The Story of Matthew Murphy

(born 1814, Portarlington, Kings Co., Ireland;

died January 18, 1887, Britannia, Nepean Twp., Ontario, Canada)

Matthew Murphy was from a Protestant family, of the Church of England denomination. We think they left Portarlington, Ireland, about 1825, possibly via the port of Newry bound for New York, when Matthew was 10 years old. We know they arrived in the Bytown area in 1828.

We know that Matthew's parents are "Thomas and Julia Murphy", due to this information on the marriage registration for Matthew's 2nd marriage, that took place in 1875 when Matthew was 60!

The registers of Christschurch, Bytown, record that Thomas Murphy, a shoemaker aged 56, died on May 12, 1833. This information places his year of birth at about 1777. We also know that he was born in Kings County, Ireland.

As far as Thomas' wife, Julia, is concerned, we don't know much yet. We have her burial record at ChristChurch, Aylmer, that records the date of her death (Feb 25 1864) and her age at her death (77), which places her year of birth around 1788. we only have one other definite record of Julia Murphy, which is in the Census of Aylmer in 1851. She and her youngest son Henry (a tinsmith) were living in Aylmer at that time. Julia is listed as "Julia G. Murphy" but we do not -- as yet -- know her middle or maiden names.

Alas -- Henry died a short time later, on September 17th 1854, at the age of 33. Presumably, since Julia was still alive (in her late seventies), John Murphy and his 2nd wife, Abigail Draper, who were also living in Aylmer, must have taken over her care. As mentioned above, her burial record refers to her as a resident of Aylmer.

According to historical sources ("History of the Upper Ottawa" by Anson Gard), Matthew, his father, five brothers and a sister arrived in the Bytown area around 1828. These are the children of Thomas and Julia that we're pretty sure of:

• John (b. 1809; d. 1881, Ottawa, Ontario)
• William
• Simon
• Thomas Jr. (b. Abt 1813, Kings Co., Ireland; d. Aug. 3, 1871, Ottawa, Ontario)
• Matthew (b. 1814, Portarlington, Kings Co., Ireland; d. January 18th, 1887, Nepean Twp., Ontario)
• Edward Henry "Henry"(b. Abt 1821; d. Sept. 17, 1854)

This matches the historical account of Anson Gard quite well, leaving unknown the sister that we are still searching for.

Of Matthew's siblings, we know most of all about his brother John. He was known as "John the Penman" due to his writing skills. (Read his story here: "John "The Penman" Murphy")

Matthew Murphy's early life is not well known. Our information is that he worked on the Erie Canal (in New York State) and perhaps on the Welland Canal in the Niagara area as well. It should be said that the main work on the Erie Canal was completed by 1825 (when Matthew was only 11!) so we feel that this tradition is probably in error. If Matthew ever worked on the Erie Canal, it is possible he was involved in an expansion project that was begun circa 1835.

There is historical information collected on his visit to Queenston Heights in June 1839 during a trip through the USA and the Canadas, reportedly with his brother Simon.

During this trip, in June 1840, Matthew became moderately famous. As separately documented in this Website, Matthew climbed the ruins of the Brock Monument at Queenston Heights to plant the British flag in commemoration of the battle that repelled the American invasion in 1812. (Read the story of "A Bytown Youth!")

Matthew married Elizabeth Catherine "Betsy" Ebert on June 27th, 1842, at Christschurch in Bytown. Elizabeth was the daughter of Martin Jr. Ebert and Roxanne Waller. The wedding was performed by Anglican minister "the Reverend Samuel Spratt Strong", who was later to baptise many of the children of this marriage in the same church. Listed as in attendance appear the following: "Henry Murphy", "Christiana Cuming", "James Murphy", "Simon Murphy", "Thomas Murphy", "John Murphy" and "William Murphy". Matthew made "his mark" on the wedding register, which tells us that he was not literate at that time. (However, the 1861 Census record would indicate Matthew had learned both to read and to write sometime after his marriage!). Elizabeth Ebert was listed in the register as being a resident of Clarendon Township of Canada East at the time of her marriage, but we are reasonably sure that she was born in Utica, Oneida County, New York, in 1815.

