Thomas Murphy (1821 – August 17, 1901) was an Irish-American businessman and politician from

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, serving as a New York state senator for a total of three terms, 1866 through 1867, and in 1879. He had joined the Republican Party and made his fortune selling equipment to the Union Army during 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 ...

. Afterward, he became part of the

political machine In the politics of representative democracies, a political machine is a party organization that recruits its members by the use of tangible incentives (such as money or political jobs) and that is characterized by a high degree of leadership c ...

run by US Senator from New York

Roscoe Conkling Roscoe Conkling (October 30, 1829April 18, 1888) was an American lawyer and Republican Party (United States), Republican politician who represented New York (state), New York in the United States House of Representatives and the United States Se ...

, and was appointed as the

Collector of the Port of New York The Collector of Customs at the Port of New York, most often referred to as Collector of the Port of New York, was a federal officer who was in charge of the collection of import duties on foreign goods that entered the United States by ship at ...

from 1870 to 1871.

Life

Murphy was born in

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

in 1821. He emigrated to the United States as a young man and entered the fur business. He became interested in politics, joining first the Whig party and later the Republicans. In 1848, he married Mary Gibbs (died 1897), and they had five children. Their son, Edgar Gibbs Murphy, became well known as a champion pigeon-shooter. Another son, Thomas Vinton Murphy, married Cora Howarth. They had a business running munitions and a gambling house in the 1880s.Lillian Gilkes, ''Cora Crane: A Biography of Mrs. Stephen Crane,''

Indiana University Press Indiana University Press, also known as IU Press, is an academic publisher founded in 1950 at Indiana University that specializes in the humanities and social sciences. Its headquarters are located in Bloomington, Indiana. IU Press publishes ...

; 1st edition (1960) Murphy made his fortune selling equipment to the Union Army during the

, and soon thereafter became involved with the Republican

run by

. He was a member of the

New York State Senate The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature, while the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Established in 1777 by the Constitution of New York, its members are elected to two-year terms with no term l ...

(7th D.) in

1866 Events January * January 1 ** Fisk University, a historically black university, is established in Nashville, Tennessee. ** The last issue of the abolitionist magazine '' The Liberator'' is published. * January 6 – Ottoman troops clash ...

and

1867 There were only 354 days this year in the newly purchased territory of Alaska. When the territory transferred from the Russian Empire to the United States, the calendric transition from the Julian to the Gregorian Calendar was made with only 1 ...

. In 1870, Conkling asked President

Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was the 18th president of the United States, serving from 1869 to 1877. In 1865, as Commanding General of the United States Army, commanding general, Grant led the Uni ...

to appoint Murphy to the office of Collector. Murphy antagonized other New York Republican factions by firing their members from Custom House jobs and replacing them with men loyal to Conkling. Murphy became sufficiently unpopular so that Grant was forced to replace him, appointing Murphy's friend, Chester A. Arthur, to the post in his place. After his removal, Murphy ran for Congress from New York's 9th congressional district, but was defeated. He was elected again as a member of the State Senate in

1879 Events January * January 1 ** The Specie Resumption Act takes effect. The United States Note is valued the same as gold, for the first time since the American Civil War. ** Brahms' Violin Concerto is premiered in Leipzig with Joseph Joachim ...

. He eventually owned a horse farm in

Deal, New Jersey Deal is a borough situated on the Jersey Shore within Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The community was settled by Europeans in the mid-1660s and named after an English carpenter from Deal, Kent. As of the 2020 United State ...

. He died at his home in 1901 of kidney disease. His funeral was held at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York. He was buried at Woodlawn Cemetery in

the Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Murphy, Thomas 1821 births 1901 deaths Politicians from New York City Collectors of the Port of New York Irish emigrants to the United States New York (state) Whigs New York (state) Republicans Deaths from kidney disease People from Deal, New Jersey