Our Genealogy Society
The Piedmont region of Virginia & North Carolina, experienced substantial settlement during the 1700s.
By 1800, some families faced declining soil fertility, rising land prices, and limited opportunities to establish additional farms.
Migration offered younger generations the possibility of becoming independent landowners.
Virginians and North Carolinians migrated to Tennessee in large numbers during the late 1700s and early 1800s, primarily because of the availability of inexpensive farmland, population pressures, expanding transportation routes, and economic opportunities on the western frontier.
In 1800, the land that became Rutherford County was an unorganized frontier split among Davidson, Williamson, Wilson, and Sumner counties. Following a settler petition in August 1803, the county was officially established on October 25, 1803, with an initial count of roughly 256 householders. By the 1810 U.S. Federal Census, the newly formed county had grown rapidly to between 1,000 and 1,200 households containing 10,265 residents.
Ezekiel Murphy was born about 1770 in North Carolina, the son of Miles Murphy and Amey Norman. His life spanned a period of significant westward expansion, when families from Virginia and North Carolina sought new opportunities in the developing settlements of Tennessee. Ezekiel was among those pioneers, establishing a home in Rutherford County, where he would spend the remainder of his life and raise a family whose descendants would remain connected to the region for generations.
On February 12, 1799, Ezekiel married Martha Smith of Pittsylvania County, Virginia. The couple began their married life in Rockingham County, North Carolina, where the 1800 federal census recorded their young household. Together they had four children: John, who married Elizabeth Parrish; Wayne, who married Ann Windrow; Annie, who married Benjamin Jarratt; and an unknown daughter, who may have died at a young age.
Before 1808, 35 year old Ezekiel and Martha migrated to Rutherford County, Tennessee, joining the growing movement of families settling in Middle Tennessee. Other members of the extended Murphy family, including Nathaniel G. Murphy, Miles P. Murphy, and Joseph Murphy, appear to have migrated with him.
Ezekiel’s father, Miles Murphy, died in Rockingham County in 1821. Following Miles's death, daughters Nancy, Sally, and son in law John Brockman migrated to Rutherford County, further strengthening the family's connections in Tennessee. John and Nancy married in Rutherford County, TN in 1827.
In 1809, Ezekiel owned 91 acres in Rutherford County and was recorded as holding two enslaved people. Over the following decades, he expanded his agricultural interests. Tax records from 1830 and 1837 recorded his holdings at 310 acres and five enslaved people in District 8. Ezekiel served as an ensign in the 45th Regiment of the Tennessee Militia, reflecting his participation in the developing community.
After more than three decades of marriage, Martha died sometime before 1835. On December 27 1835, Ezekiel married Louisa T. Jones, a widow whose maiden name was Parrish. Louisa was the daughter of George W. Parrish and Mary R. "Polly" Parrish of Fosterville. Her sister Elizabeth was married to Ezekiel's son John, creating an unusual family connection. Despite his advancing age, Ezekiel and Louisa had four children: Harrison Gaines Murphy, Louisa V. Murphy, Samuel Houston Murphy and Ezekiel M. "Ike" Murphy, born in September 1842. Ezekiel was approximately 72 years old when his youngest child was born.
Ezekiel Murphy died on January 15, 1843, at approximately 73 years of age. His youngest son was only four months old, while children from his first marriage had already established families of their own. During his lifetime, he witnessed the transformation of Middle Tennessee from a developing frontier into an established agricultural region.
Ezekiel's story reflects the experiences of many early American settlers whose lives were shaped by migration, family, landownership, and the opportunities and hardships of frontier life. Through his two marriages and eight children, he established a family whose history became intertwined with that of Rutherford County. More than 180 years after his death, his journey from North Carolina to Tennessee remains an important chapter in the history of the Murphy family.
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The Murphy Name
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The purpose of this website is to preserve, document, and share our family's history for present and future generations. It serves as a central repository for genealogical research, historical documents, family photographs, personal accounts, and other materials that help tell the story of our ancestors and trace our family's origins.
Our goal extends beyond simply recording names, dates, and family relationships. We hope to provide a deeper understanding of the people who came before us—the communities in which they lived, the challenges they faced, the decisions they made, and the historical events that shaped their lives.
Family history is an ongoing journey of discovery. New records, photographs, and previously unknown family connections continue to emerge. We encourage family members to participate in this effort by sharing their knowledge, contributing photographs and documents, correcting inaccuracies, and helping expand our understanding of our shared heritage.
