Francis O'Brien worked as a collector and shipping reporter for the
Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser. He resigned from that position on 24 April 1838 when he and
E. H. Statham (q.v.) purchased the copyright to the
Sydney Monitor from
Edward Smith Hall (q.v.). In October 1839, O'Brien married Sophia Statham, a daughter of Hall. O'Brien and Hall later came into dispute over monies Hall said were owed to him by his son-in-law.
