Administrative/Biographical Note
John O'Donnell (1749-1805), son of John and Deborah O'Donnell of Ireland, was a merchant
and ship captain for the British East India Company (1,2,3). When O'Donnell arrived
in Baltimore's harbor in 1785, he named his land along the harbor "Canton" after the
Chinese port city now called Guangzhou (4). Canton remains an active harbor industrial
and residential neighborhood in Baltimore, with O'Donnell Square and O'Donnell Street
running through its center.
John O'Donnell married Sarah Chew Elliott (1768-1855), daughter of Captain Thomas
Elliott of Fell's Point, in 1785 (5,6). Before John's death in 1805, he and Sarah
had 7 children: Mary (b. 1790), Columbus (1792-1873), Deborah (b. 1794), John (b.
1796), Elliott (1798-1836), Eliza White (b. 1800), and Henry (b. 1791) (7). General
Columbus O'Donnell, the eldest son, fought in the Battle of North Point during the
War of 1812 (8). He served several prominent positions throughout Baltimore, including
with the B& O Railroad, Union Bank of Maryland, First National Bank of Maryland, the
Baltimore Water Company, and the Baltimore Gas Light company; he was also an original
partner of the Canton Company of Baltimore (9,10).
John O'Donnell's fifth child, son Elliott, was the only descendent to return to his
father's homeland of Ireland, to study at Trinity College. Prior to his mysterious
death in 1836, Elliott married Sarah Vize (d. 1870) (11). Sarah Vize had 8 children,
at least one of which was with her second husband: John Vize (d. 1919), Elliott, Henry
(d. 1873), Sarah Marie, Harriet (d. 1874), Elizabeth, Eleanora, and Robert Edmund
(1842-1897) (12,13). Son Henry also attended Trinity College, and it is his son Elliott
(1872-1965) that compiled this manuscript collection.
Family Tree
An excerpt from the O'Donnell family tree was published in Elsie Prentys Thornton-Cook's
John O'Donnell of Baltimore, his forbears & descendants. London: Favil Press, 1934.
Referenced May 2012, Maryland Historical Society, H. Furlong Baldwin Library.
*please note that Elliott O'Donnell's son Elliott (born circa 1830) is not listed
on this tree.
1. Thornton-Cook, Elsie Prentys. John O'Donnell of Baltimore, his forbears & descendants,.
London: Favil Press, 1934.
2. Memo book: Columbus O'Donnell, MSS, Maryland Historical Society. In letter dated
May 18 [1818], Columbus O'Donnell writes, "John O'Donnell my dear father died 18th
of May 1810." Both Thornton-Cook and Schlerf provide the death year of 1805.
3. Schlerf, Gary W. The history of the Canton Railroad Company: artery of Baltimore's
industrial heartland. Baltimore: The Company, 1996.
4. Ibid.
5. Arps, Walter E., Jr., comp. Departed this life: death notices from the (Baltimore)
Sun. Silver Spring, Md.: Family Line Pub., 1985. Death date listed as 1855, 87 years
of age. Birth year confirmed in Ancestry.com.
6. O'Donnell, Elliott. Death of Glory: John O'Donnell of Baltimore. Unpublished, circa
1959. Elliott O'Donnell, Papers, 1870-1965, MS 727, Maryland Historical Society.
7. Thornton-Cook, Elsie Prentys. John O'Donnell of Baltimore, his forbears & descendants.
London: Favil Press, 1934. Some sources, including the Maryland Historical Society
and "Baltimore: Past and Present," (1871), list Columbus's birth year as 1797. Elliott
O'Donnell's manuscript and the 1860 census confirm his birth year as 1792.
8. O'Donnell, Elliott. Death of Glory: John O'Donnell of Baltimore. Unpublished, circa
1959. Elliott O'Donnell, Papers, 1870-1965, MS 727, Maryland Historical Society.
9. Ibid.
10. Schlerf, Gary W. The history of the Canton Railroad Company: artery of Baltimore's
industrial heartland. Baltimore: The Company, 1996.
11. O'Donnell, Elliott. Death of Glory: John O'Donnell of Baltimore. Unpublished,
circa 1959. Elliott O'Donnell, Papers, 1870-1965, MS 727, Maryland Historical Society.
12. Thornton-Cook, Elsie Prentys. John O'Donnell of Baltimore, his forbears & descendants.
London: Favil Press, 1934. Does not list Elliott O'Donnell (grandson of John O'Donnell,
son of Elliott O'Donnell).
13. O'Donnell, Elliott. Death of Glory: John O'Donnell of Baltimore. Unpublished,
circa 1959. Elliott O'Donnell, Papers, 1870-1965, MS 727, Maryland Historical Society.
Scope & Content
Arrangement
The O'Donnell family papers have been divided into five series. There are no sub-series.
: I. Columbus O'Donnell correspondence. II. Charles Oliver O'Donnell correspondence.
III. Henry O'Donnell papers. IV. John O'Donnell and Sarah Chew Elliott O'Donnell collection.
V. Miscellaneous. There are no sub-series.
Series
- Columbus O'Donnell correspondence
- Charles Oliver O'Donnell correspondence
- Henry O'Donnell papers
- John O'Donnell and Sarah Chew Elliott O'Donnell collection
- Miscellaneous
Note
The O'Donnell family papers, 1831-1932, are primarily composed of correspondence written
to or from the descendants of John O'Donnell (1749-1805) and his wife Sarah Chew Elliott
O'Donnell (b. 1768). The O'Donnells were a prominent and wealthy family in Baltimore,
beginning with John O'Donnell's founding of the neighborhood and industrial area of
Canton in 1785. Original materials created by John and Sarah O'Donnell are not available
in this collection.
