William Tayloe Murphy (May 6, 1901 – November 16, 1962) was an American politician and businessman from Virginia. He served in the

Virginia House of Delegates The Virginia House of Delegates is one of the two houses of the Virginia General Assembly, the other being the Senate of Virginia. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-numbe ...

from 1940 to 1942 and from 1948 to 1959. He was

Virginia State Treasurer The Virginia state treasurer is the head of the Virginia Department of the Treasury. They are the primary manager of the state's multi-billion dollar investment portfolio and oversee the issuance of bonds and management of debt in excess of $15 b ...

from 1942 to 1947.

Early life

William Tayloe Murphy was born on May 6, 1901, in Mount Holly,

Westmoreland County, Virginia Westmoreland County is a County (United States), county located in the Northern Neck of the Virginia, Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 United States census, the population sits at 18,477. Its county seat is Montross, Virginia, Montross ...

, to Mary (née Tayloe) and Robert Murphy. He was educated at

Alexandria City High School Alexandria City High School (formerly named T. C. Williams High School) is a Public school (government funded), public high school in the City of Alexandria, Virginia, United States, just outside of Washington, D.C. The school has an enrollment ...

and the

College of William and Mary The College of William & Mary (abbreviated as W&M) is a public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia, United States. Founded in 1693 under a royal charter issued by King William III and Queen Mary II, it is the second-oldest instit ...

. He was a member of

Pi Kappa Alpha Pi Kappa Alpha (), commonly known as Pike is a college fraternity founded at the University of Virginia in 1868. The fraternity has over 225 chapters and provisional chapters across the United States and abroad with over 15,500 undergraduate mem ...

fraternity.

Career

Murphy served as a member of the

from 1940 to 1942. On June 1, 1942, he was appointed as state treasurer by Governor

Colgate Darden Colgate Whitehead Darden Jr. (February 11, 1897 – June 9, 1981) was an American lawyer and Democratic politician aligned with the Byrd Organization who served as U.S. Representative from Virginia (1933–37, 1939–41), the 54th Governor o ...

, succeeding Edwin B. Jones. In 1948, he served again in the House of Delegates until his retirement in 1959. He was author of the Revenue Bond Act, a plan to finance the construction of a toll bridge system in eastern Virginia. He was chairman of the Chesapeake and its tributaries committee. He also served on the appropriations, game and inland fisheries, and insurance and banking committees. He served on the governor's advisory board and on the state advisory council on the Virginia economy. Murphy was a member of the Warsaw Council and served as president of the Northern Neck State Bank in Warsaw for 20 years starting in 1939. He also served as chairman of the board at the Northern Neck State Bank before 1959. He was a trustee of the University of Virginia School of Business Administration and helped form the Northern Neck Regional Planning and Economic Development Commission. Murphy succeeded Rodney M. Coggin as president of Tidewater Telephone Company. He served as president from July 1958 to 1962. He was director of the Virginia Independent Telephone Association, the Virginia Electric and Power Company and Standard Products Inc. He was a member of VEPCO's executive committee.

Personal life

Murphy married Katherine Bradford Griffith of Richmond County in 1924. They had two children, Ann Elmoine and W. Tayloe Jr. He was an Episcopalian. In 1942, he lived in Emmerton in Richmond. In 1961, Murphy was diagnosed with cancer and he died a year later of it on November 16, 1962, at his home in

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

. He was buried in Yeocomico Episcopal Church Cemetery in

Kinsale Kinsale ( ; ) is a historic port and fishing town in County Cork, Ireland. Located approximately south of Cork (city), Cork City on the southeast coast near the Old Head of Kinsale, it sits at the mouth of the River Bandon, and has a populatio ...

Awards

In 1961, Murphy was named Richmond County's outstanding citizen by the Richmond County Ruritan Club.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Murphy, W. Tayloe 1901 births 1962 deaths People from Westmoreland County, Virginia People from Warsaw, Virginia College of William & Mary alumni American bank presidents Members of the Virginia House of Delegates State treasurers of Virginia 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century members of the Virginia General Assembly