Orr Descent
Oar, Oare, Ore, Orey, Orie, Orr, Orrand, Orren, Ory, Orreby
Hopkiniaid Morganwg, being a genalogical biography of the Hopkin family of Glamorgan
Surname: Orr
Branch: MacGregor
Origins: Scottish
More Info: Scotland
DNA - http://www.worldfamilies.net/surnames/orr/results
Background: Claiming a regal origin, their motto anciently was, "My race is royal". Griogar, said to have been the third son of Alpin, king of Scotland, who commenced his reign in 833, is mentioned as their remote ancestor, but it is impossible to trace their descent from any such personage, or from his eldest brother, Kenneth Macalpine, from whom they also claim to be sprung.
According to Buchanan of Auchmar, the clan Gregor were located in Glenorchy as early as the reign of Malcolm Canmore (1057-1093). As, however, they were in the reign of Alexander II, (1214-1249) vassals of the Earl of Ross, Skene thinks it probable that Glenorchy was given to them, when that monarch conferred a large extent of territory on that potent noble. Hugh of Glenorchy appears to have been the first of their chiefs who was so styled. Malcolm, the chief of the clan in the days of Bruce, fought bravely on the national side at the battle of Bannockburn. He accompanied Edward Bruce to Ireland, and being severely wounded at Dundalk, he was ever afterwards know as "the lame lord".
In the reign of David II, the Campbells managed to procure a legal title to the lands of Glenorchy; nevertheless, the Macgregors maintained, for a long time, the actual possession of them by the strong hand. They knew no other right than that of the sword, but ultimately that was found unavailing, and at last, expelled from their own territory they became an outlawed, lawless and landless clan.
John Macgregor of Glenorchy, who died in 1390, is said to have had three sons; Patrick, his successor’ John Dow, ancestor of the family of Glenstrae, who became the chief of the clan; and Greogor, ancestor of the Macgregors of Roro. Patrick’s son, Malcolm, was compelled by the Campbells to sell the lands of Auchinrevach in Strathfillan to Campbell of Glenorchy, who thus obtained the first footing in Breadalbane, which afterwards gave the title of earl to his family.
Motto: 'S rioghal mo dhream, My race is royal.
Battle Cry: Ard Choille!, The woody height!.
Arms: Argent, a sword in bend dexter Azure and an oak tree eradicated in bend sinister Proper, the former supporting on its point in dexter chief canton an antique crown Gules.
Crest: A lion's head erased Proper, crowned with an antique crown Or.
Supporters: Dexter, a unicorn Argent crowned and horned Or; sinister, a deer Proper tyned Azure.
Plant: Scots Pine.
View the Heraldry Dictionary for help.
The Clan Gregor held lands in Glenstrae, Glenlochy and Glenorchy. Sir Iain Moncreiffe believed that they were descended from the ancient Celtic royal family through the hereditary Abbots of Glendochart, a descent which may be proclaimed in the motto, ‘Royal is my race’. There is no evidence to support the tradition that Gregor was the son of Kenneth Macalpin. He may have been Griogair, son of Dungal, who is said to have been a co-ruler of Alba, the kingdom north of Central Scotland, between AD 879 and 889. Most modern historians agree that the first certain chief was Gregor ‘of the golden bridles’. Gregor’s son, Iain Cam, One-eye, succeeded as the second chief sometime prior to 1390.
Robert the Bruce granted the barony of Loch Awe, which included much of the Macgregor lands, to the chief of the Camp-bells. In common with many royal gifts of the time, it was left to the recipient to work out how he would take possession of it. The Campbells had already built the stout Castle of Kilchurn, which controlled the gateway to the western Highlands. They harried the Macgregors, who were forced to retire deeper into their lands until they were largely restricted to Glenstrae. Iain of Glenstrae, the second of his house to be called ‘the Black’, died in 1519 with no direct heirs. The Campbells supported the succession of Eian, who was married to the daughter of Sir Colin Campbell of Glenorchy. Eian’s son, Alistair, fought the English at the Battle of Pinkie in 1547 but died shortly thereafter. In 1660 Colin Campbell of Glenorchy, who had bought the superiority from his kinsman, Argyll, refused to recognise the claim of Gregor Roy Macgregor to the estates. For ten years Gregor waged war against the Campbells. He had little choice but to become an outlaw, raiding cattle and sheltering in the high glens. In 1570 the Campbells captured and killed him. His son, Alistair, claimed the chiefship, but was unable to stem the tide of persecution which was to be the fate of the ‘Children of the Mist’.
John Drummond, the king’s forester, was murdered after hanging some Macgregors for poaching. The chief took responsibility for the act, and was condemned by the Privy Council. In April 1603 James VI issued an edict proclaiming the name of Macgregor ‘altogidder abolisheed’, meaning that those who bore the name must renounce it or suffer death. Macgregor, along with eleven of his chieftains, was hanged at Edinburgh’s Mercat Cross in January 1604. Clan Gregor was scattered, many taking other names, such as Murray or Grant. They were hunted like animals, flushed out of the heather by bloodhounds. Despite their savage treatment, the Macgregors actually fought for the king during the civil war. When the Earl of Glencairn attempted a rising against the Commonwealth in 1651, he was joined by two hundred of the clan. In recognition of this, Charles II repealed the pro- scription of the name, but this was promptly reimposed when William of Orange deposed Charles’s brother, James VII.
It was at this time that the legendary Rob Roy Macgregor came to prominence. Born in 1671, a younger son of Macgregor of Glengyle, he was forced to assume his mother’s name of Campbell. His adventures have been immortalised and romanticised by Sir Walter Scott’s novel, Rob Roy, but there is little doubt that he was a thorn in the government’s flesh until his death in 1734. When the Stuart flag was raised in 1715, he attached himself to the Jacobite cause, although acted largely independently. After the indecisive Battle of Sheriffmuir, he set out plundering at will. In one raid he put Dumbarton into panic, causing the castle to open fire with its cannon. He is buried in the churchyard at Balquhidder.
The persecution of Clan Gregor ended in 1774, when the laws against them were repealed. In order to restore their clan pride, it was necessary to re-establish the chiefs. A petition subscribed by eight hundred and twenty- six Macgregors declared General John Murray of Lanrick to be the proper and true chief. He was, in fact, a Macgregor, being a descendant of Duncan Macgregor of Ardchoille who died in 1552. The general had served extensively in India before being created a baronet in July 1795. His son, Sir Evan, was also a general and later Governor of Dominica. He married a daughter of the fourth Duke of Atholl, for whom he built the House of Edinchip, until recently the home of the present chief. Sir Evan played a prominent part in the 1822 visit of George IV to Scotland, where he and his clansmen guarded the honors of Scotland. He proposed the toast to the ‘chief of chiefs’ at the royal banquet in Edinburgh. The father of the present chief, Sir Malcolm Macgregor, served in the navy during the First World War, being decorated not only by his own country, but also by France.
Name Variations: Arrowsmith, Black, Bower, Bowers, Bowmaker, Brewer, Caird, Comrie, Dennison, Denson, Dochart, Docharty, Docherty, Dowie, Fletcher, Gair, Geuer, Gregor, Gregorson, Gregory, Greig, Grewar, Greyson, Grier, Grierson, Griesck, Grigor, Gruer, King, Kirkpatrick, Laikie, Leckie, Lecky, MacAdam, MacAinsh, MacAlaster, MacAldowie, MacAlester, MacAngus, MacAnish, Macara, Macaree, MacCainsh, MacCance, MacCansh, MacChoiter, MacConachie, MacCondach, MAcCondochie, MacCrouther, MacGregor, MacGrewar, MacGrigor, MacGrouther, MacGrowther, MacGruder, MacGruer, MacGruther, MacIldowie, MacIlduff, MacIlduy, MacInnes, MacInstalker, MacLeister, MacLiver, MacNay, MacNea, MacNee, MacNeice, MacNeish, MacNess, MacNey, MacNie, MacNiesh, MacNish, MacNocaird, MacNucator, MacPeter, MacPetrie, Malloch, McGregor, Neish, Neish, Nice, Nish, Nucator, Orr, Pattullo, Peat, Peter, Peterkin, Peters, Peterson, Petrie, Rob Roy, Skinner, Stalker, Stringer, Walker, White, Whyte .
Branch: MacGregor
Origins: Scottish
More Info: Scotland
DNA - http://www.worldfamilies.net/surnames/orr/results
Background: Claiming a regal origin, their motto anciently was, "My race is royal". Griogar, said to have been the third son of Alpin, king of Scotland, who commenced his reign in 833, is mentioned as their remote ancestor, but it is impossible to trace their descent from any such personage, or from his eldest brother, Kenneth Macalpine, from whom they also claim to be sprung.
According to Buchanan of Auchmar, the clan Gregor were located in Glenorchy as early as the reign of Malcolm Canmore (1057-1093). As, however, they were in the reign of Alexander II, (1214-1249) vassals of the Earl of Ross, Skene thinks it probable that Glenorchy was given to them, when that monarch conferred a large extent of territory on that potent noble. Hugh of Glenorchy appears to have been the first of their chiefs who was so styled. Malcolm, the chief of the clan in the days of Bruce, fought bravely on the national side at the battle of Bannockburn. He accompanied Edward Bruce to Ireland, and being severely wounded at Dundalk, he was ever afterwards know as "the lame lord".
In the reign of David II, the Campbells managed to procure a legal title to the lands of Glenorchy; nevertheless, the Macgregors maintained, for a long time, the actual possession of them by the strong hand. They knew no other right than that of the sword, but ultimately that was found unavailing, and at last, expelled from their own territory they became an outlawed, lawless and landless clan.
John Macgregor of Glenorchy, who died in 1390, is said to have had three sons; Patrick, his successor’ John Dow, ancestor of the family of Glenstrae, who became the chief of the clan; and Greogor, ancestor of the Macgregors of Roro. Patrick’s son, Malcolm, was compelled by the Campbells to sell the lands of Auchinrevach in Strathfillan to Campbell of Glenorchy, who thus obtained the first footing in Breadalbane, which afterwards gave the title of earl to his family.
Motto: 'S rioghal mo dhream, My race is royal.
Battle Cry: Ard Choille!, The woody height!.
Arms: Argent, a sword in bend dexter Azure and an oak tree eradicated in bend sinister Proper, the former supporting on its point in dexter chief canton an antique crown Gules.
Crest: A lion's head erased Proper, crowned with an antique crown Or.
Supporters: Dexter, a unicorn Argent crowned and horned Or; sinister, a deer Proper tyned Azure.
Plant: Scots Pine.
View the Heraldry Dictionary for help.
The Clan Gregor held lands in Glenstrae, Glenlochy and Glenorchy. Sir Iain Moncreiffe believed that they were descended from the ancient Celtic royal family through the hereditary Abbots of Glendochart, a descent which may be proclaimed in the motto, ‘Royal is my race’. There is no evidence to support the tradition that Gregor was the son of Kenneth Macalpin. He may have been Griogair, son of Dungal, who is said to have been a co-ruler of Alba, the kingdom north of Central Scotland, between AD 879 and 889. Most modern historians agree that the first certain chief was Gregor ‘of the golden bridles’. Gregor’s son, Iain Cam, One-eye, succeeded as the second chief sometime prior to 1390.
Robert the Bruce granted the barony of Loch Awe, which included much of the Macgregor lands, to the chief of the Camp-bells. In common with many royal gifts of the time, it was left to the recipient to work out how he would take possession of it. The Campbells had already built the stout Castle of Kilchurn, which controlled the gateway to the western Highlands. They harried the Macgregors, who were forced to retire deeper into their lands until they were largely restricted to Glenstrae. Iain of Glenstrae, the second of his house to be called ‘the Black’, died in 1519 with no direct heirs. The Campbells supported the succession of Eian, who was married to the daughter of Sir Colin Campbell of Glenorchy. Eian’s son, Alistair, fought the English at the Battle of Pinkie in 1547 but died shortly thereafter. In 1660 Colin Campbell of Glenorchy, who had bought the superiority from his kinsman, Argyll, refused to recognise the claim of Gregor Roy Macgregor to the estates. For ten years Gregor waged war against the Campbells. He had little choice but to become an outlaw, raiding cattle and sheltering in the high glens. In 1570 the Campbells captured and killed him. His son, Alistair, claimed the chiefship, but was unable to stem the tide of persecution which was to be the fate of the ‘Children of the Mist’.
John Drummond, the king’s forester, was murdered after hanging some Macgregors for poaching. The chief took responsibility for the act, and was condemned by the Privy Council. In April 1603 James VI issued an edict proclaiming the name of Macgregor ‘altogidder abolisheed’, meaning that those who bore the name must renounce it or suffer death. Macgregor, along with eleven of his chieftains, was hanged at Edinburgh’s Mercat Cross in January 1604. Clan Gregor was scattered, many taking other names, such as Murray or Grant. They were hunted like animals, flushed out of the heather by bloodhounds. Despite their savage treatment, the Macgregors actually fought for the king during the civil war. When the Earl of Glencairn attempted a rising against the Commonwealth in 1651, he was joined by two hundred of the clan. In recognition of this, Charles II repealed the pro- scription of the name, but this was promptly reimposed when William of Orange deposed Charles’s brother, James VII.
It was at this time that the legendary Rob Roy Macgregor came to prominence. Born in 1671, a younger son of Macgregor of Glengyle, he was forced to assume his mother’s name of Campbell. His adventures have been immortalised and romanticised by Sir Walter Scott’s novel, Rob Roy, but there is little doubt that he was a thorn in the government’s flesh until his death in 1734. When the Stuart flag was raised in 1715, he attached himself to the Jacobite cause, although acted largely independently. After the indecisive Battle of Sheriffmuir, he set out plundering at will. In one raid he put Dumbarton into panic, causing the castle to open fire with its cannon. He is buried in the churchyard at Balquhidder.
The persecution of Clan Gregor ended in 1774, when the laws against them were repealed. In order to restore their clan pride, it was necessary to re-establish the chiefs. A petition subscribed by eight hundred and twenty- six Macgregors declared General John Murray of Lanrick to be the proper and true chief. He was, in fact, a Macgregor, being a descendant of Duncan Macgregor of Ardchoille who died in 1552. The general had served extensively in India before being created a baronet in July 1795. His son, Sir Evan, was also a general and later Governor of Dominica. He married a daughter of the fourth Duke of Atholl, for whom he built the House of Edinchip, until recently the home of the present chief. Sir Evan played a prominent part in the 1822 visit of George IV to Scotland, where he and his clansmen guarded the honors of Scotland. He proposed the toast to the ‘chief of chiefs’ at the royal banquet in Edinburgh. The father of the present chief, Sir Malcolm Macgregor, served in the navy during the First World War, being decorated not only by his own country, but also by France.
