Maurice D. O'Connell (April 23, 1839 – August 26, 1922) was an

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

attorney who served as

Solicitor of the United States Treasury The Solicitor of the Treasury position was created in the United States Department of the Treasury by an act of May 29, 1830 , which changed the name of the Agent of the Treasury. Function The Solicitor of the Treasury served as legal advisor to t ...

Biography

Maurice D. O'Connell was born in Constable, New York, on April 23, 1839. He was educated at Franklin Academy and taught school in

upstate New York Upstate New York is a geographic region of New York (state), New York that lies north and northwest of the New York metropolitan area, New York City metropolitan area of downstate New York. Upstate includes the middle and upper Hudson Valley, ...

. During the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

, O'Connell worked in the Washington, D.C. office of the

Comptroller of the Currency The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) is an independent bureau within the United States Department of the Treasury that was established by the National Currency Act of 1863 and serves to corporate charter, charter, bank regulation ...

. O'Connell studied law at Columbian University (now

George Washington University The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally-chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Originally named Columbian College, it was chartered in 1821 by ...

) while working for the comptroller, graduated in 1866, and attained admission to the bar. After the war, O'Connell resided in

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

for two years, where he was employed by the San Antonio National Bank. In 1869, O'Connell moved to

Fort Dodge, Iowa Fort Dodge is a city in and the county seat of Webster County, Iowa, United States, along the Des Moines River. The population was 24,871 in the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, a decrease from 25,136 in 2000 United States Census, 2000. F ...

, where he practiced law. From 1872 to 1879, he was

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for the Eleventh Judicial District, an eight county area of Iowa. A Republican, O'Connell was appointed

United States Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal ...

for the Northern District of Iowa in 1881, and served until

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was inaugurated in 1885. When

Benjamin Harrison Benjamin Harrison (August 20, 1833March 13, 1901) was the 23rd president of the United States, serving from 1889 to 1893. He was a member of the Harrison family of Virginia—a grandson of the ninth president, William Henry Harrison, and a ...

became

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in 1889, O'Connell returned to the U.S. Attorney's office, serving until 1893. In 1897, O'Connell was named Solicitor of the Treasury, and he served until 1910. After resigning, he resided in

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, where he continued to practice law. O'Connell died in Washington, D.C., on August 26, 1922, from injuries he sustained in a streetcar accident the previous April. He was buried in Fort Dodge.Newspaper article, M.D. O'Connell to be buried in Iowa, Oelwein Daily Register, August 28, 1922

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:OConnell, Maurice D. 1839 births 1922 deaths People from Franklin County, New York People from Fort Dodge, Iowa Iowa lawyers Lawyers from Washington, D.C. United States Department of the Treasury officials Iowa Republicans George Washington University Law School alumni United States attorneys for the Northern District of Iowa