Murphy, Lampton managed South Hannibal grocery trade

Old store: The Murphy-Lampton Grocery Store stood on the corner of Washington and Third Street (in 1912 renamed South Main) in South Hannibal. This photo was taken around 1908. Those in the photo are identified as Cornelius Murphy and Cornelius Murphy Jr., Bob Murphy and Roy Decker Rosser. Undated newspaper clipping from Mary Lou Montgomery’s collection.

MARY LOU MONTGOMERY

In mid August, 1895, Murphy & Lampton, popular grocers of their era, displayed an unusually large cabbage at their South Hannibal place of business.

The head of cabbage, according to a newspaper report of the day, weighed in at 22 pounds, and was large enough to fill a bushel basket.

Those curious enough to see for themselves this marvel of nature were thus lured inside the neighborhood retail establishment, which not only offered fresh produce and fresh poultry, but also china, wall lamps, dolls, toys, candies, nuts and fruits.

The grocery store, operated since circa 1892 by two young South Hannibal men, Cornelius J. Murphy and Clarence James Lampton, was a prime retail establishment along South Hannibal’s key business corridor. 

It is not clear how the two men partnered up in business. Back in 1888, Cornelius J. Murphy, 28, a bachelor, was working as a carrier for the Post Office, and living with his extended family at 500 Walnut, South Hannibal.

That same year, Clarence James Lampton, 31, at the time married for two years to Katie A. Tierney Lampton, was employed as a clerk for A. Shenker and Co., dry goods merchant, doing business at 112-116 N. Main. He was boarding at 208 Fourth (Sycamore), South Hannibal.

By 1892, the two ambitious South Hannibal men had formed a partnership that would withstand the test of time. They opened Murphy & Lampton grocery company, at 300 Third, (in 1912 renamed South Main) South Hannibal, in a building which previously housed William Solan’s meat market in 1885, and Henry J. Lowe’s meat market in 1888.

Both Murphy, who married Anna Marie Smith in 1895, and Lampton were of the Catholic faith, and following their deaths in 1922 and 1935 respectively, their remains were buried in family plots at St. Mary’s (now known as Holy Family) Cemetery.

While the building where they co-managed their long-standing business long ago succumbed to the elements of time and the repeated ravages of the overflowing river, the legacy C.J. Murphy and C.J. Lampton created in the establishment and operation of this Hannibal grocery business was far reaching.

The products they sold, as well as the services they provided to their customers, left a lasting impact upon the people who lived and worked in South Hannibal.

One story of particular interest, captured under the subtitle “South Hannibal news” was published in the Sept. 29, 1904 edition of the Courier-Post.

At the end of September 1904, Murphy and Lampton contracted with Andrew Christensen, of the Marble Creek neighborhood, south of the newly constructed Atlas Portland Cement Plant in Ralls County, for the purchase of his entire cabbage crop: 8,000 heads.

Based upon today’s concept of cabbage marketing, one might be tempted to ask: What would two small-town grocery merchants do with that much cabbage?

The Courier-Post, in its Sept. 29, 1904, edition, offered this explanation:

“The demand for cabbage is quite heavy at present as many people are making kraut. Murphy and Lampton buy Mr. Christian’s cabbage crop every year.”

Andrew Christensen’s acreage was located in Ralls County Township 56, Range 4, Section 10 and 11.

Store employees

Murphy and Lampton’s Grocery was not only a prime place for neighbors to shop, but it was also a consistent employer.

Tidbits of information culled from Hannibal newspapers, via Newspapers.com:

1900: Miss Mabel Morris, a popular young lady of the South Side, has accepted a position at Murphy & Lampton’s grocery store. She will have charge of the candy department.

1900: Martin Grimmer and George Hass were delivery drivers for Murphy and Lampton, and Dave Crowley was employed as a delivery clerk.

1901: Mr. Carl McKiernan, a genial salesman at Murphy & Lampton’s store, and Miss Lillie Walker, a popular young lady of the South Side, were married Feb. 19, 1901. Mr. and Mrs. McKiernan made their home together on Walnut Street.

1901: Rob Murphy, son of C.J. Murphy, was head salesman for Murphy & Lampton.

1901: Otis Stewart resigned his position as delivery clerk for Murphy and Lampton to accept a similar one with Peter Shelvy, the butcher. Ed Berry was hired to succeed Mr. Stewart at Murphy and Lampton’s.

1903: Roy Rosser was a delivery clerk for Murphy and Lampton.

1903: Roy Lowe resigned his position as a salesman for Murphy and Lampton, and went to work as a switchman in the Burlington yards.

