Cecil Pearl Murphy

Cecil Pearl Murphy, daughter of Martin William Murphy and Sarah Elizabeth Anderson, was born in Littleton, Wetzel County, West Virginia on May 6, 1898. She was the 9th child of 11—Cora Belle Murphy, Edward Francis Murphy, Charles Homer Murphy, Essa (Essie) Lee Murphy, William (Willie) H. Murphy, Ella Mae Murphy, Arliff Barow Murphy, Tabitha M. Murphy, Cecil Pearl Murphy, Addie Opal Murphy, and Olive Ruby Murphy. She was my husband’s grand aunt. Her brother Charles is his grandfather.

L-R: Olive (Murphy) Frye, Cecil (Murphy) Grimm, Glenn Murphy 

Cecil would never know her sister Tabitha, who passed away the same year Cecil was born. Many years ago, we visited Anderson Bethel Cemetery in Littleton and discovered a metal marker for Tabitha recording her birth in 1896 and death in 1898.

On June 23, 1900, Cecil and her family lived in a rented home in Littleton. Cecil, the baby of the family, was two years old. Her parents had been married for 16 years. Cecil’s father had steady employment as a teamster. Both of her parents, brother Charles, and sister Essie were able to read and write. 

On April 27, 1910, Cecil and her family lived in the Clay District of Wetzel County. Her mother was enumerated as having had 11 children, with only 10 living which would account for Tabitha’s death. No longer the baby in the family, Cecil was now the big sister to sisters Addie (Adda) and Olive. Cecil’s father worked as a general farmer, brothers Edward, Charles, and William were teamsters at the oil field, sister Ella worked as a servant for a private family, and brother Arliff was a farm laborer. Everyone except for Edward, Addie, and Olive were able to read and write.

When Cecil was 17, her 27-year-old sister Essie died of septic endometritis on May 25, 1915 in Warwood, Ohio County, West Virginia. About 1919, Cecil married Essie’s widowed husband, Frank Oscar Grimm (16 years older than Cecil), son of Eldine Oscar Grimm and Sarah Armenia Gossett. Frank and Essie were married from 1907 until her death in 1915. During that time, they had three children—Harry Lee Grimm, Elsie Mae Grimm, and Ruth Louise Grimm. Ruth was not yet three years old when her mother died. At age 22, Cecil, their aunt, was now the step-mother to Frank and Essa’s children. 

On February 2, 1920, Cecil, Frank, Harry, Elsie, and Ruth lived on Hazlett Avenue in the Richland District of Wheeling, Ohio County, West Virginia. Frank was a house carpenter. Cecil was in the early stage of pregnancy with their first child together when the census enumerator visited. On August 15, 1920, she gave birth to a boy they named Lewis Oscar Grimm. Daughter Sarah Armenia Grimm was born on February 15, 1922, son Leroy Frank Grimm on March 20, 1923, and daughter Alice June Grimm on December 9, 1926, all in Wheeling. The year 1927 was a sad one for Cecil though with the death of her mother on April 1 in Littleton, followed by the death of her father from a cerebral hemorrhage on April 6. Both were buried at Anderson Bethel Cemetery in Littleton. Cecil’s stepson, Harry, married Virginia May Phillips in Belmont, Ohio on June 12, 1929 and moved in with his mother-in-law, Wilemma Porter Phillips in Bridgeport, Belmont County, Ohio. 

On April 7, 1930, Cecil, Frank, and their four children lived in Wheeling. Frank was a carpenter, building houses. According to the Wheeling city directory, they lived at 416 Warwood Avenue. They still lived there in 1932. At some point, Frank and Essa’s daughters, Elsie and Ruth, moved in with Frank’s mother (their grandmother), Sarah Armenia [Gossett] Grimm. Elsie worked as a telephone operator for Hazel-Atlas Glass Company and Ruth as a waiter at Stone & Thomas.

