WALLS, ELIZABETH MARY (MURPHY) (1839-1896)

WALLS, ELIZABETH MARY (MURPHY), milliner; b. c1839, d/o Jonathan Murphy, of Kouchibouguac, N.B.; m. 1869, John Walls, widower, of Chatham; d. there, 21 Aug 1896.

Elizabeth M. Murphy was working as a housemaid in Chatham in 1861. Several years later she opened a millinery shop. She stated in an advertisement in 1887 that she had been in the millinery business in the town for the past twenty years. Her husband, John Walls, died in 1874, five years after their marriage, and she administered his will. In the meantime, she continued to operate the millinery store and did so until near the end of her life. When she died in 1896 her estate had an estimated value of $70,000. She left no children.