Thomas O'Connor (c. 1819 – October 16, 1887) was an Irish rancher and landowner from

County Wexford County Wexford () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. Named after the town of Wexford, it was ba ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

whose estate was reportedly the largest individual land and cattle holding in Texas at the time of his death.

Life

O'Connor was born in

. In 1834, he sailed with his uncle James Power, who was an empresario, to Texas. Given Power's diplomatic status, the newly formed independent Republic of Mexico granted them access to the country's unpopulated northern lands. On September 28, 1834, the Mexican government granted O'Connor 4,428 acres as a "settler in the Power and Hewetson colony". O'Connor used the property to make saddletrees. The following year the

Texas Revolution The Texas Revolution (October 2, 1835 – April 21, 1836) was a rebellion of colonists from the United States and Tejanos (Hispanic Texans) against the Centralist Republic of Mexico, centralist government of Mexico in the Mexican state of ...

broke out. O'Connor was among the first to reinforce

Presidio La Bahía The Presidio Nuestra Señora de Loreto de la Bahía, known more commonly as Presidio La Bahía, or simply La Bahía, is a fort constructed by the Spanish Army. It became the center of a community that developed into what is now the city of Gol ...

, joining the volunteer regiment commanded by

Philip Dimmitt Philip Dimmitt (1801–1841) was an officer in the Texian Army during the Texas Revolution. Born in Kentucky, Dimmitt moved to Texas in 1823 and soon operated a series of trading posts. After learning that Mexican General Martín Perfecto de C ...

. O'Connor was one of the signers of the Goliad Declaration of Independence. He was one of the youngest soldiers who participated in the

Battle of San Jacinto The Battle of San Jacinto (), fought on April 21, 1836, in present-day La Porte and Deer Park, Texas, was the final and decisive battle of the Texas Revolution. Led by General Samuel Houston, the Texan Army engaged and defeated General A ...

, at age 17. After the revolution, he returned to Refugio County and continued his old trade of saddletrees. He married Mary Fagan in October 1838. Mary's dowry provided by her father, neighbor and fellow Irish rancher,

Nicholas Fagan Nicholas Fagan (abt 1785–1852) was a prominent figure in the history of Refugio County, Texas, known for his contributions as a blacksmith, rancher, Texas patriot, and pioneer during the early 19th century. He hoisted Texas' first flag of in ...

, included Fagan ranch cattle which served as "the nucleus of the vast herds that made Thomas O'Connor one of the largest cattle ranchers in the state." With her cattle and horses, he was able to grow a herd which he eventually sold in 1873 for $140,000. He invested the money into more land and was able to fence in over 500,000 acres in barbed wire and grow a herd of 100,000 cattle.

Death

O'Connor died on October 16, 1887. At the time of his death, his estate was estimated to be worth $4.5 million. His obituary in the ''

San Antonio Express The ''San Antonio Express-News'' is a daily newspaper in San Antonio, Texas, founded in 1865. It is owned by the Hearst Corporation and has offices in San Antonio and Austin, Texas. The ''Express-News'' is the third largest newspaper in the stat ...

'' called him "the wealthiest man in Texas and the largest land and cattle owner in the state". Following his death, his two sons Dennis Martin (1839-1900) and Thomas Marion O'Connor continued to operate the ranch. , his family heirs are the 17th largest private landowners in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

owning a total of 587,000 acres by the Texas

Coastal Plain A coastal plain (also coastal plains, coastal lowland, coastal lowlands) is an area of flat, low-lying land adjacent to a sea coast. A fall line commonly marks the border between a coastal plain and an upland area. Formation Coastal plains can f ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:OConnor, Thomas (rancher) 1810s births 1887 deaths People from County Wexford Ranchers