Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1900, volume 4).djvu/594

554 the diocese of Erie was formed from it. Bishop O'Connor was -transferred to the new diocese at his own request, but on the petition of the clergy and people of Pittsburg he was sent back by the pope. He went to Rome in 1854 to take part in defining the dogma of the immaculate conception, and it was said that certain alterations in the wording of the decree were due to his advice. In 1855 he fin- ished the Pittsburg cathedral, which is the largest in the United States with two exceptions. Bishop O'Connor was very successful in financial invest- ments. One piece of property that he bought at $16,000 was afterward assessed for $162,000. In 1860 he was permitted to resign his see, the num- ber of priests in which had then increased to eighty-six and the churches to seventy- seven. He entered a Jesuit monastery in Germany, and by a special dispensation was allowed to take the usual vows in two years. He then returned to the United States and was appointed professor of the- ology in Woodstock college, Md. He was after- ward socius to the provincial of the Jesuits, and preached and lectured in most of the great cities throughout the United States. He took much in- terest in the colored people, and, owing to his ex- ertions, St. Xavier's church was opened for them in Baltimore. He was an accomplished linguist. — His brother, James, R. C. bishop, b. in Queenstown, Ireland, 10 Sept., 1823 ; d. in Omaha, Neb., 27 May, 1890, came to the United States and entered the Seminary of St. Charles Borromeo, Philadelphia. He was sent to the Propaganda, Rome, to study phi- losophy and theology, and completed his course in 1845, when he was ordained priest. He then re- turned to this country, and was assigned to mission- ary duty in the diocese of Pittsburg. He was made president of St. Michael's seminary, Glenwood, in 1857, and this institution made such progress during his administration that he was obliged to build ex- tensive additions in 1862. He was transferred to the seminary at Overbrook in 1863, where, while acting as director, he filled the chairs of philosophy, moral theology, and ecclesiastical history. He made a tour of Europe, and on his return was appointed pastor of St. Dominic's church at Holmesburg, Pa. He was nominated vicar-apostolic of Nebraska, and consecrated bishop of Dibona in partibus infidelium on 20 Aug., 1876. He introduced the Jesuits and Franciscans into the viearate, and opened Creighton college in 1879. In 1885 the viearate was erected into a regular see. It contained in 1890 about eighty-seven priests, fourteen chapels, and various religious and educational institutions.

O'CONNOR, Sir Richard, sailor, b. in Marblehill, County Cork, Ireland, in 1782; d. in London, England. 10 Jan., 1855. He entered the English navy in 1798, and in 1813 he was sent to Canada as director of the military establishments on the great lakes. He took part in the capture of Oswego on 6 May, 1814, under Admiral Yeo, who gave him command of the gun-boats. He was recalled to England in 1815, rose through all the ranks of the service, and was made rear-admiral in 1850.

O'CONNOR, William Douglas, author, b. in Boston, Mass., 2 Jan., 1833 ; d. in Washington, D. C, 9 May, 1889. He spent his early years in Boston studios. Forced to abandon his purpose, he turned to humble employments for a livelihood, and be- fore the age of twenty became associate editor of the Boston " Commonwealth," a famous Free-soil daily. In 1859-'60 he was an editor of the Phila- delphia "Saturday Evening Post," in 1861 be- came corresponding clerk of the light-house board in Washington, in 1873 chief clerk, in 1874 libra- rian of the treasury department, and in 1878 assistant general superintendent of the life-saving service, of the annual reports of which he was the author. He published " Harrington," a powerful romance (Boston, 1860) ; " The Good Gray Poet," an impassioned pamphlet in vindication of Walt Whitman, marked as much by its familiarity with the world's highest literature as by its courage of opinion (New York, 1866) : " The Ghost," a story (1867); and tales and poems in periodicals. In 1882 he attracted public attention by a series of articles in the New York " Tribune," exposing and denouncing in the interests of literary freedom, an attempt of certain legal authorities in Boston to suppress Whitman's " Leaves of Grass." A year later, on the occasion of the republication of" his "Good Gray Poet" in Dr. R. M. Bucke's mono- graph entitled " Walt Whitman " (Philadelphia, 1883), he contributed a long letter of preface. He was a defender and expounder of Delia Bacon's gen- eral theory of the authorship of the Shakespeare drama, and published "Hamlet's Note -Book" (Boston, 1886), a discussion of the main points at issue, involving a striking contrast between Shake- speare and Bacon personally, and taking the ex- treme Baconian ground. His publications were mainly impromptu and occasional. Among his most notable poems are " To Athos " and " To Fanny"; of his short tales, "What Cheer?" and " The Carpenter."

O'CONOR, or O'CONNOR, Thomas, journalist, b. in Dublin, Ireland, 1 Sept., 1770; d. in New York city, 9 Feb., 1855. He came to this country in 1801, and was shortly afterward associated with William Kernan, father of Francis Kernan (q. v.), and others, in establishing a settlement on a tract of 40,000 acres in Steuben county, N. Y. He eventually abandoned the enterprise, returned to New York city, and spent the rest of his life there. He devoted himself largely to literary pursuits, contributing to the journals, writing and publishing books, and editing various periodicals, including the &ldquo;Military Monitor,&rdquo; established in 1812, the &ldquo;Shamrock,&rdquo; and the &ldquo;Globe,&rdquo; founded in 1819. He also published several pamphlets on Irish or Roman Catholic questions, and volumes entitled &ldquo;Selections from Several Literary Works&rdquo; (New York, 1821), and &ldquo;The Inquisition examined by an Impartial Observer&rdquo; (1825).— His son, Charles, lawyer, b. in New York city, 22 Jan., 1804; d. in Nantucket, Mass., 12 May, 1884, modified the spelling of the family name to conform to the ancient usage. At the age of sixteen he began to study law, and in 1824, before he had attained the statutory age of twenty-one years, he was admitted to practice. From this period till within a few years of his death his life was devoted to the pursuit of his profession. The Forrest divorce case, which, contending against John Van Buren and other eminent counsel, he brought to a successful issue, securing for his client, Mrs. Forrest, a liberal alimony, brought him more than ever into national reputation. Two silver vases were presented to him in its commemoration. One was the gift of