Emma Loretta Murphy

The story of Emma’s life includes not only her trailblazing career choice but the close ties she maintained throughout her life with her family and her church in Philadelphia. And there are a lot of coincidences. Her two most important addresses were 1813 North 2nd Street and 1445 North 2nd Street.

The first was the home her grandparents lived in after their arrival from Ireland sometime in the 1860s. Her father grew up there, as did she, and it stayed in the family until the late 1960s. Emma was the fourth of nine children in that row house. She had seven brothers and one sister, and every one of them was born just about two years apart from each other. All seven boys (but not the girls) were buried at New Cathedral Cemetery, just like their parents and grandparents.

The other address is St. Michael’s Roman Catholic Church, just a few blocks to the south. Founded in 1831, it was the church of her grandparents, and is noteworthy as the place where LaSalle University had its beginning in 1863. A solemn requiem mass was held there for each of the boys (but not the girls) before their burial, just like the parents and grandparents.

1863 was also the year Emma’s father, Patrick, was born in Ireland, coming to America with his parents a short time later. He had a love of horses that was passed down to several sons. As a teenager he was a horseshoer and then a blacksmith when he married Emma Hess in 1889. His obituary says he graduated from the University of Pennsylvania and had a dual career as a veterinarian. 

Emma’s two older brothers were Frank (1890-1967) and Joe (1892-1968). Both worked as horseshoers at the P.F. Murphy & Sons blacksmith shop before serving in the Army in World War I. After her sister, Anna, got married in 1918, Emma had to decide whose footsteps she would follow. Presumably there were no suitors at her door, so she thought about serving her country as her two brothers were doing.

The climate was right. A strong Naval presence was needed because of Germany’s unrestricted submarine warfare, but as the Navy’s fleet grew quickly from 300 to 1000 ships, it was severely  understaffed. Meanwhile, women in the workforce and the movement to give women the right to vote were changing attitudes about women’s role in society. The Navy realized women could fill the administrative ranks so male recruits could be assigned to the ships at sea.

Thus, the female Yeoman classification was created, designated as Yeoman (F). The first woman Navy petty officer was Loretta Walsh, sworn in as a Chief Yeoman (F) in March of 1917 to serve at the Philadelphia Naval Home. Of course that created a lot of publicity so the Navy used it to shame men into signing up. Reporters were told of the necessity to enlist women because not enough men were volunteering. The ploy worked and the numbers of both male and female recruits jumped dramatically.

Most of the women were employed in secretarial and clerical positions, as shown here in a typical office scene. Emma may have seen a recruiting poster or heard about the hundreds in Philly who had already signed up. Her enlistment date with the Naval Reserve Force was June 25, 1918. 

She began active duty on October 2 and served as a pay clerk at the Philadelphia Navy Yard until August 4, 1919. Other than being given a uniform, it was much like a civilian job since she commuted from home every day. Emma could very well have been in the photo at left, posing with her co-workers at the Navy Yard.

Some women stayed on and made the Navy their career. One who did so also held the rank of Chief Yeoman (F), Margaret Elizabeth Paul, who is also buried here at Mount Moriah.

Emma chose to remain at home after her discharge. In 1920 there were six single Murphy boys living at home, ages 27-13 so, with Anna married, she probably felt obligated to help her mother maintain the household. That became imperative when her mother died in 1922. 

The 1930 census lists her father and five sons dependent on her housekeeping duties. There were still four of her brothers in the house in 1950 because, even though her father and two brothers died, one who was a widower returned home. Three brothers died between 1963-1968, so at that point, with two brothers living elsewhere, the house was sold. But it was perfect timing for Emma.

That year, for the first time in 135 years, the Philadelphia Naval Home accepted ten women residents and she was one of them. This newspaper article included a photo of Emma and two others being welcomed by Rear Admiral Michael F.Q. Flaherty, governor of the home. Emma’s face is partially blocked by his arm.

Emma died there less than three years later at age 74, and received a grave and marker in the Naval Plot. Her sister, for many years a widow with several children, died in 1976 and is buried in Section 59, Lot 14.