Name Variations: Arrowsmith, Black, Bower, Bowers, Bowmaker, Brewer, Caird, Comrie, Dennison, Denson, Dochart, Docharty, Docherty, Dowie, Fletcher, Gair, Geuer, Gregor, Gregorson, Gregory, Greig, Grewar, Greyson, Grier, Grierson, Griesck, Grigor, Gruer, King, Kirkpatrick, Laikie, Leckie, Lecky, MacAdam, MacAinsh, MacAlaster, MacAldowie, MacAlester, MacAngus, MacAnish, Macara, Macaree, MacCainsh, MacCance, MacCansh, MacChoiter, MacConachie, MacCondach, MAcCondochie, MacCrouther, MacGregor, MacGrewar, MacGrigor, MacGrouther, MacGrowther, MacGruder, MacGruer, MacGruther, MacIldowie, MacIlduff, MacIlduy, MacInnes, MacInstalker, MacLeister, MacLiver, MacNay, MacNea, MacNee, MacNeice, MacNeish, MacNess, MacNey, MacNie, MacNiesh, MacNish, MacNocaird, MacNucator, MacPeter, MacPetrie, Malloch, McGregor, Neish, Neish, Nice, Nish, Nucator, Orr, Pattullo, Peat, Peter, Peterkin, Peters, Peterson, Petrie, Rob Roy, Skinner, Stalker, Stringer, Walker, White, Whyte .
http://www.geni.com/surnames/orr
About the Orr surname Highland family name 'Orr' means someone inhabiting the border, the 'edge' or the shoreline. The topographic origin is from the olde English pre 7th century "ORA" meaning an 'edge', shore or slope. I have lived my life with a foot in each world, the sacred and mundane. The Scottish surname traces back to the Gaelic odhar, meaning "pale", "the pale person", "dun," fair or red haired. The Orr name dates back further than the reign of James VI of Scotland (James I of England). In 1603 when the MacGregors were proscribed, some changed their names to avoid hanging, seeking sanctuary with other clans. Orr was one of the names these "children of the mist" acquired as freedom-fighters.
Padraig Mac Giolla Domhnaigh suggested that the Orr surname originates from an Anglicisation of Gaelic Mac Iomhaire. This was an old name from Renfrewshire, and a sept of the Campbells (Black Watch tartan); he stated that the name was earlier spelt Mac Ure. Historian Edward MacLysaght suggests that the name in Scotland derives from the parish of Orr or Urr in Kirkcudbrightshire, where the River Orr or Urr flowed. John Baliol (mother, Dervorgilla), an estwhile King of Scotland (1292) built his castle there. Land surrounding this river was granted to the Knights Templar by King David I (ruled 1124-1153). Hew Orr or Urr (Hughe de Urre) swore alliegence to King Edward I in 1296. Old variants include Urr, Ure, Oorr, Oare, Owr, Owar, Ower, Oar, Or, Oarr, Oayre, Oure, Our. The Ulster version of the crest of James Orr of the Villa Antoinette, Cannes, France and Belfast has a trefoil. He was the second son of James Orr of Ballygowan and Holywood House, a Belfast banker. His mother was Jane Stewart of the Stewarts of Ballintoy. His grandfather was Alexander Orr. Being a sept or division of the Campbell Clan entitles you to wear the Campbell tartan, also the Jacobite, Caledonia and Black Watch.
Approximately 60% of all the Campbells tested are likely to be members of Oppenheimer’s R1b-9 sub-clan. This sub-clan is the oldest branch of R1b in the British Isles and the progenitor of other R1b lines including the Celts. This finding is consistent with the finding that most Campbells are members of the indigenous Scottish genotype concluded from my May 2007 analysis. Summer 2008 – The Campbell project has approximately 280 members.
ORR Surname: http://books.google.com/books?id=-Emi0MmvPaEC&pg=PA2&lpg=PA2&dq=Orr+surname+meaning&source=bl&ots=xylcgyyQhi&sig=leY39A3MbcvnPEswcdAQEvwbPOg&hl=en&ei=Z8HZTJHgDoy6sAPQoZS4Bw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=8&ved=0CEEQ6AEwBzge#v=onepage&q=Orr%20surname%20meaning&f=false
About the Orr surname Highland family name 'Orr' means someone inhabiting the border, the 'edge' or the shoreline. The topographic origin is from the olde English pre 7th century "ORA" meaning an 'edge', shore or slope. I have lived my life with a foot in each world, the sacred and mundane. The Scottish surname traces back to the Gaelic odhar, meaning "pale", "the pale person", "dun," fair or red haired. The Orr name dates back further than the reign of James VI of Scotland (James I of England). In 1603 when the MacGregors were proscribed, some changed their names to avoid hanging, seeking sanctuary with other clans. Orr was one of the names these "children of the mist" acquired as freedom-fighters.
Padraig Mac Giolla Domhnaigh suggested that the Orr surname originates from an Anglicisation of Gaelic Mac Iomhaire. This was an old name from Renfrewshire, and a sept of the Campbells (Black Watch tartan); he stated that the name was earlier spelt Mac Ure. Historian Edward MacLysaght suggests that the name in Scotland derives from the parish of Orr or Urr in Kirkcudbrightshire, where the River Orr or Urr flowed. John Baliol (mother, Dervorgilla), an estwhile King of Scotland (1292) built his castle there. Land surrounding this river was granted to the Knights Templar by King David I (ruled 1124-1153). Hew Orr or Urr (Hughe de Urre) swore alliegence to King Edward I in 1296. Old variants include Urr, Ure, Oorr, Oare, Owr, Owar, Ower, Oar, Or, Oarr, Oayre, Oure, Our. The Ulster version of the crest of James Orr of the Villa Antoinette, Cannes, France and Belfast has a trefoil. He was the second son of James Orr of Ballygowan and Holywood House, a Belfast banker. His mother was Jane Stewart of the Stewarts of Ballintoy. His grandfather was Alexander Orr. Being a sept or division of the Campbell Clan entitles you to wear the Campbell tartan, also the Jacobite, Caledonia and Black Watch.
Approximately 60% of all the Campbells tested are likely to be members of Oppenheimer’s R1b-9 sub-clan. This sub-clan is the oldest branch of R1b in the British Isles and the progenitor of other R1b lines including the Celts. This finding is consistent with the finding that most Campbells are members of the indigenous Scottish genotype concluded from my May 2007 analysis. Summer 2008 – The Campbell project has approximately 280 members.
ORR Surname: http://books.google.com/books?id=-Emi0MmvPaEC&pg=PA2&lpg=PA2&dq=Orr+surname+meaning&source=bl&ots=xylcgyyQhi&sig=leY39A3MbcvnPEswcdAQEvwbPOg&hl=en&ei=Z8HZTJHgDoy6sAPQoZS4Bw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=8&ved=0CEEQ6AEwBzge#v=onepage&q=Orr%20surname%20meaning&f=false
Hello ORR Listers,
During a recent visit to our local Family History Center to view a
microfilm I had ordered, I found I had copies of many ORR family
records, primarily in Down. I re-sorted the names/dates/places to get a
better 'picture' of events and ended up with many early Irish Orr
families sorted by town, county, birth parents, birth date, birth name.
I cannot vouch for the accuracy of these records as they were 'official
temple records of the deceased' and the source prior to the microfilming
is unknown to me. Also, please forgive any errors on my part in
abstracting this data. I have no further information on any of these
families .
My intent is simply to share some information that is in my files,
however unrelated to my ORR line.
Sincerely,
Nancy Orr Erb
St Clair Co, Michigan
Researching Alexander ORR of NC>SC>Caldwell Co KY
PS I hope my tabs hold up!
Some Ireland-ORRS
Abstracted from LDS files MF 1903703 “Official Temple Record of Deceased
Individuals”
Clantinacally, Down
BIRTHS
James Orr and Wife 1622
James Orr
John Orr & Mary McKee 1736
Alexander Orr
John Orr & Margaret Gibson 1789
Alexander Orr
1791 James Orr
1794 John Orr
Castleleavery, Down
James Orr & Mary Jackson 1704
Gilbert Orr
Castlereigh, Down
Gawin Orr & Jane Orr 1786
John Orr
1792 James Orr
Broad Island, Down?
James Orr & Mary McKinstry 1746
Alexander Orr
Alexander Orr & Margaret Simington 1782 Robert Orr
Ballykeel
James Orr & Eleanor Dunlop 1653 David
Orr
John Orr & Elizabeth King 1733
Arthur Orr
William Orr & Mary Kennedy 1742 John
Orr
William Orr & Margaret Gregg 1755 John
Orr
John Orr & Mary Johnson 1774
William Orr
John Orr & Mary Letham 1795
Alexander Orr
1799 James L Orr
1802 John Orr
1805 Jackson Orr
1808 William Orr
John Orr & Eleanor Orr 1800
William Orr (Crossnacreevy)
1806 John Orr
1812 David Orr
Ballygowan, Down
Robert Orr & wife
1678 Alexander Orr
Alexander Orr & Arminella Wilson 1779 James
Orr
1787 Robert Orr
1790 Alexander Orr
James Orr & Jane Stewart 1814
Alexander Orr
Alexander Orr & Elizabeth Blackwood Price 1852 Herbert
Alexander Orr
1862 Charles Gathorne Edmund Orr
Tullyhubert, Down
John Orr & Elizabeth Abernathy 1753
John Orr
1756 William Orr
1758 Samuel Orr (Ballyhay)
William Orr & Ann McGarraugh 1758
Thomas Orr
1759 Gilbert Orr
1760 Alexander Orr
Gilbert & Sarah Orr
1784 William Orr
1790 Gilbert Orr
Ballyknockan, Wicklow
James Orr & Eleanor Kennedy 1736
David Orr
Daniel & Jane Orr
1764 William Orr
John Orr & Grace Roberts 1767
John Orr
1768 William Orr
William Orr & Isabella Orr 1788
William Orr
Munlough, Wicklow
David Orr & Grace McWhirter 1762 John
Orr
Lisdoonan
David Orr & Mary Creighton 1756
Samuel Orr
Belfast, Antrim
Alexander Orr & Elizabeth Stevenson 1712
Alexander Orr
The Irish surname ORR is ultimately Scottish in origin and has been in Ireland since the seventeenth century. It may be derived from some last place name or from the gaelic word "odhar", meaning "dun coloured", in which case it would have been scribed as a nickname to one of sallow complexion.
Orr is a common scottish surname and the name of an old Renfrewshire family; it is numerous in the west end of the shire, in the parish of Lochwinnoch, and also in Campbeltown, Kintyre, where it was documented as early as 1640. it is probable that the Kintyre Orrs came originally from Refrewshire. Early recorded scottish instances of the name include a reference to Hew Orr who rendered homage in 1296 and four persons named Or who were summoned to answer charges made against them by the abbot of Paisley in 1503 (Registrum monasterii de Passelet... Passelet, 1877. p. 61). One of the earliest references to the surname in Ireland relates to a shopkeeper caled Thomas Orr who lived in Church Street, Dublin in 1655. A family of the name settled in Co. Tyrone, possibly even earlier than 1655, and many families of Orr are recorded in Co. Derry and adjacent areas in the 1660's. Indeed, Orr figures aming the more numerous scottish surnames in Ulster today. Notable bearers of the name include William Orr (1766-1797) and James Orr (1770-1816), both United Irishmen, and Andrew Orr (1822-1895), from Coleraine, a poet, whose "in exile" was written after he had emigrated to Australia. Orrs from the north of Ireland have also been prominent in the United states; in fact, they gave their name to Orrsville in Anderson County, South Carolina.
BLAZON OR ARMS: Gules, three piles in point argent, the center pile charged with a trefoil slipped vert, on chief or, a torteau between two crosses crosslet fitchee of the field.
CREST: A Cornucopia proper, charged with a trefoil slipped as in the arms.
MOTTO: Bonis omnia bona.
TRANSLATION: All is good to the good.
CLAN CAMPBELL - http://www.ccsna.org/index.html
TARTAN - Campbell Sept
Which are the authentic Clan Campbell tartans? Many a Campbell and member of a Campbell sept has sought the answer to that question upon first becoming interested in his or her Scottish heritage. Unfortunately, many have looked to the wrong sources for the answer--namely, to merchants selling tartan goods. There is only one authority on the correct tartan or tartans of a clan: the chief of that clan. Not even the Scottish Tartans Society or the Lord Lyon King of Arms claim such authority--they are purely archivists of tartan history, which is, at best, a confused and confusing field. Here is how our late chief, The 12th Duke of Argyll, and re-affirmed by our current Chief, The 13th Duke of Argyll, MacCailein Mor, summed up the official position on Campbell tartans consistently declared for nearly two centuries by successive Chiefs of Clan Campbell:
"...the only tartans which I recognize are, firstly, the one you see me and my wife wearing, which goes under various names, such as ordinary Campbell, Ancient Campbell, etc., and all members of our clan who are not specifically identified with [the Houses of Breadalbane, Cawdor [or] Loudoun are entitled to wear it.
Let me get rid, once and for all, of the thought that there is a 'Campbell of Argyll' [tartan]. While it is true that the Sixth Duke [of Argyll - b.1768 - s.1806 - d.1839] introduced a white line to his plain Campbell tartan to differentiate himself from the rest of the Campbells, (he being the chief and entitled to do so), he was the only member of the family so to do and the rest of the family thought he was rather pompous to do it.
Campbell of Breadalbane--fine [to wear].
Campbell of Cawdor--fine.
Campbell of Loudoun--fine.
Campbell of Glenlyon--I have never heard of it.
Campbell of Loch Awe-this is plain ridiculous, as we are all Campbells of Loch Awe originally. - Apart from anything else, I have never heard of a Campbell of Loch Awe tartan, nor do I wish to do so.
THERE IS NO DRESS CAMPBELL [TARTAN]--repeat! repeat! repeat!
There is NO HUNTING CAMPBELL.
There is NO CAMPRELL RED.
There is NO CAMPBELL - SIMPSON.
There are no Campbell cheques, other than commercial ones...
If I feel strongly about anything and would like it inscribed on my tombstone, there might be a few lines such as 'All Campbells with the exception of the three principal septs [the Houses of Breadalbane, Cawdor and Loudoun] should wear plain undifferentiated Campbell for evermore and not get confused by peddlers of this [other] material that comes under all sorts of guises.
Yours ever,
Your Kinsman and Chief,
Argyll" [From a letter to the late William A. Mitchell, Clan Campbell Society, U.S.A. genealogist.]
IVERSON, MACEVER, MACGURE, MACIVER, MACIVOR, MACURE, ORR, URE
The above are all variations of Mac Iomhair meaning ‘Son of Iver.’
Iver or Ivarr was a popular Norse name and, as such, found over most of Scotland, particularly in the Western Isles.
There seems little or no likelihood of a common origin and of a single ‘Clan MacIver’ but the waters were considerably muddied by the efforts of Principal P.C.Campbell who wrote an anonymous book ‘Account of the Clan Iver’ seeking (unsucessfully) to strengthen his petition to the Lord Lyon for the chiefship of such a Clan. There is a good deal of interesting information in the book but it has to be extracted with some care. According to ‘Ane Accompt’ Iver was one of two illegitimate sons of Colin Maol Math - the other one being Tavish Coir from whom descended the MacTavishes. Iver’s mother was said by the same source to have been the daughter of Sween of Castle Sween who as ‘Swineruo’ or ‘Suibhne Ruadh’, was the leading chief of the kindred of Anrothan, possessors of the districts of Cowal, Glassary and Knapdale.
This myth is further given credence by the existence of Dun Mor, at Kilmory, near Lochgilphead, a most impressive small fort which, according to legend, was a stronghold of the MacIvers. (40) (Campbell, PSAS xcv, 52.) The MacIvers’ early possessions were said to have been in Glassary. First on written record is Malcolm M’Ivyr who features in the list of magnates in Balliol’s new Sheriffdom of Argyll/Lorne in 1292. ‘The Lordship of MacIver’, however, was further north; the area of country immediately south of the mouth of Loch Melfort near the site of the present-day Loch Melfort Hotel and Arduaine Gardens. The rocky spur by the road just to the south of the hotel is Dun an Garbh-sroine, site of a fortification thought to have been the MacIver base here from the 14th to the 17th century.
