29 Oct Murray Earl Murphy
May 12, 1888
Murray Earl Murphy
Murray Earl Murphy was born May 12, 1888 one-mile northeast of Gilbert’s schoolhouse and was the fourth child of Joseph Robert Murphy and Alice Samantha Moor. Murray’s grandfather, John Murphy, and his brother came to Fayette County in 1836 and settled about three miles east of Fayetteville. Murray’s father was one of the organizers of the Fayetteville Baptist Church and ran a nursery which Murray would take over later in his life.
Murray started school in Fayetteville in 1894 and after finishing began his teaching career at Gilbert’s Schoolhouse. He married Mamie Davis the oldest daughter of John James Davis, a long time ordinary of Fayette County, on December 18, 1912 and began teaching in Tyrone January 1913. Between teachings, he operated a store on the square for about three years. He was a mail carrier on Route Two for a year and on January 1919 he came back to teach in Fayetteville when George Cleveland Looney returned for his third time.
In early 1920s Murray taught an intermediate group of boys and girls at the Baptist Church in Fayette. When he stopped teaching in public schools, he began to devote full time to the nursey business, growing and selling all types of fruit trees and shrubbery. He left Fayetteville December 1933 to go to Albany, Georgia with the Georgia Forestry Commission, to develop and aid in the reforesting programs. He returned in December 1957, after being away for 24 years following his retirement.
Murray Earl Murphy, May 12, 1988 – December 21, 1978
Sources: Information taken for Murphy file in Fayette County Historical Society Family Files
By: Angela Pendleton
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