  Mary_murphy Member Username: Mary_murphy Post Number: 1 Registered: 03-2009 |
I search traces of my grandfather. His name was William Murphy. He was soldier during First World War in France. He was at Limoges in 1918. He knew a woman named Germaine Chapus. A child was born in July 1918. This child was my father René who is dead in 2005. William told at my grand mother that came from Detroit. He was auto mechanic and he was origin of Ireland. Do you know if soldiers of Detroit went at Limoges (france) 1918? Do You know address of associations of veterans of de Detroit? Thank you very much. Cordially. Mary Murphy | ||
Zulu_warrior Member Username: Zulu_warrior Post Number: 1262 Registered: 10-2003 |
I would suggest that you go to ancestry.com and look for him in the 1910 and 1920 census'. You will need to adjust his approximate age for each census, assuming he was 18 or 19 when he was at Limoges. Ancestry would have his parents names and if they were Irish immigrants, that would be recorded as well. Good Luck. | ||
Detroitnerd Member Username: Detroitnerd Post Number: 3596 Registered: 07-2004 |
What an amazing story. Will the descendant of a World War I Detroit vet find her family through DetroitYES? We're all rooting for you, Mary. | ||
Cloud_wall Member Username: Cloud_wall Post Number: 25 Registered: 02-2009 |
bump | ||
Dtctygrl Member Username: Dtctygrl Post Number: 78 Registered: 03-2007 |
Mary, Do you have any other details. I'll be happy to do a search in ancestry.com's records. | ||
J_to_the_jeremy Member Username: J_to_the_jeremy Post Number: 194 Registered: 03-2007 |
http://www.vba.va.gov/ro/centr al/detr/default.htm Detroit Veterans Affairs office | ||
Stosh Member Username: Stosh Post Number: 93 Registered: 01-2009 |
There are 3 William Murphy's born in Ireland in the 1920 Census. An age would narrow it a bit. | ||
Mikeg Member Username: Mikeg Post Number: 2253 Registered: 12-2005 |
Mary_murphy and Dtctygrl, I did some searching in Ancestry.com and there is a "William Murphy" born in Ireland circa 1890 who was a World War One veteran (according to the 1930 US Census). In 1930 he was a single man, never married, living as a "roomer" at 5299 Larchmont Ave. in Detroit and his occupation was listed as a "machinist" in a "body factory". He immigrated from the Irish Free State in 1906. This individual seems to fit the man you are looking for, but there is no way of knowing for sure, particularly since he was single with no other known family members for us to look for. I cannot find this "William Murphy" in the 1920 US Census of Detroit. However, there is a "William D. Murphy" in the 1920 US Census who was born in Ireland circa 1887 (unknown veteran status since this data was not collected in 1920). In 1920 he was a single man, living with his cousin Anna Collins (39 yrs old, widow) at 913 Larned St. (old numbering system) in Detroit. His occupation was listed as a "Acct Receiving Clerk" in a "auto body co". He immigrated from Ireland in 1899. This individual does not quite fit the man you are looking for, nor does he seem to be the same person mentioned above from the 1930 Census. I wish I had more but that seems to be all there is. There is no one in Ancestry's 1917 Draft Registration records from Detroit that matches this information. | ||
Jams Member Username: Jams Post Number: 7849 Registered: 10-2003 |
The OP never said her grandfather and grandmother were married. Nice job guys! | ||
Mikeg Member Username: Mikeg Post Number: 2254 Registered: 12-2005 |
Here is a web page with some evidence that at least a few World War One US soldiers from the Detroit area were stationed in west-central France (including Limoges), however they did not arrive until March of 1918. Given Rene's July 1918 birthdate, his father needed to have arrived in France in late 1917. The first large numbers of American troops (about 14,500 men) arrived in St. Nazaire, France in late June of 1917. Three other divisions began arriving on French shores before the end of 1917, including the 32nd Division, a National Guard division consisting of men from Michigan and Wisconsin. [source] However, the official record of the 32nd Division indicates that they arrived in Brest, France beginning in January 1918 and made their way to Langres, about half-way between Nancy and Dijon in the east-central part of France. (Message edited by Mikeg on March 05, 2009) | ||
Bibs Member Username: Bibs Post Number: 325 Registered: 10-2003 |
Il y a beaucoup de membre ici qui sont bilingue. Vous pouvez poser des questions en Francais si vous voulez. Many members on this board are bilingual. You can ask question in French if you want. | ||
Lferg Member Username: Lferg Post Number: 73 Registered: 07-2008 |
Hey Mike, great links, thanks for posting them! | ||
Gnome Member Username: Gnome Post Number: 2459 Registered: 08-2007 |
Mary, is it possible your grandfather was an American serving in the Canadian Army? Mary, est-il possible votre père était-il une portion américaine dans l'armée canadienne ? | ||
Mary_murphy Member Username: Mary_murphy Post Number: 2 Registered: 03-2009 |
