Son of Nymphas Coridon Murdock and Sarah Melissa Barney

Married Margaret Ashbridge Wright, 28 Nov 1878, Salt Lake City, Utah, Utah. Children - Erma Murdock, Cora Murdock, Margaret (Maggie) Josephine Murdock, Sarah Emeline Murdock, Royal Joseph Murdock, Chloe Murdock, Nymphas Warren Murdock, Ira Barney Murdock, Emer Wright Murdock, Mima Melissa Murdock, Nellie Murdock.

LDS Biographical Encyclopedia, Andrew Jenson, Vol. 1, p. 361

Murdock, Joseph Royal, first counselor to Pres. Wm. H. Smart (president of the Wasatch Stake of Zion), is the son of Nymphas C. and Sarah M. Murdock, and was born Aug. 11, 1858, in Salt Lake City, Utah, where he remained until 1871, when he moved to Charleston, Wasatch county, where he has since resided. He completed the common school course, and also attended the B. Y. Academy at Provo in 1875-76. He was married to Margaret Wright, daughter of Wm. and Jemima Wright, Nov. 28, 1878. Their union has been blessed with ten children, all of whom are living. For three years he taught school in the district schools at Charleston. In 1880-82 he filled a mission to the Northern States, laboring principally in the State of Michigan. His avocation in life has been farming, stock raising and merchandising. In 1887 he was chosen as second counselor to his father in the Bishopric of Charleston Ward, which position he held until Feb. 3, 1901, when he was called to act as first counselor to Pres. Wm. H. Smart of the Wasatch Stake of Zion, which position he now holds. He served as a member of the constitutional convention and was Wasatch county's representative in the first two State legislatures. In November, 1900, he was elected senator from the Fifth Senatorial District.

LDS Biographical Encyclopedia, Andrew Jenson, Vol. 3, p. 174

Murdock, Joseph R., president of the Wasatch Stake. (Continued from Vol. 1, page 361.) At the request of President Wm. H. Smart, President Joseph R. Murdock moved to Heber City in December 1902. At the quarterly conference at Heber City, on August 12, 1906, he was chosen and set apart as president of the Wasatch Stake, with James C. Jensen as his first and Edward D. Clyde as his second counselor. This call came to President Murdock in consequence of President Wm. H. Smart having been appointed to preside over the Uintah Stake of Zion. After the new presidency assumed their position in the Wasatch Stake they continued the noble work commenced by their predecessors in fighting the liquor traffic, which resulted in all the saloons in the county being closed, and the sale of liquor practically suspended. They also arranged for amusements in the Stake to be placed under the supervision of the Church authorities. Before President Smart left the Stake, President Murdock was appointed by the presidency of the Wasatch Stake to assist in various irrigation projects, looking to the reclaiming of the arid lands in what was then known as the Uintah Indian Reservation. In this capacity, President Murdock took the initiative in getting out the waters upon the lands in what is known now as the Dry Gulch Irrigation Company, which represents about 80,000 acres of agricultural land. This project has been carried out successfully and thousands of homes have been benefited thereby. In developing the water rights of the Provo River, President Murdock's services have been extended into Utah and Salt Lake counties, where two irrigation companies have been organized, providing for the storing of waters of the Provo River, and of the pumping of water out of the Utah Lake to an elevation of 100 feet from where it is carried into Salt Lake county as far as Little Cottonwood on the east and Bennion Ward on the west side. By these projects over 10,000 acres of land have been brought under cultivation, and when the canals are completed 20,000 acres more will be benefited thereby. President Murdock has taken part in the development of many of the resources of Wasatch County and is now president of the Bank of Heber City and the Heber Mercantile Company. Together with his sons and sons-in-law, he is largely interested in farming and sheep-raising.

The Joseph Murdock Home in Heber City, Utah.

Senator Joseph R. Murdock built a 9000 sq ft, 13 bedroom home in 1902 for his wife Margaret and their eleven children. For many, many years it was the largest home in the region. Joseph was born in Salt Lake City in 1858. His parents, Nymphas and Sarah Murdock were early converts to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They came across the plains from Nauvoo, Illinois in 1846 with the second battalion organized by Brigham Young which included over 500 hand-carts and wagons.

At age 13, Joseph's parents decided to move from Salt Lake City to the Heber Valley (known at that time as "The Valley of the Cones" – in reference to the small geothermal cones (domes) that were produced by the minerals from all the geothermal activity in the valley.

Joseph's family settled in the town now known as Charleston, where they would establish a dairy farm. In 1875, at age 17, Joseph attended the inaugural year of what is now known as Brigham Young University – at that time, it was called Brigham Young Academy.

Upon graduating from Brigham Young Academy, Joseph returned to the Heber Valley where he continued to work on the family farm while at the same time, he taught elementary school in Charleston.

In 1878 Joseph married Margaret Wright. They were blessed with eleven children – seven daughters and four boys. One daughter passed away as an infant, the other ten children lived into adulthood.

Joseph's father, Nymphas, decided to open a mercantile store. So, Joseph helped his father get the Heber Valley Mercantile off the ground. A few years later Joseph's father turned the mercantile operation over to Joseph. In 1904, Joseph built the Heber Valley Bank and became president of it. Both the Heber Valley Bank and the Heber Mercantile are still on Heber's Main Street today.

One of Joseph's most notable contributions to the region was when he raised over two million dollars to construct a canal that would divert the water from the Heber Valley down to the Utah and Salt Lake Counties area. This insured the water supply for those areas and spurred the development of those regions as it became the primary water source for tens of thousands of homes and hundreds of thousands of acres.

Joseph was very involved in his church and his community. He was in the bishopric in Charleston and he was later called as a Stake President in Heber. He was also a mayor of Heber City for nearly ten years and later, in November 1900, he was elected Senator from the Fifth Senatorial District.

Joseph spent most of his life in the Heber Valley until he passed away in 1931 at the age of 73.