ONDERDONK
attorney-general from March 6, 1893, to June 8,
1895, and as secretary of state from June 10, 1895,
to March 4, 1897. In March, 1897, he resumed the
practice of law in Boston. He received the hon
orary degree of LL.D. from Harvard in 1893,
from Brown in 1894, and from Yale in 1901.
OLSSEN, William Whittingham, educator,
was born in Xe\v York city, May 11. 1827 ; son of
Edward Jones and Abigail Ann (Cronin) Olssen,
and grandson of James Olssen of Copenhagen,
Denmark, and his wife Mary Ann Jones of Bristol,
England. He was prepared for college by the
Rev. Robert W. Harris, U.D., at White Plains,
N.Y., and was graduated at Columbia college,
A.B., 1846, A.M., 1850, and at the General Theolo
gical seminary in 1849. He was admitted to the
diaconate in Holy Trinity church, Brooklyn,
N.Y., by Bishop Whittingham, July 1, 1849 ;
was a misvsionary at Prattsville, N.Y., 1849-50,
and was ordained priest in Grace church, Brook-
l3 n, N.Y., by Bishop De Lancy, June 29, 1851.
He was married, April 24, 1851, to Louisa,
daughter of Richard and Mary Ann (Rollinson)
Whittingham of New York city. He was rector
of the church of St. James the Less at Scarsdale,
N.Y., 185171 ; professor of mathematics in St.
Stephen s college, Annandale, N.Y., 187173; of
Greek and Hebrew language and literature, 1873-
90, of English literature and history, 1890-94, and
of mathematics again from 1894. He received
the degree S.T.D. from Columbia in 1876. He is
the author of : Personality, Human and Divine
(1882); Revelation, Universal and Special (1885),
and of contributions to church periodicals.
OLSSON, Olof, educator, was born in Bjor-
torp, Vermland, Sweden, March 31, 1841. He
was graduated at Upsala in 1861, and from the
theological department in 1863. He was ordained
to the Lutheran ministry, Dec. 15, 1863 ; was
assistant pastor at Karlstad, Sweden, 1863-64 ;
pastor of a large mining district in Sweden,
186466, and pastor in eastern Vermland, 1867-
69. He immigrated with a large number of his
parishioners to the United States in 1869, and
settled in Smoky Hill Valley, McPherson county,
Kansas, where he organized a colony and church
of which he was pastor, 1869-76. He was a
representative in the Kansas legislature, 1871-
72 ; professor of theology in the Augustana
Theological seminary at Rock Island, 111., 1876-
88 ; pastor of the Swedish Lutheran church at
Woodhull, 111.. 1890-91, and president of Augus
tana college, Rock Island, 1891-1900. He received
the degree D.D. from Augustana college in 1892,
and Ph.D. from the University of Upsala in
1893. He edited Nytt Och Gammalt at Linds-
borg, Kan., 1873, and Lutlier-Kalender at Rock
Island, 111. , 1883, and is the author of the following
books : Greetings from Afar, being Recollections
[68]
of Travels in England and Germany (1879): At
the Cross (1886); The Christian Hope ( 1887) , and
To Rome and Home Again (1890.) He died in
Rock Island, 111.. May 12. 1900.
O MEARA, Stephen, editor and publisher, was
born in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island,
July 26, 1854 ; son of Stephen and Maria (Meade)
O Meara. In 1864 he came to the United- States
with his parents, who settled first in Braintree
and then in Charlestown, Mass. He was grad
uated at the grammar and high schools of
Charlestown. In 1872 he became the Charles-
town reporter for the Boston Globe, and was a
member of the regular staff. 1873-74. He was
state house and shorthand reporter on the Boston
Journal, 1874-79 ; city editor, 1879-81. news and
managing editor, 1881-91. On the retirement of
William W. Clapp in 1891. he became editor-in-
chief and general manager ; and publisher of the
paper in 1896. He was married, Aug. 5. 1878, to
Isabella M., daughter of Henry Squire of Charles-
town, Mass. He was the first instructor in
phonography in the Boston evening high school,
1880-84; president of the Boston Press club, 1886-
88 ; auditor, treasurer and a member of the ex
ecutive committee of the New England Associated
Press, 1888-95, and secretary and treasurer of
the Boston Daily Newspaper association, 1892-94.