On April 9, 1865, after four years of devastating conflict, General Robert E. Lee surrendered his beleaguered Army of Northern Virginia to General Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House, Virginia, signaling the beginning of the end of the American Civil War.
The war left the South economically devastated, its farms, industries, and infrastructure in ruins, and an entire generation scarred by death, hardship, and loss. Its consequences would shape families and communities for generations.
Our inclusion of this period in our family history reflects a desire to understand how the Civil War influenced the lives, fortunes, and futures of our ancestors. Through historical records and personal accounts, we hope to document their experiences and the lasting impact of the conflict on subsequent generations.
We do not subscribe to the romanticized narrative of the "Lost Cause" or seek to glorify the Confederacy. We recognize slavery as central to the causes of the war and believe its abolition was a just and necessary outcome. While individual motivations for military service varied, our purpose is to document our ancestors' experiences faithfully, without ignoring or diminishing the historical realities of the conflict.
Maps
Maps often capture details completely missing from written records, such as forgotten settlements, vanished historic roads, shifting county and district boundaries. Clicking the "More" link will take you to a collection of decades-old USGS and historical state maps and county maps from Rutherford County, TN, Rockingham County, NC and Pittsylvania & Culpeper Counties in VA.
Useful Articles
Fred was one of the first people buried in Greenwood Cemetery. This cemetery is one of the oldest in the city. Many of our family members are buried there as early at 1868.
Far far away, behind the word mountains, far from the countries Vokalia and Consonantia, there live the blind texts. Separated they live in Bookmarksgrove right at the coast of the Semantics, a large language ocean. A small river named Duden flows by their place and supplies it with the necessary regelialia. It is a paradisematic country, in which roasted parts of sentences fly into your mouth. Even the all-powerful Pointing has no control about the blind texts it is an almost unorthographic life One day however a small line of blind text by the name of Lorem Ipsum decided to leave for the far World of Grammar.
Mary R Parrish
Far far away, behind the word mountains, far from the countries Vokalia and Consonantia, there live the blind texts. Separated they live in Bookmarksgrove right at the coast of the Semantics, a large language ocean. A small river named Duden flows by their place and supplies it with the necessary regelialia. It is a paradisematic country, in which roasted parts of sentences fly into your mouth. Even the all-powerful Pointing has no control about the blind texts it is an almost unorthographic life One day however a small line of blind text by the name of Lorem Ipsum decided to leave for the far World of Grammar.
Susan Melancon
Far far away, behind the word mountains, far from the countries Vokalia and Consonantia, there live the blind texts. Separated they live in Bookmarksgrove right at the coast of the Semantics, a large language ocean. A small river named Duden flows by their place and supplies it with the necessary regelialia. It is a paradisematic country, in which roasted parts of sentences fly into your mouth. Even the all-powerful Pointing has no control about the blind texts it is an almost unorthographic life One day however a small line of blind text by the name of Lorem Ipsum decided to leave for the far World of Grammar.
Danielle Burton
Far far away, behind the word mountains, far from the countries Vokalia and Consonantia, there live the blind texts. Separated they live in Bookmarksgrove right at the coast of the Semantics, a large language ocean. A small river named Duden flows by their place and supplies it with the necessary regelialia. It is a paradisematic country, in which roasted parts of sentences fly into your mouth. Even the all-powerful Pointing has no control about the blind texts it is an almost unorthographic life One day however a small line of blind text by the name of Lorem Ipsum decided to leave for the far World of Grammar.
Samuel Johnson
Far far away, behind the word mountains, far from the countries Vokalia and Consonantia, there live the blind texts. Separated they live in Bookmarksgrove right at the coast of the Semantics, a large language ocean. A small river named Duden flows by their place and supplies it with the necessary regelialia. It is a paradisematic country, in which roasted parts of sentences fly into your mouth. Even the all-powerful Pointing has no control about the blind texts it is an almost unorthographic life One day however a small line of blind text by the name of Lorem Ipsum decided to leave for the far World of Grammar.
Researching our family history has been a 20-year passion project. We started with little knowledge and no clear direction, but over the two decades since, we have uncovered an amazing story—and we are not finished yet.
This site is a collaborative project, and we would love your help to keep it growing. If you share an interest in any of our surnames, or have stories, photos, or documents to contribute, please reach out!
If you do not see your surname, please use our search engine.
We make every effort to document our research. If you have something you would like to add, please contact us.
