By Priscilla Jones Kleinpeter
Another
well known resident of Lower Intervale was Daniel D. McMurphy, a native of
Haverhill, New Hampshire. Dan was
the only son of Alexander and Martha (Terry), his second wife, and was born in
1856. His family made several
moves before settling in Plymouth’s Lower Intervale section of town.
They made their home at the place later owned by Joel Read.
Sometime later the McMurphy family moved to a nearby home, later
occupied by Frank Hannaford.
Daniel
attended the Lower Intervale District School and graduated from the State
Normal School in Plymouth. Although
he planned to become a teacher, young Daniel became a hard working farmer
instead.
In
1880, Daniel married Addie Currier, daughter of of James Currier
and his first wife,, Ann Robie of the Lower Intervale.
For several years, Daniel worked in Henry Currier’s tannery but his
large, 75 acre farm required too much of his time and he withdrew from the
work at the tannery.
Until
well into their seventies, Daniel and Addie remained active in their church
and the community. Addie, in
particular, loved to reminisce and talk about the early days when Lower
Intervale was a bustling community of its own, with over 120 residents, two
tanneries, and the infant (and later famous) Draper-Maynard factory.
In
1896, Daniel’s father, Alexander, died suddenly.
Reports are that he “just dropped dead.”
Addie
Currier McMurphy lived until April 28, 1934.
She is buried in the Lower Intervale Cemetery, along with her mother
and many of her Currier relations.
The
Currier name was well known in the Lower Intervale area and many descendants
of the various Currier families still live in and around Plymouth.