(This unpublished book of compiled Murphy family history is found in the Leora H. McEachern Library of Local History, in Rose Hill, NC)

     from the foreword:

"The Murphys in North Carolina have been known for two hundred years for their contributions to political, religious, and social life in this colony and state.  The name was originally McMurchie, but was changed to Murphy after Gaelic was suppressed.  They originally came from the Island of Arran, on the west coast of Scotland and they belonged to the ancient race of Celts who refused to be Romanized or Anglicized.  They later migrated to Ireland and were seated at Castle Ellis and Ouleartleagh in the barony of Ballaghkeen, in the eastern part of the country around Wexford.  During the period from 1740 until the time of the American Revolution, large numbers of settlers from Scotland and Ireland settled in the Upper Cape Fear Valley of North Carolina.  Among these were John Murphy, our first ancestor to come to this country, and his brothers, believed to be William and Timothy Murphy."

Note, the Balkcom family may have no link to these particular Murphy emigrants, but their pedigrees have been extracted to the surname database.