John William Murphy was born at Merrimac Station, St. Louis County, Missouri, August 23, 1869, and died in a Hastings Hospital on August 30, 1949. Funeral servcies were conducted at St. Joseph’s Catholic church of Farnam by Rev. Thomas Daly. Burial was made in the Catholic cemetery near Farnam.

John was a mule skinner in the building of the Highline (railroad?). His parents, Bernard and Elizabeth were engaged in railroad construction work when his father died in a construction camp east of Ingham in March of 1886. After that the family bought land west of Farnam, where John spent the most of his life. John was preceded in death by his mother, father, and sisters Mary and Ellen and brother James, who were buried in the family plot on Mary’s homestead west of Farnam.

He was married June 20, 1900, to Agnes Agnew. To this union was born one son, Bernard J., who perished in the infamous Bataan March in the Philippines in 1943. John’s wife died in May 1931.

Most of John’s life was spent in Walker precinct in Lincoln County. He attended the first school in Farnam in Garvin’s Hall in 1887 before the school house was built. He also spent a year in Christian Brothers school at Conception, Missouri and a term at the Grand Island Business college.

He was always active in community affairs, being clerk of the Modern Woodmen of America in Farnam for many years, serving on the school board and as precinct assessor.

His many friends, young and old, and he numbered children by the score, will regret his passing. They all join in saying, “Well done thou good and faithful servant” at the culmination of a long and useful career.

John was baptized in the Catholic faith as a child. He was a devout and loyal follower of his religion. He was instrumental in the bulding of the church in Farnam. He spent much of his time in the up–keep of the church property.

May his soul rest in peace.

The Farnam Echo, Thursday, September 15, 1949