Timothy Murphy

The Schoharie Valley was a vital source of food and grain during the American Revolution, feeding Continental Army troops and earning the name "The Breadbasket of the American Revolution," and it was also the home and burial ground of Timothy Murphy, a key figure in the war. Born in New Jersey in 1751 to Irish immigrants, Murphy moved with his family to Pennsylvania, where he developed his skill as a marksman and became known for using a unique double barreled rifle. Nicknamed "Sure Shot Tim," he joined the prestigious Morgan Rifles at the onset of the war and is reputed to have fired the shot that killed British General Simon Fraser at the Battle of Saratoga on October 7, 1777, an action credited with turning the tide of the war in favor of the Colonists. Three years later, while serving in the militia, he was sent to Schoharie County to protect farms and settlements, and in October 1780 he and a 200 man garrison fiercely defended Middlefort against a combined force of more than 1,000 British regulars, Hessians, Loyalists, and Indians led by Sir John Johnson and Mohawk Chief Joseph Brant. During the war Murphy eloped with Peggy Feeck, daughter of a wealthy farmer, and after they survived the war together they raised nine children. After her death, he married Mary Robertson of South Worcester on April 22, 1810, and they raised four more children. Murphy farmed in the Schoharie Valley, built a mill, acquired additional parcels of land, participated in local politics, and died in 1818 at age 67. He was buried at the family site in Fultonham along State Route 30, then reinterred in 1872 in a new cemetery in Middleburgh, where a monument was erected in 1910; another monument was erected in 1913 on the Saratoga Battlefield at the site associated with his shot at General Fraser. In 2014, a stone monument from a local quarry was erected in Timothy Murphy Park along State Route 30, officially designated by the State of New York as "The Timothy Murphy Trail," and continuing local tributes include Timothy Murphy Park, the American Legion Timothy Murphy Post # 248, the Timothy Murphy Playhouse, and the Timothy Murphy 5K Run.

Middleburgh, New York · United States