The leading family of the MacIver Campbells was MacIver of Lergachonzie and Stronshira. Lergachonzie is just south of Dun an Garbh-sroine and Stronshira is at the mouth of Glen Shira near Inveraray where a branch of the MacIvers were Captains of the Castle of Inveraray. The standing stone in the grounds of Inveraray Castle in the Winterland, the field on which the annual Inveraray Games are held, is said to have marked the boundary between the MacIver lands and those of the MacVicars. Other subsidiary branches include the MacIver Campbells of Ballochyle in Cowal, the Campbells of Kirnan in Glassary, the MacIvers later Campbells of Pennymore on Loch Fyne, south of Inveraray, and the Campbells of Ardlarach near Ardfern, Craignish. The inheritors of the main line were the MacIver Campbells of Asknish, the old name for the area in the old Lordship of MacIver now known as Arduaine. When the family moved to Loch Fyneside, they took the name of Asknish with them and gave it to their new house.
Less certain is the branch to which Principal Campbell belonged - the Campbells of Quoycrook in Caithness, allegedly descended from Lergachonzie in the persons of a Kenneth Buey MacIver and his brother Farquhar, claimed to have gone North to protect the interests there of the Countess of Argyll c 1575. From them, according to Principal Campbell come the families of Campbell of Duchernan, of Thurso and Lochend and the Iverachs of Wideford away up in Orkney. Both the Iverachs and the Campbells of Duchernan display the Campbell gyronny in their arms. Much is made of the use by the MacIvers in their heraldry of the coat quarterly , or and gules, a bend sable which is claimed by Nisbet to be the ancient arms of MacIver in contrast to the Campbell gyronny. In fact the coat is a popular one displayed by, among many others, the family of Eure as far back as 1300 and it would seem all too likely that this is a case of a fancied resemblance between that name and that of MacIver in its form ‘Ure’ resulting in its assignation to or adoption by the MacIvers in Argyll.
In June 1564, at Dunoon, Archibald 5th Earl of Argyll resigned to Iver MacIver of Lergachonzie, in return for certain sums of money, all calps paid to him by those of the name MacIver, reserving to himself the calp of Iver himself and his successors. (41) (A/T.) The significance of this act has been given various interpretations. It would also seem to be the case that after this date those of the name MacIver started to use the name Campbell in addition or instead of their former one. It has been claimed that this was recognition of the MacIvers as a separate Clan and that the change of surname was part of the deal and in effect forced upon them. For this last there seems to be no actual proof whatever; what seems to be more likely is that the move was for administrative convenience; the various MacIvers in Argyll were now firmly placed under a chieftain who would be answerable for their actions to his Chief, Argyll, in whose hands his own calp very specifically remained. The move would seem a popular one and those affected appear keen to have stressed the continuation of their status as part of Clan Campbell by increasing their use of the name.
Orr is a common scottish surname and the name of an old Renfrewshire family; it is numerous in the west end of the shire, in the parish of Lochwinnoch, and also in Campbeltown, Kintyre, where it was documented as early as 1640. it is probable that the Kintyre Orrs came originally from Refrewshire. Early recorded scottish instances of the name include a reference to Hew Orr who rendered homage in 1296 and four persons named Or who were summoned to answer charges made against them by the abbot of Paisley in 1503 (Registrum monasterii de Passelet... Passelet, 1877. p. 61). One of the earliest references to the surname in Ireland relates to a shopkeeper caled Thomas Orr who lived in Church Street, Dublin in 1655. A family of the name settled in Co. Tyrone, possibly even earlier than 1655, and many families of Orr are recorded in Co. Derry and adjacent areas in the 1660's. Indeed, Orr figures aming the more numerous scottish surnames in Ulster today. Notable bearers of the name include William Orr (1766-1797) and James Orr (1770-1816), both United Irishmen, and Andrew Orr (1822-1895), from Coleraine, a poet, whose "in exile" was written after he had emigrated to Australia. Orrs from the north of Ireland have also been prominent in the United states; in fact, they gave their name to Orrsville in Anderson County, South Carolina.
BLAZON OR ARMS: Gules, three piles in point argent, the center pile charged with a trefoil slipped vert, on chief or, a torteau between two crosses crosslet fitchee of the field.
CREST: A Cornucopia proper, charged with a trefoil slipped as in the arms.
MOTTO: Bonis omnia bona.
TRANSLATION: All is good to the good.
CLAN CAMPBELL - http://www.ccsna.org/index.html
TARTAN - Campbell Sept
Which are the authentic Clan Campbell tartans? Many a Campbell and member of a Campbell sept has sought the answer to that question upon first becoming interested in his or her Scottish heritage. Unfortunately, many have looked to the wrong sources for the answer--namely, to merchants selling tartan goods. There is only one authority on the correct tartan or tartans of a clan: the chief of that clan. Not even the Scottish Tartans Society or the Lord Lyon King of Arms claim such authority--they are purely archivists of tartan history, which is, at best, a confused and confusing field. Here is how our late chief, The 12th Duke of Argyll, and re-affirmed by our current Chief, The 13th Duke of Argyll, MacCailein Mor, summed up the official position on Campbell tartans consistently declared for nearly two centuries by successive Chiefs of Clan Campbell:
"...the only tartans which I recognize are, firstly, the one you see me and my wife wearing, which goes under various names, such as ordinary Campbell, Ancient Campbell, etc., and all members of our clan who are not specifically identified with [the Houses of Breadalbane, Cawdor [or] Loudoun are entitled to wear it.
Let me get rid, once and for all, of the thought that there is a 'Campbell of Argyll' [tartan]. While it is true that the Sixth Duke [of Argyll - b.1768 - s.1806 - d.1839] introduced a white line to his plain Campbell tartan to differentiate himself from the rest of the Campbells, (he being the chief and entitled to do so), he was the only member of the family so to do and the rest of the family thought he was rather pompous to do it.
Campbell of Breadalbane--fine [to wear].
Campbell of Cawdor--fine.
Campbell of Loudoun--fine.
Campbell of Glenlyon--I have never heard of it.
Campbell of Loch Awe-this is plain ridiculous, as we are all Campbells of Loch Awe originally. - Apart from anything else, I have never heard of a Campbell of Loch Awe tartan, nor do I wish to do so.
THERE IS NO DRESS CAMPBELL [TARTAN]--repeat! repeat! repeat!
There is NO HUNTING CAMPBELL.
There is NO CAMPRELL RED.
There is NO CAMPBELL - SIMPSON.
There are no Campbell cheques, other than commercial ones...
If I feel strongly about anything and would like it inscribed on my tombstone, there might be a few lines such as 'All Campbells with the exception of the three principal septs [the Houses of Breadalbane, Cawdor and Loudoun] should wear plain undifferentiated Campbell for evermore and not get confused by peddlers of this [other] material that comes under all sorts of guises.
Yours ever,
Your Kinsman and Chief,
Argyll" [From a letter to the late William A. Mitchell, Clan Campbell Society, U.S.A. genealogist.]
IVERSON, MACEVER, MACGURE, MACIVER, MACIVOR, MACURE, ORR, URE
The above are all variations of Mac Iomhair meaning ‘Son of Iver.’
Iver or Ivarr was a popular Norse name and, as such, found over most of Scotland, particularly in the Western Isles.
There seems little or no likelihood of a common origin and of a single ‘Clan MacIver’ but the waters were considerably muddied by the efforts of Principal P.C.Campbell who wrote an anonymous book ‘Account of the Clan Iver’ seeking (unsucessfully) to strengthen his petition to the Lord Lyon for the chiefship of such a Clan. There is a good deal of interesting information in the book but it has to be extracted with some care. According to ‘Ane Accompt’ Iver was one of two illegitimate sons of Colin Maol Math - the other one being Tavish Coir from whom descended the MacTavishes. Iver’s mother was said by the same source to have been the daughter of Sween of Castle Sween who as ‘Swineruo’ or ‘Suibhne Ruadh’, was the leading chief of the kindred of Anrothan, possessors of the districts of Cowal, Glassary and Knapdale.
This myth is further given credence by the existence of Dun Mor, at Kilmory, near Lochgilphead, a most impressive small fort which, according to legend, was a stronghold of the MacIvers. (40) (Campbell, PSAS xcv, 52.) The MacIvers’ early possessions were said to have been in Glassary. First on written record is Malcolm M’Ivyr who features in the list of magnates in Balliol’s new Sheriffdom of Argyll/Lorne in 1292. ‘The Lordship of MacIver’, however, was further north; the area of country immediately south of the mouth of Loch Melfort near the site of the present-day Loch Melfort Hotel and Arduaine Gardens. The rocky spur by the road just to the south of the hotel is Dun an Garbh-sroine, site of a fortification thought to have been the MacIver base here from the 14th to the 17th century.
The leading family of the MacIver Campbells was MacIver of Lergachonzie and Stronshira. Lergachonzie is just south of Dun an Garbh-sroine and Stronshira is at the mouth of Glen Shira near Inveraray where a branch of the MacIvers were Captains of the Castle of Inveraray. The standing stone in the grounds of Inveraray Castle in the Winterland, the field on which the annual Inveraray Games are held, is said to have marked the boundary between the MacIver lands and those of the MacVicars. Other subsidiary branches include the MacIver Campbells of Ballochyle in Cowal, the Campbells of Kirnan in Glassary, the MacIvers later Campbells of Pennymore on Loch Fyne, south of Inveraray, and the Campbells of Ardlarach near Ardfern, Craignish. The inheritors of the main line were the MacIver Campbells of Asknish, the old name for the area in the old Lordship of MacIver now known as Arduaine. When the family moved to Loch Fyneside, they took the name of Asknish with them and gave it to their new house.
Less certain is the branch to which Principal Campbell belonged - the Campbells of Quoycrook in Caithness, allegedly descended from Lergachonzie in the persons of a Kenneth Buey MacIver and his brother Farquhar, claimed to have gone North to protect the interests there of the Countess of Argyll c 1575. From them, according to Principal Campbell come the families of Campbell of Duchernan, of Thurso and Lochend and the Iverachs of Wideford away up in Orkney. Both the Iverachs and the Campbells of Duchernan display the Campbell gyronny in their arms. Much is made of the use by the MacIvers in their heraldry of the coat quarterly , or and gules, a bend sable which is claimed by Nisbet to be the ancient arms of MacIver in contrast to the Campbell gyronny. In fact the coat is a popular one displayed by, among many others, the family of Eure as far back as 1300 and it would seem all too likely that this is a case of a fancied resemblance between that name and that of MacIver in its form ‘Ure’ resulting in its assignation to or adoption by the MacIvers in Argyll.
In June 1564, at Dunoon, Archibald 5th Earl of Argyll resigned to Iver MacIver of Lergachonzie, in return for certain sums of money, all calps paid to him by those of the name MacIver, reserving to himself the calp of Iver himself and his successors. (41) (A/T.) The significance of this act has been given various interpretations. It would also seem to be the case that after this date those of the name MacIver started to use the name Campbell in addition or instead of their former one. It has been claimed that this was recognition of the MacIvers as a separate Clan and that the change of surname was part of the deal and in effect forced upon them. For this last there seems to be no actual proof whatever; what seems to be more likely is that the move was for administrative convenience; the various MacIvers in Argyll were now firmly placed under a chieftain who would be answerable for their actions to his Chief, Argyll, in whose hands his own calp very specifically remained. The move would seem a popular one and those affected appear keen to have stressed the continuation of their status as part of Clan Campbell by increasing their use of the name.
Ive researched the origins of the Orrs deeply when I had the Orr One Name Study. and when writing my book They are Lowland Scottish, with their original roots I believe to be in the Parish of Urr , the Stewartry of Kirkcudbrightshire, in the 13 century; the likely forebear was a Hugh del Urre, a local baron who swore allegiance to Edward I in 1296 Since about 1300 or so they have been found in the Lochwinnoch area of Renfrewshire - Lochwinnoch is hard by the county border with Beith in Ayrshir where they were also in large numbers.
They are now spread throughout the world - over 132,000 of us, with some 90,000+ in the USA; 7000 in Canada, 7000 in Australia11000 in England, 10,000 in Scotland 5000 in Ulster, as well as NZ, S Africa, West Indies, - all the corners of the former British Empire.
The Orrs in Ireland can be traced to migrants who went with Sir Hugh Montgomery to his lands in North Down in 1606 when James Orr of Ballyblack (1580-1627) and two sons James and Patrick spread their genes - Sir Hugh and another Scottish landlord, Sir James Hamilton were the main settlers of Presbyterian persusasion in 1606-7. In 1610-1630 the rest of Northern Ireland (Ulster) was "settled" under the Plantation scheme whereby James I amongst other things did indeed want to be rid of troublesome Presbyterians in Scotland but mainly he wanted English and Scottish settlers of Protestant persusasion on whom he could rely if more insurgency broke out with the native irish. From ca 1620 the Presbyterians were subjected to discrimination (James wanted strict Church of England for all). By the 1660 -1690s (the Restoration of Charles II) they were increasingly penalised, imprisoned and eventually hunted down and killed for failing to attend the "official" Church - this was the !
period when the dissenters - Covenanters, suffered greatly The unrest in Scotland, especially in the West , resulted in a steady flow of migrants to Ulster. But for many is was just a stop over before they moved on to the colonies.
There is more about the Ulster Scots / Scotch Irish on my web site at www.thereformation.info< http://www.thereformation.info/>; - click on the tab `Ulster Scots at the foot of the page.Happy hunting !
Brian
They are now spread throughout the world - over 132,000 of us, with some 90,000+ in the USA; 7000 in Canada, 7000 in Australia11000 in England, 10,000 in Scotland 5000 in Ulster, as well as NZ, S Africa, West Indies, - all the corners of the former British Empire.
The Orrs in Ireland can be traced to migrants who went with Sir Hugh Montgomery to his lands in North Down in 1606 when James Orr of Ballyblack (1580-1627) and two sons James and Patrick spread their genes - Sir Hugh and another Scottish landlord, Sir James Hamilton were the main settlers of Presbyterian persusasion in 1606-7. In 1610-1630 the rest of Northern Ireland (Ulster) was "settled" under the Plantation scheme whereby James I amongst other things did indeed want to be rid of troublesome Presbyterians in Scotland but mainly he wanted English and Scottish settlers of Protestant persusasion on whom he could rely if more insurgency broke out with the native irish. From ca 1620 the Presbyterians were subjected to discrimination (James wanted strict Church of England for all). By the 1660 -1690s (the Restoration of Charles II) they were increasingly penalised, imprisoned and eventually hunted down and killed for failing to attend the "official" Church - this was the !
period when the dissenters - Covenanters, suffered greatly The unrest in Scotland, especially in the West , resulted in a steady flow of migrants to Ulster. But for many is was just a stop over before they moved on to the colonies.
There is more about the Ulster Scots / Scotch Irish on my web site at www.thereformation.info< http://www.thereformation.info/>; - click on the tab `Ulster Scots at the foot of the page.Happy hunting !
Brian
THE ORR ROOTS
What the experts say.
Highland family name 'Orr' means someone inhabiting the border, the 'edge' or the shoreline. The topographic origin is from the olde English pre 7th century "ORA" meaning an 'edge', shore or slope. I have lived my life with a foot in each world, the sacred and mundane. The Scottish surname traces back to the Gaelic odhar, meaning "pale", "the pale person", "dun," fair or red haired. The Orr name dates back further than the reign of James VI of Scotland (James I of England). In 1603 when the MacGregors were proscribed, some changed their names to avoid hanging, seeking sanctuary with other clans. Orr was one of the names these "children of the mist" acquired as freedom-fighters.
