Obadiah Milton Conover, son of Obadiah Berlew and Sarah Miller Conover, was born in Dayton, Ohio, on October 8, 1825. He graduated from the College of New Jersey (Princeton) in 1844. During the next two years, he taught Latin and Greek in Lexington, Kentucky, and at the Dayton Academy, Dayton, Ohio. In 1846 he returned to Princeton and graduated from the theological seminary in 1849.
In 1849 Mr. Conover moved to Madison, Wisconsin, where for a short time he was editor of the North-Western Journal, a literary and educational monthly. In 1850 he became instructor in ancient languages at the University of Wisconsin. From 1852 to 1858 he was professor of ancient languages and literature at the University. He resigned from the faculty in 1858.
Returning to law, which he had studied while in Ohio, Conover was admitted to the Dane County Bar in 1859. In 1861, he became associated with P. L. Spooner, Reporter of the Supreme Court of Wisconsin, in the preparation and publication of the Wisconsin Reports, a published record of Supreme Court decisions. Conover succeeded Spooner as Reporter in 1864 and held the post until his death in 1884. For eleven years of this period he also was Librarian of the State Library in the Court's jurisdiction.
Among his other activities, Mr. Conover was one of the founders of the Madison Literary Guild, and a charter member of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin. He was a curator of the Society and for sixteen years the treasurer. He was a member of the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents.
Conover was known among his friends for his literary knowledge and judgment and for his abilities as a poet. Two of his poems particularly, “Via Solitaria” and “Reconciliation”, received wide attention.
In 1849, Conover married Miss Julia Darst. They had three children, Edith W., Allan D., and Frederic K., before her death in 1863. In 1882, he married Mrs. Sarah Fairchild Dean. They embarked on an extended vacation in Europe where Conover hoped to recover the good health which in recent years had deserted him. He died while in England, April 29, 1884.