In 1896 he became connected with the Associated
Press, serving at different times as a vice-president
or the New England director. He was elected
a trustee of the Massachusetts state library in
1890, and became a member of the Union,
Exchange, St. Botolph and Algonquin clubs. He
received the honorary degree A.M. from Dart
mouth college in 1888. In 1900 he delivered the
annual Fourth of July oration before the city
authorities of Boston.
ONDERDONK, Benjamin Tredwell, fourth
bishop of New York and 24th in succession in
the American episcopate, was born in New York
city, July 15. 1791 ; son of John and Deborah
(Ustick) Onderdonk ; grandson of Adrian and
Maria (Hegaman) Onderdonk, and a descendant
of Adrian Van der Donck. who emigrated from
Breda, Holland, to New Castle, Del., in 1637, and
removed to Flatbush, Long Island, N.Y.. in 1672.
He was graduated at Columbia college, A.B., 1809,
A.M., 1816 ; was admitted to the diaconate by
Bishop Hobart, Aug. 2, 1812, and was ordained
priest at Newark, N.J., by the same bishop, July
25, 1816. He was assistant rector of Trinity
church. New York city, 1813-36 : professor of ec
clesiastical history. 1821-22. and of ecclesiastical
polity and law, 1821-61, in the General Theological
seminary. He succeeded the Rev. Dr. Lyell as
secretary of the Diocesan convention, serving,
1816-30, and was elected bishop of New York in
October, 1830, to fill the vacancy caused by the
ONDERDONK
ONDERDONK
death of Bisliop Hobart, \vho had expressed a de
sire that Ouderdouk might be his successor. He
was consecrated at St. John s chapel, New York
city, Nov. 26, 1830. by Bishops White, Brownell
and Henry U. Oiulerdouk, and continued in his
duties as assistant rector of Trinity. On Dec. 4,
1844, lie was brought to trial before an ecclesiasti
cal court composed of seventeen bishops, charged
with immoral acts said to have been committed be
tween June, 1837, and July, 1844, arid on Jan. 3,
1845, was suspended from all exercise of his epis
copal and ministerial functions. Like his brother,
the Bishop of Pennsylvania, he acknowledged
the excessive use of intoxicating liquors, but
asserted his innocence of all criminality from first
to last, immediately after the trial, and even on
his death-bed. He published "A Statement of
Facts and Circumstances Connected with the
Bishop of New York " in which he denied every
accusation, but made no personal effort to evade
punishment. His friends labored zealously in his
bahalf, and the diocese of New York earnestly
endeavored to obtain a remission of the sen
tence. Many pamphlets were issued for and
against the bishop, and on Oct. 11, 1847, he ad
dressed a memorial to the General convention.
A second memorial was introduced into the
General convention of 1850, and a third in that
of 1859, when the house of bishops was petitioned
by a majority of the clergymen and laity, to re
instate the deposed bishop. The petition was
not granted, and he died with the stigma at
tached to his name, although it was quite clearly
proven that he was the victim of a band of or
ganized conspirators. He received the degree of
S.T.D in 1826 from Columbia, was a trustee of
Columbia college, 1824-53, and of Hobart college,
1838-53. He made valuable contributions to the
literature of the church, and is the author of the
preface to the republication, by the Protestant
Episcopal press, of Dr. John Bowden s Letters on
the Apostolic Origin of tJie Episcopacy (1831).
He died in New York city, April 30, 1861.