Matthew and Elizabeth had eight children:

1. William (b. 12 Nov 1843, Bytown; d. 3 Dec 1920, Woodroffe)
2. Eliza Harriet(b. 18 Nov 1845)
3. James Cornelius (b. 3 Aug 1847, Aylmer; d. 15 May 1927, Woodroffe)
4. Ester Louisa (b. 2 Jan 1850)
5. Caroline Amelia (b. 15 Jan 1852)
6. Edward Armstrong (b. 21 Dec 1854)
7. Matthew Jr.(b. 1857)
8. John A. (b. 12 Jan 1860; d. 1941)

It is tempting to wonder whether Matthew first encountered Elizabeth while he worked on the Erie Canal, which passes close by Utica, New York. But this is unlikely, since Elizabeth's youngest brother was born in Lower Canada in 1830, still more evidence that the Martin Ebert family had arrived in the Canadas at nearly the same time as the Murphys. The Ebert family had settled in Clarendon Township, at Concession 2 on the north shore of the Ottawa River, near Shawville. Matthew's elder brother John had married Elizabeth's younger sister Esther in 1837, which was more likely the source of the connection.

From the Baptismal Registers of ChristChurch, Bytown, we know that the first child of Matthew and Elizabeth -- William Henry -- was born and baptised in Bytown in November 1843. The next child, Eliza Harriet, was baptised at Fitzroy Harbour in November 1845. We believe that Matthew was working for Fitzroy founder and landowner Charles Shirreff during this period, perhaps one of several men from adjacent townships who were known to have cleared Shirreff's lands for wages. Or possibly Matthew was one of the workers on Shirreff's canal project to bypass Chat's Falls, which could be the source of the tradition that he was involved in canal construction. According to historical sources, the work on this canal was abandoned in 1847. In any case, the family had indeed returned to the Bytown area by the time of the birth of their third child, James Cornelius, in August 1847, where the record shows he was baptised at Christschurch.

The 1852 Census of Bytown contains a record of the Matthew Murphy family in the Bytown West division. Matthew's name shows correctly in the primary documents but the transcription that is the basis for many public indexes to the 1851 census contains a very confusing error that lists "Matthew" as "Martin". Matthew lists his occupation as "Raft pilot". Along with the transcription error, there is another, more serious error that has caused us to overlook this census entry repeatedly when searching for the Matthew Murphy family. This one cannot be blamed on faulty transcription! The original census record indicates the family of Matthew and Elizabeth Murphy as "Roman Catholic". We should explain that a unique feature of the 1851 Census was that it was to actually completed by the individual householders and later collected by the census takers (rather than the census taker visiting each household, interviewing the inhabitants and recording the results, which has been the normal practice in later censuses). Those householders who could not read or write were instructed to get others to complete and sign the census form, indicating also the person who had provided the information. In this case, Matthew Murphy is indicated as having provided the information but another person completed and signed the form. We cannot know whether this person selected this Murphy family's religious affiliation as "Roman Catholic" due to an assumption or to play some malicious prank. We can only guess what the consequences of this error may have been. Perhaps this incident was the reason Matthew learned to read and write!

By the 1861 Census of Nepean, the Matthew Murphy family is shown residing at Lot 25, Concession 2, Ottawa Front. This location was then a farm at the southwest corner of the intersection of March Road (now called Carling Avenue) and Woodroffe Avenue. The census records that their dwelling was "of log construction, 1 1/2 stories". Even as late as 1860, "Woodroffe Avenue" did not continued south from Carling Avenue to Baseline Road.

The 1861 census further records that Matthew declared his religion as "Church of England" while Elizabeth and all of the children were "Wesleyan Methodist". William (aged 16) and Eliza Harriet (aged 14) are no longer attending school. James (12), Esther (10) and Caroline (8) are indicated as still attending school. "The City Beyond" contains a map series that shows the school district boundaries in different decades. Based on their home's location, their school was SS #3 at Mosgrove, in a stone structure built around 1860 on the Richmond Road. According to historical accounts (such as the "The City Beyond"), in most schools the "desks were angled planks that ran along the side walls, at which the children sat on benches made of split basswood logs, facing the walls". This may have described the earliest version of SS#3, built around 1834.

According to "Hello, Nepean" by Sara Craig (p 81), the SS#3 school as it was in the late 1850's "was a one-room log affair and had such wide cracks between the logs that, on a bitterly cold day in winter, the benches had to be moved close to the stove to keep the children from freezing."

