Ida Grove Pioneer, April 1, 1914
Daniel Murphy, on of Ida Grove's oldest, best known and most loved citizens, died on Thursday morning, March 26th, of acute pneumonia, after an illness of ten days. Daniel Murphy, Sr., was born in Seneca county, NY, on June 3rd, 1835, and would have reached his 79th birthday on the 3rd day of June of the present year (1914). He moved with his parents to Dubuque, Iowa, during the year 1850, a lad of 15 years, and entered a machine shop in that city where he served an apprenticeship as both machinist and blacksmith. Here he was united in marriage to Catherine Roche on 2 May 1866 and where all but one of a family of eleven children were born. He followed his trade for many years and later was made foreman in the Cooper wagon shop, a farm implement known all over the world, and during the time he was in their employ invented a hub boring machine which was the first ever used and proved a big success. An injured wrist was the cause of Mr. Murphy's not working at his trade for some years, and he engaged in farming, and while engaged in this work he constructed a threshing machine, and a swinging stacker, the later being the first invention of the kind. Mr. Murphy's genius found expression in other inventions and mechanical devices, but he seldom took pains to secure patents, and appeared to care little for the financial reward. His one aim in life seemed to be the perfecting of some useful article, and his reward was the masterly skill and workmanship that he placed in their construction. To Mr. and Mrs. Murphy ten sons and one daughter were born, Louis and Laurence dying in childhood. Children: John (1867-1923), William (1869-1958), Daniel (1870-1940), Robert (1874-1955), Joseph (1876-1947), Mary Alberta, Mrs. John Shea (1878-1960), Thomas (1882-1955), Bernard (1884-1924) and James (1887-1970).