CONNELL
CONNER
age he was taken by his parents to Luzerne
county, Pa., where he worked in the mines as a
driver. He was subsequently placed in charge of
the mines of the Susquehanna and Wyoming
valley railroad and coal company, with offices at
Sci-anton, Pa. He purchased the plant in 1870
and organized the firm of William Connell & Co.
He was a delegate to the Republican national
convention of 1890. and a representative in the
55tli, 56th and .ITth congresses, 1897-1903.
CONNELL, William James, representative, was born at Cowansville, Canada, July 6, 1846 ; son of the Rev. David and Mary (Dickie) Con- nell. In 1857 lie removed to Schroon Lake, N.Y., and thence in 1862 to Vermont and in 1867 to Omaha, Neb. , where he was admitted to the bar in 1869. He was district attorney of the third judicial district of Nebraska, 1872-76; and citj^ attorney of Omaha, 1883-87. He was a Republi- can representative in the 51st congress, 1889-91, and was defeated for election to the 52d con- gress by William Jennings Bryan. He was reap- pointed city attorney of Omaha in 1892.
CONNER, David, naval officer, was born in Harrisburg, Pa., in 1792; son of David and Abi- gail (Rhodes) Conner. His father was the son of
an Irish emigrant who settled in the province of Pennsyl- vania about 1750, and his mother a descend- ant of an English colonist who settled in America in 1682. David's father died in the winter of 1792- 1793 and David went to Philadelphia in 1806 where he was employed by his brother Edward, a shipping merchant trading with the West Indies. Edward was subsequently lost at sea and David entered the United States navy as midshipman Jan. 16, 1809. He was third lieutenant on the Hornet, Capt. James Biddle, and in the action with the Peacock, Feb. 24, 1813, he distinguislied himself in the rescue of the prisoners from the sinking hulk of the captured vessel. He was promoted lieutenant, July 24, 1813, and in the encounter with the renr/uin March 23, 1815, he was dangerously wounded. For liis conduct on these occasions he was commended by his superior officers Lawrence and Biddle, and received a sword from the state of Penn.sylvania and two silver medals from congress. He was
with Capt. James Biddle on the Ontario in Octo
ber, 1818, and fired the salute when that officer
took formal possession of Oregon in the name of
the United States. After cruising in both hemi-
spheres he was promoted captain in 1835. He was
naval commissioner in 1841 and chief of the
bureau of construction, equipment and repairs
upon the creation of that bureau in 1842. In
1843 he was made commodore of the Home and
West India squadron. In this position his
authority as commander-in-chief covered the
North Atlantic ocean, the Gulf of Mexico and the
Caribbean sea, and he held this supreme command
subject only to the department at Wasliington
for over three years. On the outbreak of hostili-
ties between the United States and Mexico,
Commodore Conner blockaded the gulf coast and
led or dispatched eight or more expeditions, de-
stroying the Mexican marine and occupying the
most of her ports. He directed the operations
of Commodore Perry in subduing Yucatan and
used her ports for harbor and as a source of sup-
plies. He aided General Scott in effecting a land-
ing of his army of invasion at Vera Cruz, leading
with the Baritan, his flagship, on March 9, 1847,
and under the protection of the guns of his fleet
10,000 soldiers were landed in one organized body
in the space of four hours. He then prepared
his fleet to shell the castle of San Juan de Ulloa
and a naval siege battery to co-operate on land,
when Commodore Perry returned with orders to
relieve Conner, who had already exceeded by
three months the usual time allowed to any one
commodore. On the morning of March 21 after
receiving the order of relief he resigned his office
to Commodore Perry and transferred his own
broad-pennant to the Princeton. He watched the
operations he had planned carried out by Perry
and sailed on the 29tli for the United States bear-
ing the news of the fall of Vera Cruz to Wash-
ington, where he received the thanks of the
President, the secretary of the navy and the citi-
zens of Philadelphia and Washington. The So-
ciety of the Cincinnati made him an honorary
member. After recovering his health which was
impaired by his long residence in the tropics, he
commanded the Philadelpliia navy yard. He died
in Philadelphia. Pa., March 20, 1856.
CONNER, Henry W., representative, was born in Prince George county, Va., in August, 1793. He was graduated at South Carolina col- lege in 1812. He was aide to Gen. Joseph Graham in the expedition against the Creek Indians in 1814 and saw considerable service. He then set- tled in Falls Town, Iredell county, and in 1823 removed to Sherrill's Ford, Catawba county, N.C. He was nominated by the Democratic party as representative in the 16th congress but failed of au election. He was a representative in the
