This week’s #FridayFind is… a family feud?

According to any 80s sitcom, you’re practically destined to feud with your in-laws. Cheers, Golden Girls, the list goes on. The trope often involves the mother and daughter-in-law, but when it comes to real life, fathers and sons-in-law certainly aren’t exempt.

By November 4th, 1909, Mr. M.J. Murphy had had enough of this feuding and meant to settle it once and for all by consulting the ultimate authority: the church. You see when Mr. Murphy’s son-in-law married into the family, he had promised to raise his future children as Catholics. But 20 years later, after Mr. Murphy’s daughter had passed away, he went back on his promise. With no other option left, Mr. Murphy wrote the [below] letter to the church, searching for documentation to support his case against his son-in-law.

The answer came back only three days later: there was no record of dispensation.

What family feuds have you discovered in your genealogy research? Tell us about it and send it to emma@backlog-archivists.com!