John H. Murphy, Sr.
| John H. Murphy, Sr. | |
|---|---|
| Born |
December 25, 1841 Baltimore, Maryland |
| Died | April 5, 1922 (aged 80) |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Publisher |
| Known for | "The Afro-American", (Baltimore) |
John Henry Murphy, Sr. was an African-American newspaper publisher, best known as founder of the Baltimore Afro-American (also known colloquially/for short as The Afro), published by the Afro-American Newspaper Company of Baltimore, Inc. This newspaper is one of the oldest, still remaining family-owned newspapers in the U.S.A.[1]
According to the Eighth Decennial United States Census of 1860, Murphy was listed as born in Baltimore, Maryland, to Benjamin and Susan Murphy (née Colby). He is popularly believed to have been enslaved until at age 23 mustering into the newly organized United States Colored Troops, 30th Infantry Regiment forming up in Camp Stanton, Maryland in February 1864. He eventually served as a non-commissioned officer.[2] Little is known about young Murphy before his service in the American Civil War, as among the over 8,000 Black Marylanders and other states' residents who mustered into various Black regiments throughout the State of Maryland, after 1863, with the change in the Federal Government's policy regarding slavery and the role of future Afro-Americans in American society with 16th President Abraham Lincoln's announcement with the historic document of the "Emancipation Proclamation" in September 1862, giving freedom to all slaves still held with in then rebelling Confederate States, taking effect on New Year's Day, January 1, 1863. Afterward, the U.S. War Department and state militia officials actively recruited freedmen and slaves into the Union Army in the U.S.C.T. along with the previous recruited units by various Northern states, such as the famous 54th Massachusetts Regiment.
In 1868, he married Martha Elizabeth Howard, a daughter of the well-to-do African-American landowner, Enoch George Howard of Montgomery County, Maryland. Murphy and his wife had 11 children in all, 10 of whom survived to adulthood. After his 1922 death, several of his descendants led the newspaper over the course of several generations, including Carl Murphy and his grandson, John H. Murphy, III.[1]
Using proceeds from a land sale by his wife, Murphy was able to acquire from the Rev. Harry Bragg, Sr., their publication, "The Afro-American", in 1892 and merge it with his pre-existing publications, "The Sunday School Helper" and "The Ledger".
References
- 1 2 Jessica Anderson (2010-10-18). "John H. Murphy III, publisher of Afro newspaper, dies". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 2012-01-24.
- ↑ "Black Press Archives: John Henry Murphy". Call and Post: 13B. 20 March 1982.