Hello, Thank you very much your messages. Merci à Bib de m'écrire que je peux poster mes messages en français car je ne connais pas bien la langue anglaise.Par exemple, que veut dire "We're all rooting for you" and "bump"? I am learning English but it is difficult for me . I use wordreference.com to translate and no an automatic translator on the Web. I searched ever on ancestral.com. But I hade not the date of birth of my grand father and I did not find or (I found nothing). I am happy to write in English , because I must a little progress in English if we ( my daughter and I) will go to USA. Je suis contente, aussi, d'écrire en français, car je peux mieux m'exprimer. En résumé. Ce que je sais de mon grand-père: Il s'appelait William murphy ( j'ai compris que c'était un nom avec un prénom très fréquent, en faisant des recherches). J'ai bien trouvé un william Murphy habitant Flint (sur internet) qui s'était peut être trouvé à Limoges. Il travaillait chez Buick était d'origine irlandaise. En fait d'après mon père William était né aux états unis, mais ce sont ses parents (ou grands parents qui seraient irlandais). J'ai pu avoir l'adresse d'une cousine Béthanie(CAR) avec laquelle j'ai pu correspondre et qui m'a envoyé différents éléments sur lui. J'ai lu que ce William Murphy avait été sérieusement blessé et avait été hospitalisé pendant sept mois. Et du coup, je ne pense pas que ce William puisse être mon grand-père car rien n'a été dit au sujet d'une blessure de william dans ma famille. Il serait reparti aux Etats unis (je ne sais à quelle date).Quelques mois après la mère de ma grand-mère aurait reçu des lettres dans lesquelles était écrit que william ne pouvait venir chercher ma grand-mère, car sa mère(à lui)lui "aurait promis" une autre femme. De rage, mon arrière-grand-mère aurait déchiré toutes les lettres. Voilà, l'histoire que mon père m'a raconté. C'est un véritable roman avec "beaucoup de trous"... Thank you for your reading. At soon. Cordially. Mary Murphy | ||
Mikem Member Username: Mikem Post Number: 1918 Registered: 10-2003 |
William Murphys in 1915 telephone directory: William Murphy: 910 Kercheval Ave William A. Murphy: 486 Montclair St Willaim H. Murphy: 30 Putnam St, office 2248 Penobscot Building William H. Murphy: 291 E Fort St William Murphys in 1918 telephone directory: William Murphy, real estate: 910 Kercheval Ave William H. Murphy: 30 Putnam St, office 2248 Penobscot Building William H. Murphy: 3114 John R St William J. Murphy: 215 N Wesson St William J. Murphy: 1363 Trumbull St William L. Murphy, grocer: 743 Mt Elliott St However, it's possible he did not have phone service during these years. | ||
Leannam1989 Member Username: Leannam1989 Post Number: 210 Registered: 06-2008 |
You could also try searching here: http://pilot.familysearch.org/ recordsearch/start.html#p=0 Might take some time to load, but I've found some censuses that way. Not all are there, though, but it's free. Worth a try anyway. Best of luck! | ||
Zulu_warrior Member Username: Zulu_warrior Post Number: 1266 Registered: 10-2003 |
We must some inductive reasoning here. Mr. Murphy, he served, would have had to have been between 17-25 when he was in France....so we cal eliminate the William Murphy's that are in the 1915 directory with an office...because he would have been too young. The same in the 1918 directory as he would not have been a real estate person at 18-19 or had an office in the penobscott building, or been a grocer. In fact it would not be likely that he would have been the head of household. So you need to look in the 1910 census for a kid, about the age of 9-12, living with his parents.....or look in the 1920 census for a man 20-26.... | ||
Mashugruskie Member Username: Mashugruskie Post Number: 450 Registered: 09-2006 |
Was your mother's full name Marie Germaine Gabrielle Chapus and did she meet William Murphy in France or England? | ||
Mashugruskie Member Username: Mashugruskie Post Number: 451 Registered: 09-2006 |
Sorry, I meant grandparents. | ||
Kathinozarks Member Username: Kathinozarks Post Number: 1888 Registered: 11-2006 |
Mary, we type in the word 'bump' to make a thread such as yours go back to the top of the page. More people see it. "We're all rooting for you" is a way of saying we wish you well in your search and hope it turns out well. (hope those are good descriptions) | ||
Gazhekwe Member Username: Gazhekwe Post Number: 2924 Registered: 08-2007 |
If he did not go back to France because he was to be married, it seems likely that he wasn't the unmarried William Murphy. I like the deduction that his birthday was likely in the late 1890s based upon the baby's birthdate. | ||
Mashugruskie Member Username: Mashugruskie Post Number: 452 Registered: 09-2006 |
William N. Murphy (b. 1890) arrived from Canada in 1911 with his mother, Alice Murphy to friend Edward Laque at 848 Beaubian. Alice states that her ancestry is German, citizen of Canada. Widowed. William states on border crossing records that he is Scotch. Alice leaves a son, Harry, behind in Chatham, Ontario. Alice is listed as being born in Montreal, Quebec in 1854. In 1920 they are living at 60 McKinley in Detroit. William works as a machinist. States he is single (I have seen many times people state they were single when they were actually divorced.) There is a William Nelson Murphy who registers in 1918 in Detroit and states he is a machinist born in Canada. At that time he also states that he is married with one child, a wife, and mother to support and residing at 163 1/2 Stanley in Detroit. Notations state that the second finger on the left hand is partially removed and that he is a unemployed machinist. Birth year is off by about two years. Alice has disappeared by 1930 and so has William unless I search for him without a middle initial but so far, nothing matches for a William in 1930 that is Canadian. | ||
