Vashti Turley Murphy
Born
Lula Vashti Turley

February 1884
Washington, D.C.
DiedMarch 17, 1960
Baltimore, Maryland
NationalityAmerican
OccupationEducator
Known forOne of the founders of Delta Sigma Theta
SpouseCarl J. Murphy
Children5, including Elizabeth Murphy Moss
RelativesVashti Murphy McKenzie (granddaughter)

Lula Vashti Turley Murphy (February 1884 – March 17, 1960) was an American educator and community leader, one of the founding members of Delta Sigma Theta, the historically black sorority.

Early life and education

The Founders of Delta Sigma Theta, in 1913. Vashti Turley Murphy: third from right, front row.

Lula Vashti Turley was born in 1884, in Washington, D.C., the daughter of Hamilcar Turley and Ida H. Francis Turley.[1] Her father was a clerk in the Pension Bureau, and a church choirmaster.[2] Both of her parents died when she was a girl, and her older siblings both died while she was in high school.[3]

Turley graduated from the M Street School in Washington, D.C., and trained as a teacher at the Miner Normal School (now the University of the District of Columbia).[3] In 1913, while she was a student at Howard University, Turley was one of the founders of Delta Sigma Theta.[4][5] At Howard, she graduated in the class of 1914.[6]

Delta Sigma Theta and other activities

Vashti Turley Murphy taught school as a young woman,[3] and traveled.[7] She was founder of the Baltimore alumnae chapter of Delta Sigma Theta.[8] In 1932 she and Vivian Johnson Cook co-founded the Philomathean Club, a black women's study group.[9][10] In the 1950s, she encouraged all Delta alumnae to vote, and to join the NAACP.[8] In 1957, she was honored as Mother of the Year by the Baltimore alumnae chapter of Delta Sigma Theta.[11]

Murphy was a member of the board of directors of the Baltimore YWCA, president of the St. James Episcopal Church Women's Auxiliary, a member of the wives' club of Alpha Phi Alpha (her husband's fraternity), and active at Morgan State College (where her husband was on the board of trustees).[2] She was the first president of the Women's Auxiliary of Crownsville State Hospital.[1] She was also president of the parent-teacher association at Public School No. 103 in Baltimore.[12][13]

Personal life and legacy

In 1916, Vashti Turley married her Howard University German instructor Carl J. Murphy.[14] He was later best known as a publisher of the AFRO-American newspaper.[15][16] They had five daughters: Martha Elizabeth (1917–1998), Ida Ann (1918-1996), twins Carlita (1921 - 2006) [17] and Vashti Murphy-Matthews (1921 - 1981),[18][19] and Frances (1922–2007).[20][21] Her eldest daughter Elizabeth Murphy Moss was a journalist, war correspondent, columnist, and editor.[22] Vashti Murphy-Matthews, a photo engraver, was a member of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion. Upon returning from her military service, she joined the newspaper as a researcher and archivist.[18] Turley's granddaughter and namesake Vashti Murphy McKenzie[23] is a bishop in the African Methodist Episcopal Church.[24][25]

