Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1900, volume 4).djvu/626

586 O'REGAN, Anthony, R. C. bishop, b. in Kil- tullagh, Ireland, early in the 19th century; d. in London. England, 13 Nov.. 1866. He emigrated to the United States, was appointed viear-general of the diocese of St. Louis, and was also president of the college of Carondelet, and professor of theology and sacred scriptures. In 1853 he was nominated bishop of Chicago. He declined the appointment, but a rescript from the pope was sent to him in 1854, that ordered him to accept the post, and he was consecrated the same year. The diocese was in a very disorganized condition ; there was considerable opposition to the adminis- trative methods of the new bishop, and he found it a difficult task to restore order. Although he was partially successful, many complaints were made to the pope of his harshness, and he went to Rome to obtain pei-mission to resign. He was finally successful and was transferred to the titular see of Dora in 1858. He did not return to the United States, but left large sums for the training of ecclesiastical students for the diocese of Chicago, and the erection of a hospital in that city.

O'REILLY, Count Alexander, Spanish soldier, b. in Ireland about 1730 ; d. in Chinchilla, Murcia, in 1794. He entered the Spanish service, became sub-lieutenant in the Hibernian regiment, and rose rapidly. He became in 1764 second in command at Havana with the rank of major-general. After restoring and strengthening the fortifications of the city he returned to Spain. He was in 1767 ap- pointed governor of Louisiana, which province had opposed its annexation to Spain and had resisted the first governor, UUoa. The rigorous measures that he adopted to force the inhabitants to acqui- esce in Spanish rule made him many enemies, and in 1769 he was recalled to Spain. He led an expe- dition against Algiers in 1775, and was appointed to command the Army of the Eastern Pyrenees shortly before his death.

O'REILLY, Bernard, R. C. bishop, b. in County Longford, Ireland, in 1803 ; d. at sea in 1856. After receiving as good an education as was possi- ble in the condition of his country at the time, he embarked for the United States on 17 Jan., 1825, with the intention of studying for the priesthood. Soon after his arrival he went to Canada and en- tered the ecclesiastical seminary of Montreal. He finished his theological studies in St. Mary's col- lege, Baltimore, and was promoted to the priest- hood in 1831. His first mission was at St. James's church, Brooklyn, N. Y. In the cholera epidemic of 1832 his services won the admiration of the whole community. He was twice prostrated by the disease. In December of the same year he was transferred to St. Patrick's church, Rochester, N. Y., where he had charge of all the missions west of Auburn and east of Niagara Falls. The prog- ress that his church made in this district was mainly due to his exertions. In 1847 he removed to Buffalo and was made vicar-general of the diocese and president of the seminary, having also in charge the hospital of the Sisters of Charity. In 1850 he was consecrated bishop of Hartford. The Roman Catholic population grew rapidly in num- bers during the few years of his administration, but he met with considerable opposition in his at- tempt to introduce religious orders. In 1855 the House of Mercy in Providence, R. I., was sur- rounded by a mob, which threatened the inmates with death. He addressed the rioters fearlessly, declaring that he would protect the sisters while he had life, and his courage awed the riotei's, who dis- persed without doing harm. He embarked for Europe on 5 Dec, 1855, with the object of secur- ing religious teachers for his schools. The " Pacific,"' on which he sailed from Liverpool for the United States, in January, 1856, was never heard from.

'''O'REILLY. Bernard''', clergyman, b. in Done- gal, Ireland, in 1823. He came to Canada at an early age, entered the Seminary of Quebec, and, after finishing his studies, was ordained a priest. He was for several years on the Canadian mission, devoting himself particularly to the interests of those of his countrymen that were forced to emi- grate by the famine of 1848, and was also engaged in a plan for promoting Irish colonization, which was only partially successful. He was professor of rhetoric in St. John's college. Fordham, for some time after 1851, and, after studying abroad, was- attached to the church of St. Francis Xavier, New York. He afterward travelled extensively through Europe, at the same time devoting himself with success to literary pursuits. His intercourse with Pius IX. and Leo XIII. has been confidential, and the latter pontiff selected him to write the official " Life of Leo XIII." He was raised to the dignity of domestic prelate of the papal throne in 1887. His principal works are " Mirror of True Woman- hood" (New York, 1876): "Life of Pius IX." (1877): "True Men" (1878): "Key of Heaven"' (1878) : " The Two Brides," a novel (1879) ; and "Life of Leo XIII." (1887).

O'REILLY, Henry, journalist, b. in Carrick- macross, Ireland, 6 Feb., 1806 ; d. in Rochester,, N. Y., 17 Aug., 1886. He came to this country with his father in 1816, and learned the printer's trade in New Y'ork. In 1826 he went to Roches- ter, N. Y.. and there established the " Advertiser," the first daily newspaper that was published west of Albany, which he edited for four years. It was notable for its opposition to Thurlow Weed. After the invention of the telegraph Mr. O'Reilly entered upon the work of extending the lines to the west, but became involved in lawsuits which almost ruined him financially. I^e had also been promi- nent in advocating the enlargement of the Erie canal and improvement of the public-school system. In 18 he was postmaster of Rochester, and sub- sequently he was connected with various journals. He published "Sketchesof Rochester, with Notices of Western New York" (Rochester, 1838) and "Amer- ican Political Anti-Masonry " (New York, 1879).

O'REILLY, James, R. C. bishop, b. in County Cavan, Ireland, about 1850 ; d. in Wichita, Kansas, 26 July, 1887. He emigrated to the United States in his boyhood, and soon afterward entered the Catho- lic ecclesiastical seminary at Milwaukee, where he followed a course of theology and philosophy. He- was ordained priest in 1874, and appointed a few months afterward pastor of Irish Creek, Kan. He was next transferred to the cathedral of Leaven- worth, whei'e he acted as assistant, and also attended Fort Leavenworth and Kickapoo. He was then for several months pastor of the cathedral. In 1881 his labors began to affect his health and he went to Europe, visiting Ireland. Italy, and other parts of the continent. After his return, in March, 1882, he was made pastor of Topeka, where he ad- vanced the interests of his church materially. He made purchases of property in North and South Topeka, began a church for colored people, and spent large sums in other improvements. He was nominated first bishop of Wichita, and appointed by the pope on 6 July, 1887, but died before the bulls of consecration reached him.

O'REILLY, John, clergyman, b. in Ireland in 1797; d. in St. Louis, Mo., 4 March, 1862. He emigrated to the United States, entered Mount St. Mary's college, Emmettsburg, Md., and was or-