Mashugruskie Member Username: Mashugruskie Post Number: 453 Registered: 09-2006 |
Edward Laque passed back and forth between Canada and Detroit. He originally arrived in 1908. He is from Chatham, Ont. All of his children reside in Detroit on Bennett. Grandson, Warren Laque, son of Edward's son, Edward George Laque, also was Canadian and repeatedly went back and forth from Detroit to Canada to visit family. I am thinking Edward, senior's wife, Agnes Celina Laque, may have been Alice Murphy's sister. Both born in the 1850's in Montreal. So far, all border crossings from Canada to Detroit involving Laque's are related to the original Edward Laque. | ||
Mashugruskie Member Username: Mashugruskie Post Number: 454 Registered: 09-2006 |
In 1923, Marjorie Murphy, daughter of Harry Murphy, is residing in Chatham, Ont. and comes to Detroit to visit her grandmother, Alice Murphy, who is now residing at 8318 W. Warren, Detroit. Marjorie states that her closest relative in Canada is her aunt, Mrs. Emily Beaubien of Aylmer, Ont. She lists her ancestry as Irish. I don't believe William Murphy was from Ireland. I believe he was Scotch-Irish Canadian. | ||
Mashugruskie Member Username: Mashugruskie Post Number: 455 Registered: 09-2006 |
By 1932, Marjorie Edith Murphy is divorced and her former name was Bouck. She is coming through Detroit and heading to Cincinnati, OH to visit her fiance', George Newcombe, at 561 Reading Rd., Cinn., OH. She is 5'7", Red hair, green eyes, listed as Scottish/Canadian. Nearest contact is her brother, Clifford R. Murphy at 63 Cedar Ave., Hamilton, Ont. | ||
Mashugruskie Member Username: Mashugruskie Post Number: 456 Registered: 09-2006 |
William N. Murphy married Sarah P. Rosch in Detroit, MI. William is Canadian and born in 1891. Father's first name is Hubert. His mother is Alice Chrysler. Sarah's place of birth is Scotland and her parents are Andrew Hogg and Gene O'Brien. No ceremony was performed. They later divorced. | ||
Mashugruskie Member Username: Mashugruskie Post Number: 457 Registered: 09-2006 |
Visiting Canada, Sarah Hogg lists her nationality as German, born in Edinburgh, Scotland. She married Charles Rosch in Detroit and had two sons with him; Charles and Victor. In 1930, they are divorced and she is living on W. Warren Ave. and working as a hotel maid. She died in 1964 in Michigan. | ||
Mashugruskie Member Username: Mashugruskie Post Number: 458 Registered: 09-2006 |
William N. Murphy also had a sister named Maude Murphy Ball. She was born Nov. 13, 1879, Chatham, Ont. and died March 20, 1915 in Alymer, York, Ontario. Hubert Murphy was born 1847 and died May 6, 1906, London, Middlesex, Ontario. | ||
Gnome Member Username: Gnome Post Number: 2463 Registered: 08-2007 |
Mashugruskie, not sure if I'm following all the stuff, but here is a thought on the Montreal connection. Theory: William N. Murphy speaks French and English because of his Mother's Quebec roots. Speaking French gives him an added allure to Germaine Chapus ... he is a foreigner, but he speaks french with a funny Quebec accent. Having skills with the language helps when charming young girls, especially when you are saving them from The Hun. A little wine, some bread and cheese for a hungry girl, a little ohh la la and Sacre Bleu you get baby Rene. But I'm troubled by MikeG's post. He says that there is no way a Michigan boy could have been in Limoge in enough time to be the father. That is why I think William Murphy might have been serving in the Canadian Army. That would make sense if there were strong Quebec bonds. He could have signed up anytime from 1914 on. Many Americans did enlist early in WWI and fought on the Allied side, Hemingway comes to mind for one. I don't have an Ancestry.com subscription so I don't have access to all the records... so anyway that's my theory. Billy Murphy's a Canadian by birth, immigrates here, War starts, he waits awhile but is caught up in War Fever and enlists in the Canadian Army 1915-1916. | ||
Mashugruskie Member Username: Mashugruskie Post Number: 459 Registered: 09-2006 |
Gnome, the war registry didn't mean one had to serve here but every male had to register. I do believe he personally served in Canada. After putting together enough genealogies, I can tell you that a lot of people who came here stated they were Irish (until about the 1940's) rather than saying "Canadian". I don't know why that was. Also, there was heavy immigration at that time from Canada to work in the auto industry. Not too much from Ireland directly. But I also found a Marie Germaine Gabrielle Chapus in France marrying and applying for a passport and arriving in England. So there is much for Mary to sort through and many possible leads. She needs a Canadian to go through archives. Canada is really picky with what they put online but once one gets into their archives, it's pretty impressive. |
