Caleb Murphy Is Correctly Identified

The 1995 "Heritage of Transylvania County" identifies this photograph as Houston Moore. However Frances Reese, who wrote several articles for the book and has compiled a Moore family collection, recently learned that this is incorrect. The man in the photograph is actually Caleb Murphy.

Caleb Murphy was born April 4, 1862 in Transylvania County. He was married to Levina "Vinnie" Whitmire and they had four children. Carrie, born Dec. 28, 1888, married Isaac "Ike" Knox and they had three children, Bluford, Nora and Emma. The marriage did not last though and Carrie and the children changed their surname to Murphy. Caleb and Vinnie's other children were Almond, who never married; Lizzie, who died as a child; and Norman, who married Sarah Jane Morgan. 

Caleb Murphy

Vinnie died Feb. 11, 1922. For many years Caleb Murphy worked for Toxaway Tanning in Rosman. He died Aug. 10, 1946 in Morganton. Caleb and Vinnie are buried in the Whitmire Cemetery on Flat Creek Valley Road.

Claud Murphy, who remembers his great-grandfather well, identified him in the photograph. Corrections are an important piece of historical and genealogical research and this information is greatly appreciated.

Photographs and information for this column are provided by the Rowell Bosse North Carolina Room, Transylvania County Library. Visit the NC Room during regular library hours (Monday-Friday) to learn more about our history and see additional photographs. For more information, comments or suggestions, contact Marcy at marcy.thompson@transylvaniacounty.org or (828) 884-3151 ext. 242.