John H. Murphy Sr. hoped to live to be 100, but in the event that he didn’t, he penned a letter on his 80th birthday that he wanted opened in 20 years. It told the story of his life.

Murphy was born enslaved in Baltimore on Christmas Day, 1840. His father was a whitewasher by trade, and taught his son the skill.

After the Civil War began, John enlisted in the Union Army, where he rose in the ranks. When he returned to his family’s home on Forney Alley in Baltimore, Murphy met Martha Howard, the daughter of a successful farmer.

Murphy was penniless, but promised Howard “a world that would be gay with the laughter of children and happy because I worshipped her.” The couple wed and moved to a house on Saratoga Street, bought by Martha’s father. They had 10 children.

Murphy worked jobs from janitor to postal worker. He started a Sunday paper and eventually purchased The Afro-American.

Through the next century, The Afro-American covered the events of black life that were ignored in white papers. The paper covered birthday parties and church hirings, as well as the grim details of lynchings and hate crimes.

Murphy died in 1922. Under the stewardship of his son Carl, the paper went on to become one of the most-read African-American papers in the United States.

Murphy wrote that he was driven by a simple desire: to please Martha.

ctkacik@baltsun.com