1905: Ray Rosser resigned his position as driver for Murphy and Lampton and accepted a position at the cement plant.

1906: Roy Decker resigned his place at Murphy & Lampton’s grocery store. Kenneth Lampton will, for the preset, fill the vacancy.

1907: Vincent Holmes filled a position at Murphy & Lampton’s grocery store.

Dec. 8, 1907: Francis Woodson has resigned his position at Murphy and Lampton’s grocery store.

September 8, 1907: Arthur Willhelm accepted a position at Murphy and Lampton’s grocery store as a delivery clerk. He will fill the place recently vacated by Kenneth Lampton who will resume his duties at the high school.

1909: Bert Cherry has accepted a clerkship in the grocery store of Murphy & Lampton. He is a splendid young fellow and has many friends in Hannibal who wish him success.

1909: Roy Rosser was a clerk for Murphy & Lampton.

1912: Edward J. Quirk, 427 Riverside, was a clerk for Murphy & Lampton.

Neighborhood

Cornelius J. Murphy and Annie Smith were married in 1895. At the time of the 1900 census, the Murphys had three children, John Murphy, 3; Joseph Murphy, 2; and Cornelius J. Murphy Jr., 9 months. Also living with the Murphy family were Mrs. Murphy’s father, James Smith, 71; and her sister and brother-in-law, Katie Smith, 31, and Phillip Smith, 44.

In 1901, C.J. Murphy and his family were living upstairs over the grocery store, at 300 1/2 3rd, South Hannibal.

The following year, the father of Cornelius Murphy Sr., - Daniel D. Murphy - died. The elder Mr. Murphy, a noteworthy stone mason, was born in 1828 in County Cork, Ireland, and was a resident of Hannibal as early as 1871.

The Murphy family homestead, as early as 1871, was located on the southwest corner of Walnut and Fifth streets, South Hannibal.

From roughly 1903 until 1912, the C.J. Murphy family lived upstairs over the store, which was addressed 300 1/2 S. Third until 1912, when the address was changed to 701A S. Main.

By 1913, the C.J. Murphy family moved to the original family homestead at the southwest corner of Walnut and Fifth streets.

That same year, the entire second floor of the building at 300 South Main Street was offered for rent; nine rooms, a bath, water, gas and electric lights. Advertised as fit for a boarding house.

1920, C.J. Murphy lived at 501 1/2 Walnut

Feb. 20, 1901: “C.J. Murphy, of the firm of Murphy & Lampton, is enjoying a mid-winter vacation. He departed last night for Texas to spend two or three weeks. In Houston he will visit with Jerry Shea, the well known contractor, who paved Broadway (in Hannibal.) Mr. Murphy will also take a trip to the storm-wrecked city of Galveston on the Gulf of Mexico, while in Texas.

Kraut recipe

If the talk of cabbage and kraut has piqued your interest, here is a recipe that is true to the era of the Murphy and Lampton Grocery Store.

Contributed by Ang Brown, this recipe is from her great-grandmother, Zsuzska, who was born Oct. 18, 1911 in what is now known as Slovakia. When Zsuzska was 20 days old, she boarded the Kronprinz Wilhelm from Port Bremen to New York Harbor with her mother and brother. Their destination was Ilasco, where Zsuzska would meet her father for the first time. The family arrived at Ellis Island on Feb. 7, 1912. Zsuzska’s American married name was Susie Haynes (Zsuzska Chmelko).

Heritage recipe

Kraut

Shredded cabbage to fill a 2-gallon crock.

8 tablespoons of salt

8 teaspoons sugar

Fill with boiling water and cover. After 12 hours add caraway seed and bay leaves and more boiling water. Cover tightly. Set in the sun for 3 days. Ready in 3 weeks. Do not press cabbage too tightly.

Mary Lou Montgomery, Suburban Newspapers of America Editor of the Year, Dailies, 2010, retired as editor of the Hannibal, Mo., Courier-Post in 2014. She researches and writes narrative-style stories about the people who served as building blocks for this region’s foundation. Books available on amazon.com by this author include: “The Notorious Madam Shaw,” “Pioneers in Medicine from Northeast Missouri,” “Hannibal’s ‘West End,’” “Oakwood: West of Hannibal,” “St. Mary’s Avenue District,” and “Live, on stage ion Hannibal 1879: ‘H.M.S. Pinafore.’” Montgomery can be reached at montgomery.editor@yahoo.com Her collective works can be found at www.maryloumontgomery.com