Santa Fe daily New Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1885-1897, 1895-01-23
O'CONNOR ALIAS HYLAND
A Queer Tale from the East YOked
Up with the Name of the Rim
con Shaft Man.

In its issue of Thursday last the st.
Louis Republic prints this special dis
patch:
"Maryville, Mo-, Jan. 16.-Whit Leigh
ty, live stock dealer of st. Joe, Mo-,
who formerly lived in Nodaway county,
says when recently in New Mexico he saw
John O'Connor, the postmaster of Mary
vile, who mysteriously disappeared from
here twelve years ago. He is living un-
der the assumed name of John P. Hyland
anu is in the newspaper business. The
American Newspaper Annual shows that
the only man of that name connected with
newspaper in New Mexico is the editor of
"The Shaft" weekly Republican paper,
published at Kingston. O'Connor was
appointed postmaster of Maryville by
President Arthur, being Endorsed by Nick
Ford, the greenback Republican con-
gresham from this (then the ninth) dis
trict. O'Connor's family reside here and
are highly respected. The reopening of
this matter is deeply regretted by all
classes of citizens, as to them he has been
as one dead for many years."
The foregoing was read with much as
constituent by many people throughout
"Capt. John P. Hyland" has fourlshed
and fattened in New Mexico for goodly
number of years without any apparent
effort of body or mind. He married a
Kingston widow some years ago. and since,
initiating the example of the lily, he has
carefully avoided anything in the nature
of toll and all the spinning he has done
has been in the line of fairy tales about
his method of "putting down the rebel
hon and preventing Old Glory from being
trailed in the DUST" Yet he has always
worn good clothes, probably better than
Solomon ever dreamed of, and has
travelled extensively on free passes. All
these results he has achieved while con-
Quoting jim-crow Republican news
papers at Kingston and at Rincon-news-
papers SO ungrammatical, incoherent and
badly printed that they have simply ex-
cited the mirth of other papers and the
public generally.
He posed chiefly as Grand Army
man, and, having been so largely instru-
mental in Saving the union" he was the
pettsd favorite of the Republican party,
holding several comfortable sinecure po-
sitions under that organization. At the
opening of the present legislature he
bobbed up serenely in Santa Fe as a can
didate for anything in sight, provided
the Republicans were successful in their
efforts to organize either house of the
assembly, and actively officiated as one
of the lieutenant generals on guard at
Fort Catron. just before the publica-
ton OF the dispatch quoted he faded
away like dream and no one now knows
exactly what his postoffice address is.
The records of the 18th Wisconsin in
fantry, of which ex-Surveyor General
James K. Proudft was the lieutenant
colonel and of which Hyland processes to
have been an officer, do not disclose the
name of John P. Hyland. The name of
John O'Connor, however, does appear as
having enlisted in said regiment at Ris-
ing Sun, Wis, on September 20, 1861, and
mustered out as sergeant on July 16,
1865. Unquestionably this is the correct
name and army record of "Capt. John P.
Hyland." The grand army people here
possess ample proof that such are the
facts and naturally are indignant at the
gross imposition practiced upon them by
O'Connor, alias Hyland, whom they not
long ago honored by election as grand
vice commander of this department..