I can see how facial features change a little when the face changes angles, but they don't completely change the look of the feature. I have to disagree that "every detail is exactly the same". That's a bit of a stretch.
I'm not an expert in photo identification and not an expert in 19th century baseball players, so Yes, I'm going to let the few experts on the board do all the talking here. (well, except for what I'm doing now of course
). You supposedly came here to hear their opinions and get their feedback as well.
This happens every few months on the board. Someone will come on and solicit the advice/opinion of the experts (which the OP usually acknowledges know more than they do about the topic) and are, in fact, subject matter experts. Then when the OP doesn't get the feedback they want they get all upset and claim the people on the board are all high and mighty.
The fact is, you're getting the advice from the recognized experts in this era of baseball and they are telling you the images you have are not O'Rourke. I'm sorry you aren't being validated in all the background diligence you performed and it's upsetting you a bit, but these guys aren't throwing around their egos and putting you down. They are giving you an honest critique of the images provided.
Best of luck finding folks that will authenticate your images as the players you want them to be.