642 



OBITUAEIES, AMERICAN. 



five years old he was brought to this country 

 bv his parents, who settled at Troy, N. Y. He 

 received little education. After working in 

 an iron foundry he was employed on a Hudson 

 Kiver steamboat. Having reached manhood, 

 he married, opened a bar-room in Troy, and 

 afterward engaged in the faro-bank business. 

 In 1849 he went to California, where he fought 

 a prize-light with George Thompson, an Eng- 

 lish pugilist. In 1851 he returned to the East 

 and engaged in several other pugilistic encoun- 

 ters, of which the most notorious was that with 

 Yankee Sullivan, who was beaten. Morrissey 

 was indicted for participation in the murder of 

 the notorious Bill Poole, with whom he had 

 quarreled ; but he was not tried. In 1858 he 

 fought with John C. Heenan in Canada. Mor- 

 rissey's nose was broken, but he was declared 

 the victor. He now abandoned the prize-ring, 

 and removed to New York City, where, with 

 Matt Danser, he established a faro bank in 

 Broadway near Bond Street. In 1864 he fit- 

 ted up a gorgeous gambling-house in 24th 

 Street, near Broadway, where during many 

 years he is said to have made much money. 

 About 1868 he began to speculate largely in 

 railroad stocks, and in 1870 established at Sar- 

 atoga the most elegant gambling-house in the 

 country. Among sporting men he had the 

 reputation of being a "fair gambler," and of 

 conducting a "straightforward business." In 

 1866, having entered politics, Morrissey was 

 elected to Congress from the Fifth District by 

 the Tammany Democrats. He was reflected 

 in 1868. About this time he began to take a 

 prominent part in State politics. In 1870 he 

 was recognized as one of the leaders of the 

 "Young Democracy," which was organized 

 for the purpose of defeating Tweed and Sweeny 

 and the faction of the Tammany party headed 

 by them. In 1874 Morrissey was the anti- 

 Tammany candidate for State Senator in the 

 Fourth District, and after an exciting contest 

 defeated John Fox. In 1877 he was victorious 

 over Augustus Schell, the Tammany nominee 

 for State Senator in the Seventh District. Dur- 

 ing this campaign Morrissey contracted an ill- 

 ness, in consequence of which he went South, 

 but from which he did not recover. 



NIBLO, WILLIAM, died in New York City, 

 August 21st. He was born in Ireland in 1789, 

 and in 1829 established Niblo's Garden in New 

 York. 



O'BRIEN, WILLIAM S., died at San Rafael, 

 '*!' Mftv 2d. He was born in Ireland about 

 25, and came to the United States when a 

 He went to California in 1849, and was 

 x>n after employed in the mines. In 1851 Re 

 igaged m the liquor business in San Francisco, 

 (I afterward went into the ship-chandlery 

 isiness. In 1 854 he entered into partnership 

 itn James C. Flood (with whom he had pre- 

 isly been connected in mining) in the res- 

 arant or snloon business, which they con- 

 for twelve years. In 1867 they aban- 

 doned this business to devote themselves 



exclusively to mining, in which they had pre- 

 viously been engaged to some extent. So 

 great was their success that they rapidly ac- 

 quired immense wealth. Mr. O'Brien was one 

 of the four " bonanza princes " who controlled 

 the famous " Bonanza " mines in Nevada, the 

 other three being his partner Mr. Flood, J. S. 

 Fair, and John Mackay. The firm of Flood 

 & O'Brien became widely known for the mag- 

 nitude and success of their mining operations 

 and the extent of their wealth. Mr. O'Brien's 

 property at his death was estimated at from 

 $15,000,000 to $20,000,000. 



O'NEILL, JOHN, died at Omaha, Neb., Janu- 

 ary 7th. He was born in Cavan County, Ire- 

 land, in 1834, served with distinction during 

 the civil war, and in 1864 left the army and 

 established a claim and pension agency at Nash- 

 ville, Tenn., with branch agencies in several 

 cities. In 1866 his Irish countrymen called 

 him to take command of the Fenian outbreak 

 in Canada, and in the battle of Ridgeway the 

 flag of England was replaced by that of Ire- 

 land. In his second invasion in 1870, he was 

 imprisoned for several months. He was after- 

 ward engaged in lecturing and in organizing a 

 movement for colonizing his countrymen in 

 Nebraska. 



ORTON, WILLIAM, died in New York City, 

 April 22d. He was born in 1826 at Cuba, Alle- 

 gany County, N. Y. He graduated at the State 

 Normal School in Albany, and began teaching. 

 In 1850 he entered the bookstore of Derby & 

 Co., at Geneva, N. Y., and two years later 

 became a partner in the business. In 1858, 

 with Mr. J. C. Derby and Mr. Miller, he opened 

 a bookstore in New York. At the end of two 

 years the firm became insolvent, and Mr. Orton 

 was engaged as managing clerk in the publish- 

 ing house of J. G. Gregory & Co. About this 

 time he began to take part in public affairs as 

 an earnest Republican. In 1862 he was Col- 

 lector of Internal Revenue for the Sixth Dis- 

 trict of New York, in which position he dis- 

 played such executive abilities that in 1865 he 

 was appointed by Secretary McCulloch Com- 

 missioner of Internal Revenue at Washington. 

 After performing the duties of this office for 

 a few months, he accepted, in the autumn of 



1865, the presidency of the United States Tele- 

 graph Company, being the successor of Mr. 

 James McKaye, who had resigned. In April, 



1866, this company was consolidated with its 

 rival, the Western Union Telegraph Company, 

 and Mr. Orton was made vice-president of 

 the new organization, which retained the name 

 of the Western Union. In the autumn of 1867 

 Mr. Wade resigned the presidency, and Mr. 

 Orton was chosen to that place. He performed 

 the duties of the position with marked ability 

 and success until the time of his death. 



PADELFOED, SETH, died at Providence, R. I., 

 August 26th. He was born at Taunton, Mass., 

 in 1807. For several years he served in the 

 City Council of Providence, and from 1863 to 

 1865 was Lieutenant-Governor of Rhode Island. 