Padraig Mac Giolla Domhnaigh suggested that the Orr surname originates from an Anglicisation of Gaelic Mac Iomhaire. This was an old name from Renfrewshire, and a sept of the Campbells (Black Watch tartan); he stated that the name was earlier spelt Mac Ure. Historian Edward MacLysaght suggests that the name in Scotland derives from the parish of Orr or Urr in Kirkcudbrightshire, where the River Orr or Urr flowed. John Baliol (mother, Dervorgilla), an estwhile King of Scotland (1292) built his castle there. Land surrounding this river was granted to the Knights Templar by King David I (ruled 1124-1153). Hew Orr or Urr (Hughe de Urre) swore alliegence to King Edward I in 1296. Old variants include Urr, Ure, Oorr, Oare, Owr, Owar, Ower, Oar, Or, Oarr, Oayre, Oure, Our. The Ulster version of the crest of James Orr of the Villa Antoinette, Cannes, France and Belfast has a trefoil. He was the second son of James Orr of Ballygowan and Holywood House, a Belfast banker. His mother was Jane Stewart of the Stewarts of Ballintoy. His grandfather was Alexander Orr. Being a sept or division of the Campbell Clan entitles you to wear the Campbell tartan, also the Jacobite, Caledonia and Black Watch.
Approximately 60% of all the Campbells tested are likely to be members of Oppenheimer’s R1b-9 sub-clan. This sub-clan is the oldest branch of R1b in the British Isles and the progenitor of other R1b lines including the Celts. This finding is consistent with the finding that most Campbells are members of the indigenous Scottish genotype concluded from my May 2007 analysis. Summer 2008 – The Campbell project has approximately 280 members.
George Black in Surnames of Scotland relates that Hugh de Hur was a member of an assize court in 1289, he, or another Hugh de Hur was a juror on the enquiry about the privileges claimed by Robert de Brus, Earl of Carrick in 1304. Hugh del Urre was a signatory to the Ragmans Rolls ( swearing allegience to Edward I) in 1296. The barony of Urr existed from at least 1280 and follows the valley of River Urr from Loch Urr/Orr some twelve miles inland where there was once a castle. It is believed that the Orr name is derived from Hugh. Around 1300 the lands of Urr changed hands when Edward I (the Hammer of the Scots) ravaged the land which is consistent with the family reappearing in the Lochwinnoch area ca 1300 where they have been ever since. Andrew Crawford, author of The Cairn of Lochwinnoch ca 1836 records that the Orrs had had charters [from the Abbott of Paisley ] `from five hundred years.` The first Orrs in Ulster were James Orr and wife Margaret McClement who went from Beith, next door to Lochwinnoch, to the Ards ca 1607 with the Montgomery Settlement ( Their lineage is in the Ulster Pedigree ca 1830 by Gowan Orr). Their sons were James and Patrick. James stayed in the North Down area around Comber; Patricks line moved on into Armagh and to Londonderry. Regrettably Gowan Orr did not include Patrick`s details in his genealogy. The Orrs are a recognised sept of Clan Campbell. Recent DNA tests by male Orrs indicates that, like many west coast Scots, they stem from Somerled and the Vikings who roamed the region and the Solway Firth , further supporting the claimed origins in South West Scotland.
Edward MacLysaght states that the name derives from the parish of Orr ( Urr ) in Kirkcudbrightshire. It is also the name of an old Renfrewshire family and is most common in the west of Renfrewshire and in particular in the parish of Lochwinnoch.
Mac Giolla Domhnaigh claims that the name was also used as an anglicisation of Scots Gaelic Mac Iomhair, 'son of Ivar', a name also made Maclver, Maclvor, MacUre and Ure
Some others derive the name from the Gaelic odbar donn, odbar, meaning 'sallow` (of complexion) and donn, meaning 'brown'. I am not too sure about sallow, all the Orrs I have ever met, or seen in photographs and paintings have generally been of a healthy, ruddy, complexion, or weather beaten and tanned.
In Ireland this name is common only in the Province of Ulster, where it is chiefly found in counties Antrim, Down, Londonderry and Tyrone. Although in Ulster for four hundred years, and probably longer because of the closeness of the West coast of Scotland, the roots of the family lie squarely in Scotland The Ures or Orrs are an acknowledged sept (a family giving allegiance to another more powerful family) of Clan Campbell.
Sorry folks - some myths rejected.
I have seen several claims that the Orr name is derived from McGregor which is inconsistent with the facts. It is not a diminutive form of McGregor, the Orr name had been been in existence in its own right for over 300 years before the McGregor name was banned in 1603. It is just possible that a MacGregor might have taken the Orr name when the clan was forced to give up his own - in the same way that Rob Roy MacGregor took Campbell as his new surname - but that is an entirely different thing. The chances of this having happened is probably small, not least because Orr is essentially a Lowland name. But on the other hand, if you are certain to be transported or lawfully killed on sight, it might not be such a bad idea to take a name of a southern Scottish family. Neither is the Orr name a derivative from the French d`Or (meaning gold) from the Huguenots or from the name of Spanish sailors washed ashore from wrecked ships of the Spanish Armada.
Existence of the name since at least 1296
A reference book from Inveraray Castle, the home of the Duke of Argyll and Chief of Clan Campbell lists the names associated with the clan and includes Orr:
" ORR .Old Renfrewshire name, originally either from extinct placename or from Gaelic odhar, of sallow complexion. The numerous occurence of Orrs in Campbelltown, Kintyre since c. 1640 likely due to movement from Renfrewshire. John Or in Moy listed as Campbell of Cawdor family, 1578. Alexander Over, alias Robertson, in Connoch mentioned for receiving stolen goods belonging to Clan Gregor, 1613"
Andro Craefurd (Crawford) author of "The Cairn of Lochwinnoch " ca 1836 deeply researched the history of the Lochwinnoch area and in his notes observes that
" the Orrs, the Montgomeries, the Brydines , the Kirkwoods, the Glens, the Sempiles have charters from five hundred years." [ from the Abbott of Paisley].
This indicates that the Orrs had been leasing land since then and is consistent with the record that a Hew Orr or Urr swore allegiance to King Edward I (the Ragman Rolls ) in 1296. This is also consistent with the use of a surname from the 13th century onwards which could be derived from Hew or Hugo of Urr becoming Hew Urr / Orr.
There are many variations in spelling as a result of officials in the past writing the name as it sounded and it was not until the mid nineteenth century that a consistent form appeared. You might try to imagine a stereotype Scotsman with a broad accent pronouncing Orr as Urr, Ure, Oorr, Oare, Owr, Owar, Ower, Oar, Or, Oarr, Oayre, Oure, Our, - maybe he was just .. err ... clearing his throat or reluctant to admit he was a MacGregor !
The Irish connection
The Irish connection came about primarily through the acquisition of land in Co Antrim and Co Down by two Scottish landlords, Hugh Montgomery and Sir James Hamilton, both from Ayrshire. They purchased a great deal of land between 1603 and 1607 and took with them tenants from Scotland to settle on their new estates.
The earliest Orr recorded in Ireland is James Orr, b ca 1580 in Scotland who with his wife Janet McClement settled in Ballyblack, Co. Down in 1607. We know of James and Janet and their descendents through the work of Gawin Orr of Castlereagh, who researched and documented some 2,900 relatives in his epic `Ulster Pedigree`. This has been added to and published by Ray A Jones in 1977 under the title of " Ulster Pedigrees Descendants, in Many Lines, of James ORR and Janet McCLEMENT who Emigrated from Scotland to Northern Ireland ca 1607 " This book is in the Latter Day Saints Library in Salt Lake City, Call no 929.2415 Or7j; and on fiche #6036613.
A long title but it is the most comprehensive record of Orrs in Ulster there is. This has been loaded into my database and I am happy to search it for specific links. I regret that it is 154 pages long and still in copyright, I cannot therefore do blanket searches as that would mean copying the whole book. A list of names of people who married Orrs, and are mentioned in the Ulster Pedigree is also available.
More Orrs came to Ireland to settle in especially Counties Londonderry, Tyrone, Fermanagh, and Monaghan as tenants of Scottish landlords, during the `Plantation of Ireland` between 1610 and 1630. first Orr in Ireland, who appeared in an Index of Wills in the Salt Lake City Library of the Latter Day Saints. This gives a Richard Orr having lodged a will (or his executors/family did) in 1563. His residence is given as Clontarf in the Diocese of Dublin, site of a famous victory by King Brian Boru over the Vikings in 1014. Richard is an unusual name in Scotland and at first guess he may well have a different origin. In Land Of Urr I remarked on the possibility of a Norse origin from their word `Orri ` meaning `blackcock` ( a bird ) and that a link appeared in the Lincolnshire Assize Roll of 1298 with reference to a Roger Orre in 1202. That the name Orre should turn up so early on the East coast of England where Norman knights from William the Conqueror's time had lands, raises all sorts of possibilities. A new twist to the origin and the Norse men has appeared in recent DNA tests by Orrs that is throwing up a Viking/Norsemen/Scandinavian link. This includes the Norwegian Vikings who founded Normandy in France, and were the ancestors of William the Conqueror.
The Hearth Money Rolls and Poll Tax records for County Antrim (1660-9) give details of further Orrs .
How, why and when the Orrs migrated round the world is a separate and complex story.
Surnames of people who married an Orr and have an entry in "The Ulster Pedigree "
A Abernethy, Agnew, Alexander, Allen, Anderson, Andrew, Appleton, Armer, Armstrong, Arnold, Arthur, Auchinleak
B Bailey, Bailie, Ball, Barbour, Barnet, Barr, Barry, Basset,
Bateman, Beard, Beaty, Beck, Bell, Bellamy, Bennet, Biggam,
Bingham, Binsley, Black, Blackburn, Blair, Blakely, Blythe, Boden,
Bole, Borrer, Bowman, Boyd, Boys, Bradly, Breeze, Brennan, Brice,
Brown, Browne, Bryan, Bryson, Burgess, Burnett, Burns, Burt, Busby
C Cally, Cammack, Campbell, Carleton, Carlin, Carlisle, Carmichael,
Carr, Carrenduff, Carse, Carson, Caruthers, Catherwood, Chain,
Chalmers, Charters, Chatworthy, Christy, Clark, Clarke, Clegg,
Cleland, Coats, Cochran, Cochrane, Conn, Conner, Connery, Cook,
Cooper, Corbert, Corbet, Corry, Cosby, Cosgrove, Coulter, Cowan,
Craig, Crawford, Creighton, Croft, Cross, Crossan, Crozier, Cultra,
Cumberland, Cuming
D Dalzell, Davidson, Davison, Demster, Dickey, Dickson, Dobbin,
Dodd, Doran, Dorman, Dougherty, Douglas, Downe, Drake, Duff,
Dugan,Duglass, Dunbar, Dunlop, Dunn, Dunwoody, Dyer
E Eagleson, Eccles, Ellison, Erskine, Espy
F Falkender, Ferguson, Finlay, Finley, Fisher, Fleming, Folingsby,
Forbes, Forcher, Ford, Foreman, Forester, Forsythe, Foster, Frame,
Frazer, Freshfield, Frew
G Gabbey, Galway, Gamble, Garret, George, Gerrit, Gibson, Gill,
Girvan, Gordon, Goudy, Gourley, Gowan, Graham, Grainger, Grant,
Gray, Greer, Gregg, Gunning
H Hamilton, Hanna, Hannah, Hardy, Harper, Harris, Harrison, Harvey,
Hays, Henderson, Henry, Herron, Hewit, Hill, Hitt, Hogg, Holyman,
Hood, Houston, Howell, Hubbard, Huddleson, Hughs, Hunter, Hurd,
Hurst, Hutchison, Hutton, Hyndman, Hynds
I Irvine
J Jackson, Jameson, Jamison, Jelly, Jennings, Joab, Johnson, Jordan
K Kearns, Kelly, Kennedy, Kernochan, Kernochen, Kerr, Killen,
Kilpatrick, Kinear, King, Kinning, Kirk, Kitcher, Knight
L Lamont, Lapping, Lavery, Law, Lawrence, Laxmore, Ledgerwood,
Legg, Leister, Letham, Levinson, Lewers, Lewis, Lindsay, Lindsey,
Lingan, Linn, Littigo, Little, Lowry, Lyons
M Magee, Mageean, Malcom, Malcomson, Marshall, Martin, Matthews,
Maxwell, Mayne, McAlpin, McAmon, McCartney, McBride,
McBurney, McCalla, McCally, McCance, McCann, McCartney,
McCaw, McCay, McClean, McCleary, McClelland, McClement,
McClements, McClune, McClure,McComb, McConnell, McCoobry,
McCormick, McCoughtry, McCoun, McCourt, McCracken,
McCready, McCreary, McCrum, McCulloch, McCullough,McCullum,
McCully, McCune, McCutchen, McDowell, McEwen,
McFadden,McFee, McFerland, McGarraugh, McGarry, McGeehan,
McGibbon,McGibbony, McGill, McGivern, McGoveny, McGowan,
McGowran, McGrigor,McHarg, McIlvain, McIlveen, McKeag,
McKean, McKee, McKelvey, McKelvy, McKibbin, McKinstry,
McKittrick, McMahon, McMaster, McMillan, McMunn, McMurray,
McQuoid, McRoberts, McVea, McWhinney, McWhirr, McWhirter,
McWilliam, Melville, Miars, Miles, Miller, Milliken, Millin, Milling,
Minnis, Mitchel, Montgomery, Moore, Moorehead, Morris, Morrison,
Morrow, Mullen, Mulligan, Mulree, Munse, Murdoch, Murdock,
Murphy, Murray, Mussel, Mussen
N Neill, Neilson, Nesbit, Nevill, Nevin, Newberry, Norrit, Norwood
O Oakman, Orr, Owens
P Paisley, Park, Parker, Parry, Patten, Patterson, Patton, Paty,
Peppard, Perry, Petticrew, Piper, Pollin, Pollock, Porter, Potts,
Powell, Price
Q Quin
R Rainey, Ramage, Rankin, Rea, Read, Reid, Ricgardson Richey,
Riddle,Ridgway, Roan, Robb, Robinson, Robison, Roddy,
Roderman, Rodger, Ross, Rowntree, Russell
S Saul, Saunders, Scott, Shannon, Sharp, Shaw, Shearer, Shepherd,
Shields, Simington, Simpson, Simson, Sinclair, Singer, Skelly,
Sloan, Small, Smiley, Smith, Smyth, Snowden, Spiers, Steel, Steen,
Steenson, Stevenson, Stewart, Stockdale, Stout, Strain,
Summerside, Swan
T Taggart, Tate, Taylor, Templeton, Thompson, Tibbs, Todd,
Torney, Trelford, Trimble
V Vance, Veacock, Vincen
W Waddle, Walker, Wallace, Walsh, Ward, Warren, Warwick,
Watson, Watt, West, Whiggam, White, Wightman, Wilgare,
Williamson, Wilson, Winter, Wolfenden, Wood, Woods, Wright,
Wylie
Y Yates, Young
What the experts say.
Highland family name 'Orr' means someone inhabiting the border, the 'edge' or the shoreline. The topographic origin is from the olde English pre 7th century "ORA" meaning an 'edge', shore or slope. I have lived my life with a foot in each world, the sacred and mundane. The Scottish surname traces back to the Gaelic odhar, meaning "pale", "the pale person", "dun," fair or red haired. The Orr name dates back further than the reign of James VI of Scotland (James I of England). In 1603 when the MacGregors were proscribed, some changed their names to avoid hanging, seeking sanctuary with other clans. Orr was one of the names these "children of the mist" acquired as freedom-fighters.
