Los Angeles County, CA, Biographies

This file is part of the California Genealogy & History Archives http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~cagha/index.htm

 

Colonel Michael Brophy

Colonel Michael Brophy, living near Newhall, Los Angeles, California, is, in the truest sense, a 
pioneer.  He was born in Queen�s County, Ireland, in 1822, and is a son of Patrick and Mary 
Brophy.  He came to America in 1840, and in 1846 enlisted as a soldier in the Mexican war.  
As a noncommissioned officer he led the attack on Churubusco, there received eleven wounds, 
was left on the field for dead, and was so reported for weeks.  After a long and painful 
confinement he recovered, and in 1848 went to St. Louis.  From there he went to Minnesota, and 
was one of pioneers of that State.  The following quotation from a work published there several 
years ago, shows in what esteem he was held by the historian.  He says: �Michael Brophy lived in 
this beautiful region of woodland, prairie and charming lakes, and, like Blennerhasset, dwelt alone 
with his lovely wife, away from the noise and bustle of the rising towns, and through his obliging 
manners, and his readiness in conducting strangers through the country, has been a prime factor 
in its building up and development.�  In 1852 he turned his face toward the setting sun, and after a 
tedious journey across the plains he arrived in Tuolumne County, and for several years gave his 
attention to mining, and while there was made president of the Miners� Committee.  He was also 
Lieutenant in the State militia.  In 1857 he received a position in the United States Custom House in 
San Francisco, which he filled till 1861, when he again �shouldered his musket� in defense of his 
country.  He enlisted in Company B, Second California Volunteers, as Sergeant, and served till the 
declaration of peace in 1865, when he settled in Santa Barbara County.  Here he remained until 
1868, at which time he became one of the pioneers of this beautiful county.  His first purchase was 
160 acres of land, situated three miles southwest of Newhall, to, which he has since added forty acres, 
as well as several mining claims.  Here in his cozy home, near the summit of the Sierra Madres, amid 
the rippling of mountain streams, and the shade of the evergreen oaks, the stranger is met with a 
welcome and cordiality which none but the truest patriot and the noblest heart can give.  Mr. Brophy 
has a vast store of information, and his recollection of interesting events would itself make a volume.  
He has twice married, first in St. Louis, in 1848, to Miss Mary McCartney.  This lady was born in New 
Haven, Connecticut, and by her he had two sons: W. A., whose sketch appears elsewhere in this work; 
and F. M. Brophy, of Los Angeles.  Mrs. Brophy died in 1875.  In 1879 Mr. Brophy married Mrs. Katie 
Schiller, a native of Ireland.  By her first husband she had daughters, Katie and Mamie.

 

An Illustrated History of Los Angeles County, California � Chicago, The Lewis Publishing Company, 
1889 � Pages 378 & 379  

Transcribed by Pat Houser, April 3, 2006