William Douglas O’Connor and his wife Ellen Tarr O’Connor lived in DC beginning in 1861, and at this address from 1870 to 1889. O’Connor is the author of one novel, Harrington: A Story of True Love (1860) and the nonfiction pamphlet The Good Gray Poet: A Vindication (1866), defending the reputation of Walt Whitman. His uncollected short fiction appeared in journals and newspapers, and addressed reform themes of prohibition, women’s rights, the abolition of slavery, and spiritualism. One story, “The Brazen Android” (1891), is considered one of the earliest science fiction stories on robots. A book of nonfiction on lighthouse keepers, Heroes of the Storm, was published posthumously in 1904.
O’Connor was a journalist for the Boston Commonwealth and Associate Editor at the Saturday Evening Post in his earlier years. After coming to DC, he worked as a corresponding clerk for the Lighthouse Board, a division of the U.S. Treasury Department, and was promoted in 1873 to Chief Clerk. When the Life Saving Service was reorganized in 1878, O’Connor was appointed Assistant General Superintendent. He is buried in Oak Hill Cemetery in Georgetown.
The Homes
William Douglas O’Connor
1015 O St. NW, Washington DC
Located in Shaw/Logan Circle neighborhood, Northwest - East of Rock Creek