O. H. Irish

Colonel Orsamus Hylas Irish
File:O H Irish.jpg
Born	1830 New York, USA
Died	January 27, 1883 Washington, D.C.
Cause of death	Heart attack with complications from a respiratory infection.
Resting place	Lot: 350 East, Plot: Rock Creek, Oak Hill Cemetery (Washington, D.C.)
Occupation	Newspaper editor & owner, lawyer, diplomat, nursery owner, government bureaucrat
Employer	U.S. Government, self-employed
Title	Chief of the Bureau of Printing and Engraving, Department of the Treasury, USA
Term	1878-1883
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Mary J. McCann
Children	Anna B., Howard, Mary A.

Orsamus Hylas Irish (1830–1883) was an official in the United States Department of the Treasury who served as Chief of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing from 1878 to 1883.

Biography

O. H. Irish was born in 1830 and raised in New York City. He was educated in Erie, Pennsylvania.

In 1857, Irish moved to Nebraska, where later was the owner and editor of a newspaper in Nebraska City, Nebraska. In 1861, he became Indian agent at the Omaha Reservation. Also in 1861 (October 9) he was appointed U.S. Postmaster in Black Bird County, Nebraska Territory. Irish was appointed Superintendent of Indian Affairs for the Northwest in the Bureau of Indian Affairs in 1864, with offices in Salt Lake City. He returned to Nebraska in 1866 as an internal revenue collector, later resuming his newspaper. In 1869, Irish was appointed U.S. Consul in Dresden, Kingdom of Saxony before the unification of Germany. He was confirmed as U.S. Consul by the U.S. Senate on January 25, 1870. He returned to Nebraska in 1873, entering the nursery business, a business that failed in 1875 when his nursery was wiped out by grasshoppers. He then moved to Washington, D.C. to practice law.

Active in the Republican Party, he was a delegate to at least one of the Republican Conventions that nominated Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the United States. As chairman of a fund raising sub-committee (Departments of Treasury and Justice), Irish also participated in the planning activities for ceremonies surrounding the inauguration of James A. Garfield, 20th President of the United States. He attended Garfield's inaugural ball on March 5, 1881.

Career at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing

Irish joined the Bureau of Engraving and Printing in 1877 becoming Assistant Chief of the Bureau, and Chief of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing in 1878. During his tenure as Chief, a new building was authorized and constructed on the southwest corner of 14th and B (Independence Avenue today) streets. Construction started in September 1878 and was completed in 1880.

On July 17, 1861, Congress authorized the Federal Government to print currency. Prior to that time, currency was issued by banks. At first the printing was accomplished with private printing companies with some final processing done at the U.S. Treasury. It was during Irish's tenure that the Treasury Department became the sole printer of U.S. currency.

Irish held the office of Chief until his sudden death in 1883. His funeral was on January 30, 1883 at the New York Avenue Presbyterian Church, Washington D.C. with his burial at the Oak Hill Cemetery (Washington, D.C.).

References

Government offices
Preceded by Edward McPherson	Chief of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing 1878–1883	Succeeded by Truman N. Burrill