John C. Murphy, alias Albert George Whitehead [leaflet seeking the whereabouts of an Irish immigrant Fenian activist who had fled a mental institution]

[New York]: [1897]. 6x9 inch leaflet, creased from having been folded for mailing, with several short tears and a corner chip; also included is the original tattered envelope, which was sent from the Irish Political Prisoners' Fund Association in New York to the Ballston, NY chief of police on July 8, 1897.

Murphy had been born in West Cork and traveled to the US for work. During his time in the US he became involved with Clan na Gael, which sent him back to Ireland to set up a bomb-making factory under cover of a paint store. He came under surveillance and was arrested, sentenced to life. He spent thirteen years in prisons where he was subjected to beatings, solitary confinement, and other tortures which took a heavy toll on his mental health. He was released in 1896 and soon returned to the US, where he ended up in the Long Island Home in Amityville. On January 31, 1897 he escaped from that institution, and his comrades appear to have prepared this leaflet in hopes of finding him. The reader is asked to contact the Commissioner of Charities in NYC or his brother James Murphy in Jersey City.

Cat.No: 351068

Price: $500.00