information, and alike keen in discerning new traits in men and shrewd in contrasting them with those which are more common and better known. Very naturally the subject of our sketch took a lively interest in political affairs upon becoming of age. A strong and devoted Republican, in his adopted city his influence in local politics has been felt for years. He was a member of the state house of representatives in 1871 and 1873; attached to the staff of Gov. Straw; appointed and confirmed as consul to Moscow--honor declined; a member of the Chicago convention in 1880, where he stoutly supported Blaine so long as a ray of hope remained; president of the Dover Five Cent Savings Bank--from a state of torpor and weakness it has grown under his guiding hand into activity and strength; elected mayor of the city of Dover in 1880, and recently chosen for another term; recipient of the honorary degree of A. B. from Lewis College in 1881. Through all his mature life, Col. Murphy has been a busy man. But the energetic and successful are not exempt from the sorrows common to humanity. Three children, who, if spared, might put off to a distant day the weariness that inevitably comes with advancing years, died while young; and finally the partner of all his vicissitudes bade him a final adieu. His second wife, Mrs. Eliza T. Hanson, widow of the late John T. Hanson, of Dover, dispenses a gracious hospitality in the spacious and richly furnished Cushing-street mansion. In closing we may add, Col. Murphy combines qualities which are generally found apart,--a love for work amounting to dedication, and a readiness to assist the unfortunate which seems ingrained. His abode is full of cheerfulness. No one comes there who does not receive a hearty welcome; no one departs without feeling as if leaving a home. [Illustration: Hy. C. Sherburne] HENRY C. SHERBURNE. HENRY CLAY SHERBURNE, son of Reuben R. and Sally (Rackleyft Staples) Sherburne, was born in Charlestown, Mass., December 9, 1830. His father was a native of Pelham and his mother of Newmarket; so, although born outside the limits of the state, he is wholly of New Hampshire lineage. His early education, obtained in the public schools of Boston, terminated when he was fifteen years of age, at which time he entered the employ of Holbrook & Tappan, hardware dealers, in whose store he remained three years. At the age of eighteen years he gained his first experience in railroad business, serving as a clerk in the freight department of the Boston & Lowell Railroad, under his father, who was agent of the upper roads doing business with that corporation. Accepting a clerkship in the office of the Concord Railroad, he removed to Concord in 1851. After a year's service with the Concord Railroad, he entered the employ of the Concord & Claremont Railroad, where he remained until 1865, a period of thirteen years.