Dr. James I. O'Connor. Dr. James I. O'Connor was born on the 19th day of September, 1842, in Pittsfield, Mass., where the new Catholic Church now stands. He is descended from Roderick, the last king of Ireland, through a long line of ancestors. His father, Eugene O'Connor, and his mother, Honora Kinney, were both born in the county of Kings, Ireland. The doctor is the oldest of ten children,—seven sons and three daughters. When James was three years old his father moved to Springfield, and since then the son has resided in that city, where he received a liberal education in the public schools. Afterward he acquired a thorough knowledge of the drug business, while in the employment of Lombard & Crandall, a well-known firm on Main Street. During his five years' stay with this house he rose to the position of first prescription clerk, and held the same up to the evening on which he left Springfield to prepare for the practice of medicine. At the age of nineteen he entered Harvard Medical College, with the advantage of a good education and a thorough knowledge of the apothecary business. Here he pursued the regular course of study, and was graduated on the 11th of February, 1865. At a special examination held to supply ten surgeons for the United States army, in answer to a call from the surgeon-general (the call being considered a great honor by that institution), he received his diploma and commission in the regular army, but, being attacked by pneumonia, he resigned his position. Dr. O'Connor, immediately after his recovery, began the practice of medicine in Holyoke, Mass., and soon acquired a large and remunerative practice. He has the reputation of a skillful and successful physician and surgeon. In the years 1872 and 1873 he erected a fine brick block of six dwelling-houses, at a cost of $45,000, on Dwight Street, opposite the city park. He has taken an active part in everything relating to the interests of Holyoke, as well as the church (the Roman Catholic) with which he is connected, and is esteemed by all as an upright and energetic citizen. On the 3d of January, 1867, he married Miss Mary Ann Elizabeth, daughter of Commodore Beahn, of Springfield, and he has had five children,—Mary, Margaret, Edward, Agnes, and James, only two of whom (Agnes and James) are living. | Previous Page | Contents | Next Page | | HolyokeMass.com Blog | HolyokeMass History | Hampden County | | Western Mass History & Genealogy | © Laurel O'Donnell 1997 - 2012, all rights reserved This is an adaptation of the original publication This document may be downloaded for personal non-commercial use only and cannot be reproduced or distributed without permission.