The O'Donnell family frequently named descendants after relatives; care should be
taken to determine the correct person referenced within this collection, especially
when referencing people by the name of John, Sarah, Mary, Columbus, Elliott, and Henry.
Series I, Columbus O'Donnell correspondence, 1831-1868, contains correspondence written
by John O'Donnell's oldest son, Columbus (1792-1873). Columbus writes of his life,
his health, and the finances of the O'Donnell family. As the bulk of the correspondence
was written during the Civil War, passing references to the events of Baltimore and
area troops are often included. Columbus's main correspondent is Henry O'Donnell,
son of his brother Elliott, and his sister-in-law Sarah Vize O'Donnell, mother of
Henry. During processing, a letter written by Sarah Vize O'Donnell to her son Henry
O'Donnell was located interfiled with Columbus's correspondence and moved to Series
III, Henry O'Donnell papers.
Series II is composed of three letters written by Charles Oliver O'Donnell, son of
Columbus. His correspondents are also Henry O'Donnell - his cousin - and Henry's mother
Sarah, who is Charles Oliver's aunt. Topics covered include finances and the Civil
War. Charles Oliver appears to have been a supporter of the Confederate Army, in contrast
to his father Columbus, an ardent supporter of the Union.
The third series, Henry O'Donnell papers, contains correspondence and journals written
by Henry O'Donnell (d. 1873). Four journals detail Henry's trip to America in 1870;
the entries include his thoughts, sketches, drawn maps, and some descriptions of his
time travelling by sea, in Baltimore, and in Washington, D.C. The journals date from
July 12 to September 3, 1870. Four letters to his "darling wife," Elizabeth Sarah
Mousley O'Donnell, detail his time in Baltimore and his efforts to negotiate his inheritance,
or "legacy", from his uncle Columbus. Finally, a letter to his mother Sarah further
details his financial negotiations with his uncle, although this letter appears to
be from much earlier and during the Civil War. Columbus O'Donnell's will, available
at the Maryland Historical Society, indicates that Henry and his brother John Vize
received their inheritance prior to January 1872.
Series IV, John O'Donnell and Sarah Chew Elliott O'Donnell collection, 1932-1935 and
undated, contains biographical information relating directly to John and Sarah but
does not contain materials created by their hand. Several biographical essays and
family tress are included, as well as three photographs of portraits (painted by Charles
Willson Peale, and exhibited in the National Gallery of Art in 1925): one of Sarah
Chew Elliott O'Donnell, one of her mother Mary Chew, and one of Sarah's daughter,
Mary O'Donnell (b. 1790).
The fifth and final series contains single items relating to several O'Donnell descendants.
A letter to Elliott O'Donnell (1872-1965) from his cousin Columbus O'Donnell Iselin,
grandson of Columbus O'Donnell, includes discussion of the O'Donnell family and John
O'Donnell. Also included is a statement of personal property for Elliott O'Donnell
(b. 1798), son of John O'Donnell and grandfather of Elliott O'Donnell. And finally,
there is a letter to Henry O'Donnell from cousin Lizzie Poor; the letter is undated
and it is unclear which Henry is the recipient. Columbus O'Donnell's sister Deborah
(b. 1794) married Dudley Poor, but no descendants are listed on available family trees.
Subject Headings
Creators
O'Donnell, Elliott, 1872-1965
O'Donnell, Columbus, 1792-1875
O'Donnell, Charles Oliver, 1822-1877
O'Donnell, Henry, -1875
O'Donnell, Sarah Vize, -1870
Subjects
O'Donnell, Elliott, 1798-1836
O'Donnell, John Vize, -1919
O'Donnell, John, 1749-1805
O'Donnell, Sarah Chew Elliot, 1768-
United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Personal Narratives
Baltimore (Md.) -- History -- 19th century
O'Donnell, Charles Oliver, 1822-1877 -- Correspondence
O'Donnell, Columbus, 1792-1875 -- Correspondence
Bibliography
Arps, Walter E., Jr., comp. Departed this life: death notices from the (Baltimore)
Sun. Silver Spring, Md.: Family Line Pub., 1985.
Baltimore: Past and Present. With Biographical Sketches of its Representative Men.
Baltimore: Richardson and Bennett, 1871.
Columbus O'Donnell, will dated April 20, 1871, proved May 31, 1871, updated January
19, 1872, Baltimore, MD. Maryland Historical Society.
Memo book: Columbus O'Donnell, MSS, Maryland Historical Society
O'Donnell, Elliott. Death of Glory: John O'Donnell of Baltimore. Unpublished, circa
1959. Elliott O'Donnell, Papers, 1870-1965, MS 727, Maryland Historical Society.
Schlerf, Gary W. The history of the Canton Railroad Company: artery of Baltimore's
industrial heartland. Baltimore: The Company, 1996.
Thornton-Cook, Elsie Prentys. John O'Donnell of Baltimore, his forbears & descendants.
London: Favil Press, 1934.