Padraig Mac Giolla Domhnaigh suggested that the Orr surname originates from an Anglicisation of Gaelic Mac Iomhaire. This was an old name from Renfrewshire, and a sept of the Campbells (Black Watch tartan); he stated that the name was earlier spelt Mac Ure. Historian Edward MacLysaght suggests that the name in Scotland derives from the parish of Orr or Urr in Kirkcudbrightshire, where the River Orr or Urr flowed. John Baliol (mother, Dervorgilla), an estwhile King of Scotland (1292) built his castle there. Land surrounding this river was granted to the Knights Templar by King David I (ruled 1124-1153). Hew Orr or Urr (Hughe de Urre) swore alliegence to King Edward I in 1296. Old variants include Urr, Ure, Oorr, Oare, Owr, Owar, Ower, Oar, Or, Oarr, Oayre, Oure, Our. The Ulster version of the crest of James Orr of the Villa Antoinette, Cannes, France and Belfast has a trefoil. He was the second son of James Orr of Ballygowan and Holywood House, a Belfast banker. His mother was Jane Stewart of the Stewarts of Ballintoy. His grandfather was Alexander Orr. Being a sept or division of the Campbell Clan entitles you to wear the Campbell tartan, also the Jacobite, Caledonia and Black Watch.
Approximately 60% of all the Campbells tested are likely to be members of Oppenheimer’s R1b-9 sub-clan. This sub-clan is the oldest branch of R1b in the British Isles and the progenitor of other R1b lines including the Celts. This finding is consistent with the finding that most Campbells are members of the indigenous Scottish genotype concluded from my May 2007 analysis. Summer 2008 – The Campbell project has approximately 280 members.
George Black in Surnames of Scotland relates that Hugh de Hur was a member of an assize court in 1289, he, or another Hugh de Hur was a juror on the enquiry about the privileges claimed by Robert de Brus, Earl of Carrick in 1304. Hugh del Urre was a signatory to the Ragmans Rolls ( swearing allegience to Edward I) in 1296. The barony of Urr existed from at least 1280 and follows the valley of River Urr from Loch Urr/Orr some twelve miles inland where there was once a castle. It is believed that the Orr name is derived from Hugh. Around 1300 the lands of Urr changed hands when Edward I (the Hammer of the Scots) ravaged the land which is consistent with the family reappearing in the Lochwinnoch area ca 1300 where they have been ever since. Andrew Crawford, author of The Cairn of Lochwinnoch ca 1836 records that the Orrs had had charters [from the Abbott of Paisley ] `from five hundred years.` The first Orrs in Ulster were James Orr and wife Margaret McClement who went from Beith, next door to Lochwinnoch, to the Ards ca 1607 with the Montgomery Settlement ( Their lineage is in the Ulster Pedigree ca 1830 by Gowan Orr). Their sons were James and Patrick. James stayed in the North Down area around Comber; Patricks line moved on into Armagh and to Londonderry. Regrettably Gowan Orr did not include Patrick`s details in his genealogy. The Orrs are a recognised sept of Clan Campbell. Recent DNA tests by male Orrs indicates that, like many west coast Scots, they stem from Somerled and the Vikings who roamed the region and the Solway Firth , further supporting the claimed origins in South West Scotland.
Edward MacLysaght states that the name derives from the parish of Orr ( Urr ) in Kirkcudbrightshire. It is also the name of an old Renfrewshire family and is most common in the west of Renfrewshire and in particular in the parish of Lochwinnoch.
Mac Giolla Domhnaigh claims that the name was also used as an anglicisation of Scots Gaelic Mac Iomhair, 'son of Ivar', a name also made Maclver, Maclvor, MacUre and Ure
Some others derive the name from the Gaelic odbar donn, odbar, meaning 'sallow` (of complexion) and donn, meaning 'brown'. I am not too sure about sallow, all the Orrs I have ever met, or seen in photographs and paintings have generally been of a healthy, ruddy, complexion, or weather beaten and tanned.
In Ireland this name is common only in the Province of Ulster, where it is chiefly found in counties Antrim, Down, Londonderry and Tyrone. Although in Ulster for four hundred years, and probably longer because of the closeness of the West coast of Scotland, the roots of the family lie squarely in Scotland The Ures or Orrs are an acknowledged sept (a family giving allegiance to another more powerful family) of Clan Campbell.
Sorry folks - some myths rejected.
I have seen several claims that the Orr name is derived from McGregor which is inconsistent with the facts. It is not a diminutive form of McGregor, the Orr name had been been in existence in its own right for over 300 years before the McGregor name was banned in 1603. It is just possible that a MacGregor might have taken the Orr name when the clan was forced to give up his own - in the same way that Rob Roy MacGregor took Campbell as his new surname - but that is an entirely different thing. The chances of this having happened is probably small, not least because Orr is essentially a Lowland name. But on the other hand, if you are certain to be transported or lawfully killed on sight, it might not be such a bad idea to take a name of a southern Scottish family. Neither is the Orr name a derivative from the French d`Or (meaning gold) from the Huguenots or from the name of Spanish sailors washed ashore from wrecked ships of the Spanish Armada.
Existence of the name since at least 1296
A reference book from Inveraray Castle, the home of the Duke of Argyll and Chief of Clan Campbell lists the names associated with the clan and includes Orr:
" ORR .Old Renfrewshire name, originally either from extinct placename or from Gaelic odhar, of sallow complexion. The numerous occurence of Orrs in Campbelltown, Kintyre since c. 1640 likely due to movement from Renfrewshire. John Or in Moy listed as Campbell of Cawdor family, 1578. Alexander Over, alias Robertson, in Connoch mentioned for receiving stolen goods belonging to Clan Gregor, 1613"
Andro Craefurd (Crawford) author of "The Cairn of Lochwinnoch " ca 1836 deeply researched the history of the Lochwinnoch area and in his notes observes that
" the Orrs, the Montgomeries, the Brydines , the Kirkwoods, the Glens, the Sempiles have charters from five hundred years." [ from the Abbott of Paisley].
This indicates that the Orrs had been leasing land since then and is consistent with the record that a Hew Orr or Urr swore allegiance to King Edward I (the Ragman Rolls ) in 1296. This is also consistent with the use of a surname from the 13th century onwards which could be derived from Hew or Hugo of Urr becoming Hew Urr / Orr.
There are many variations in spelling as a result of officials in the past writing the name as it sounded and it was not until the mid nineteenth century that a consistent form appeared. You might try to imagine a stereotype Scotsman with a broad accent pronouncing Orr as Urr, Ure, Oorr, Oare, Owr, Owar, Ower, Oar, Or, Oarr, Oayre, Oure, Our, - maybe he was just .. err ... clearing his throat or reluctant to admit he was a MacGregor !
The Irish connection
The Irish connection came about primarily through the acquisition of land in Co Antrim and Co Down by two Scottish landlords, Hugh Montgomery and Sir James Hamilton, both from Ayrshire. They purchased a great deal of land between 1603 and 1607 and took with them tenants from Scotland to settle on their new estates.
The earliest Orr recorded in Ireland is James Orr, b ca 1580 in Scotland who with his wife Janet McClement settled in Ballyblack, Co. Down in 1607. We know of James and Janet and their descendents through the work of Gawin Orr of Castlereagh, who researched and documented some 2,900 relatives in his epic `Ulster Pedigree`. This has been added to and published by Ray A Jones in 1977 under the title of " Ulster Pedigrees Descendants, in Many Lines, of James ORR and Janet McCLEMENT who Emigrated from Scotland to Northern Ireland ca 1607 " This book is in the Latter Day Saints Library in Salt Lake City, Call no 929.2415 Or7j; and on fiche #6036613.
A long title but it is the most comprehensive record of Orrs in Ulster there is. This has been loaded into my database and I am happy to search it for specific links. I regret that it is 154 pages long and still in copyright, I cannot therefore do blanket searches as that would mean copying the whole book. A list of names of people who married Orrs, and are mentioned in the Ulster Pedigree is also available.
More Orrs came to Ireland to settle in especially Counties Londonderry, Tyrone, Fermanagh, and Monaghan as tenants of Scottish landlords, during the `Plantation of Ireland` between 1610 and 1630. first Orr in Ireland, who appeared in an Index of Wills in the Salt Lake City Library of the Latter Day Saints. This gives a Richard Orr having lodged a will (or his executors/family did) in 1563. His residence is given as Clontarf in the Diocese of Dublin, site of a famous victory by King Brian Boru over the Vikings in 1014. Richard is an unusual name in Scotland and at first guess he may well have a different origin. In Land Of Urr I remarked on the possibility of a Norse origin from their word `Orri ` meaning `blackcock` ( a bird ) and that a link appeared in the Lincolnshire Assize Roll of 1298 with reference to a Roger Orre in 1202. That the name Orre should turn up so early on the East coast of England where Norman knights from William the Conqueror's time had lands, raises all sorts of possibilities. A new twist to the origin and the Norse men has appeared in recent DNA tests by Orrs that is throwing up a Viking/Norsemen/Scandinavian link. This includes the Norwegian Vikings who founded Normandy in France, and were the ancestors of William the Conqueror.
The Hearth Money Rolls and Poll Tax records for County Antrim (1660-9) give details of further Orrs .
How, why and when the Orrs migrated round the world is a separate and complex story.
Surnames of people who married an Orr and have an entry in "The Ulster Pedigree "
A Abernethy, Agnew, Alexander, Allen, Anderson, Andrew, Appleton, Armer, Armstrong, Arnold, Arthur, Auchinleak
B Bailey, Bailie, Ball, Barbour, Barnet, Barr, Barry, Basset,
Bateman, Beard, Beaty, Beck, Bell, Bellamy, Bennet, Biggam,
Bingham, Binsley, Black, Blackburn, Blair, Blakely, Blythe, Boden,
Bole, Borrer, Bowman, Boyd, Boys, Bradly, Breeze, Brennan, Brice,
Brown, Browne, Bryan, Bryson, Burgess, Burnett, Burns, Burt, Busby
C Cally, Cammack, Campbell, Carleton, Carlin, Carlisle, Carmichael,
Carr, Carrenduff, Carse, Carson, Caruthers, Catherwood, Chain,
Chalmers, Charters, Chatworthy, Christy, Clark, Clarke, Clegg,
Cleland, Coats, Cochran, Cochrane, Conn, Conner, Connery, Cook,
Cooper, Corbert, Corbet, Corry, Cosby, Cosgrove, Coulter, Cowan,
Craig, Crawford, Creighton, Croft, Cross, Crossan, Crozier, Cultra,
Cumberland, Cuming
D Dalzell, Davidson, Davison, Demster, Dickey, Dickson, Dobbin,
Dodd, Doran, Dorman, Dougherty, Douglas, Downe, Drake, Duff,
Dugan,Duglass, Dunbar, Dunlop, Dunn, Dunwoody, Dyer
E Eagleson, Eccles, Ellison, Erskine, Espy
F Falkender, Ferguson, Finlay, Finley, Fisher, Fleming, Folingsby,
Forbes, Forcher, Ford, Foreman, Forester, Forsythe, Foster, Frame,
Frazer, Freshfield, Frew
G Gabbey, Galway, Gamble, Garret, George, Gerrit, Gibson, Gill,
Girvan, Gordon, Goudy, Gourley, Gowan, Graham, Grainger, Grant,
Gray, Greer, Gregg, Gunning
H Hamilton, Hanna, Hannah, Hardy, Harper, Harris, Harrison, Harvey,
Hays, Henderson, Henry, Herron, Hewit, Hill, Hitt, Hogg, Holyman,
Hood, Houston, Howell, Hubbard, Huddleson, Hughs, Hunter, Hurd,
Hurst, Hutchison, Hutton, Hyndman, Hynds
I Irvine
J Jackson, Jameson, Jamison, Jelly, Jennings, Joab, Johnson, Jordan
K Kearns, Kelly, Kennedy, Kernochan, Kernochen, Kerr, Killen,
Kilpatrick, Kinear, King, Kinning, Kirk, Kitcher, Knight
L Lamont, Lapping, Lavery, Law, Lawrence, Laxmore, Ledgerwood,
Legg, Leister, Letham, Levinson, Lewers, Lewis, Lindsay, Lindsey,
Lingan, Linn, Littigo, Little, Lowry, Lyons
M Magee, Mageean, Malcom, Malcomson, Marshall, Martin, Matthews,
Maxwell, Mayne, McAlpin, McAmon, McCartney, McBride,
McBurney, McCalla, McCally, McCance, McCann, McCartney,
McCaw, McCay, McClean, McCleary, McClelland, McClement,
McClements, McClune, McClure,McComb, McConnell, McCoobry,
McCormick, McCoughtry, McCoun, McCourt, McCracken,
McCready, McCreary, McCrum, McCulloch, McCullough,McCullum,
McCully, McCune, McCutchen, McDowell, McEwen,
McFadden,McFee, McFerland, McGarraugh, McGarry, McGeehan,
McGibbon,McGibbony, McGill, McGivern, McGoveny, McGowan,
McGowran, McGrigor,McHarg, McIlvain, McIlveen, McKeag,
McKean, McKee, McKelvey, McKelvy, McKibbin, McKinstry,
McKittrick, McMahon, McMaster, McMillan, McMunn, McMurray,
McQuoid, McRoberts, McVea, McWhinney, McWhirr, McWhirter,
McWilliam, Melville, Miars, Miles, Miller, Milliken, Millin, Milling,
Minnis, Mitchel, Montgomery, Moore, Moorehead, Morris, Morrison,
Morrow, Mullen, Mulligan, Mulree, Munse, Murdoch, Murdock,
Murphy, Murray, Mussel, Mussen
N Neill, Neilson, Nesbit, Nevill, Nevin, Newberry, Norrit, Norwood
O Oakman, Orr, Owens
P Paisley, Park, Parker, Parry, Patten, Patterson, Patton, Paty,
Peppard, Perry, Petticrew, Piper, Pollin, Pollock, Porter, Potts,
Powell, Price
Q Quin
R Rainey, Ramage, Rankin, Rea, Read, Reid, Ricgardson Richey,
Riddle,Ridgway, Roan, Robb, Robinson, Robison, Roddy,
Roderman, Rodger, Ross, Rowntree, Russell
S Saul, Saunders, Scott, Shannon, Sharp, Shaw, Shearer, Shepherd,
Shields, Simington, Simpson, Simson, Sinclair, Singer, Skelly,
Sloan, Small, Smiley, Smith, Smyth, Snowden, Spiers, Steel, Steen,
Steenson, Stevenson, Stewart, Stockdale, Stout, Strain,
Summerside, Swan
T Taggart, Tate, Taylor, Templeton, Thompson, Tibbs, Todd,
Torney, Trelford, Trimble
V Vance, Veacock, Vincen
W Waddle, Walker, Wallace, Walsh, Ward, Warren, Warwick,
Watson, Watt, West, Whiggam, White, Wightman, Wilgare,
Williamson, Wilson, Winter, Wolfenden, Wood, Woods, Wright,
Wylie
Y Yates, Young
http://books.google.com/books?id=arAfWBsvO1gC&pg=PA778&lpg=PA778&dq=john+orr+of+virginia,+colonial&source=bl&ots=BsA3A0QXFM&sig=x52MCmO7W4ueBVCNe7w6DPeLRSs&hl=en&ei=YZjETqCVGsesiQL4wMXcBQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CCUQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q&f=false
Colonial and Revolutionary Families of Pennsylvania By John W. Jordan
Colonial and Revolutionary Families of Pennsylvania By John W. Jordan
william robert orr iowa - http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=15836501
Birth: Sep. 23, 1860, IrelandDeath: Mar. 17, 1908
Crescent
Pottawattamie County
Iowa, USA
William Robert Orr was born in Ireland, the oldest of eight children of John Orr and Marria Gray.