ONDERDONK, Henry, historian, was born in
North Hempstead, N.Y., June 11, 1804; son of
Joseph and Dorothy (Montfort) Onderdonk, and
grandson of Adrian and Maria (Hegaman) On
derdonk. He was graduated at Columbia col
lege, A.B., 1827, A.M., 1833, and succeeded the
Rev. Dr. Eisenbradt as principal of Union Hall
academy, Jamaica, Long Island, N.Y., serving,
1832-65, when he retired and devoted himself to
literary work. He was an accomplished classical
scholar, and entered the General Theological
seminary in the class of 1848 ; but left soon after
matriculating on account of the troubles that
had come upon his two uncles, the bishops of
New York and Pennsylvania. He lectured ex
tensively on temperance and local history, and
made important researches in history and gene
alogy. He was married in 1828 to his cousin,
Maria Hegaman, daughter of George and Sarah
(Rapelye) Onderdonk. He was a member of
several learned societies, and received the degree
A.B. from Harvard in 1878, being enrolled with
the class of 1828. He is the author of : Documents
and Letters Intending to Illustrate the Revolu
tionary Incidents of Queen s County, N.Y. (1846);
Correspondence witli James Fenimore Cooper, on
the Capture and Death of Major Woodhull
(1848); Revolutionary Incidents of Siiffolk and
Kings County tvith an Account of the Battle of
Long Island (1849) ; Long Island and New York in
Olden Times, being Newspaper Extracts and His
torical Sketcli.es (1851) ; The Annals of Hempstead
from fi>4,; to 1S.12 (1878), and The Antiquities of
the Parish Church, Hempstead, including Oyster
Bay and the Churches in Suffolk County (1880).
He died at Jamaica, L.I., N.Y., June 22, 1886.
ONDERDONK, Henry Ustick, second bishop of
Pennsylvania, and 21st in succession in the
American episcopate, was born in New York city,
March 16, 1789 ; son of John and Deborah (Ustick)
Onderdonk. He was graduated at Columbia, A.B.
1805, A.M. 1808 ; studied medicine at the Uni
versity of Edinburgh, where he was graduated
M.D. in 1810. He settled in practice in New
York city in 1810, and was associate editor with
Dr. Valentine Mott, of the New York Medical
Journal in 1815. He studied theology under
Bishop Hobart, and was admitted to the diacon-
ate in St. Paul s chapel, New York city, Dec. 8,
1815, and ordained in Trinity church, April 11,
1816. He served as missionary and rector of St.
John s church, Canandaigua, N.Y., 1816-20, and
as rector of St. Ann s church, Brooklyn, N.Y.,
1820-27. He was elected assistant bishop of
Pennsylvania and was consecrated in Christ
church, Philadelphia. Pa., Oct. 25, 1827, by
Bishops White, Hobart, Kemp, Croes and Bowen,
and on the death of Bishop White, July 17, 1836,
succeeded as second bishop of Pennsylvania.
Owing to his intemperate habits he was com
pelled to resign in 1844, which resignation was
accepted by the house of bishops at the General
convention of 1844, and he was suspended from
all public offices and functions of the ministry
and from those of the episcopacy. He was re
instated by the General convention of 1856, but
never actively entered on his duties. He re
ceived the honorary degree D.D. from Hobart
and Columbia in 1827. He contributed to medical
and religious journals. He is the author of an
Appeal to the Religious Public of Canandaigua
(1818): Episcopacy tested by Scripture (1830),
afterward enlarged and entitled Episcopacy Ex
amined and Re-Examined (1835); Essays on Re
generation (1835); Family Devotions from the
O NEAL
O NEALL
Lit uryy (1835); Sermons and Charges (2 vols.
1851), and hymns, metre psalms, and poems. He
died in Philadelphia, Pa., Dec. 6, 1858.
O NEAL, Edward Asbury, governor of Ala
bama, was born in Madison county, Ala., Sept. 20,
1818 ; son of Edward and Rebecca ( Wheat) O Neal.
His parents, both natives of South Carolina, were
of Irish and Huguenot ancestry. His father died
when he was but four years
old. He was graduated at
La Grange college, Ala., and
studied law in the office of
James W. McClung. He was
married, April 12, 1838, to
Olivia, daughter of Dr. Alfred
and Eliza (Jones) Moore of
Alabama. He was admitted to the bar in 1840 ;
settled in practice in Florence, Ala. ; was solicitor
of the state, 1841-45, and an unsuccessful can
didate for representative in the 31st congress in
1848. He enlisted a company for the 9th Alabama
regiment, of which he was commissioned major in
1861 and lieutenant-colonel the same year. He
was promoted colonel and transferred to the 2Gth
Alabama regiment in March, 1862, and com
manded the regiment in Rains s brigade, D. H.
