The History of O’Connor Hospital By Michael A. Shea, MD Leon P. Fox Medical History Committee
Judge Myles O'Connor 34 | THE BULLETIN | MARCH / APRIL 2015
Myles O’Connor was born on May 8, 1823 in Abbey Leix, Ireland. From this tiny hamlet, 50 miles from Dublin, his family migrated to London when he was two years old. In 1838, at the age of 14, they moved to America. They lived in St. Louis where Uncle Jeremiah O’Connor was well established. (He had given the city a large grant of land and donated property for the original site of St. Louis University.) Myles, a quiet studious boy, began work in a local lawyer’s office when he was 19. At age 23, he graduated with honors from St. Louis University Law School and immediately began practice. In April of 1849, the young attorney, lured by gold tales and the thought of practicing his craft in a new frontier, left St. Louis, bound for California. He was part of a wagon train, where his assignment was chef. One hundred twenty two days and 2,000 miles later, he arrived at Sutter’s Fort. He settled down in Grass Valley where he prac-