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 is owned by Jean Leclerc of Quebec City, who owns Nutriart, a company devoted to chocolate production. Nutriart is a former division of Biscuits Leclerc. His ...

in Canada and Fanny Farmer 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 * Burdett ...

in Toronto.

Early years

O'Connor was born in

Deseronto Deseronto is a town in the Canadian province of Ontario, in Hastings County, located at the mouth of the Napanee River on the shore of the Bay of Quinte, on the northern side of Lake Ontario. It is located 5 km from Highway 401, is the east ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, 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) was an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in 1892, incorporated in the New York (state), state of New York and headquartered in Boston. Over the year ...

Peterborough Peterborough ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in the City of Peterborough district in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire, England. The city is north of London, on the River Nene. A ...

. 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 owned by Perfetti Van Melle. The brand was introduced in 1900 by the American Chicle Company, a company founded by Thomas Adams. History The Chiclets name derives from the Mexican Spanis ...

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 Yonge Street ( ') is a major arterial route in the Canadian province of Ontario connecting the shores of Lake Ontario in Toronto to Lake Simcoe, a gateway to the Great Lakes#Geography, Upper Great Lakes. Ontario's first colonial administrator, ...

Laura Secord candy company

In 1913, he opened the

Laura Secord Laura Secord (; 13 September 1775 – 17 October 1868) was a Canadian woman involved in the War of 1812. She is known for having walked out of American-occupied territory in 1813 to warn British forces of an impending American attack. ...

candy store on (at 354) Yonge Street. In 1919 he expanded across Canada and into the United States, where the chain was known as Fanny Farmer 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 () is the upper house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Monarchy of Canada#Parliament (King-in-Parliament), Crown and the House of Commons of Canada, House of Commons, they compose the Bicameralism, bicameral le ...

by Liberal

Prime Minister A prime minister 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. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

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

. He represented the

senatorial division Canadian Senate divisions refers to two aspects of the Senate of Canada. First, it refers to the division of Canada into four regional Senate divisions of 24 senators each, as set out in section 22 of the Constitution Act, 1867.The Constitution Ac ...

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 The Metropolitan Archdiocese of Toronto () is a Roman Catholic archdiocese that includes part of the province of Ontario. Its archbishop is also the ecclesiastical provincial for the dioceses of Hamilton, London, Saint Catharines, and Thunder Bay ...

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 ...

, one of numerous bequests to causes and organizations in his faith.

Senator O'Connor College School Senator O'Connor College School (also called SOCS, Senator O'Connor CS, Senator O'Connor, OCS, or simply Senator or O'Connor), previously known as John J. Lynch High School until 1967 is a Separate school, Separate High school#Canada, high school i ...

, 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. ...

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 20th-century members of the Senate of Canada