Hill s division, Longstreet s right wing of the
Confederate army, in the battles of Yorktown,
Williamsburg and Seven Pines, being severely
wounded at the latter. He commanded Rodes s
brigade, D. H. Hill s division, in the Maryland
campaign until relieved to resume command of
his regiment, two days before the battle of Boons-
boro, when he was again severely wounded. He
returned to the army in the winter of 18G3 and
succeeded to the command of Rodes s brigade
when that officer took charge of the division in
the battle of Chancellorsville, and was wounded
while leading the brigade. At the battle of
Gettysburg he commanded the brigade during
the entire three days fight and on the retreat in
Virginia, and resumed the command of his regi
ment in the battle of Mine Run, May 5, 1864. His
regiment was then sent to Alabama to recruit,
and his next service was in northern Georgia,
where lie was assigned to Cantey s brigade,
Walthall s division, Folk s corps, Army of the
Mississippi, and succeeded Gen. James C. Cantey
to the command of the brigade when that officer
took command of the division, being relieved
soon after Gen. John B. Hood assumed command
of the army. He was on detached service till
the close of the war ; was promoted brigadier-
general, but the interruption of mail communi
cation with Richmond prevented his receiving
the commission, and he was mustered out as
colonel, and resumed the practice of his profes
sion in 1865. He was a member of the state con
stitutional convention in 1875, and chairman of
the committee on education ; a presidential
elector on the Hancock and English ticket in
1880, and governor of Alabama for two terms,
1882-86. He died in Florence, Ala., Nov. 7, 1890.
O NEALL, John Belton, jurist, was born near
Bobo s Mills, Newberry district, S.C., April 10,
1793; son of Hugh and Anne (Kelly) O Neall ;
grandson of William and Mary (Frost) O Neall.
and of Samuel and Hannah (Belton) Kelly, and a
descendant of William O Neall, the immigrant,
who landed in Wilmington, Del., in 1730. John
Belton O Neall was graduated at Soutli Carolina
college in 1812, and studied law in the office of John
Caldwell. He was in military service for a short
time during the war of 1812, and was admitted
to the bar in 1814. He was married. June 25, 1818,
to Helen, daughter of Capt. Sampson and Sarah
(Strother) Pope of Edgefield, S.C. He repre
sented the Newberry district in the South Caro
lina legislature in 1810, 1822, 1824 and 1826, and
was elected speaker of the house of representa
tives in 1824 and in 1826. He was an associate
judge of the supreme court of South Carolina,
1828-31 ; judge of the supreme court, 1831-50. and
president of the court of law appeals and of the
court of errors, and chief justice of the supreme
court of the state, 1 850-64. He was president of
the Greenville and Columbia railroad, 1847-53.
He was brought up as a Quaker, abandoned the
vise of spirituous liquors and tobacco ; joined the
Baptist church in 1832, and was president of the
State Temperance society, 1841-63, of the Sons of
Temperance of North America, 1852-54, and of the
Southern Baptist convention, 1858-63. He was
major-general of the state militia for several
years, and also served as lieutenant-colonel on
the staff of Governor Pickens in 1816. He was a
trustee of South Carolina college, 1817-21, and
1822-63, and received the degree LL.D. from Col
umbian university, D.C.,in 1846, and from Wake
Forest college, N.C. He is the author of : The
Drunkard s Looking Gloss (1840) ; Digest of tlie
Negro ~Law (1848) ; Annals of Newberry (1858). and
Bench and Bar of South Carolina (2 vols. 1859).
He died near Newberry, S.C., Dec. 27. 1863.
O NEALL, John Henry, representative, was
born near Newberry, S.C., Oct. 30, 1837 ; son of
Henry Miles and Betsy (Edmundson) O Neall ;
grandson of Henry and Mary (Miles) O Neall,
and of John Edmundson ; great-grandson of Wil
liam and Mary (Frost) O Neall, and of Samuel
Miles, and great 2 -grandson of Hugh and Anne
(Cox) O Neall. Hugh O Neall came from An
trim, Ireland, to Christiana, Del., in 1730. John
Henry O Neall was left an orphan in 1844: was
reared in the family of his grandfather. Henry
O Neall. Newberry, Greene county, Ind.; attended
the district schools, and worked on the farm
until 1859. He was a ward of John Belton
[TOl
O NEIL
O NEILL
O Neall(q.v.), during his minority. He was grad
uated at the University of Indiana, B.S.. in
1862 ; studied law under Judge William Mack
of Terre Haute, Ind., and was graduated at
the law department of the University of Mich
igan in 1864. He was married, July 5, 1866.
