Sarah Susannah McMurphy

Sarah Susannah McMurphy

• Sarah Susannah McMurphy was born on 6 September 1806 in South Carolina.
• She married John Marsh Adams on 8 October 1829.
• The following appeared on 17 October 1888 in the Augusta Chronicle: Miss McWhorter was an acknowledged leader in Morehead City and at Asheville. . . . Mrs. Adams, Miss Annie Adams, Mr. and Mrs. Geo. McWhorter and Miss McWhorter arrived last evening from the mountains of North Carolina.
• Sarah Susannah McMurphy appeared in the US federal census of 1 June 1900 in Summerville, Richmond County, Georgia, living next to her daughter Sarah McWhorter.. Other members of the household included Annie Adams. Also in the household were a cook and a coachman.
• Sarah Susannah McMurphy died on 26 July 1901 at age 94 in Augusta, Richmond County, Georgia.
• She was interred at Summerville Cemetery, Augusta, Richmond County, Georgia.
• The following appeared on 27 July 1901 in The Augusta Chronicle:
       The death of Mrs. Sarah S. Adams at her home on the Hill, at an early hour yesterday morning will be learned with deep regret by her hosts of friends throughout the city. Although she lacked but three years of being a centenarian, and thus, no doubt, enjoyed the distinction of being the oldest inhabitant of Augusta and vicinity, she retained all her excellent faculties unimpaired, and passed away as peacefully as if she had but dropped to sleep.
       There could have been no better exemplar of the true gentle-woman than she was. Her patrician face and cultured manner stamped her with unmistakable distinction. It was easy to be seen that she belonged to the gentility of the old school. Her's was the "soft, low voice," whose excelence the great dramatist has immortalized. Refinement shone in every word and deed.
       But it was not only in books and in the polite amenities that her striking character appeared. She possessed that strong fibre of mind which enabled her to take care of her business interests ably, and to rear into useful and attractive manhood and womanhood the large family of children.
       The deceased is survived by her children, Mrs. Joseph Ganahl, Mrs. Sarah McWhorter, Miss Annie Adams, Mr. John Adams; her grandchildren, Mrs. P. A. Stovall of Savannah, Miss Harriet Ganahl of New York, Mr. A. G. Ganahl, of Washington, and Mr. Joseph Ganahl of this city, Mr. Adams Ganahl of Savannah, Mrs. Sturges of New York, Mrs. Charles Bryan of New Berne, N. C.
       The funeral arrangements will not be made until the arrival of her son, Mr. John Adams, from his home in the west.
• The following appeared on 30 July 1901 in The Augusta Chronicle:
       The funeral of Mrs. Sarah A. Adams will take place from the Church of the Good Shepherd tomorrow afternoon, at 6:30 o'clock. The following is the list of those who will act as pallbearers: Gen. Alfred Cumming, Mr. P. H. Langdon, Mr. F. H. Miller, Esq., Mr. Gardner Montgomery, Mr. Gordon Gardner, Mr. John W. Dickey, Mr. A. M. McMurphy, Mr. Val. Starnes, Mr. Frank G. Ford, Dr. C. W. Hickman, Mr. Thomas G. Barrett, Mr. James Tobin, Mr. James D. Dawson, Mr. G. L. McMurphy, Maj. Harry Hammond.
       A number of the children and grandchildren of the deceased have arrived in the city from all parts of the country, to be present at the funeral ceremonies. Among them are her son, Mr. John M. Adams, of Potter, Neb; her daughter, Mrs. E. S. A. Rathbone, of Ann Arbor, Mich; Mrs. C. S. Bryan, of New York; Miss Rathbone, of Brooklyn; Prof. and Mrs. H. F. Osborn, of New York; Mrs. P. A. Stovall and Mr. John Adams Ganahl, of Jacksonville, Fla.
       The funeral ceremonies will be conducted by Rt. Rev. Edward G. Weed, bishop of Florida, Rev. Hunter Davidson, Rev. C. C. Williams, Rev. S. B. Carpenter and Rev. S. J. Pinkerton.

• Last Edited: 22 Sep 2010