The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-09-13
M. J. O'BRIEN
BY FRANK p. o'BRIEN.


 Southern company, who died Saturday at midnight at Oh herry's, New York city,
 was born in Baltimore, Md. in 1898. He
 begun life as a clerk in a publishing
 house in Baltimore, and afterward re.
 linquished his position to become
 clerk in drug store.
 The express business possessed
 strong facination for him as boy, and
 he finally secured position as driver
 of an express wagon in Memphis,
 Tenn, at salary of $30 month. The
 first day he drove a team he resolved
 to attain the highest position in the
 company If integrity, energy and de-
 termination could do 1t. At the end
 of three months he was promoted to
 be a shipping clerk, at that time. 1858,
 one of the most responsible positions
 in the service, as the railroads to New
 Orleans were not completed, and all
 the business with that city went south ward by way of the Mississippi river.
 His work was so satisfactory to the management of the company that MT
 Henry B. Plant, then president of the company, made him cashier of the New
 Orleans office although he had never
 seen him previous to making the ap- pointment
 When the civil war broke out MT. O'Brien enlisted in the Confederate
 navy, and served under Commodore.
 Poindexter until the fleet was de-
 stroyed to prevent being captured by the Federal navy forces. He then went
 to Richmond and reported to the sec
 retary of the Confederate navy but in 1 stead of being sent on board a gum 1 boat he was, at the request of MT. Memminger, secretary of the treasury, l sent to resume connection with the ex- | press company, in order to be able to l give special attention to the transpor- 1 tation of government moneys. He &C., l cepted the mission and performed the
 work so thoroughly that he received the commendation of his superiors as
 well as that of the Confederate gov- ! ernment. He also, while engaged In the
 express business, aided in the exchange i of prisoners at various places, having
 been appointed to that place by Major | Hatch, the assistant to Colonel Old, commissioner for exchange of Confed- , crate prisoners.
 At the close of the war he was in the
 Atlanta office of the Southern Express 1 company, and went from there to Au-
 gusta, Ga, to act as confidential clerk for H. B. Plant, president of the com pany. While acting in that capacity | he was elected general superintendent | of the South ern Express company and placed in charge of express lines rami | flying 25,800 miles of territory. | Thirty years after entering the ser | vice of the express company as driver Mike" O'Brien reached the goal for which he had so resolutely struggled | being elected vice president director and general manager of the Southern Express company in 1888.
 | Hr. Henry B. Plant was so fond of MT. OBrien that he had him elected a director in every railroad in which he had an interest, and it is a well known fact to his intimates that Mr.
 Plant let 1t be known that MT. o'Brien was to succeed him as president at his death, S he declared that his in  terests were safe in my OBS hands," A singular fact in connection with his career: he never had any differences with the officers of the company Mr O'Brien was bachelor, and his im-
 mediate relatives are confined to one sister Sister Madaline of the St. Vim cents order), a nephew MT. Mark J. O'Brien, and three nieces
 He was genial, unpretentious and cordial without being demonstrative, possessing the frankness, sincerity, loy- atty and courtliness of his Celtic an- cestors. Firmness, frankness, thorough ness and perseverance were among his leading characteristics, and to those may be added benevolence. dignity, hu- nor, delcacy of feeling and innate re- finement. The writer has lost grand friend, one who loved him, and from wh om he received hearty, loving recip- vocation.