This elegant obelisk featuring John F. O'Connor's signature towers over the 100+ year-old oak trees that surround his family burial plot.
Along with John F. O'Connor, his 2nd wife Lida Booso O'Connor, and their infant son John F. (1898-1899) are buried on the first row nearest the obelisk. On the second row, John F.'s older son from his first marriage Charles James (1882-1941) and wife Martha (1880-1966) are buried.
John O'Connor was a renowned government infrastructure contractor and banker in the 19th-early 20th century. He and his brother Charles operated the construction firm of O'Connor, Lang & Smoot, which built the Galveston Jetty system (1898) and paved the first large-scale street improvement project in Dallas (ca 1900).
They got their start in the large construction/paving business working for their father Bernard O'Connor, and "were instrumental" in the construction of the Houston & Texas Central Railroad in the 1860s and 70s, though we have been unable to discover exactly how.
From an obituary of John F. O'Connor we found on Rootsweb (most likely from the Dallas Morning News): (
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"Mr. O'Connor, his father and his brothers built the Houston & Texas Central Railroad. After serving for a time as cashier of the City National Bank, he contracted with the city of Dallas for the construction of the first paving laid in the city. The name of the firm was O'Connor, Lang & Smoot. In connection with the late Alfred Davis, he constructed several branches of the Katy Railroad in Texas. After doing considerable paving work in Houston, Mr. O'Connor procured the Government contract for the building of the jettles at Galveston, on which he spent six years, completing the work successfully. He then lived for a while in Dallas, after which he moved to Chicago. He married Miss Henrietta Bryan of New York City and later married his present wife, who was Miss Lida Booso. He is survived by his wife, five children, Charles J. O'Connor of Dallas, Mrs. F. X. Mohr of Fort Wayne, Ind., and Mrs. William Cooper, Bernard O'Connor and Jerome O'Connor, all of Chicago; a brother, B. S. Connor of Fort Wayne and a sister Miss Cornelia Hedikin of Fort Wayne. He was a brother of the late J. C. O'Connor of Dallas, who died in Paris, France, several years ago."
From the Dallas Morning News, the obituary of John F. O'Connor's son Charles relates some more family history: (
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"C. J. O'Connor Funeral Set At Holy Trinity
A funeral service for Charles J. O'Connor, who died Thursday night at his residence, 3708 Lemmon, will be conducted by Father T. P. Stanton at the Holy Trinity Church at 9 a. m. Saturday. Burial will be in Oakland Cemetery.
A dairyman for the last seven years and property owner around Irving, Grapevine and Farmers Branch, Mr. O'Connor had previously been connected with the old Central National Bank as a vice-president until 1926, when the bank sold out to the North Texas National Bank, then was made its liquidating agent. In 1931, he was made president of the State Trust & Savings Bank, which went out of existence in 1933.
His father, the late John F. O'Connor, a contractor, received one of the largest government contract awards of his time, that for the Galveston jetties. His father's brother, the late James C. O'Connor, was one of the founders of the City National Bank, one of the institutions which merged to form the First National Bank here. The two also figured in the building of the Houston, Texas & Central Railroad.
Mr. O'Connor came with his father from his birthplace in Davenport, Iowa, when he was 2 years old. He was educated at St. Edward's Academy at Austin and at Notre Dame. Before entering the banking business, he worked in the cattle industry for a number of years.
- August 16, 1941, The Dallas Morning News, Sec. I, p. 3, col. 4.
Mother's Name: Henrietta Bryan
Mother's Birthplace: East Sidney, New York
Occupation: Dairyman & Investments"