary)
- County Cork (context)
Themes
Story threads
Tags
Source type
news_item, court_report
Transcription
Dotted underlines mark key terms on first mention — hover or tab to one for a reference note. The wording is the source’s own.
Open questions
- Are person_patrick_j_murphy_butte_aoh and person_patrick_j_ murphy_bartender_1908 the same man? The AOH PJM was Reception Committee in 1889 (age ~33 if born 1856) and Ward 1 delegate in 1900 (age ~44). By 1908 he would be ~52 — exactly the age of the bartender. Lump-rather-than-split bias says yes; the archive's two-records rule says hold separate until evidence consolidates. The user's filename "bartender_Patrick_J_Murphy" suggests a single bartender in the user's research orbit.