It was many years after Daniel O’Connor’s death, that the O’Connor Street Bridge was built (1907). The bridge was a consequence of the expansion of the new city of Bytown (later in 1855 renamed to Ottawa) and an extension of O’Connor Street into what is now Ottawa’s Glebe neighbourhood. O’Connor Street, a main north/south street in the developing city was named after Daniel O’Connor, who was an important figure in the development of the new city.
Daniel O’Connor was born in Tipperary, Ireland in 1796. After serving for a brief period in the military, he decided to seek his fortune in America. He left Ireland in 1821 and travelled, via Portugal and the Azores, to Baltimore. He visited some American coastal cities and then St. John, New Brunswick, but being unable to get a firm business foothold, he returned to Ireland in 1824. Once again he left Ireland (1826) to “try my fortune once more in America”. This time he made forays into what is now northern New York state, via the St. Lawrence River and Kingston. Again he was unsuccessful in establishing his business, and had decided to return to Ireland when he found out about the construction of the Rideau Canal in Bytown. “Realizing that the canal would make Bytown an important place for trade and commerce”, O’Connor made the arduous trip north.
O’Connor settled in Bytown in 1827 and lived there until he died in 1858. He had guessed right that Bytown would be his land of opportunity. In fact, he became an important figure in the development of Bytown, both as a businessman and as a civic leader (holding several government posts during his Bytown years). On New Year’s Eve, 1857, just shortly before O’Connor died, Ottawa was named the capital city of the Province of Canada.
Most of the above information is from Daniel O’Connor’s diary, now in the National Archives of Canada.