New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1884-05-14
SKETCH OF Mr.. OcoNoR,s CAREER

SKETCH OF Mr.. OCONORS CAREER.
In tbe death of Charles O'ConOr the American
bar loses one of its chief lights His early struggles
and continued successes teach n forcible lesson OF
tbe triumph Of character intellectual capacity and
ministry over poverty and obstacle. He was the
son Of a penniless Irshman. With but deficient
education he rose to the head OF the bar OF TINS
country and reached this place without resort TO
any of those adventitious aids by which politicians
often attain profes sional prominence. Mr OConof
never sought an Office and held a minor one tor
brief time only His father Thomas VCOnor, was
4 member of an old and distinguished family in the
proyipce of Connaught. Ireland. lie wrecked his
nrosnects in his own country by taking an active
martin tie rebellion of 9S and his life being spared
ON accent of his youth, he sought new field OF
labor in America He landed ut this port Just at
the opening of the century, in 1901, ana found MN
self in a land of strangers. In his search Tor
kinsmau or q cOuntryman who would help MIN
TO some employment, he found one OConor IN the
directory. and sought him out He found not a
relative but q wife in the person of Hugh OConors
daughter. who seems to have marred with all the
usual promptness OF an freshman III love aiiairs
Charles OConor WAS born to this couple on January
% 1904 at No. l25 Fr0nt-st., not far nom the
Wall-st building where his law office was long SIT
uoted before be went to Nantucket Island to live
afJtr us DNlH HIS ldthCl HhV'ii'i AN''N'
70 the wilderness then known rs the Genesee coun-
trv III order TO take possession of some 1000 acres
of land which MIR. OConor had purchased within
the present limits of Steuben County. Here came
also Mr.. O'Conor's father and brother. and near
them was General Herman, father of the present
Senator from this State.
While Charles OCOnOr yet a mere infant his
father returned TO this city to engage in business.
lie lost by some unfortunate step handsome prop
ertv which he had inherited from Ireland. and
finally succumbed to his embarrassments, his wife
and six-vear-od boy finding him on their return in
the debtors prison Here they all passed several
months. At the outbreak of the war OF 1879 Mr.
OConOr established a weekly paper. which was
issued first under the name of The Ud and after
ward under that of The Military Monitor. Edited by
an Irshman, aud an Irish rebel at that. it may he
easily inferred that the utterances of this sheet
were decidedly hostile to England, and made
sincere bid for popularity in its support of Gov
eminent in the struggle. Charles, then eight years
of age, was oiiice-boy and paper-carIier, and was
busy every Saturday and sometimes all night, when
the paper was late in delivering the paper at the
houses of the subscribers. Lack Of money and lack
of time left him little chance for education His
actual schooling IS said to have been confined to six
months attendance at public school, where he
learned something of the primary English
branches but his father was too we'll educated Hmm
self not to know his vital need of thorough train
ing for the boy and in odd hours and ut such times
as they could find gave him considerable instruc-
ton in Latin and procured lessons for him III
French, and in similar ways supplied. much OF the
deficiency in his early education.
STUDYING LAW AT THE AGE OF TWELVE.
Like most successful men, Charles O'Conor made
his plans early. He began to study law when lie
was yet boy, setting about it, it is said at the pre-
cocious age Of twelve. His legal prcceptors were
successfully Henry W. Stannard, Stephen p.
Lemoino and Joseph D. Fay. Lemone is described
as "a dreadfuly incorporate little West Indian.
who had no regular practice" Fay was a
profitable friend inasmuch as he had the beginning
at least Of a good law library, Of which OConor
took the fullest advantage. In 1916 his mother
died She is said TO have been much his fathers
superor and did much to instll into him that love
of knowledge for which he was conspicuous all
through life. In 1924 at the age of twenty he was
admitted 10 the bar practising first in the Marine
Court Civil Justices Courts, and Court of Special
Sess ons He had plenty Of cases, and some were
cases of Importance. He seems to have been en-
dowed with full consciousness of his own powers,
and armed with this self-conhdence met opponents
of large experience and established reputation. II
was at an early period in his practice that he argued
a case in the Supreme Court, before full bench,
against Thomas Adds Emmett, and won it. His
first argument that is TO be found in the reports Is
that In the case of Diver agt. Mclaughlin, in the
Supreme Court in 1929 a case that WAS considered
important enough to attract the notice Of the lead
ing law commentators
1t was not. however, until the Forrest divorce