Alexander McAuley Murphy was from Carrickfergus, N. Ireland, the eldest of the Murphy children who immigrated to Canada,; he settled in Montreal with his wife Jane Allen, where he was a merchant of fine linen. His parents John and Christian McAuley appear to have been flax growers on a leased piece of land in Carrickfergus. Three of his siblings immigrated to Canada,and settled in what is today Châteauguay, Quebec. A fourth sibling died at sea off the east coast of Shelbourne, Nova Scotia, after the barge for which he was the Master hit a huge boulder. He was unable to be rescued.
His siblings were Margaret Lois (1796-1868), Samuel 1800-1839, John (1804-1869) m to Christian McKenzie (1812-1902) and Davis (1810-1849). Only Alexander and John produced progeny in Canada. It is not known whether there were other children of the John Murphy and Christian McAuley union, although there may have been 9 children in total born to them.
Alexander and Jane had 8 children (3 sons and 5 daughters), while John and Christian had 3 sons and 1 daughter. Known descendants of this Murphy clan reside in Canada and the USA.