 He attended the country schools, studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1825.He began his practice in Decatur, Georgia.Murphey served as clerk of the superior court of DeKalb County, Georgia, from 1825 to 1827, as a member of the Georgia House of Representatives from 1839 through 1841, and as a member of the Georgia Senate in 1842, 1845, 1849–1850, and 1855–56.