My great-grandfather, John Floyd (born John Murphy)

For decades, my family carried a mystery. Since the early 1970s, my father knew that his grandfather—the man we called John Floyd—wasn’t truly a Floyd at all. His real name was John Murphy. Before his death, John confided just enough details about his past—mentioning “Georgia” and his true last name—that my father spent years chasing the truth.

The Search Begins

With the rise of the internet, family history research became a little easier. We eventually learned that John wasn’t from Georgia, but Alabama. That discovery came from an unexpected clue: while studying an atlas, we noticed Chewacla State Park, a name matching the lime company where John once claimed to have worked.

I called the Auburn University Library and asked for Special Collections. A kind volunteer took down the details we had and promised to call back. Just three hours later, he returned with more information than I could have imagined: John’s parents and sister, all accounted for. He even raised the possibility of another wife, a woman named Maggie. That was back in 1998.

Piecing Together the Murphy Family

Years passed, and by 2014 I was still searching. Countless attempts to find “John Murphy + Opelika + Maggie” finally paid off when I uncovered records showing Maggie had a son, Sheppie Murphy. Soon after, we located descendants of John through Maggie and Sheppie.

The breakthrough came when a cousin posted on a message board, seeking information on John and Maggie Murphy and their son, William Sheppie Murphy. That message opened the door to an entire branch of family we never knew.

Family Connections Restored

The Murphy family turned out to be every bit as warm and welcoming as we hoped. The patriarchs of their line are my father’s first cousins once removed-making them my own second cousins.

This journey has taught me that genealogy is equal parts patience, persistence, and serendipity. With the help of the internet-and a lot of determination—we restored family connections once thought lost.

✨ If you’re on your own genealogy journey, don’t give up. The answers are out there, waiting to be found.