Love of Heritage: 1900's

William Murphy Sr, father of William Murphy Jr (who Lydia Roehm married after her first husband, George Roehm passed on) is seen here working on the ranch he owned in Brentwood. It looks like he's on some kind of tilling machine, but I am really unsure of what he's doing. It actually looks more like a chariot he's on, haha.

I have seen very few photos of William Sr show up among our many family photos and documents, but this is one of them and it's nice to put a name to a face. He died in 1910. He was very young when he passed on.

Here is a very nice biography written about him around the time he passed on:

Prominent among the men who were conspicuous and influential in developing and advancing the agricultural resources of eastern Contra Costa County was the late William Henry Murphy, a son of Thomas Murphy, an honored and esteemed citizen of this county, who came to California in 1856. Thomas Murphy, the father of William H., was born in County Cavan, Ireland, March 24, 1830. At the age of five years his parents left him in the old country with an uncle and came to America, residing in New York for five years. Thomas joined them at the age of seven. His parents removed to Connecticut. Thomas received a common-school education and in June, 1856, he started for California via the Isthmus route.

He intended to return to New York State in one year, but, liking the climate and resources of California, he remained and sent for his family. On joining them he went to Napa Valley and followed farming until 1867, when he removed to the eastern part of this county and purchased four hundred and eighty acres where Knightsen is located. In 1873 he purchased eleven hundred acres in Round Valley. At a later time he purchased more land in Round Valley, and had at the time of his death, which occurred in August, 1905, sixteen hundred acres. Thomas Murphy was married in Mystic, Connecticut, to Miss Alice Ross. To this union have been born five children, William H., the subject of this sketch, James B., Annie L., Alice, and Hattie. William Henry Murphy was born in Napa, California, and died June 9, 1910. He received his education in the Iron Horse and Eden Plain schools, after which he attended the University of the Pacific, at San Jose.

Finishing his education, he returned to the home place, where he was identified with general farming and stock-raising until his death. He was a systematic and thoroughgoing farmer, and after his father's death, by his enterprise, rendered both ranches the most attractive in this section. He was held in the highest esteem by his fellow-men. William Henry Murphy was united in marriage to Miss Catherine Braun, a native of San Jose, and a daughter of C. W. and Florentine Braun. Mr. and Mrs. Murphy were blessed with five children - Arthur Ray, born near Antioch, March 9, 1889; Katie, born near Antioch, July 24, 1890; William Henry Jr., born in Round Valley, April 2, 1892; Esther, born in Round Valley, June 24, 1895; James Campbell, born at Brentwood, November 3, 1906.
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Aftermath

This land, which was divided between William Murphy Sr's children after his wife passed on in 1949, has since turned into a regional park. Bill Murphy Jr's brother, Jim Murphy, sold a large portion of the acreage to the park district in 1988, after his passing, as it was his wish that it remain as lovely as it was when her grew up there. Bill Murphy's portion, which is where my Grandma currently resides, was partially sold off in the late 1990's, finally completing the Round Valley Regional Park and giving them access to build a bridge over Marsh Creek and create trails and fences. I have found through many people who really love this park and I am thankful that people have embraced the land as much as I hold it so closely to my heart.

Sometimes when researching the property, I notice that the media makes no mention of my Grandmother's part in selling her part of the property to complete the transaction of making it a park. It frustrates me at times to know that giving up that land was a difficult decision for her, but fortunately, she still owns 10 acres of it privately and we can still enjoy it as our own for sometime longer.

My great grandmother was born in a small town called Ashley, N.D. near Wishek, N.D., in which she spent her entire life until leaving with her husband and remaining children in 1942 for Richmond, CA. Her parents were both Russian immigrants, however, one parent had been here his entire life except for his first 6 months. Her mother was born in Russia, and came to America when she was about 13 in 1889 through the New York Port known as Castle Garden, which is now part of Battery Park/Castle Clinton. Ellis Island had not opened yet, so a lot of people neglect to look at this website and if they cannot locate their ancestors through Ellis Island's website, they might just give up. Little do people know, but since Ellis Island didn't open until late in the game, there was still a significant amount of immigrants that came through other ports in New York that go largely unnoticed - Castle Garden is one of those ports.