The family came to this country in 1864 when William was five years old. On this voyage was father John, mother Maria, sister Elizabeth, & brother John. They arrived in New York 27 Dec 1864 via England on the ship Kangaroo.
In 1866 William's sister Mary Orr was born in Ohio. By the time that William's sister Catherine Grace was born in 1868 the family was in Indiana. Then came Andrew, Henry, Richard all born in Indiana.
Now, I found the family in the 1870 census in Delaware, Ripley Co. Indiana. The last child (Richard) was born in 1879. In the 1880 census, the family is still in the same place. But, now Maria Orr is listed as a widow. Maria is only 42. But her husband John would have been 63. Our William Robert is 20. And now we find Maria Orr's mother living with the family. She is listed as Maria Gray…age 79.… widow.. relation to head of house… mother. Now this must have been tough times for this family and our William Robert. He was the man of the house at the age of 18. William was raised in Indiana, and stayed there until the age of 40.
William first married Olive Ann DeHart on April 07, 1887 in Delaware, Rippley, Ind. He is 27, she is 16. Two children were born to them, Pearl, & Edith Orr. William stayed in close contact with his two girls Pearl and Edith from his first marriage and the children from both his family's grew up knowing each other.
The second marriage to Lillie Jane Waldron on January 26, 1893 in Council Bluffs, Iowa. They had 5 children, Marion, Mary Elizabeth (Myrtle), Clyde, Nellie, Hazel.
Tragedy struck at the age of 48. While at work replacing a foundation of a old house, the braces gave way and crushed William to death. William was burried here at Fairview on March 19, 1908.
The mason's paid for his plot. $1.96 He is buried in the mason section. William has no Headstone.
Birth: Sep. 23, 1860, IrelandDeath: Mar. 17, 1908
Crescent
Pottawattamie County
Iowa, USA
William Robert Orr was born in Ireland, the oldest of eight children of John Orr and Marria Gray.
The family came to this country in 1864 when William was five years old. On this voyage was father John, mother Maria, sister Elizabeth, & brother John. They arrived in New York 27 Dec 1864 via England on the ship Kangaroo.
In 1866 William's sister Mary Orr was born in Ohio. By the time that William's sister Catherine Grace was born in 1868 the family was in Indiana. Then came Andrew, Henry, Richard all born in Indiana.
Now, I found the family in the 1870 census in Delaware, Ripley Co. Indiana. The last child (Richard) was born in 1879. In the 1880 census, the family is still in the same place. But, now Maria Orr is listed as a widow. Maria is only 42. But her husband John would have been 63. Our William Robert is 20. And now we find Maria Orr's mother living with the family. She is listed as Maria Gray…age 79.… widow.. relation to head of house… mother. Now this must have been tough times for this family and our William Robert. He was the man of the house at the age of 18. William was raised in Indiana, and stayed there until the age of 40.
William first married Olive Ann DeHart on April 07, 1887 in Delaware, Rippley, Ind. He is 27, she is 16. Two children were born to them, Pearl, & Edith Orr. William stayed in close contact with his two girls Pearl and Edith from his first marriage and the children from both his family's grew up knowing each other.
The second marriage to Lillie Jane Waldron on January 26, 1893 in Council Bluffs, Iowa. They had 5 children, Marion, Mary Elizabeth (Myrtle), Clyde, Nellie, Hazel.
Tragedy struck at the age of 48. While at work replacing a foundation of a old house, the braces gave way and crushed William to death. William was burried here at Fairview on March 19, 1908.
The mason's paid for his plot. $1.96 He is buried in the mason section. William has no Headstone.
THE ORR FAMILY "The Orrs had their origin in Scotland as early as the fourteenth century, possibly the thirteenth and took their names as did Brackenrig, Blackwood, Forest and hundreds of other families from the lands on which they lived. They are largely to be found in Renfrewshire, where there are thirteen hundred bearing the name. They are chiefly of Presbyterian faith but some are Episcopalians and in the Cathedral at Glasgow there is a memorial window to William Orr. "The first recorded evidence of the Orrs in Ireland is of those who came from Scotland with Sir Hugh Montgomery in 1606, who crossed to Ireland for the purpose of settlement in North Down on lands ceded to him by one of the great O'Neill family. In Charles A. Hanna's History of the Scotch Irish, Vol. I, Page 496, is given the genealogy of James Orr, of Bullyblack, who died in 1627 and of Jane Clement, his wife, who died in 1636. From it I quote: The descendants, male and female, of this worthy couple were very numerous and as their intermarriages have been care- fully recorded, we have thus fortunately a sort of index to the names of many other families of Scotch settlers in the Ards and Castlereagh.'" (From paper read May 28, 1903 by John G. Orr of Chambersburg, Pa. before the Kittochtinny Historical Society.) Among the early pastors of the Irish Church in Clough, county of Antrim, Ireland is found Peter Orr, 1673 to 1705 and following him came Alexander Orr, 1709 to 1713. Other pastors of Antrim and Derry Counties were John, Robert, Thomas and James Orr. In certificates of character or what we now call "church letters of dismissal", issued by vicars of the Church of Ireland and by 14
FIVE TYPICAL SCOTCH IRISH FAMILIES dissenting ministers of Killeade or Colade and Ardmore, county of Antrim, Ireland to members of the Orr family emigrating to Pennsylvania in the early half of the eighteenth century it is stated that they "lived soberly and honestly," "were of fair character, free from public scandal" "and may be received as a regular member of any Christian congregation". The Act of Parliament declaring marriages illegal unless repeated by a vicar or other dignitary of the Established Church, enraged many dissenters and hastened their emigration to America. This "marriage grievance," as it was called and the "sacramental test" were too obnoxious to be tolerated by these independent people. Among the Scotch Irish Presbyterians who fled from Ireland to America for greater religious and political freedom, were William Orr and his wife Sarah of the parish of Killaede or Colade, county Antrim, Ireland when his son John was a boy twelve years old. In 1738, William Orr obtained from Thomas and Richard Penn a grant of land in Louther Manor, lying in what was at that time Lancaster County, Penna. This tract was "situate on Big Run leading from the Gap of the mountain to the Conodoguinet, adjoining John McCormick." Owing to a flaw in the title or some other difficulty, no return was ever made for this land and in 1751 William Orr obtained a grant for another portion of Louther Manor (See Note) lying in Pennsboro Township, Cumber- land County, Pennsylvania adjoining the lands of Elizabeth Wright and Nathaniel Nelson. The Penns acknowledge receipt of twenty-six pounds and nine pence, lawful money of Pennsylvania
NOTE — Louther Manor was bounded on the east by the Susquehanna River, north by the Conodoguinet, south by the Yellow Breeches and on the west by a line drawn from the Conodoguinet to the Yellow Breeches. The Manor contained over 7,500 acres and was re-surveyed in 1764. It was called after a sister of William Penn who married a nobleman of that ORR HOMESTEAD. LOUTHER MANOR, AT ORR'S BRIDGE, CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA THE ORR FAMILY 15 which gave William Orr the title to the land and also released him from the annual payment of the quit rent of half a penny sterling for each acre of land. He and his heirs were also "to have the liberty to hawk, hunt, fish and fowl upon these premises or any part of them." All necessary returns having been made this time, the plantation passed from father to son in the Orr family for a century and a quarter until 1869, when it was sold by James Orr to David Dietz in whose family it is at present. This land was rich meadow land and fine forest, there being in the first quarter of the nineteenth century, thirty-three varieties of native trees upon it. Some of this timber was soon used to construct a house on the newly bought plantation and the struggle of a pioneer in a new and undeveloped country swarming with hostile Indians began in earnest. After the fertile land produced more grain than could be used by the family and domestic animals, great difficulty was experi- enced in those days of almost impassable roads in transporting it to market. In April 1765 William Orr's son John made a trip with produce across the Susquehanna. He paid to John Harris 7 shillings, six pence for ferrying his laden team over the river and on his return, paid for his empty team five shillings, an enormous toll when the scarcity of money in those early times is considered. Following the practice of his time and having no temperance scruples then as we have now, William Orr lessened the cost of transporting his grain by converting it into good Scotch whiskey, a beverage used daily, at that time, in every family. The com- mercial advantage of this move is evident when we learn that a pack horse carried about six bushels of wheat but could carry twenty-four bushels distilled into whiskey for which there was always a ready sale in the larger towns. At that time a distillery was considered a necessary adjunct of every large plantation. Ministers received part of their salaries, as old agreements show, 16
FIVE TYPICAL SCOTCH IRISH FAMILIES in produce, including whiskey. When a minister conducted family prayers, a tray was brought to him on which were the family Bible and a decanter. After the reading of the scriptures and a long prayer for the repentance of the soul, a stiff drink was taken for the repose of the body and the good man and his family went to bed, feeling most exemplary. Later when temperance pledges were first advocated, they were drawn to except funerals and weddings. The still house and two stills built by William Orr were standing in 1901 although changing customs and growing temperance sentiments had caused their disuse as a distillery more than one hundred years before. In William Orr's will, written March 23, 1768, "2 stills and the utencils thereof" and the bulk of his property were left to his sons John, Samuel and William. John received considerably more than the others so it is probable that he was the eldest although we have no dates to prove this. No records of the descendants of Samuel and William nor of the daughters except Martha have been found by the writer of this sketch. Family tradition says that one of these brothers went to New York, the other to North Carolina. William Orr appointed his "trusty friend, Thomas McCormick" and his son John, executors and after a few more months of suffering for his "frail body" he was laid to rest beside his faithful wife under the great oaks in Silver Spring graveyard where he and his neighbors, who had come to this country for freedom of worship, loved to meet. With him, as with the other Scotch Irish settlers of Pennsylvania, the church a ways came first and he was deeply interested in its welfare. His name was one of those affixed to the promissory note given to the Rev. John Steel in 1768 showing that he was one of the contributors empowered "to regulate seats and order all the other affairs of the congregation"; these signers apparently acting in the place of trustees and elders in the congregation at Silver Spring. THE ORR FAMILY 17
JOHN ORR 1726-1794 John Orr, probably the eldest son of William Orr, inherited a large part of his father's estate and was a prosperous and successful farmer and a man of great business sagacity and acknowledged integrity and patriotism. He was a "Ranger on the Frontier" from Cumberland County, 1778 to 1783 (See Penna. Archives) was a member of the Fourth Battalion, Lancaster County Militia (Kelker's History of Dauphin County, Pa. Vol. II, page 917), and owing to his commanding size and presence, was known to the people of Harris' Ferry and vicinity, as "Big John Orr". He added to his inherited estate a tract of adjoining land owned by Elizabeth Wright and called Curiosity, — a part of the tract, called Curiosity, had previously been purchased by his father. He was one of the executors of his father's estate and also acted in that capacity for his father-in-law, James Dickey, a large land owner of East Pennsboro Township. John Orr's wife, Martha Dickey, was a woman of great strength of character and firm Christian principles, trained by a father, who in his will, claimed to be "of perfect mind and memory" and who expressed his belief in the immortality of the soul thus: "I commend my soul to Almighty God and my body to be buried with decent Christian burial, nothing doubting but that at the General Resurrection I shall receive the same again by the power of Almighty God." James Dickey bequeathed a plantation to each of his sons and to his daughter Margaret but to Martha, so well provided for by her husband, the ranger, he gave his "big bay horse" and a small share in his personal estate. The amount of cash remaining, after his just debts were paid, was to be given to "whichever one of my children needs it the most", a clause which might have been fruitful of much dissension. It is not to be wondered at that 18
FIVE TYPICAL SCOTCH IRISH FAMILIES with such a father, Martha Dickey Orr was capable of instilling sound religious principles into her children. While her daughters sat at the spinning wheel or sewed, she read Doddridge's Rise and Progress, Baxter's Saints' Rest, Pilgrim's Progress and similar books to them, telling them to store their minds with good reading, "not with trash," so that they might have something to think about when they grew old. The pathos of this advice is touching since we know that some years before her death she became entirely blind and had to sit by while others read to her. She was a strict disciplinarian and most rigid in regard to proper observance of the Sabbath, not permitting even religious papers to be read on that day. Most widows of her time inherited "a home with my eldest son" but John Orr left to his "beloved wife Martha one third of all the rents and profits of my estate" and "the liberty to farm in the best manner the plantation on which she lived" until their son William should become of age. For the purpose of farming he left to her "all his horned cattle, sheep and swine, all his beds and furniture, his clock, his books, his farming equipment" and "my mulatto boy named Tom White." His mulatto boy, "Tom Black" is given to his son John while "Nell York," the other slave, was probably Martha Dickey's own property as no disposal of Nell is mentioned in the will. John Orr's daughters received, in addition to the usual "bed, bedclothes and saddel", of that day, two hundred and fifty pounds each. Two of these daughters, Jane and Rachel, married adven- turous husbands who took them on horseback over the steep Alleghanies to the new state of Ohio. From there they wrote to their mother of their satisfaction with the new country and the prosperity they experienced but also told how deeply they missed her advice and the comfort of her presence when they met with either joy or sorrow. A grave at Silver Spring had held the body of "Big John Orr" for a quarter of a century before one was made THE ORR FAMILY 19 beside it for his faithful, blind wife who had been such an efficient, helpful mother to their children.
WILLIAM ORR 1781-1831 Of the two sons of "Big John Orr" and Martha Dickey, John seems the more aggressive character but William had an attractive personality and from the old homestead along the Conodoguinet he was always ready to extend a helping hand to his neighbors and to the dearly loved church at Silver Spring. In his father's will it was stipulated that William should be educated and money was left for that purpose but it is not known what school he attended. He was open hearted, generous and fond of social life. Fortune did not favor him by giving him wives of strong physique so that he had a chance to wed three times. Twice he took as brides, widows with children, so that there were finally five sets of children in the family. His daughter Rebecca, in her mature years, declared that despite the unusualness of this collection there never had been a family where more harmony prevailed, for each child seemed to love the other as if there were no barriers of "step" and "half" relationship. Naturally, there was much entertaining of guests and Violet, the negro slave and cook, some- times resented the too frequent appearance of guests by grumbling that, "Some folks cawn't be comforbul at home." A carriage was added to the equipment of the plantation, the first in the Silver Spring neighborhood, and the ancestral "side-saddels" were given something of a rest. William Orr lived the life of a "gentleman farmer" personally superintending his farm, attending to his own financial affairs and frequently having the settlement of large estates entrusted to him. The last few years of his life he spent in Mechanicsburg, giving over the active duties of the farm 20
FIVE TYPICAL SCOTCH IRISH FAMILIES to his sons. He served as a trustee of the Silver Spring Church from 1810 to 1814. In 1814 he was made a ruling elder and continued in that office for life. He lies in Silver Spring graveyard beside Rebecca Graham, the wife of his youth. JOHN ORR 1783-18— John Orr, also a trustee of Silver Spring Church (1806), was more ambitious in character than his brother William. He became interested in politics and was a member of the Legislature, when it met in Lancaster. He also embarked on commercial ventures and exported flax seed to Belfast, from 50 to 75 hogsheads at a time on the ship American, "the return to be made in linnen cloth" "half of it in white at 14 pence and the other half in brown linnen at from 6 to 8 pence." William Gilchrist, probably his nephew, seems to have been his agent in Philadelphia to receive the goods. At the time of the death of "John Orr, Esquire," "he had more than $2000 worth of personal property," and that with his other holdings made his only daughter Jane "No side-saddel heiress, but a wealthy girl, with many suitors." She was twice married. One of the husbands she selected must have had attractions but not financial ability for the Orr letters refer to him as "Jane's bad managing husband." Her fortune was soon dissipated and existence once again had to be struggled for, a difficult matter, for education in accomplishments at a finishing school in Carlisle had not fitted Jane for self support.
