Nobles County MN Archives Biographies.....O'Connor, John F. 1856 - ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/mn/mnfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com November 3, 2006, 11:29 am Author: Arthur P. Rose (1908) JOHN F. O'CONNOR, proprietor of the Leota Stock farm, is one of the big farmers and stock raisers of Leota township, as well as one of the county's pioneers. He owns 640 acres of land on sections 18, 17, 19 and 29, Leota, and a half section in Pembina county, N. D. He breeds Belgium horses, Shorthorn cattle, Shropshire sheep' and Duroc-Jersey swine and has large herds of each. He also buys and ships stock from Kenneth. Mr. O'Connor's life history is one of interest. He is the son of Robert and Catherine (Foster) O'Connor, both deceased. The father was born in County Kildare, Ireland. In 1848, being a colonel in the rebel or insurgent army, he was forced to flee his native country and came to the United States. He and his half brother, Charles O'Connor, now a noted criminal lawyer of New York city, were smuggled aboard an American ship by an aunt, who was the wife of the mayor of Dublin, and made the trip in safety to the land of the free. The English crown had confiscated 300,000 pounds from the estate of the brothers, the estate now known as the Lord Pertarllton estate, located in the town of Monasterevin, in the county of Kildare. After arriving in the new world Robert O'Connor worked for a time in a dry goods store in New York city, and later engaged in the real estate business there. Leaving the metropolis, he went to western Pennsylvania and engaged in the oil business, becoming a member of the firm of O'Connor, McAllister & Hughes. The partners were highly successful and became millionaires. Later their business was cornered and they were forced out of business by a powerful oil company—a company which developed into the all-powerful Standard Oil company. Practically bankrupt, Robert O'Connor in 1868 moved west and located in Fillmore county, Minn. There he made his home with his son, John, until his death, which occurred at the age of 56 years. Our subject's mother was born near Waynesburg, Pa., in 1831. She died at the home of her son Nov. 13, 1907. John is the oldest of a family of six living children of these parents. The other children are Mary, Sarah, Charles, Major and Agnes. John O'Connor was born in Green county, Pennsylvania, on Jan. 5, 1856. At the age of twelve years he moved with his parents to Fillmore county, Minn., and there he resided on the farm until 1873. That year he moved to Wdrthington, which was his place of residence two years. During this time he was employed by Daniel Shell as a stage driver on the mail route from Worthington to Yankton, S. D., a distance of 104 miles. He was then transferred to Luverne and ran a mail route out of that place until the Omaha branch was built to Sioux Falls. During the winter of 1876 Mr. O'Connor bought a homestead right to the southeast quarter of section 18, Leota township, from William Cahill, paying therefor a fur coat and fifteen dollars in cash. He did not take possession of his claim until 1888. In the meantime he was engeged [sic] in several different occupations. For some time he worked at the carpenter trade in the new towns of Luverne and Adrian. Then he took employment with Chief Engineer Pard Brown and his assistant, T. P. Healy, who had the contract to survey the line of the Northwestern railroad from Tracy to Pierre, S. D. He left with the crew from Luverne on April 7. and did not see a white man, with the exception of the members of the crew, until he reached Pierre in November. In 1884, when the Burlington road was builded through the southwestern corner of Nobles colunty and the village of Ellsworth was founded, Mr. O'Connor moved to that place, and for a time bought grain there for Rice & Larrabee. He erected the first building in the town, which was a grain flat-house, put up for the firm with whom he took employment. Later he became the grain buyer for H. E. Torrance. In 1886 he went into the grain and implement business in Ellsworth for himself and was in business two years. Through the connivance of certain parties Mr. O'Connor failed in business and lost almost his entire fortune. He then, in 1888, moved onto his homestead claim. and has ever since been engaged in farming. He has met with success and has prospered to a flattering degree. Mr. O'Connor was married at Currie, Minn., Feb. 20, 1888, to Jennie Oliver, who was born in Stillwater, Minn., in 1866. She is the daughter of C. A. and Margaret Oliver, natives of Boston. To Mr. and Mrs. O'Connor have been born three children: Robert, Harry and Margaret. Mr. and Mrs. O'Connor are members of the Catholic church of Kenneth and he belongs to the M. W. A. and K. P. lodges of Edger-ton. During his long residence in Leota township Mr. O'Connor has held many offices of trust in the gift of his neighbors. For several years he was a member of the township board and has held the offices of assessor and justice of the peace. He also served as a member of the board of directors of school district No. 105. Additional Comments: Extracted from: AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF NOBLES COUNTY MINNESOTA BY ARTHUR P. ROSE NORTHERN HISTORY PUBLISHING COMPANY WORTHINGTON, MINNESOTA PUBLISHERS 1908 File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/mn/nobles/bios/oconnor214gbs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/mnfiles/ File size: 5.7 Kb