But the schoolhouse at Mosgrove shown above, known as "Bell's Schoolhouse" (like its log predecessors, built on land donated by George and Peter Bell), was a stone structure built in 1887 to replace the old log schoolhouse. Here the children of the affluent citizens of the Richmond Road can be seen attending school in relative luxury! This building still stands near Bayshore, now converted to a dwelling. SS#3 was both the oldest and the most progressive school in rural Nepean.

In any case, the former Matthew Murphy farm in Nepean was probably among those devastated by the great fire of August 1870. Historical accounts relate that all properties along the Richmond Road were burned. The 1871 Census indicates many changes in the 10 years spanning Canadian Confederation.

The Belden Historical Atlas of 1879 records "R & G. Sparks" as the owner of the northern section of Lot 25 (120 acres). The southern section (50 acres) is shown as belonging to "Jas. Geddes". The Sparks family seems to have replaced the two original houses along the March Road with a single, larger house more set back from the road.

By the time of the 1871 census, Matthew Murphy and family had left Nepean. According to "Pioneers of the Upper Ottawa", Matthew and family relocated to South Hull in 1868. "The City Beyond" indicates that there was considerable redevelopment and land subdivision taking place to establish Hintonburg and McKellar Park in 1868. We believe that Matthew Murphy sold his property (Lot 25, Concession 2, Ottawa Front) to the Sparks family, who are shown as the owners of this property in the Belden Atlas of 1879.

From our frequently quoted source, "Pioneers of the Upper Ottawa", we find that the Murphy family went to the McConnell farm "in South Hull". We have located and viewed the 1871 Census records for South Hull and Aylmer in the National Archives of Canada and have confirmed that the McConnell and Murphy families both lived on the John McConnell farm (Lot 13, Concession 1). This locates them directly along the north side of the Ottawa River, about halfway between Deschênes Rapids and where the Champlain Bridge is today. This is now the Rivermead Golf club.

As we know, James Cornelius Murphy went on to marry the eldest daughter of the John McConnell family, Frances Ann ("Fanny") McConnell in October, 1871. (At the time of the census, he is listed as part of the Matthew Murphy household. James must have established his own household by the time of this marriage later the very same year, as he is listed in the marriage register as a resident of Nepean).

Matthew's wife, our ancestor Elizabeth Catherine Ebert, died in 1873 and was buried in Conroy's Cemetery (now known as Bellevue) at Aylmer, Quebec. At 60 years of age(!), Matthew married again, to Martha Wright. The wedding took place in Ottawa on November 9th, 1875. Present at the ceremony were John Murphy and James Murphy. Their ages are not listed but are most likely Matthew's elder brother John and 2nd son James. Martha Wright was, like Matthew's first wife Elizabeth Ebert, a Wesleyan Methodist. The practice of widowers remarrying so late in life was quite usual in this era, unmarried men being quite unable to care for themselves! Due to the disparity in their ages, we have to wonder whether Matthew and Martha were subjected to the annoying folk custom called "the Chivaree" which was often perpetrated when elderly men married younger women. According to this custom, anonymous callers would pay a visit to the honeymooner's residence late on the night of the marriage and disrupt their rest with catcalls and stones pelted at the windows!

We found something quite unexpected in the 1881 census records for Nepean: that Matthew and Martha had an adopted son, Reuben McKeown, aged 12.

Who was Reuben McKeown?

Before we try to answer this riddle, we should warn the reader that we have only enough scraps of information to feed our speculations. "Pioneers of the Upper Ottawa" records that Matthew and Elizabeth's eldest daughter, Eliza Harriet, married one "Reuben McEwen". (We believe this Reuben McEwen, aged 18, who is to be found in the 1861 census two doors away from the Murphys at Concession 2, Lot 23.) The Wesleyan Methodist Baptismal Register further documents that Reuben and Eliza had a son, Reuben, born on March 6th, 1869 in Nepean. By this time, Matthew and Elizabeth had moved to South Hull. Had Matthew sold or given the farm to Reuben McEwen and Harriet in 1868?

Turning again to "Hello, Nepean" (pp 83-84), historian Sara Craig provides us with a glimpse of what happened next:

Let's wonder: did Eliza die in childbirth, with their first child, Reuben, or a subsequent one? Matthew and Elizabeth (still living in 1869 at Reuben Jr.'s birth) could easily have taken Reuben Jr. (their first grandchild) into their home. Supporting this theory, Reuben McKeown (aged 2) and Sarah McKeown (less than 1 year old) are shown living as adopted children of Matthew Murphy and Elizabeth Ebert in the 1871 Census of South Hull. At the same time, Reuben McEwen Sr. is shown in the 1871 census of Nepean living at his parents' farm and his marital status is indicated as "widower". He remarried in 1875 and brought his second wife from the Brockville area to settle again in Nepean.