MARY ORR BOYD William Orr's sister Mary or Polly, as she was familiarly called, married William Boyd at the Louther Manor homestead at Orr's Bridge. She was said to have been a strong character, much like THE ORR FAMILY 21 her mother Martha Dickey. After her brother William's death, at the sale of his personal property, she bought five volumes of Scott's Family Bible with commentaries, Baxter's Saints' Rest, Doddridge's Sermons and the Reign of Grace; books which were probably endeared to her by association with her mother. Her two sisters, Jane who married William Gilchrist, and Rachel ,who married John Jackson, wrote her frequent letters from Ohio and after their deaths, their children kept up the correspondence. One letter tells of an old acquaintance who had "the King's Evil in his neck that appears obstinate to remove." Jane Orr Gilchrist writes from Williamsburg in 1816 that she has "4 as smart, promis- ing little boys as any of their age" and she and her husband think "The duty incumbent upon us to provide as best we can for their temporal welfare (The names of these boys were William, Robert, Thomas and Orr) so we are thinking of moving to where the fishing and shipping are good." She laments with deep sorrow and in the language of the pulpit of the day, the death of her mother. As she grows older she becomes gloomy and quotes lengthily from the sermons read at Louther Manor years before about "no certain dwelling place, etc." She falls ill, has three doctors but survives their attentions and is much improved and cheered by a visit of three weeks, the first in fifteen years, from her sister Rachel. Rachel evidently rendered loving, helpful service to her invalid sister during the visit and Jane says with evident feeling, "May the Lord reward her kindness." The families of both these sisters seemed to flourish. One of the Jackson sons bought "a mill with two pairs of stones in it." The other shipped flour "by the river to New Orleans" and got five dollars a barrel for it. The Jacksons lived at Smithfield near Wheeling in 1836. Another brother writes that he is not in good health but "thinks he finds benefit by smoking" and young Robert Gilchrist writes, in 1837, to his aunt that, "a neighbor got in- 22
FIVE TYPICAL SCOTCH IRISH FAMILIES toccicated with licor" showing that temperance sentiment was beginning to develop. He also says, "farming is very prosperous, with wheat at $1.50 and milk cows $20.00 to $30.00 a piece and sugar 8 to 10 cents." He fears to tell his aunt how much sugar some people are making lest she "think him a liar." In 1836 the Gilchrists took advantage of the newly built canal and shipped 600 barrels of flour to Philadelphia. They planned to take the extra horses, they had for sale, over the mountains to Philadelphia, themselves, stopping enroute at Louther Manor to visit the family relatives, a tedious, dangerous journey over the road which their descendants now call the Lincoln Highway and travel speedily in softly cushioned motor cars. (The land grants and wills of the Orr and Dickey families from which quotations are made in these sketches, may be found in the archives of the county court house in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. The military record of "Big John Orr" is in Penna. archives and in Kelker's History of Dauphin County. Old family letters and personal recollections given by Mrs. Richard Parker of Carlisle, Pa., Miss Rebecca Orr and Mrs. James Orr of New Bloomfield, Pa., and Mrs. Mary Anderson Boyd of Shippensburg, Pa., have been most helpful. Records from Silver Spring church and notes from Rupp's History have also been used.)
ORR GENEALOGY I. William Orr, b. 1707, d. January 3, 1769. m. Sarah , b. 1709, d. September 5, 1760. Issue — I. John, 2. Samuel, 3. William, 4. Margaret, 5. Elizabeth, 6. Agnes, 7. Mary, 8. Martha. II. 1 John Orr, b. (in Ireland) 1726, d. November 1794. m. Martha Dickey, b. November 13, 1742, d. December 2, 1820.
ORR GENEALOGY 23 Issue — 1. Mary, 2. Jane, 3. Rachel, 4. William, 5. John. III. 1 Mary Orr, b. , d. . m. (1) September, 1802, William Boyd, b. August 20, 1767, d. September 19, 1803. (See Boyd record.) m. (2) Benjamin Anderson. III. 2 Jane Orr, married William Gilchrist and went to Clear- creek Township, Richland County, Ohio, probably prior to 1815. William Gilchrist died in February 1835. III. 3 Rachel Orr, married John Jackson and went to Jefferson County, Ohio and lived near Wheeling at Smith- field in 1836. III. 4 William Orr, b. November 28, 1781, d. December 31, 1831. m. (1) Rebecca Graham, b. January 7, 1786, d. May 7, 1811. Issue— 1. John, b. January 10, 1809, d. July 4, 1831. (Unmarried.) m. (2) Martha Quigley Carothers (widow of John Ca- rothers) b. July 17, 1786, d. October 24, 1828. Issue — 2. Rebecca, b. October 14, 1814, d. August 17, 1895. 3. William Henry, b. September 16, 1816, d. Aug. 27, 1827. 4. James, b. August 9, 1818, d. February 26, 1888. 5. Robert, b. October 1, 1820, d. May 31, 1824. 6. Anderson Carothers, b. Nov. 12, 1825, d. July 22, 1899. 7. William, b. Aug. 1828 - 14 FIVE TYPICAL SCOTCH IRISH FAMILIES m. (3) Agnes Mc Guire Sample (widow of Samuel Sample) married Feby. 22, 1831. Issue— 8. Martha Agnes, b. Nov. 30, 1 83 1 , d. Jan. 2, 1 902. (See Craig record.) IV. 1 John Orr, b. January 10, 1809, d. July 4, 1831. Unmarried. IV. 2 Rebecca Orr, b. October 14, 1814, d. August 17, 1895. Unmarried. IV. 3 William Henry Orr, b. Sept. 16, 1816, d. Aug. 27, 1827. IV. 4 James Orr, b. Aug. 9, 1818, d. Feby. 26, 1 m. April 21, 1853, Elizabeth Whitehall Crain, b. Nov. 29, 1834, d. January 7, 1903. Issue— 1. Rebecca Whitehill, b. Aug. 5, 1855. 2. William, b. Nov. 27, 1858. 3. Eleanor Rutherford, b. Sept. 22, 1860, d. Aug. 1861. 4. Joseph, b. June 15, 1862. 5. James Stanley, b. Oct. 13, 1867. V. 1 Rebecca Whitehill Orr, b. Aug. 5, 1855. m. November 8, 1876, William Henry Sponsler of New Bloomfield, Pa.
Issue-William A., b. Oct. 14, 1877. VI. 1 William A. Sponsler, b. October 14, 1877. m. September 3, 1902, Aimee Elizabeth Heiges, daughter of J. D. Heiges of York, Penna. V. 2 William Orr, b. Nov. 27, 1858. m. Nov. 9, 1882, Jane Shuler of New Bloomfield, Penna. Issue— Marmaduke, b. 1883. ORR GENEALOGY 25 V. 3 Eleanor Rutherford Orr, (died in infancy). V. 4 Joseph Orr, b. June 15, 1862. m. October 3, 1894, Daisy Mathis. Issue— Dow M., b. October, 1895. V. 5 James Stanley Orr, b. October 13, 1867. m. Gulielma Day, November 27, 1895 at Pittsburgh, Penna. Issue — Virginia Oakford, b. October 1, 1896. IV. 6 Anderson Carothers Orr, b. Nov. 12, 1825, d. July 22, 1899. m. October 6, 1853, Mary Heck of Millville, Penna. No issue. IV. 7 William Orr, b. August, 1828. m. April 21, 1853, Martha Murphy of Rock Island, 111. Issue — 1. Estella. 2. William. IV. 8 Martha Agnes Orr, b. November 30, 1831, d. Jan. 2, 1902. m. Hugh Boyd Craig. (See Craig record.) III. 5 John Orr (son of John Orr and Martha Dickey). m. (1) Miss Carothers of Carlisle, Penna. Issue — Jane. m. (2) Miss Moore of Carlisle, Penna. No issue. IV. 1 Jane Orr. m. (1) John A. Wolfe of Shippensburg, Penna. m. (2) John Lucius Fuller of Gettysburg, Penna. Issue— Martha Jane Fuller, b. March 20, 1835. V. 1 Martha Jane Fuller, b. March 20, 1835. m. Rev. Peter Bergstresser, a Lutheran clergyman. 26 FIVE TYPICAL SCOTCH IRISH FAMILIES Issue — I. Edwin, 2. William, 3. Charles, 4. John Orr, 5. Theodore, 6. Amelia Estelle, 7. Fuller, 8. Newton C, 9. Georgia Belle, 10. Adele.
NOTE— Alexander Young, b. October 14, 1726, d. Feby. 19, 1800 was married in Killeade, Ireland, to Martha Orr, daughter of William Orr, by a dissenting minister and later (May 11, 1769) was compelled to be re- married by a Vicar of the established church. After this they too came to Pennsylvania and settled in the Silver Spring district near William Orr. Their son, Robert Young, born April 16, 1768 died Nov. 27, 1842, is the direct ancestor of the Reverend George H. Bucher who has the original marriage certificates in his possession and who kindly loaned them to me for inspection. M. C. S. THE WATSON FAMILY In the 17th century there were members of the Watson family in both northern England and southern Scotland. John Watson, a noted surveyor of colonial America was descended from the Watsons of Cumberland, England. When allotments of land were made by King James VI, in Ulster, Ireland, we find among the "responsible undertakers", as people applying for allotments were called, "Mr. James Watson and John Watson," both por- tioned of Sauchton near Edinburgh. Each allotment was 2000 acres and James Crawford, burgess of Edinburgh was surety for John Watson. In 1681-1688 John Watson's name appears on the rent roll of the Hamilton Estate "in and near the town of Bangor and Killyleagh, County Down, Ireland" but from the interest always shown by the Watsons of Pennsylvania, in Donegal and Derry, it seems probable that the original Watson allotments were in those countries. At the siege of Derry in 1689 we find prominent among those fighting for religious liberty, several members of the Watson family. At the second battle of Wind Mill Hill, Siege of Derry, Captain Watson, a member of the family afterward emigrating to Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, fell in action. His death is referred to in an old poem found at Armagh: "Whilst valiant Watson fighting until death" "resigned upon the spot his latest breath." (Walker's Siege of Derry, Page 151-152.) This homely poem is of no literary merit but most valuable to historians as it gives accounts of various circumstances and actions during the siege as well as the names of those participating. During this siege, Captain Alexander Watson was master of the 28 FIVE TYPICAL SCOTCH IRISH FAMILIES gunners and after the siege Captain George Watson was one of the signers of the letter sent to William and Mary. (Siege of Derry by J. Graham, page 173). Andrew and Joseph Watson were among the signers of the petition to Governor Shute in 1718. JOHN WATSON 1705 (?)-1757 In 1730, there came from Donegal, Ireland, "John Watson, Yeo- man," with his family and relatives, sternly leaving behind him, oppression both civil and religious and turning with hardy thirft and Scotch determination and aggressiveness to found a new home surrounded by liberty and freedom. He settled in Leacock Town- ship, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, twelve miles east of the city of Lancaster but did not get a warrant for his land until 1 734- 36, as warrants were not issued until then in Lancaster County. His cousin, John Watson, settled near Carlisle, Pennsylvania. In 1731, John Watson married Ann Stephenson, daughter of James Stephenson (died 1 767) who had preceeded him to this country and settled near Donegal, Lancaster County. (See foot- note.) Five children were born to John Watson and Ann Stephen- son and so faithfully were religious and patriotic principles instilled into them by their God fearing parents, that they were always foremost in loyalty to both church and country. Both of their NOTE — Ann Stephenson was the daughter of James Stephenson and Elizabeth Simpson. James Stephenson came from Donegal, Ireland in 1720 and settled near Donegal, Lancaster Co., Penna. on a tract of land called "Seat of Beauty." A warrant for this tract of 334 acres was issued in 1734. This plantation remained in possession of the Stephenson- Watson family for more than a century and a half. In 1882 Dr. Nathaniel Watson sold it to the Hon. Simon Cameron in whose family it still remains. From James Stephenson's daughter Hannah, was descended President William McKinley. http://www.archive.org/stream/fivetypicalscotc00shoe/fivetypicalscotc00shoe_djvu.txt
FIVE TYPICAL SCOTCH IRISH FAMILIES dissenting ministers of Killeade or Colade and Ardmore, county of Antrim, Ireland to members of the Orr family emigrating to Pennsylvania in the early half of the eighteenth century it is stated that they "lived soberly and honestly," "were of fair character, free from public scandal" "and may be received as a regular member of any Christian congregation". The Act of Parliament declaring marriages illegal unless repeated by a vicar or other dignitary of the Established Church, enraged many dissenters and hastened their emigration to America. This "marriage grievance," as it was called and the "sacramental test" were too obnoxious to be tolerated by these independent people. Among the Scotch Irish Presbyterians who fled from Ireland to America for greater religious and political freedom, were William Orr and his wife Sarah of the parish of Killaede or Colade, county Antrim, Ireland when his son John was a boy twelve years old. In 1738, William Orr obtained from Thomas and Richard Penn a grant of land in Louther Manor, lying in what was at that time Lancaster County, Penna. This tract was "situate on Big Run leading from the Gap of the mountain to the Conodoguinet, adjoining John McCormick." Owing to a flaw in the title or some other difficulty, no return was ever made for this land and in 1751 William Orr obtained a grant for another portion of Louther Manor (See Note) lying in Pennsboro Township, Cumber- land County, Pennsylvania adjoining the lands of Elizabeth Wright and Nathaniel Nelson. The Penns acknowledge receipt of twenty-six pounds and nine pence, lawful money of Pennsylvania
NOTE — Louther Manor was bounded on the east by the Susquehanna River, north by the Conodoguinet, south by the Yellow Breeches and on the west by a line drawn from the Conodoguinet to the Yellow Breeches. The Manor contained over 7,500 acres and was re-surveyed in 1764. It was called after a sister of William Penn who married a nobleman of that ORR HOMESTEAD. LOUTHER MANOR, AT ORR'S BRIDGE, CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA THE ORR FAMILY 15 which gave William Orr the title to the land and also released him from the annual payment of the quit rent of half a penny sterling for each acre of land. He and his heirs were also "to have the liberty to hawk, hunt, fish and fowl upon these premises or any part of them." All necessary returns having been made this time, the plantation passed from father to son in the Orr family for a century and a quarter until 1869, when it was sold by James Orr to David Dietz in whose family it is at present. This land was rich meadow land and fine forest, there being in the first quarter of the nineteenth century, thirty-three varieties of native trees upon it. Some of this timber was soon used to construct a house on the newly bought plantation and the struggle of a pioneer in a new and undeveloped country swarming with hostile Indians began in earnest. After the fertile land produced more grain than could be used by the family and domestic animals, great difficulty was experi- enced in those days of almost impassable roads in transporting it to market. In April 1765 William Orr's son John made a trip with produce across the Susquehanna. He paid to John Harris 7 shillings, six pence for ferrying his laden team over the river and on his return, paid for his empty team five shillings, an enormous toll when the scarcity of money in those early times is considered. Following the practice of his time and having no temperance scruples then as we have now, William Orr lessened the cost of transporting his grain by converting it into good Scotch whiskey, a beverage used daily, at that time, in every family. The com- mercial advantage of this move is evident when we learn that a pack horse carried about six bushels of wheat but could carry twenty-four bushels distilled into whiskey for which there was always a ready sale in the larger towns. At that time a distillery was considered a necessary adjunct of every large plantation. Ministers received part of their salaries, as old agreements show, 16
