 His father was a stonemason, which led to Connor's jobs in New York as a sign painter, stonecutter, bronze founder, and machinist.Inspired by his father's work and his own experience, Connor used to steal his father's chisels as a child and carve figures into rocks.In 1899, he moved into the Roycroft Institution where he helped with blacksmithing and eventually began making terracotta busts and reliefs.