William John “Bill” O’Brien (1878 – 1918)
William O'Brien was born in Toronto and moved with his parents to Detroit, Michigan. After school he was employed by the US Postal Service and the Detroit Street Railway Department. He came to the Yukon in 1901 to work on the railway and with family.1) Thomas O’Brien was his uncle.2)
William was a successful businessman in the insurance and general brokerage business. He was elected as a councillor for both the municipal and territorial governments. He was a secretary of the Dawson Order of Moose for many years.3) He was a Liberal and worked for a time as the secretary to Commissioner Alexander Henderson. He met and married Sarah “Sadie” Kane in Detroit in 1902 and she came to Dawson after the birth of their first child, Grace.4)
Bill and Sadie were at the top of Dawson society. He sang at public occasions, and she was a member of the George M. Dawson chapter of the IODE and an active member of the Anglican Church. In 1918, they had five children ranging in age from two to fourteen. The O'Briens were seriously considering moving out of the Yukon when they left the north on the Princess Sophia in the fall of 1918. Bill had given up his post as secretary to the Loyal Order of Moose, and the family cut many of their northern ties. They were drowned when the Princess Sophia sank in the Lynn Canal.5)