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Sent: Thursday, October 29, 2009 11:48 Subject: Historic Oswego tombstone is back in town 162 year-old tombstone goes on exhibit at Oswego museum After 26 year old Charlotte Townsend Murphy and her baby both died at Oswego in 1847 as the result of complications during childbirth, they were buried in the old Oswego Cemetery, located near the modern intersection of Madison and Douglas streets. But starting in 1855, a new burying ground was opened by Lewis B. Judson in his grove along today’s South Main Street. Eventually all those buried in the old cemetery were moved to the new one, including Charlotte Murphy and her baby. Even though he had remarried, Murphy’s husband, Wright Murphy, a well-connected Oswego lawyer and public official, paid to have a new tombstone carved for his former wife. And somehow, Charlotte’s original tombstone ended up in the basement of an Aurora home. In 1994, the stone was donated to the Aurora Historical Society. Last August, the society decided to send the 162 year-old tombstone back home by donating it to Oswego’s Little White School Museum. And this week, the marble grave marker, a jewel of the stonecutter’s art featuring a traditional carving of a weeping willow tree, went on exhibit at the Oswego museum. Museum director Roger Matile said a special display stand for the stone was crafted by heritage association member Glenn Young. The stone was carefully placed on the stand on Saturday, Oct. 24 and is now permanently on exhibit. “We decided to make the stone a permanent part of our Pioneers: Settling the Prairie exhibit,” Matile explained. “Charlotte’s family, the Townsends, were important in the Oswego area’s earliest business and farming history. And so were the Murphys. Both Wright Murphy and his son by his second marriage, Robinson Barr Murphy, enlisted to fight in the Civil War. Robinson went on to be the only Medal of Honor winner from Kendall County for his heroic actions during the Battle of Ezra Church near Atlanta. Wright, however, did not survive the war, dying due to illness.” Matile said that Wright Murphy was buried by Charlotte’s side in the new Oswego Cemetery after his death in 1865. He gave credit to the Aurora Historical Society and its executive director, John Jaros, for sending Charlotte’s first tombstone back to its original home. “This is a fascinating artifact of Oswego history and we’re pleased it is back home again,” Matile said. The Little White School Museum is located at Jackson and Polk Street, Oswego. Regular hours are noon to 4 p.m. Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Sundays; and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays. The museum research area is open Thursdays 1-4 p.m. and Saturdays, 9 a.m. to noon. Admission is free, but donations are always appreciated. The museum, which is a cooperative project of the nonprofit Oswegoland Heritage Association, the Oswegoland Park District, and the Oswego School District, is featured in the latest edition of the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency’s newsletter, “Historic Illinois.” For more information, call the museum during regular hours, send an e-mail to info@littlewhiteschoolmuseum.org or visit their web site at www.littlewhiteschoolmuseum.org.
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