author
O. P. (Oscar Penn) Fitzgerald
1829–1911
A Methodist minister, editor, and educator, he wrote vivid books that captured the people and places of 19th-century California. His career stretched from frontier ministry to public service, eventually leading to his election as a bishop in the Methodist Episcopal Church, South.
1 Audiobook
California Sketches, New Series
by O. P. (Oscar Penn) Fitzgerald
About the author
Born in Caswell County, North Carolina, in 1829, O. P. Fitzgerald became a Methodist clergyman while still a young man. In 1855 he was sent to California as a missionary, and the decades he spent there shaped much of his writing and public life.
Fitzgerald built a varied career as a preacher, journalist, editor, educator, and author. He served as California Superintendent of Public Instruction from 1867 to 1871, and his books, including California Sketches, helped record the character of the state during a time of rapid change.
Later, after returning east, he continued his work in church publishing and leadership. In 1890 he was elected a bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. He died in 1911, remembered both for his religious leadership and for the lively historical writing he left behind.