Martin Murphy Sr.

Martin Murphy Sr. (November 12, 1785 – March 17, 1865) was an Irish-born American farmer, and an early settler. He founded the town of San Martin, California.

Early life Martin Murphy Sr. was born on November 12, 1785, in County Wexford, Ireland. He was Catholic, and persecuted by the Protestant ruling class and his move to the Americas was an opportunity of religious freedom.

Migration In 1820, Murphy migrated with his wife and children to Quebec Province, Lower Canada (now Canada), and settled in an Irish community in Frampton for the next twenty years. The Murphy family had twenty-three members on the wagon train, it was the largest family participating. It was the first to cross the Sierra Nevada in 1844.

California

In 1846, he purchased the Rancho Ojo del Agua de la Coche in present-day Santa Clara County, California, where he remained for the rest of his life. The land encompassed present-day Los Altos, Sunnyvale, and south as far as Morgan Hill. Murphy founded the small town of San Martin, California in Santa Clara County, where he had built a Catholic church and lived.

Murphy Sr. died on March 17, 1865, at his daughter Margaret's house in San Jose, California.

Five of the Murphy family members served in the California legislature: Patrick W. Murphy, Bernard D. Murphy, John C. Murphy, J. E. Murphy, and R. W. Murphy. The family were the subject of Marjorie Pierce's book, The Martin Murphy Family Saga (2000);