Isaac Murphy was born outside Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on October 16, 1799. He attended nearby Washington College and was admitted to the bar in Pennsylvania. In 1830 Murphy moved to Clarksville, Tennessee. That same year he married Angeline Lockhart of that community. The couple would have six daughters.
In 1834 the Murphys moved to the raw frontier town of Fayetteville, Arkansas. There he practiced law and operated a school. In 1834 Murphy founded the Far West Seminary, one of the first colleges in Arkansas. Murphy also served as Washington County Treasurer and represented the region for two terms in the state senate.
After three fruitless years in the gold fields of California, in 1854 the 55-year-old Murphy moved to Huntsville in Madison County, where he and his oldest daughter established a female seminary. In 1856 he was again elected to the state senate. His wife died in 1860.
In 1861 Murphy was chosen as a delegate to the Secession Convention. As is reported in several places on this site, Murphy was the sole delegate to refuse to rescind his vote against secession. Click here for the script of Murphy's refusal as portrayed in our 1836 House of Representatives video.
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