He represented Daviess county in the Indiana
legislature in 1836 ; was prosecuting attorney for
the llth judicial district of Indiana in 1873, and
served part of a second term in 1874, when he
resigned. He was a Democratic representative
from the second district of Indiana in the 50th
and 51st congresses, 1887-91, and in 1891 resumed
the practice of law in Washington, Ind.
O NEIL, Charles, naval officer, was born in
Manchester, England, March 15. 1842 ; son of John
and Mary Ann O Neil. He came to the United
States in 1847, and was educated in Boston, Mass.
He entered the U.S. navy as a master s mate
on board the frigate Cumberland in July, 1861,
was engaged in the capture of Forts Hatteras
and Clark, in August, 1861, and in the engage
ment with the Confederate ironclad Merrimae,
March 8, 1863. He rescued Lieutenant Morris
from drowning, for which he received favorable
mention and was promoted acting master, May 1,
1862. He was attached to the gun boat Tioga,
from the fall of 1862 to July, 1864. and cruised
in her in Wilkes s Special West India squadron
and in the East Gulf blockading squadron. He
was attached to the steamer Rliode Island of the
North Atlantic blockading squadron, 186465, and
participated in both attacks on Fort Fisher, for
which he was favorably mentioned. He was pro
moted acting volunteer lieutenant, May 30, 1865 ;
served on the receiving ship Princeton, and on
the steam gunboat
Shamrock of the Euro
pean squadron, 1866-
67 ; was attached to
the store ship Guard
of the European
squadron, 1866-68 ;
was commissioned
lieutenant in the reg
ular navy, March 11,
1868, and lieutenant-
commander, Dec. 18,
1868. He was mar
ried, April 6, 1869, to
Mary C., daughter of
Richard Frothingham
of Charlestown, Mass.
She died, May 2, 1901. He served on the ironclad
Dictator of the North Atlantic squadron, 1870-71 ;
the receiving ship Boston in 1872 ; the Lancaster
and Wasp of the South Atlantic squadron, 1873-76,
and the training ship Minnesota, 1876-77. He
commanded the Snp2)ly in 1877 ; was attached
[ri]
to the Swatara on the North Atlantic station,
1877-78, and was on ordnance duty at the Boston
navy yard, 1879-82. He was executive officer of
the Richmond on the Asiatic station, 1882-84 ;
was on special ordnance duty, 1884-86, and pro
moted commander, July 28, 1884. He served on
ordnance duty at the New York navy yard, 1886-
89; commanded the Dolphin on special service,
1889-90, was stationed at the navy yard, Wash
ington, D.C., 1890-92; was general inspector of
the building of the Marblehead, 1892-94 ; com
manded that vessel in the North Atlantic and
European squadrons, 1894-96, and was superin
tendent of the naval gun factory in Washington,
1896-97. He was appointed chief of the bureau
of ordnance at Washington. D.C., with the rank
of commodore, June 1, 1897; was promoted to
the grade of captain, July 21, 1897 ; was commis
sioned rear-ad in iral, April 22, 1901, and was re-
appointed chief of the bureau of ordnance, June
1, 1902.
O NEIL, Joseph Henry, representative, was
born in Fall River, Mass., March 23, 1853 ; son of
Patrick Henry and Mary (Harrington) O Neil. In
1854 his parents removed to Boston, Mass. .where
he became apprenticed to the printer s trade and
afterward to the carpenter s trade. He was a
member of the school board, 1874-78; represented
Boston in the Massachusetts legislature, 1878-82,
and 1883-84 ; was a president of the Democratic
organization of the house in 1880, using his in
fluence to secure the charter of incorporation for
the Meigs elevated railroad system, which was
granted in 1884; was president of the company,
1888-89, and of the Federal Trust company of
Boston, Mass., from its incorporation in 1899.
