Franklin Murphy (January 3, 1846 – February 24, 1920) was an American Republican Party politician, who served as the 31st

governor of New Jersey The governor of New Jersey is the head of government of the U.S. state of New Jersey. The office of governor is an elected position with a four-year term. There is a two consecutive term limit, with no limitation on non-consecutive terms. The ...

, from 1902 to 1905. He was the founder of the Murphy Varnish Company in Newark,

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

Civil War Service

Born in

Jersey City, New Jersey Jersey City is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, second-most populous

, he was attending

Newark Academy Newark Academy is a coeducational private day school located in Livingston, Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, serving students in sixth through twelfth grades. It was the first school in New Jersey to offer the International Ba ...

when the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

started. In July 1862, he enlisted in the Union Army, despite being only 16 years old, and was mustered in as a Private in Company A, 13th New Jersey Volunteer Infantry on July 19, 1862. He rose in rank during his field service, being promoted to

corporal Corporal is a military rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The rank is usually the lowest ranking non-commissioned officer. In some militaries, the rank of corporal nominally corr ...

on August 25, 1862, to second lieutenant on February 22, 1863, and to

first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a se ...

on February 24, 1864. His

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, military service, service, or administrative corps, specialisation. In Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of l ...

fought in the Battles of

Antietam The Battle of Antietam ( ), also called the Battle of Sharpsburg, particularly in the Southern United States, took place during the American Civil War on September 17, 1862, between Confederate General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virgin ...

, Chancellorsvile, Gettysburg, the Atlanta Campaign, the " March to the Sea", and Bentonville. He was honorably mustered out of service on June 8, 1865.

Personal life

After leaving military service, Murphy founded the Murphy Varnish Company in Newark in 1865. In 1868 he married Janet Colwell of Newark and they had two children. In addition to politics, he was involved in several civic pursuits, to include serving as a member of the Essex County Park Commission, a board member for the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, and heading the committee that planned the 250th anniversary of the founding of Newark. Additionally, he served as the President General of the National Society, Sons of the American Revolution from 1898 to 1900.

Political life

Murphy was active in Republican politics. He chaired the

New Jersey Republican State Committee The New Jersey Republican Party (NJGOP) is the affiliate of the United States Republican Party in New Jersey. It was founded in 1880 and is currently led by Bob Hugin. Current leadership * Bob Hugin, Chairman * Darlene Shotmeyer, Vice Chai ...

from 1892 to 1904 and again from 1907 to 1910. He ran for Governor of New Jersey in 1901, and defeated his Democratic opponent James M. Seymour by a vote of 183,814 to 166,681. His 1902–1905 gubernatorial administration was a kind of

Square Deal The Square Deal was Theodore Roosevelt's domestic program, which reflected his three major goals: conservation of natural resources, corporate law, and consumer protection. These three demands are often referred to as the "three C's" of Roose ...

in miniature, as he implemented many Progressive policies, such as improved child labor laws, the abolition of the fee system that existed in state and county offices, and the establishment of New Jersey's first state primary laws. He was prohibited by the then-current provision of the

New Jersey State Constitution The Constitution of the State of New Jersey is the basic governing document of the State of New Jersey. In addition to three British Royal Charters issued for East Jersey, West Jersey and united New Jersey while they were still colonies, the sta ...

from succeeding himself, so he yielded the Governorship at the end of his term to Edward C. Stokes. From 1883 to 1886 he was a member of the Common Council of Newark and was at one time president of the Council. He was elected to the

New Jersey General Assembly The New Jersey General Assembly is the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature. Since the election of 1967 (1968 session), the Assembly has consisted of 80 members. Two members are elected from each of New Jersey's 40 legislative districts f ...

in 1885; while in office as parks commissioner he laid out and completed the parks of Essex County; from March 24, 1886 to 1889, he was a trustee for the Reform School for Boys. President McKinley appointed him one of the commissioners to the Paris Universal Exposition in 1900. He held official positions in numerous financial institutions, social, and civic bodies. There is a life size statue of him in

Weequahic Park Weequahic Park (; pronounced , or WEEK-wake "when spoken rapidly") is a park located in the List of neighborhoods in Newark, New Jersey#South Ward, South Ward of Newark, New Jersey, USA, designed by the Olmsted Brothers firm, (who also designed Bra ...

in Newark.

Post-gubernatorial life

After leaving office, he remained involved in New Jersey Republican Party affairs for the rest of his life. He was a delegate to the Republican National Convention five times, and at the

1908 Republican National Convention The 1908 Republican National Convention was held in Chicago Coliseum, Chicago, Illinois, Chicago, Illinois on June 16 to June 19, 1908. It convened to nominate successors to President of the United States, President Theodore Roosevelt and Vice Pr ...

, he was a candidate for the vice presidential nomination to serve as

running mate A running mate is a person running together with another person on a joint ticket during an election. The term is most often used in reference to the person in the subordinate position (such as the vice presidential candidate running with a pre ...

William Howard Taft William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857March 8, 1930) served as the 27th president of the United States from 1909 to 1913 and the tenth chief justice of the United States from 1921 to 1930. He is the only person to have held both offices. ...

, that eventually went to

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

Representative

James S. Sherman James Schoolcraft Sherman (October 24, 1855 – October 30, 1912) was the 27th vice president of the United States, serving from 1909 until his death in 1912, under President William Howard Taft. A member of the Republican Party (United States), ...

. He died in

Palm Beach, Florida Palm Beach is an incorporated town in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. Located on a barrier island in east-central Palm Beach County, the town is separated from West Palm Beach, Florida, West Palm Beach and Lake Worth Beach, Florida, ...

, at age 74 and was buried in Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Newark, in section F, lot 159/160.

References

External links

Biography of Franklin Murphy (PDF)

New Jersey State Library The New Jersey State Library, based in Trenton, New Jersey, was established in 1796 to serve the information needs of New Jersey's Governor of New Jersey, Governor, New Jersey Legislature, Legislature and Judiciary of New Jersey, Judiciary. The S ...

Franklin Murphy on Newark History
*
Franklin Murphy, Sons of the American Revolution
{{DEFAULTSORT:Murphy, Franklin 1846 births 1920 deaths American Episcopalians Burials at Mount Pleasant Cemetery (Newark, New Jersey) Chairmen of the New Jersey Republican State Committee Republican Party governors of New Jersey Republican Party members of the New Jersey General Assembly Politicians from Newark, New Jersey People of New Jersey in the American Civil War Presidents General of the Sons of the American Revolution Union army officers 20th-century American legislators 20th-century New Jersey politicians 19th-century members of the New Jersey Legislature