Michael Patrick O'Connor (September 29, 1831 – April 26, 1881) was an American lawyer, politician and

Confederate A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

Civil War veteran who served one term as a

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

from

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

from 1879 to 1881.

Early life

Born in

Beaufort, South Carolina Beaufort ( , different from that of Beaufort, North Carolina) is a city in Beaufort County, South Carolina, United States, and its county seat. Chartered in 1711, it is the second-oldest city in South Carolina, behind Charleston, South Carolina ...

, O'Connor attended the public schools and was graduated from St. John's College,

Fordham, New York Fordham Manor is a neighborhood located in the western Bronx, New York City. Fordham is roughly bordered by East 196th Street to the north, the Harlem River to the west, Fordham Road to the south, and Southern Boulevard to the east. The neighbor ...

, in 1850. He studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1854 and commenced practice in

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint of South Carolina's coastline on Charleston Harbor, an inlet of the Atla ...

Civil War

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 ...

, he served in the

military as a lieutenant in the Lafayette Light Artillery.

Political career

He served as member of the

South Carolina House of Representatives The South Carolina House of Representatives is the lower house of the South Carolina General Assembly. It consists of 124 representatives elected to two-year terms at the same time as U.S. congressional elections. Unlike many legislatures, seatin ...

from 1858 to 1866. He argued against secession in the state house of representatives. He served as delegate to the Democratic National Conventions in 1872 and 1876.

Congress

He was an unsuccessful candidate for election in 1874 to the Forty-fourth and in 1876 to the Forty-fifth Congresses, but was elected as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

to the Forty-sixth Congress, serving from March 4, 1879 to March 3, 1881.

Death and burial

He received credentials as a Member-elect to the Forty-seventh Congress, but his ability to take his seat was delayed, pending a contest of the election by Edmund W.M. Mackey. The inquiry subsequently resulted successfully for the contestant, although O’Connor had died in

, April 26, 1881, before the resolution was announced. He was interred in St. Lawrence Cemetery.

References

Sources

Books

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Oconnor, Michael Patrick 1831 births 1881 deaths Confederate States Army officers Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from South Carolina People of South Carolina in the American Civil War 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives 19th-century members of the South Carolina General Assembly