Charles O'Conor
| Charles O'Conor | |
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| United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York | |
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In office 1853–1854 |
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| Nominated by | Franklin Pierce |
| Preceded by | Jonathan Prescott Hall |
| Succeeded by | John McKeon |
| Personal details | |
| Born | January 22, 1804 New York City, New York |
| Died | May 12, 1884 (aged 80) Nantucket, Massachusetts |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Cornelia Livingston (m. 1854, died 1874) |
| Profession | Attorney |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
| Signature |  |
Charles O'Conor (January 22, 1804 – May 12, 1884) was an American lawyer who appeared as a candidate in the 1872 U.S. presidential election. He was also co-founder of Children's Village with 23 others.
O'Conor was born in New York City, the son of Thomas O'Conor (1770–1855), a cadet member of the Catholic Gaelic-Irish aristocratic O'Conor Don family, who after the failed 1798 Rebellion as a sworn in member (sworn in personally by Wolf Tone of the United Irishmen) in 1801 fled from County Roscommon, Ireland, to New York, where he devoted himself chiefly to journalism. Charles was the great grandson of Charles O'Conor (historian) of Balanagare.
At the age of 16, Charles O'Conor began to study law, and in 1824, before he had attained the statutory age of 21, he was admitted to the bar, and soon won high reputation in his profession.
He brought the Forrest divorce case to a successful issue for his client, Mrs. Forrest. Contending against John Van Buren and other eminent counsel, he secured her a liberal alimony. This case brought him more than ever into national reputation. Two silver vases were presented to him in its commemoration: one was the gift of thirty women of New York, the other was presented by sixty members of the bar. These he bequeathed to the New York Law Institute, and they are now preserved in the library of the Institute. In the same library are preserved the bound records of his cases and opinions—a unique collection that was made by himself, and also bequeathed in his will to the Institute. These fill over 100 volumes.
Others of his celebrated private cases were the Slave Jack case in 1835, the Lispenard will case in 1843, the Lemmon slave case in 1856, the Parrish will case in 1862, and the Jumel suit in 1871, involving the title to $6,000,000 in real estate. In 1869 he was elected president of the New York Law Institute.
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