Even though my great grandparents were born in Russia, they were of German descent. In the 1700's Catherine the Great called upon her fellow Germans (she was of German descent herself even though she was a ruler of Russia) to come to Russia to help work the land and farm in what some would call today, inhabitable parts. These areas included along the Volga River, parts of Siberia and along the Black Sea region. Our family came from the Black Sea region, which is now what they consider the Ukraine.

Looking closer, however, my great, great grandfather's side (surname is Herr) came from an area called Kamorovka - See below for a description from Wikipedia:

Kamarovka was founded as Kassel in 1810. It is part of the Bergdorf, Glückstal,^[1] Kassel, Neudorf area near Odessa in Ukraine, which was allocated by the Russia Crown government to German immigrants who left certain areas of Germany/Hungary (Hesse, Baden, Württemberg (now Baden-Württemberg), Alsace (now part of France), the Palatinate, or Hungary) between 1808 and 1810.^[2] The immigrants who founded Kassel were all Protestants, the majority Evangelical [Lutheran], a minority Reformed. Czar Alexander I encouraged immigration from many countries into the Ukrainian areas along the Black Sea, acquired from the Ottoman Empire in 1804. The Germans were fleeing the oppressive occupation of southwest Germany by Napoleon’s armies (until his defeat at Waterloo in 1815). Although the Russians discouraged the practice of any religion other than Russian Orthodoxy, the official church of Russia, Czar Alexander I granted religious freedom and other special privileges, such as local autonomy and temporary tax relief, to the German immigrants. In 1871, Czar Alexander II revoked some of the special privileges (including exemption from military service) originally granted to the German immigrants by Czar Alexander I, and shortly after that many of them began to migrate to the United States, especially to the Dakotas.^[3]

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The Herr family had a rich and varied history prior to coming to Russia. It seemed they had a case of wanderlust. Many of the Herr's lived and married in first Germany, then Madagascar, then Hungary, then France then back to Germany; when they removed themselves Germany completely and moved to Russia, for very likely the same reasons listed above - oppression from Napoleon's army.

When my great, great grandfather came to America (landing in Baltimore and traveling to North Dakota), his parents once again uprooted and left for yet another foreign land that brought promise to them. Maybe America finally brought the riches the Herr's had been looking for, because Jacob's father, Jacob Sr., was one of the more well to do in Wishek. He owned one of the major mercantile stores in the area, and along with good farming skills and business dealings, Jacob Sr., built a grand home in the area and made Wishek his homestead. His oldest son and namesake, took on the business with his brothers while also being involved with the cattle trade, often traveling on a private car on the Soo Line to Chicago. Unfortunately, sometime in 1926-27, Jacob Jr. never returned from one of his trips to Chicago. No one knows what happened to him except part of me questions some actions taken by some family members during the aftermath of his disappearance. Shortly after he disappeared, his wife Christina was removed from her home by several family members, she then moved in with her eldest daughter who lived nearby. It is presumed the home and property were either sold or other family members moved into her former home. Some years later, Jacob's daughter, Martha, hired a private investigator to track Jacob's whereabouts, however, nothing turned up on him.

There seems to be little sympathy for Christina and what happened to her husband. Dare I say there was some foul play that happened to Jacob? Was he murdered for his inheritance? Some legal papers I found stated that Jacob was entitled to a fortune, that with inflation, equaled close to $1,000,000 dollars.

It's a sad ending which left Christina a widow with several young children to still raise. Until this day, I cannot locate any death records for Jacob Herr nor a grave site for him. Part of me feels as if his body was left somewhere between Fargo and Chicago. I know it sounds dismal, but this is my hunch and it's a very sad outcome for a family member of ours.

The mercantile store stayed open at least until the mid-1980's. I am not sure if it prospered past that point.

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Please see some photos here of the Herr's in Wishek, ND

Jacob Herr Jr with wife Christina (nee Orth) and oldest daughter, Lydia (my great-grandmother), circa 1897