Edmund O'Connor

Edmund O'Connor (November 1848 – July 15, 1898) was an American lawyer and politician from New York. He was President pro tempore of the New York State Senate in 1895.

Early life

Edward O'Connor was born in November 1848 near Mallow, County Cork, Ireland. In the spring of 1851, the family moved to the United States and settled at Little Falls, New York. After the death of his father in 1862, he began to work at a railroad blacksmith shop in Little Falls. He attended local public and parochial schools in Little Falls and studied at Little Falls Academy and Delhi Academy from where he graduated in 1868. Then he studied law in the office of Judge Rollin H. Smith in Little Falls, was admitted to the bar in October 1870 in Oswego, New York.

Career

In 1873, O'Connor moved to Binghamton and started law firm Ludden & O'Connor with William J. Ludden, later a judge in Troy. In 1876, he was elected city attorney and dissolved his partnership. He practiced alone afterward. From 1880 on, he was a trustee of the Binghamton State Asylum. In 1881, he was elected as chairman of the auditing committee of the asylum. In 1897, he was appointed as attorney for the board of the asylum by Governor Black.

He was a Republican member of the New York State Senate from 1890 to 1895, sitting in the 113th, 114th, 115th, 116th (all four 24th D.), 117th and 118th New York State Legislatures (both 25th D.); and was president pro tempore in 1895. In 1890, he was chairman of the committee on commerce and navigation. He was a member of the Lexow investigation committee. He introduced a bill for the "equal division of the election offices of the state between the Republican and Democratic parties".

In the session of 1892, when Republican leader, he made a strong but unsuccessful fight against the re-apportionment of the state, and for his refusal to vote on an enumeration bill (voting reapportionment) he and two other senators were declared guilty of contempt by Lt. Gov. William F. Sheehan and their names taken from the roll. But they were supported by the judiciary committee in their position, were purged of contempt and their names restored.

After leaving the senate, O'Connor continued his law practice.

Personal life

O'Connor married Bridget Murphy of Deposit on November 17, 1880. They had four children, Edmund, Helen, William and Florence. He was a member of St. Mary's Catholic Church. His brother William O'Connor was a port warden of the Port of New York.

O'Connor died on July 15, 1898, at his home at 132 Prospect Avenue in Binghamton. He was buried at the Catholic Cemetery in Binghamton.

See also

* List of New York Legislature members expelled or censured

References

Political Graveyard

Obit in NYT on July 16, 1898

External links

*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oconnor, Edmund
19th-century Irish lawyers
1848 births
1898 deaths
People from Mallow, County Cork
Politicians from Binghamton, New York
Republican Party New York (state) state senators
Majority leaders of the New York State Senate
Politicians from County Cork
Irish emigrants to the United States
Censured or reprimanded members of the New York State Legislature
Lawyers from Binghamton, New York
19th-century American lawyers
Lawyers from County Cork
New York (state) city attorneys
19th-century members of the New York State Legislature