Frank Patrick O'Connor (April 9, 1885 – August 21, 1939) was a Canadian politician, businessman and philanthropist. He was the founder of

Laura Secord Chocolates Laura Secord s.e.c is a Canadian chocolatier, confectionery, and ice cream company. It was named after the Canadian heroine Laura Secord. In 1813, Laura Secord, pioneer wife and mother of seven children, made a dangerous 19-mile (30-km) journey on ...

in Canada and

Fanny Farmer Fanny Farmer was an American candy manufacturer and retailer. Fanny Farmer was started in Rochester, New York by Frank O'Connor in 1919, and grew to over 400 stores before being bought and consolidated. History O'Connor had previously start ...

in the United States. He is the namesake behind

O'Connor Drive O'Connor or O'Conor may refer to: People * O'Connor or O'Conor, an Irish clan * O'Connor Sligo, a royal dynasty ruling the northern part of the Kingdom of Connacht * O'Connor (surname), including a list of people with the surname Places *Burnet O' ...

in Toronto.

Early years

O'Connor was born in Deseronto,

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, the son of Mary Eleanor McKeown and Patrick O'Connor. He quit school at the age of 14 and started working at Canadian

General Electric General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable energ ...

Peterborough Peterborough () is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, east of England. It is the largest part of the City of Peterborough unitary authority district (which covers a larger area than Peterborough itself). It was part of Northamptonshire until ...

. Around 1910 he opened The Canadian Chicle Co. at 283 George Street (North) in downtown Peterborough, which sold candy and a form of

Chiclets Chiclets is an American brand of candy-coated chewing gum manufactured by Mondelez International. The brand was introduced in 1900 by the American Chicle Company, a company founded by Thomas Adams. History The Chiclets name is derived from the ...

under the product name "Elizabeth's Best". O'Connor married Mary Ellen Hayes. With $500 in financing from local partners they moved to Toronto in 1912 and opened a new store at 354 Yonge Street.

Laura Secord candy company

In 1913, he opened the Laura Secord candy store on (at 354) Yonge Street. In 1919 he expanded across Canada and into the United States, where the chain was known as

candy stores. In 1923 Laura Secord became the first candy manufacturer in the world to introduce a profit-sharing plan.

Later life

In 1935, he was appointed to the

Senate of Canada The Senate of Canada (french: region=CA, Sénat du Canada) is the upper house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the House of Commons, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The Senate is modelled after the B ...

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

William Lyon Mackenzie King William Lyon Mackenzie King (December 17, 1874 – July 22, 1950) was a Canadian statesman and politician who served as the tenth prime minister of Canada for three non-consecutive terms from 1921 to 1926, 1926 to 1930, and 1935 to 1948. A Li ...

. He represented the senatorial division of Scarborough Junction, Ontario until his death in 1939. Frank and Mary Ellen had a daughter, Mary; and Frank adopted Mary Ellen's young son William. O'Connor survived his wife, who died in 1931, and died at this estate at age 54.

Legacy

A Roman Catholic, O'Connor gave $500,000 in the 1930s to the Archdiocese of Toronto under the trusteeship of Cardinal

James Charles McGuigan James Charles McGuigan (November 26, 1894 – April 8, 1974) was a Canadian prelate of the Catholic Church. He was the longest-serving Archbishop of Toronto, serving for almost 37 years from 1934 to 1971. He became the first English-speaking ca ...

, one of numerous bequests to causes and organizations in his faith. Senator O'Connor College School, a

Toronto Catholic District School Board The Toronto Catholic District School Board (TCDSB, known as English-language Separate District School Board No. 40 prior to 1999) is an English-language public-separate school board for Toronto, Ontario, Canada, headquartered in North York. I ...

high school, was named in his honour. His 600 acre estate was later acquired by the Toronto Catholic School Board (located next to the high school named after him) and sold. It was being restored and has been damaged by a fire in 2012. The remaining lands of the 240 hectares estate was developed for residential use. One of the 15 islands that make up Toronto Islands Park is called Senator Frank Patrick O'Connor Island on Google maps. There are no buildings on this island and it is only accessible by water.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oconnor, Frank Patrick 1885 births 1939 deaths 20th-century Canadian businesspeople Canadian Roman Catholics Canadian senators from Ontario Liberal Party of Canada senators Canadian people of Irish descent 20th-century Canadian philanthropists