Columbus O'Donnell

Christopher Columbus O'Donnell (October 1, 1792 – May 26, 1873) was an American businessman who served as president of Baltimore's Gas and Light Company. Early life and education O'Donnell was born on October 1, 1792, in Baltimore, Maryland. He was the son of prominent merchant, and slaveowner, Capt. John O'Donnell (1749–1805), and Sara Chew ( Elliott) O'Donnell (1766–1857). His father was born in Limerick, Ireland and ran away to India where he "amassed a substantial fortune from mercantile pursuits." His father likely arrived in Baltimore around 1785, eventually acquiring a 1,981 acre estate that he called Canton, that "wound around the elbow of the northwest branch of the Patapsco River, east of Fell's Point." He also bought more than 100 lots in Baltimore, the two Miller Islands in the Chesapeake Bay, a 1,628 estate in Howard County known as Never Die, and 3,000 acres in Virginia. His paternal grandfather was John O'Donnell and his maternal grandfather were Capt. Thomas Elliott "of a well-known Quaker family and descendant of one of the Pilgrim Fathers." He was educated at St. Mary's College. Career During the War of 1812, he fought in the Battle of North Point between General John Stricker's Maryland Militia and a British force led by Major General Robert Ross.