John Murphy (c. 1756–1835)
In September 1803 Bushrod Washington gave Murphy power of attorney to manage a land sale.
John Murphy, attorney and merchant, was born circa 1756 in Ayrshire, Scotland—the same home county as that of famed poet Robert Burns (1759–1796). According to an account from 1905, Murphy worked as a schoolmaster, with Burns as one of his charges. He then immigrated to Westmoreland County, Virginia, where he clerked in a store owned by John Ballentine (or Ballantine).
David Wolf Eaton, Historical Atlas of Westmoreland County, Virginia: Patents (Richmond, VA: Dietz Press, 1942), 39.
Alexandria Gazette (VA), 3 February 1835, page 3, column 2 (Newspapers.com).
Baltimore Sun, 6 August 1905, page 12, column 8 (Newspapers.com).
John Murphy in Virginia, U.S., Select Marriages, 1785–1940 (Ancestry.com).
John Murphy at Early Colonial Settlers of Southern Maryland and Virginia's Northern Neck Counties.
John Murphy at Find a Grave.