Vashti Turley Murphy died in 1960, aged 76 years, in Baltimore, after a long illness and a leg amputation.[1][26] Thurgood Marshall was one of the many honorary pallbearers at her funeral.[2][16] The Baltimore chapter of Delta Sigma Theta created a Vashti Turley Murphy Award for meritorious service,[27] and a scholarship fund in her name.[2] The community center at the Crownsville State Hospital was named for Vashti Murphy.[28]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Murphy Funeral to be Monday". The Evening Sun. 1960-03-19. p. 3. Retrieved 2020-06-03 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Mass Said for Mrs. Murphy (continued from page 1)". Baltimore Afro American. March 22, 1960. p. 21. Retrieved June 3, 2020 – via NewspaperArchive.com.
  3. 1 2 3 Moss, Elizabeth Murphy (May 18, 1957). "If You Ask Me". Baltimore Afro American. p. 4. Retrieved June 3, 2020 – via NewspaperArchive.com.
  4. ↑ Moss, Elizabeth Murphy (1981). Be Strong!: The Life of Vashti Turley Murphy, Co-founder Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., and Her Impact on the Lives of Others. E.M. Moss and A. Paul Moss.
  5. ↑ "Founders". Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. Retrieved 2020-06-03.
  6. ↑ Howard University (1919). Alumni directory, 1870-1919. The Library of Congress. Washington, D.C., Howard university.
  7. ↑ "The Week in Society". The Washington Bee. 1911-09-16. p. 5. Retrieved 2020-06-03 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. 1 2 Phillips-Cooke, Marie (November 18, 1978). "Delta's Heritage Day". Baltimore Afro American. p. 18. Retrieved June 3, 2020 – via NewspaperArchive.com.
  9. ↑ Ida E. Jones and Edith Murungi (May 2016). Finding aid for the Philomathians papers, Beulah M. Davis Special Collections, Morgan State University.
  10. ↑ "A Beautiful Lady: Vivian Cook". Baltimore Afro American. August 6, 1977. p. 9. Retrieved June 3, 2020 – via NewspaperArchive.com.
  11. ↑ "'This is Your Life', Soror Vashti Murphy". Baltimore Afro American. May 18, 1957. p. 9. Retrieved June 3, 2020 – via NewspaperArchive.com.
  12. ↑ "Mothers' Night Meet Held at School No. 103". The Evening Sun. 1925-03-20. p. 34. Retrieved 2020-06-03 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ↑ "Parent-Teachers Form Program for Term". The Evening Sun. 1925-01-14. p. 13. Retrieved 2020-06-03 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ↑ Draper, Frances Murphy (2016). No Ordinary Hook Up: The Courtship of Vashti Turley and Carl Murphy, 1915-1916. CreateSpace. ISBN 978-1537047669.
  15. ↑ "Stroke Kills Carl Murphy". The Baltimore Sun. 1967-02-26. p. 11. Retrieved 2020-06-03 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. 1 2 "2,100 Pay Respects to Mrs. Carl Murphy". Baltimore Afro American. March 22, 1960. p. 1. Retrieved June 4, 2020 – via NewspaperArchive.com.
  17. ↑ "Carlita Murphy Jones". Uncrowned Community Builders. Retrieved 2020-06-03.
  18. 1 2 Flash, Oprah; Johnston, Amy (2023-07-05). "Six Triple Eight: The battalion of black women erased from history". BBC News Online. Retrieved 2023-07-06.
  19. ↑ Gray, Mark F. (December 20, 2018). "AFRO's Murphy-Matthews Among Those Honored For WWII Service | Afro". Retrieved 2020-06-03.
  20. ↑ Who's who in Colored America. Who's Who in Colored America Corporation. 1942. p. 379.
  21. ↑ Wright, James (November 20, 2007). "Pioneering African American Journalist Francis Murphy Dies". The Skanner News. Retrieved 2020-06-03.
  22. ↑ O'Brien, Dennis (1998-04-08). "Elizabeth Murphy Moss, 81, Afro reporter and editor". The Baltimore Sun. p. 35. Retrieved 2020-06-03 – via Newspapers.com.
  23. ↑ McKenzie, Vashti Murphy (2001-06-01). Strength in the Struggle. The Pilgrim Press. ISBN 978-0-8298-2079-9.
  24. ↑ "Delta Sigma Theta to host Founders Day program". The Journal. March 8, 2019. Retrieved 2020-06-03.
  25. ↑ Dykes, De Witt S. (2005). "McKenzie, Vashti". Oxford African American Studies Center. doi:10.1093/acref/9780195301731.013.44284. ISBN 9780195301731. Retrieved 2020-06-03.
  26. ↑ "Last Rites for Delta Founder Vashti Murphy". The Pittsburgh Courier. 1960-03-26. p. 17. Retrieved 2020-06-03 – via Newspapers.com.
  27. ↑ Childress, Richard (1984-02-05). "Sorority Marks 71st Birthday". The Baltimore Sun. p. 58. Retrieved 2020-06-03 – via Newspapers.com.
  28. ↑ "Guests at Crownsville Vashti Murphy Center". Baltimore Afro American. November 29, 1960. p. 6. Retrieved June 3, 2020 – via NewspaperArchive.com.
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