Julia M Murphy

Julia Murphy was one of nine children of Senator Edward Murphy, Jr. (1834-1911), the son of an Irish immigrant who established a successful brewery in Troy, New York. Educated at St. John’s College (Fordham University), Senator Murphy was active in local and state Democratic politics and was elected to the United States Senate from New York in 1893. During the Murphy family’s years in Washington, Julia was a popular debutante, receiving numerous invitations from the capital’s prominent hostesses, including Mrs. Grover Cleveland for events at the White House. It was in the Murphy’s grand home in Washington that she was wed to New York’s former Mayor Hugh J. Grant, who presented her with a diamond tiara and a country estate in Oradel, New Jersey. The Grants made their New York home in a stately 20-room townhouse at 20 East 72nd Street, where they raised their three children, Julia, Edna and Hugh J. Grant. The home was decorated with a marvelous collection of furniture and art, much of which is being offered in the May 6 auction. A devout Catholic, Mrs. Grant hired the Boston architecture firm of Maginnis & Walsh, who had worked on New York’s St. Patrick’s Cathedral, to install a private chapel in the home, with decorations by Tiffany Studios. After the death of Mayor Grant, Mrs. Grant generously provided the means for the establishment of Regis High School, a free Jesuit high school for the gifted and the less privileged. The Grant family continued anonymously supporting the school for many decades.

The Grants' home at 20 East 72nd Street is now the Permanent Observer Mission of the Vatican to the United Nations.

_______

Hugh Grant's untimely death in 1910 left Julia a widow before the age of 40 and gave her the sole responsibility of raising three young children. She was fortunate to have the support of her family who came to her aid immediately. Her father, the former senator, escorted Julia and her two daughters as the funeral cortege made its way from the Grant residence a dozen blocks north to St. Ignatius of Loyola Church on Park Avenue. Mrs. Grant had decided to leave young Hugh, Jr. at home thinking he was too innocent to attend his father's funeral.

At the time of his death, Hugh Grant left his wife an estate valued at about $9.2 million. In 2010, this would be worth about $210 million. Mrs. Grant was to receive $500,000 outright and an additional $300,000 was to be given to various charities at her discretion. At her death, the entire estate was to be divided among the three children in any way that she saw fit. Mrs. Grant made gifts to various institutions with the lion's share going toward those sponsored by the Jesuits. Mrs. Grant also strictly stipulated that all of these bequests were to be kept "absolutely secret." Eventually, Mrs. Grant donated a considerable portion of her family's wealth to the establishment of Regis High School. And until her death in 1944, Mrs. Grant would continue to offer generous financial support to her school, although always anonymously, while also maintaining an active interest in Regis through her quiet contact with the Jesuits. Her three children would also continue to support Regis until 1981 when the last of them, Hugh, Jr., passed away.

Rev. Anthony D. Andreassi: http://www.regis.org/2014/explore/