Born in Michigan and educated in its public schools, McConnell headed west as a freight wagon driver and ended up in California.

Perhaps based on his earlier experience in California, McConnell spotted opportunity on the way to the gold fields around Idaho City.

[3] The following year, McConnell led a pack train loaded with produce over the mountains to Placerville and sold them at "fabulous" prices.

When he and other settlers along the Payette began to lose horses and mules to thieves, the youthful McConnell took the lead in organizing a Vigilance committee for the region.

While it did not end crime in the area, the work of the committee did reduce it and, according to the Illustrated History, "The farmers had no further trouble with horse thieves.

In about 1867, McConnell married Louisa Brown and their first child was born in California, where he owned (or worked in) a general store and raised cattle.

In a state-level reflection of political turmoil across the country, he won with only a plurality (40.6%) of the vote: candidates for the Democratic and Populist parties split 58% of the rest.

[15] Under McConnell's administrations, Idaho did away with a "test oath" whose effect was to disenfranchise the state's considerable body of Mormon voters.

Several years would pass before a complete and effective system could be put in place, but Idaho eventually became the single greatest success story under the Act.

The economic crisis naturally exacerbated the conflict between labor unions and companies, especially in the silver mines in the Coeur d'Alene region of North Idaho.

[15] As expected, a coalition of Democrats, Populists, and Silver-Republicans swept the 1896 state elections; mainstream Republicans retained only one seat in the legislature.

[1][7][16][17] McConnell's memorial service in Moscow was held at the auditorium (of the administration building) at the University of Idaho,[1][8] which included most of the states's dignitaries.