Hello,

I have some information on Simon Murphy, which I acquired in the course
of my research on the Duke(s) families of South Carolina. 

First, I'd like to suggest being careful with this family -- the
connections to the Byrd and Duke families appear in different forms in
different sources.

Next, I'd like to suggest that the reference to "Planter" may have been
found in a statement like "Simon Murphy, [occupation]Planter, Surry
County."

The Surry County in question is in Virginia. Simon Murphy (I) and his
wife Elizabeth Byrd Murphy lived in Surry County VA. His will is in
Surry Co., Va., Will Bk 10, p.886. She married David Edwards, apparently
From the Surry County VA Edwards family, after the death of Simon
Murphy.

Their son Simon Murphy II settled in Franklin County, North Carolina, in
1760. He lived on Sandy and Shocco creeks near the Warren County line.
There is no documentation of the parentage of his wife, said to have
been Sarah Duke. However, several branches of the VA Duke family had
settled in this area by that time. 

The following note regarding Simon Murphy (II) and one of his sons is
found in "Old Southern Bible Records" by M. A. Lester on page 233. It
skips over the Simon Duke (I) generation in the Murphy family:

"Mark Murphy
Mark Murphy, son of Simon Murphy ('Simon Murphy who married Sarah Duke,
was the son of Richard and Mary Byrd Murphy' penciled in on a piece of
paper) and Sarah Duke Murphy, b. 8 Mar 1753 in Craven County, S.C. on
Padgett Creek, m. 19 Mar 1786 six miles from the city of Union to Holly
Duke b. 27 Feb 1769 in N.C. 

Children
Demaris Jackson b. 8 Apr 1787
Simon P., b. 6 Jan 1790, m. 26 Sep 1811 to Rebecca Harris b. 14 Sep
1792 	Mariona b. 20 Oct 1792 'married Thomas Cooper and when she died
Thomas Cooper married her sister Sarah Murphy' (penciled in) 
John M. b. 2 Mar 1792
Joseph P. b. 3 Feb 1795
William P. b. 26 Nov 1800
Sarah P. b. 31 Jan 1803
Jeremiah b. 3 Mar 1805...Jeremiah B
Elizabeth b. 1 June 1807
Emanuel b. 15 Sep 1809
Lemuel Majors b. 4 Oct 1812
Mark Murphy, his bible..." [no further genealogical information] 


The Holly Duke who married Mark Murphy was a daughter of Major Duke of
Union County, SC. Major was a son of Joseph Duke of Warren County, NC
(*not* to be confused with the contemporaneous Joseph Duke(s) of
Orangeburgh SC). Joseph Duke of NC was the son of William Duke (I) of
Warren County, who was from Virginia and may have been the son of James
Duke (son of Col. Henry Duke) and Mary Byrd (daughter of Col. William
Byrd I). This is all discussed in _The Duke Family_ vols. I and II by
Evelyn Duke Brandenberger.

I have no further information on this Murphy family. Again, I just have
these notes in connection with my Duke family research.

Hope this helps.

Lynn
[email protected]



Benjamin Winfield Adams wrote:
> 
> Hello everybody, my name is Benjamin Winfield Adams
> and I have just joined the listserve.  I teach at a university
> in South Korea and in my spare time -- which I have a lot of --
> I am working on book involving various lines of my family
> history.  At present I am on a Murphy line, and I have in
> my possession a last will and testament from the Surry County
> records, dated 1753.  Apparently a Simon Murphy (also
> Murfey) owned a plantation in Planter, Surry county. Also
> the document mentions land in Southhampton and the
> Atsomosac Swamp.  In fact the document does not specifically
> mention South Carolina, but other genealogical
> records I have show Planter as being in South Carolina,
> and also his son Simon Murphy Jr. as dwelling in Union
> county S.C.  I realize this might be pretty elementary stuff
> or common knowledge for some, but since I am from
> Utah and have never been to South Carolina I don't
> know much about the state's geography.  Moreover,
> being in Korea, I have limited resources.  Also I am
> interested to know if this area would be considered
> Piedmont or Coastal Plains, and considering that the
> Simon Murphy owned  a small number of slaves, would
> this make him a fairly well off plantation owner?
> Any information or direction, will be enormously
> appreciate.  Thanks Much, Ben