From this time until his death in 1891 he devoted himself to the development of mining property in Utah and Nevada. Successful at first, he eventually lost his most valuable mines and died relatively poor. He was also involved in politics and ran unsuccessfully for major offices in Nevada while also combating Mormon economic and political control in Utah. He lived long enough to see the Saints renounce their practice of polygamy (which he abhorred) and to watch the non-Mormon population succeed in gaining political offices. Connor is remembered as the founder of the Gentile "Liberal Party" in Utah and as the "Father of Utah Mining."

See: Fred B. Rogers, Soldiers of the Overland (1938) and Brigham D. Madsen, Glory Hunter: A Biography of Patrick Edward Connor (1990).

Brigham D. Madsen