On April 8, 1940, Cecil and her family lived in a rented home in Wheeling. Both Cecil and Frank had and 8th grade education. Frank was still building houses and had started his own business. When Cecil was 49 years old, her brother Arliff died in Wolf Summit, Harrison County, West Virginia on July 11, 1947. Two years later, she lost her husband of 29 years on July 19, 1949. Frank died in Wheeling at the age of 66. Before the end of the year, she would also lose her brother Charles who died in Littleton on November 16, 1949. Frank was buried at Greenwood Cemetery in Wheeling, Arliff at Anderson-Bethel Cemetery in Littleton, and Charles at Thomas Chapel Cemetery in Littleton.

L-R: Sarah Armenia Grimm Griffith; her husband Arthur Clifton Griffith;
Cecil Pearl Murphy Grimm; Lewis Oscar Grimm; Alice June Grimm Carper;
Frank Oscar Grimm (ca. 1946)

Cecil’s brother William died in Littleton on March 28, 1960 when she was 61 years old. William was buried at Anderson Bethel Cemetery in Littleton. Cecil died at Wheeling Hospital at the age of 65 of acute coronary occlusion on September 26, 1963. Her daughter Sarah (Griffith) was the informant on her death certificate. She was buried at Greenwood Cemetery in Wheeling on September 30. Cecil was a member of Warwood Christian Church. She was survived by her four children, three step-children, four sisters (Cora, Ella, Addie, and Olive), one brother (Edward), 13 grandchildren, and two great grandchildren.

Stone photo from Find-A-Grave Memorial ID 143800321, added by Michael Grimm.

References

• Arliff Murphy stone, Anderson Bethel Cemetery, Littleton, West Virginia.
• Arliff Murphy, West Virginia, Deaths Index, 1853-1973.
• Birth and death indexes, West Virginia Archives and History, West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History.
• Cecil Pearl Grimm Certificate of Death, West Virginia State Department of Health—Division of Vital Statistics.
• Cecil Pearl Grimm obituary, The Intelligencer, Wheeling, West Virginia, September 27, 1963.
• Cecil Pearl Grimm, West Virginia, Deaths Index, 1853-1973.
• Charles H. Murphy, West Virginia, Deaths Index, 1853-1973.
• Essie Murphy and Frank Grimm, Ohio, U.S., County Marriage Records, 1774-1993.
• Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/143800321/cecil-pearl-grimm: accessed 13 November 2021), memorial page for Cecil Pearl Murphy Grimm (6 May 1898–26 Sep 1963), Find a Grave Memorial ID 143800321, citing Greenwood Cemetery, Wheeling, Ohio County, West Virginia, USA; maintained by Michael Grimm (contributor 47972480).
• Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/99890706/frank-oscar-grimm: accessed 13 November 2021), memorial page for Frank Oscar Grimm (10 Feb 1883–19 Jul 1949), Find a Grave Memorial ID 99890706, citing Greenwood Cemetery, Wheeling, Ohio County, West Virginia, USA; maintained by Michael Grimm (contributor 47972480).
• Harry Lee Grimm and Virginia May Phillips, Ohio, County Marriages, 1774-1993.
• Mrs. Cora Belle Murphy Moore obituary, The Weirton Daily Times, Weirton, West Virginia, November 30, 1964.
• Personal visit to Thomas Chapel Cemetery, Littleton, Wetzel County, West Virginia.
• Tabitha M. Murphy marker, Anderson Bethel Cemetery, Littleton, West Virginia.
• U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007.
• United States Federal Census, Bridgeport, Belmont County, Ohio, 1930.
• United States Federal Census, Clay District, Littleton, Wetzel, West Virginia, 1900.
• United States Federal Census, Clay District, Wetzel, West Virginia, 1910.
• United States Federal Census, Franklin, Marshall County, West Virginia, 1900.
• United States Federal Census, Richland, Ohio County, West Virginia, 1920.
• United States Federal Census, Wheeling, Ohio County, West Virginia, 1930, 1940.
• Wheeling, West Virginia, City Directory, 1924, 1930, 1932.
• Willie Murphy, U.S., Headstone Applications for Military Veterans, 1925-1963.