Page:The Biographical Dictionary of America, vol. 08.djvu/122

 OBENCHAIN

O'BRIEN

OBENCHAIN, William Alexander, educator, was born in Buchanan, Va., April 27, 1841; son of Thomas Jefferson and Elizabeth Ann (Sweet- land) Obeuchain. His motlier was a lineal descendant of "William Sweetland, captain of the ship J(n/(rs trading between London, England, and New York, 1C78-79, who settled in Salem, Conn., before the beginning of the eighteenth cen- tury, and the family intermarried with the Van Meterens,an old Knickerbocker family, and with the Bordens and Becks. On the jiaternal side he descended from Reinhold Abendschon from the Palatinate, Germany, who settled in Berks county, Pa., in 1749, and from the Goulds of New Enghuid. William was graduated at the Virginia Military institute with the first honors of the class of 18G1. He served as instructor in light artillery at Camp Lee, Richmond, Va., April, 18G1: was appointed 2d lieutenant of artillery in the Confederate army; was transferred to the corps of engineers in September, 1S61, contrary to his wishes; was ordered to the Department of the Cape Fear, N.C., under Gens. S. G. French and W. H. C. Whiting, and to the Army of Northern Virginia in 1864. He served on the right flank of the Confederate army at Petersburg, and subsequently constructed the defence be- tween the Newmarket and Williamsburg roads, where he was promoted captain of the corps of engineers by General Lee, for " efficiency and meritorious conduct." He was professor of mathematics and of civil and military engineei-ing in the Hillsboro Military academy, N.C., 1866-68; professor of mathematics and commandant of cadets in the Western Military acadamy, under Gen. E. Kirby Smith, at Newcastle, Ky., 1868-70, and professor of German and French and com- mandant of cadets in the University of Nashville, Tenn., 1870-73. He engaged in civil engineering and the real estate business in Texas, 1873-78, became professor of mathematics in Ogden college, Bowling Green, Ky., in 1878, and was elected president of that institution in 1883. He was married, July 8, 188"), to Eliza Hall, daughter of Thomas Chalmers and Margaret (Younglove) Calvert of Bowling Green, Ky., author of "Sally Ann's Experience " and other short stories under the pen name " Eliza Calvert Hall."' He was elected a member of the American Institute of Civics in 1887; of the American Academy of Political and Social Science in 1891; of the Britisli Economic as.sociation in 1892; hon- orary member of the American Whig Society of the College of New Jersey in 1883, and one of the honorary vice-presidents and secretary of the Department Congress of Higher Education, World's Columbian exposition, in 1893. He re- ceived the honorary degree A.M. from Centre college, Ky., in 1885.

OBER, Frederick Albion, author, was born in Beverly, Mass., Feb. 13, 1849; son of Andrew K. and Sarah (Hadlock) Ober; grandson of Andrew and Sarah (Smith) Ober, and of Elijah and Hui- dah (Herrick) Hadlock, and seventh in direct de- scent from Richard Ober, who emigrated from England to Massachusetts and settled in Beverly in 1663. Frederick Albion Ober attended the public school, and in 1862 engaged in business. He attended the Massachusetts Agricultural col- lege for one year and thei'eafter devoted himself to the study of natural history, exploring the Lake Okeechobee region of Florida, 1872-74; making an ornithological exploration of the southern West Indies in 1876-78 and 1880, where he collected birds for the Smithsonian Institution, and discovered twenty-two new species. He visited Mexico in 1881, 1883 and 1885, gather- ing material for several books, and traveled in Spain and northern Africa in 1888, South America in 1889, and in the West Indies again in 1891-92, as commissioner for the Columbian exposition. He lectured on JMexico and the West Indies for nearly ten years in various parts of the country. He is the author of: Camps in the Caribbees (1 879); Young Folks' History of Mexico (1882); The Silver City (1882); Travels in Mexico (1883); Mexican Resources, A Guide to and Through Mexico (1885); 3Iontezuma's Gold Mines (1885); The Knockabout Club in the Antilles, Everglades, etc. (6 vols., 1887-92); In the Wake of Columbus (1893); Josephine, Empress of the French (1895); Under the Cuban Flag (1896); My Spanish Siveet heart (1897); Crusoe's Island (1898); Puerto-Rico and Its Resources (1899); A Brief History of Spain (1899); History of the West Indies (1900); The Last of the Arrawaks (1901); Tommy Foster's Ad- ventures (1901), and contributions to magazines.

O'BRIEN, Fitz=James, author, was born in county Limerick, Ireland, in 1828. His father was an attorney-at-law. He was educated at the University of Dublin, and then went to London., where in the course of two years he spent his in- heritance amounting to about £8,000. While in college he wrote verse, edited a paper in London, 1851, and in 1852 came to the United States, where he contributed to the Lantern, edited by John Brougham, and to the leading literary magazines and newspapers. He wrote for J. W. Wjillack " A Gentleman from Ireland;" prepared " The Ty- coon" for Laura Keeue's theater, and traveled as a literarj' assistant with H. L. Bateman. He joined the 7th regiment. N. G. S. N. Y., and marched with the regiment to Washington. D.C., returning to New York with the rank of captain after six weeks' service. He then engaged in recruiting for MoClellan's volunteer rifles; was appointed on the staff of General Lander with the rank of lieutenant, and served with him