I Never Met My Grandfather



Mary Jane Cunningham
and Robert Alphonsus Murphy

 Central to the theme of the "Murphys in Griffintown" exhibition are my grandparents, Robert A. and Mary Jane.  I never realized how little I knew about them until I had to illustrate their lives.  It wasn't the likeness, but the atmosphere around them. 

The experience is unlike my work in commercial illustration, where you get an article or an ad idea to work from.  After interviewing one of the Murphys (my aunts and uncles), I had to write the article too.  The more they told me about St. Ann's Boys School, or the store on the corner- Beauchamps......I realized I couldn't "fake it".  I was out of my element.  I couldn't envision something I didn't know.

I began by studying maps and photos-then reading.  I had heard so many stories from my relatives about Mary Jane Cunningham and how she "came over" from County Down Ireland,etc.  I already felt I knew her.  The problem was my grandfather and how little I knew about him. 

Robert Murphy was adopted at a very early age and not much was known about his childhood.  My mother and I had done some geneological research in the 1970s without much luck (pre internet!).  So I was almost a complete novice when I dug into the glut of information available online.  My search lasted almost a year before I felt secure in my depiction.  By then, I had enough information to write a book!  (Not happening.)

I am now an arm's-length expert on the area once known as "Lower Cove" in St. John, New Brunswick-my grandfather's birthplace.  I have discovered his birth records and true parentage.  I guess it might seem like extreme research for a work of art...it was so much fun though!  I must admit during many late nights while searching online through the pages of a census or directory...I felt his presence.