He was married, July 1, 1884, to Mary Anastasia,
daughter of John and Maria (Plunkett) Ingoldsby
of Boston, Mass. He was president of the
board of directors of public institutions of the
city of Boston, 1885-86; clerk of the city, 1887-
88 ; representative from the fourth district in the
51st, 52d and 53d congresses, 1889-95 ; a founder
of St. James Young Men s Catholic Total Abstin
ence society of Boston in 1870, and an originator
of the Catholic Total Abstinence Union.
O NEILL, Charles, representative, was born in
Philadelphia, Pa., March 21, 1821 ; son of John
and Mary Blakiston O Neill ; grandson of John and
Susanah (Johnson) O Neill; great-grandson of
John and Susan (Ferguson) O Neill, and a descend
ant of John. Lord O Neill, of Shanes Castle, county
Antrim, Ireland. His father was an architect
and died about 1832, and his grandfather was a
Revolutionary soldier in Captain Helm s company
New Jersey Line. Charles was prepared for
college at a Friends school conducted by
John Sanderson : was graduated at Dickinson
college in 1840 ; studied law under George M.
O NEILL
OPPER
Dallas and was admitted to practice in
1843. lie was a Whig representative in the
Pennsylvania legislature, 1850-52 and 1860;
state senator. 1853-54 ; was defeated for repre
sentative in the 37th congress to complete the
term of Edward Joy Morris (q.v.) in 1861 ;
was a Republican representative from the sec
ond district of Pennsylvania in the 38th-41st
congresses, 1863-71 ; was defeated for the 42nd
congress in 1870 and was again a representative
in the 43d-53d congresses, 1873-93, becoming
" father of the house " upon the death of Samuel
J. Randall, April 12, 1890. He was a member of the
committee on commerce in the 38th-42nd, 46th,
48th-53d congresses, and of the committee on ap
propriations in the 43d-45th and 47th congresses.
His last official act was to administer the oath to
Speaker Crisp, Aug. 7, 1893. lie never married,
and died in the house which he had occupied for
fifty-five years with his elder brother and niece,
in Philadelphia, Pa., Nov. 25, 1893.
O NEILL, JohnJ., representative, was born
in St. Louis, Mo., June 25, 1846. He was educated
in public schools, was in the civil service, 1831-66,
gaged in manufacturing gold pens in St. Louis,
1867-71, and was a representative in the Missouri
legislature, 1872-78, where he labored in behalf of
the working classes and women, and was chair
man of the committee on emigration. He was ad
mitted to the bar in 1878; was a member of the
municipal assembly of St. Louis, 1879-83, and a
Democratic representative from the llth Missouri
district in the 48th, 49th, 50th, 52d and 53d con
gresses, 1883 - 89 and 1891-95. His seat in the 53d
congress was contested by Charles F. Joy. but Mr.
O Neill obtained it, April 3, 1894. He introduced
and secured the passage of a bill providing for
the arbitration of differences between employers
and employees in the 49th congress, which gave
him a national reputation. He was married,
Nov. 30, 1872, to a daughter of Solomon H. Rob-
bins of St. Louis, Mo. He died in St. Louis,
Mo., Feb. 19, 1898.
OPDYCKE, Emerson, soldier, was born in
Hubbard, Ohio, Jan. 7, 1830 ; son of Albert (who
served in the war of 1812) and Elizabeth (Harmon)
Gilson Opdycke ; grandson of Capt. Albert (a
Revolutionary officer) and Martha (Hendrickson)
Opdycke, and a descendant of Louris Jansen and
Christina Opdyck of Holland, who settled in
New Netherlands previous to 1653, and resided at
Gravesend, Long Island, N.Y., 1655. He attended
the district school, and was a saddle and harness
maker in Warren, Ohio. He removed to Cali
fornia, and was a clerk in San Francisco, 185557,
returning to Warren, Ohio, in 1857. He was
married, March 3, 1857, to Lucy Wells, daughter
of Benjamin Stevens of Warren, Ohio. He was
mustered in the volunteer army in July, 1861 ; was
commissioned 2d lieutenant in the 41sfc Ohio
regiment, Aug. 26, 1861 ; was promoted captain
in January, 1862, and was acting major of the