The 1881 census locates Matthew, his second wife and their grandson Reuben McKeown (McEwen) back in Nepean, living on a farm on the same lot as his son William Murphy and his family, but in a separate household. The Census records that Reuben "McKeown" was attending school. Based on the 1880 school district map, he, like his parents, attended PS #13 in Merivale. There is no mention of Sarah McKeown (or McEwen). We have the happy information that (some years later), "Mr. & Mrs. R. McEwen Jr." of Renfrew had at least two daughters (1902 and 1905).

A Long Life

By 1881, Matthew and Elizabeth's son William and his wife, Mary Jane Ramsay, have had five children of their own. As mentioned above, they were located on the same lot as Matthew Murphy, at Lot 20, Concession 1, Rear, which is on the south side of Fallowfield Road, on the east corner of the intersection with Woodroffe Avenue.

The 1881 census listed Matthew's occupation, not as a farmer but as "lighthouse keeper". We don't know any details about this career taken up so late in life or where he may have been stationed. We do know there were more than 40 lighthouses at that time on Lake Ontario alone. We believe that he was must have been stationed at the Britannia Light, just above Deschênes Rapids, near the modern-day location of Andrew Haydon Park, close to his residence. If so, he would have had to row out to the lighthouse each day during the river navigation season, since other accounts indicate the Britannia lighthouse was accessible only by boat.

Matthew Murphy died at the age of 72 at his residence in Britannia on January 18, 1887, survived by his second wife, Martha Wright. Martha lived on for more than 20 years, and died at the age of 79 at the Perley Home in Ottawa in 1909. Matthew Murphy and both of his wives, Elizabeth Ebert and Martha Wright, are buried at Bellevue Cemetery. We know of at least 118 direct descendants of Matthew and Elizabeth, including this writer!

1. "The City Beyond: A History of Nepean, Birthplace of Canada's Capital 1792-1990" by Bruce S. Elliot (1991) ISBN 1-55036-258-5
2. "Pioneers of the Upper Ottawa" by Anson Gard (1906)
3. "Hello, Nepean" by Sara B. Craig (1974)
4. "Bellevue Cemetery, Aylmer, Quebec (Volume 1)" by Joan Jowsey & Lillian Mulligan (1986)
5. "Aylmer, Quebec: Its Heritage" by Diane Aldred (1974)
6. "Notes Historiques" de Rodolfe Maltais (1947)
7. "Hull, 1800-1900" by Lucien Brault (1950)
8. "Hurling Down the Pine" by John W. Hughson & Courtney C. J. Bond (1964)
9. "Historical Sketches of Ottawa" by Leslie Maitland & Louis Taylor (1990)
10. "An Ottawa Album: Glimpses of the Way We Were" by Marion Van de Wetering (1997)
11. "Ottawa: An Illustrated History" by John H. Taylor (1986)
12. "100 Years, Ottawa and the Valley: A Backward Glance from Centennial Year" by Harry J. Walker (1967)
13. "The Carleton Saga" by Harry J. Walker and Olive Walker(1968)
14. "Historical Sketch of the County of Carleton" by H. Belden & Co. (1879)
15. "The Ottawa Country" by Courtney C. J. Bond (1968)
16. "The Upper Ottawa Valley" by Clyde C. Kennedy (1970)
17. "History of the Ottawa Valley" by Rev. John L. Gourlay (1896)
18. "Pioneer Days in Upper Canada" by Edwin C. Guillet (1966)
19. "1842 Census - Canada West - Carleton County"
20. "Recensement nominatif des familles du village d'Aylmer (Comté d'Ottawa) 1851"
21. "Births, marriages & deaths: abstracts from the Renfrew Mercury, 1901-1910" by Aldene Church (1987)
22. "1851/1852 Census of Canada"
23. "1861 Federal Census of Canada"
24. "1871 Census of Canada, The"
25. "1881 Census of Canada, The"
26. "1891 Census of Nepean, The"
27. "1901 Census of Canada, The"

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