JAMES MURPHY DIES ON COAST

The Montana Standard, Butte, 1938-12-19, p.3

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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_agnes_kelly_murphy` (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.

In its time

Narrative

James Murphy, about 55, a native of Ireland and for years manager of the boys' department at Hennessy's store in Butte, died at his home in Los Angeles on Saturday night. He had moved west with his family about ten years earlier, managing boys' sections in two department stores and later selling men's clothing before ill health forced his retirement a year before his death. He is survived by his wife, four daughters, a son and daughter-in-law, his mother-in-law Mrs. Mary Kelly, a brother Dan of Butte, and a sister Theresa Murphy of Seattle; Dan Murphy left Butte for the funeral.

  • “His last visit to Butte was last summer when he spent about three weeks in the Mining city.”
  • “Friends at that time commented on the fact that he appeared unusually healthy.”

AI-generated (claude-opus-5). Verify against the transcription before quoting.

People

Also mentioned

  • 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

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obituary

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Transcription
transcription: complete · confidence high
# JAMES MURPHY DIES ON COAST ## Former Manager of Boys' Department at Hennessy'sButte: companies, unions & placesHennessy’sfounded 1886The D. J. Hennessy Mercantile Company, Butte’s leading department store. Its 1898 building at Granite and Main also housed the Anaconda company’s offices on the top floor.More in Key terms → Illness Victim *The Montana Standard (Butte), Monday, December 19, 1938, p. 3.* James Murphy, about 55, former Butte business man, died at his home in Los Angeles, Calif., Saturday night, according to word received by friends here yesterday. 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. His last visit to Butte was last summer when he spent about three weeks in the Mining city. Friends at that time commented on the fact that he appeared unusually healthy. His death came as a shock to his many friends and former business associates. He was a native of Ireland but had lived in Butte for a number of years. Survivors include a brother, Dan, employed at Boucher's men's clothing store; a sister, Theresa Murphy, of Seattle; his wife, four daughters, Agnes, Inelda, Joan and Dahl; a son and daughter-in-law, Mr. and Mrs. James Murphy Jr., and his mother-in-law, Mrs. Mary Kelly, all of Los Angeles. Dan Murphy left Butte yesterday for Los Angeles to attend the funeral. ## Correction from the dossier pass (26 Sept 2026, Opus agent clips-c2, read from the image) The paper prints "Inelda" for Imelda; the machine transcription silently corrected it.

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

  • 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_agnes_kelly_murphy 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_agnes_kelly_murphy record (James Jr., Dahl, Agnes Terese, Imelda, Joan Claire — 4 daughters + 1 son) matches this 1938 obit exactly. No revision needed.