Henrietta (Volk) Murphy Obituary
Henrietta was born October 13, 1850, in New York. She was the wife of John E. Murphy (1851-1911). The obituary was published in the Tuesday, October 29, 1889 issue of the Newark Evening News.
Henrietta married John E. Murphy in Newark on October 15, 1874. If the documents below are of our Henrietta, then she was admitted to the New York Almshouse on January 18, 1882. The Almshouse was used to house and feed people in poverty, sickness, or old age. Almshouses were funded mostly by the church and guilds until their disappearance in the twentieth century due to the rise of the modern welfare state. We don't know the exact circumstances for Henrietta's stay at the Almshouse, but we might surmise she was very ill and she and John may have been too poor for her to go to a regular hospital in Newark. She was, of course, born in New York, so that may have led to their decision.
Her name is recorded in the Almshouse ledger as Henrietta Volk, her maiden name, instead of her married name of Murphy. This is not unusual because in the 19th century, married women traveling alone without their husbands used their maiden names when registering.
Henrietta stayed at the Almshouse for two weeks and was discharged on February 2. At this time, she and John were living at 195 Belleville Avenue in Newark. The children were 6-year-old John J., 3-year-old William T., and baby Harry E., 8 months old. Sadly, Henrietta would die seven years later, in 1889.