FIVE TYPICAL SCOTCH IRISH FAMILIES in produce, including whiskey. When a minister conducted family prayers, a tray was brought to him on which were the family Bible and a decanter. After the reading of the scriptures and a long prayer for the repentance of the soul, a stiff drink was taken for the repose of the body and the good man and his family went to bed, feeling most exemplary. Later when temperance pledges were first advocated, they were drawn to except funerals and weddings. The still house and two stills built by William Orr were standing in 1901 although changing customs and growing temperance sentiments had caused their disuse as a distillery more than one hundred years before. In William Orr's will, written March 23, 1768, "2 stills and the utencils thereof" and the bulk of his property were left to his sons John, Samuel and William. John received considerably more than the others so it is probable that he was the eldest although we have no dates to prove this. No records of the descendants of Samuel and William nor of the daughters except Martha have been found by the writer of this sketch. Family tradition says that one of these brothers went to New York, the other to North Carolina. William Orr appointed his "trusty friend, Thomas McCormick" and his son John, executors and after a few more months of suffering for his "frail body" he was laid to rest beside his faithful wife under the great oaks in Silver Spring graveyard where he and his neighbors, who had come to this country for freedom of worship, loved to meet. With him, as with the other Scotch Irish settlers of Pennsylvania, the church a ways came first and he was deeply interested in its welfare. His name was one of those affixed to the promissory note given to the Rev. John Steel in 1768 showing that he was one of the contributors empowered "to regulate seats and order all the other affairs of the congregation"; these signers apparently acting in the place of trustees and elders in the congregation at Silver Spring. THE ORR FAMILY 17
JOHN ORR 1726-1794 John Orr, probably the eldest son of William Orr, inherited a large part of his father's estate and was a prosperous and successful farmer and a man of great business sagacity and acknowledged integrity and patriotism. He was a "Ranger on the Frontier" from Cumberland County, 1778 to 1783 (See Penna. Archives) was a member of the Fourth Battalion, Lancaster County Militia (Kelker's History of Dauphin County, Pa. Vol. II, page 917), and owing to his commanding size and presence, was known to the people of Harris' Ferry and vicinity, as "Big John Orr". He added to his inherited estate a tract of adjoining land owned by Elizabeth Wright and called Curiosity, — a part of the tract, called Curiosity, had previously been purchased by his father. He was one of the executors of his father's estate and also acted in that capacity for his father-in-law, James Dickey, a large land owner of East Pennsboro Township. John Orr's wife, Martha Dickey, was a woman of great strength of character and firm Christian principles, trained by a father, who in his will, claimed to be "of perfect mind and memory" and who expressed his belief in the immortality of the soul thus: "I commend my soul to Almighty God and my body to be buried with decent Christian burial, nothing doubting but that at the General Resurrection I shall receive the same again by the power of Almighty God." James Dickey bequeathed a plantation to each of his sons and to his daughter Margaret but to Martha, so well provided for by her husband, the ranger, he gave his "big bay horse" and a small share in his personal estate. The amount of cash remaining, after his just debts were paid, was to be given to "whichever one of my children needs it the most", a clause which might have been fruitful of much dissension. It is not to be wondered at that 18
FIVE TYPICAL SCOTCH IRISH FAMILIES with such a father, Martha Dickey Orr was capable of instilling sound religious principles into her children. While her daughters sat at the spinning wheel or sewed, she read Doddridge's Rise and Progress, Baxter's Saints' Rest, Pilgrim's Progress and similar books to them, telling them to store their minds with good reading, "not with trash," so that they might have something to think about when they grew old. The pathos of this advice is touching since we know that some years before her death she became entirely blind and had to sit by while others read to her. She was a strict disciplinarian and most rigid in regard to proper observance of the Sabbath, not permitting even religious papers to be read on that day. Most widows of her time inherited "a home with my eldest son" but John Orr left to his "beloved wife Martha one third of all the rents and profits of my estate" and "the liberty to farm in the best manner the plantation on which she lived" until their son William should become of age. For the purpose of farming he left to her "all his horned cattle, sheep and swine, all his beds and furniture, his clock, his books, his farming equipment" and "my mulatto boy named Tom White." His mulatto boy, "Tom Black" is given to his son John while "Nell York," the other slave, was probably Martha Dickey's own property as no disposal of Nell is mentioned in the will. John Orr's daughters received, in addition to the usual "bed, bedclothes and saddel", of that day, two hundred and fifty pounds each. Two of these daughters, Jane and Rachel, married adven- turous husbands who took them on horseback over the steep Alleghanies to the new state of Ohio. From there they wrote to their mother of their satisfaction with the new country and the prosperity they experienced but also told how deeply they missed her advice and the comfort of her presence when they met with either joy or sorrow. A grave at Silver Spring had held the body of "Big John Orr" for a quarter of a century before one was made THE ORR FAMILY 19 beside it for his faithful, blind wife who had been such an efficient, helpful mother to their children.
WILLIAM ORR 1781-1831 Of the two sons of "Big John Orr" and Martha Dickey, John seems the more aggressive character but William had an attractive personality and from the old homestead along the Conodoguinet he was always ready to extend a helping hand to his neighbors and to the dearly loved church at Silver Spring. In his father's will it was stipulated that William should be educated and money was left for that purpose but it is not known what school he attended. He was open hearted, generous and fond of social life. Fortune did not favor him by giving him wives of strong physique so that he had a chance to wed three times. Twice he took as brides, widows with children, so that there were finally five sets of children in the family. His daughter Rebecca, in her mature years, declared that despite the unusualness of this collection there never had been a family where more harmony prevailed, for each child seemed to love the other as if there were no barriers of "step" and "half" relationship. Naturally, there was much entertaining of guests and Violet, the negro slave and cook, some- times resented the too frequent appearance of guests by grumbling that, "Some folks cawn't be comforbul at home." A carriage was added to the equipment of the plantation, the first in the Silver Spring neighborhood, and the ancestral "side-saddels" were given something of a rest. William Orr lived the life of a "gentleman farmer" personally superintending his farm, attending to his own financial affairs and frequently having the settlement of large estates entrusted to him. The last few years of his life he spent in Mechanicsburg, giving over the active duties of the farm 20
FIVE TYPICAL SCOTCH IRISH FAMILIES to his sons. He served as a trustee of the Silver Spring Church from 1810 to 1814. In 1814 he was made a ruling elder and continued in that office for life. He lies in Silver Spring graveyard beside Rebecca Graham, the wife of his youth. JOHN ORR 1783-18— John Orr, also a trustee of Silver Spring Church (1806), was more ambitious in character than his brother William. He became interested in politics and was a member of the Legislature, when it met in Lancaster. He also embarked on commercial ventures and exported flax seed to Belfast, from 50 to 75 hogsheads at a time on the ship American, "the return to be made in linnen cloth" "half of it in white at 14 pence and the other half in brown linnen at from 6 to 8 pence." William Gilchrist, probably his nephew, seems to have been his agent in Philadelphia to receive the goods. At the time of the death of "John Orr, Esquire," "he had more than $2000 worth of personal property," and that with his other holdings made his only daughter Jane "No side-saddel heiress, but a wealthy girl, with many suitors." She was twice married. One of the husbands she selected must have had attractions but not financial ability for the Orr letters refer to him as "Jane's bad managing husband." Her fortune was soon dissipated and existence once again had to be struggled for, a difficult matter, for education in accomplishments at a finishing school in Carlisle had not fitted Jane for self support.
MARY ORR BOYD William Orr's sister Mary or Polly, as she was familiarly called, married William Boyd at the Louther Manor homestead at Orr's Bridge. She was said to have been a strong character, much like THE ORR FAMILY 21 her mother Martha Dickey. After her brother William's death, at the sale of his personal property, she bought five volumes of Scott's Family Bible with commentaries, Baxter's Saints' Rest, Doddridge's Sermons and the Reign of Grace; books which were probably endeared to her by association with her mother. Her two sisters, Jane who married William Gilchrist, and Rachel ,who married John Jackson, wrote her frequent letters from Ohio and after their deaths, their children kept up the correspondence. One letter tells of an old acquaintance who had "the King's Evil in his neck that appears obstinate to remove." Jane Orr Gilchrist writes from Williamsburg in 1816 that she has "4 as smart, promis- ing little boys as any of their age" and she and her husband think "The duty incumbent upon us to provide as best we can for their temporal welfare (The names of these boys were William, Robert, Thomas and Orr) so we are thinking of moving to where the fishing and shipping are good." She laments with deep sorrow and in the language of the pulpit of the day, the death of her mother. As she grows older she becomes gloomy and quotes lengthily from the sermons read at Louther Manor years before about "no certain dwelling place, etc." She falls ill, has three doctors but survives their attentions and is much improved and cheered by a visit of three weeks, the first in fifteen years, from her sister Rachel. Rachel evidently rendered loving, helpful service to her invalid sister during the visit and Jane says with evident feeling, "May the Lord reward her kindness." The families of both these sisters seemed to flourish. One of the Jackson sons bought "a mill with two pairs of stones in it." The other shipped flour "by the river to New Orleans" and got five dollars a barrel for it. The Jacksons lived at Smithfield near Wheeling in 1836. Another brother writes that he is not in good health but "thinks he finds benefit by smoking" and young Robert Gilchrist writes, in 1837, to his aunt that, "a neighbor got in- 22
FIVE TYPICAL SCOTCH IRISH FAMILIES toccicated with licor" showing that temperance sentiment was beginning to develop. He also says, "farming is very prosperous, with wheat at $1.50 and milk cows $20.00 to $30.00 a piece and sugar 8 to 10 cents." He fears to tell his aunt how much sugar some people are making lest she "think him a liar." In 1836 the Gilchrists took advantage of the newly built canal and shipped 600 barrels of flour to Philadelphia. They planned to take the extra horses, they had for sale, over the mountains to Philadelphia, themselves, stopping enroute at Louther Manor to visit the family relatives, a tedious, dangerous journey over the road which their descendants now call the Lincoln Highway and travel speedily in softly cushioned motor cars. (The land grants and wills of the Orr and Dickey families from which quotations are made in these sketches, may be found in the archives of the county court house in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. The military record of "Big John Orr" is in Penna. archives and in Kelker's History of Dauphin County. Old family letters and personal recollections given by Mrs. Richard Parker of Carlisle, Pa., Miss Rebecca Orr and Mrs. James Orr of New Bloomfield, Pa., and Mrs. Mary Anderson Boyd of Shippensburg, Pa., have been most helpful. Records from Silver Spring church and notes from Rupp's History have also been used.)
ORR GENEALOGY I. William Orr, b. 1707, d. January 3, 1769. m. Sarah , b. 1709, d. September 5, 1760. Issue — I. John, 2. Samuel, 3. William, 4. Margaret, 5. Elizabeth, 6. Agnes, 7. Mary, 8. Martha. II. 1 John Orr, b. (in Ireland) 1726, d. November 1794. m. Martha Dickey, b. November 13, 1742, d. December 2, 1820.
ORR GENEALOGY 23 Issue — 1. Mary, 2. Jane, 3. Rachel, 4. William, 5. John. III. 1 Mary Orr, b. , d. . m. (1) September, 1802, William Boyd, b. August 20, 1767, d. September 19, 1803. (See Boyd record.) m. (2) Benjamin Anderson. III. 2 Jane Orr, married William Gilchrist and went to Clear- creek Township, Richland County, Ohio, probably prior to 1815. William Gilchrist died in February 1835. III. 3 Rachel Orr, married John Jackson and went to Jefferson County, Ohio and lived near Wheeling at Smith- field in 1836. III. 4 William Orr, b. November 28, 1781, d. December 31, 1831. m. (1) Rebecca Graham, b. January 7, 1786, d. May 7, 1811. Issue— 1. John, b. January 10, 1809, d. July 4, 1831. (Unmarried.) m. (2) Martha Quigley Carothers (widow of John Ca- rothers) b. July 17, 1786, d. October 24, 1828. Issue — 2. Rebecca, b. October 14, 1814, d. August 17, 1895. 3. William Henry, b. September 16, 1816, d. Aug. 27, 1827. 4. James, b. August 9, 1818, d. February 26, 1888. 5. Robert, b. October 1, 1820, d. May 31, 1824. 6. Anderson Carothers, b. Nov. 12, 1825, d. July 22, 1899. 7. William, b. Aug. 1828 - 14 FIVE TYPICAL SCOTCH IRISH FAMILIES m. (3) Agnes Mc Guire Sample (widow of Samuel Sample) married Feby. 22, 1831. Issue— 8. Martha Agnes, b. Nov. 30, 1 83 1 , d. Jan. 2, 1 902. (See Craig record.) IV. 1 John Orr, b. January 10, 1809, d. July 4, 1831. Unmarried. IV. 2 Rebecca Orr, b. October 14, 1814, d. August 17, 1895. Unmarried. IV. 3 William Henry Orr, b. Sept. 16, 1816, d. Aug. 27, 1827. IV. 4 James Orr, b. Aug. 9, 1818, d. Feby. 26, 1 m. April 21, 1853, Elizabeth Whitehall Crain, b. Nov. 29, 1834, d. January 7, 1903. Issue— 1. Rebecca Whitehill, b. Aug. 5, 1855. 2. William, b. Nov. 27, 1858. 3. Eleanor Rutherford, b. Sept. 22, 1860, d. Aug. 1861. 4. Joseph, b. June 15, 1862. 5. James Stanley, b. Oct. 13, 1867. V. 1 Rebecca Whitehill Orr, b. Aug. 5, 1855. m. November 8, 1876, William Henry Sponsler of New Bloomfield, Pa.
Issue-William A., b. Oct. 14, 1877. VI. 1 William A. Sponsler, b. October 14, 1877. m. September 3, 1902, Aimee Elizabeth Heiges, daughter of J. D. Heiges of York, Penna. V. 2 William Orr, b. Nov. 27, 1858. m. Nov. 9, 1882, Jane Shuler of New Bloomfield, Penna. Issue— Marmaduke, b. 1883. ORR GENEALOGY 25 V. 3 Eleanor Rutherford Orr, (died in infancy). V. 4 Joseph Orr, b. June 15, 1862. m. October 3, 1894, Daisy Mathis. Issue— Dow M., b. October, 1895. V. 5 James Stanley Orr, b. October 13, 1867. m. Gulielma Day, November 27, 1895 at Pittsburgh, Penna. Issue — Virginia Oakford, b. October 1, 1896. IV. 6 Anderson Carothers Orr, b. Nov. 12, 1825, d. July 22, 1899. m. October 6, 1853, Mary Heck of Millville, Penna. No issue. IV. 7 William Orr, b. August, 1828. m. April 21, 1853, Martha Murphy of Rock Island, 111. Issue — 1. Estella. 2. William. IV. 8 Martha Agnes Orr, b. November 30, 1831, d. Jan. 2, 1902. m. Hugh Boyd Craig. (See Craig record.) III. 5 John Orr (son of John Orr and Martha Dickey). m. (1) Miss Carothers of Carlisle, Penna. Issue — Jane. m. (2) Miss Moore of Carlisle, Penna. No issue. IV. 1 Jane Orr. m. (1) John A. Wolfe of Shippensburg, Penna. m. (2) John Lucius Fuller of Gettysburg, Penna. Issue— Martha Jane Fuller, b. March 20, 1835. V. 1 Martha Jane Fuller, b. March 20, 1835. m. Rev. Peter Bergstresser, a Lutheran clergyman. 26 FIVE TYPICAL SCOTCH IRISH FAMILIES Issue — I. Edwin, 2. William, 3. Charles, 4. John Orr, 5. Theodore, 6. Amelia Estelle, 7. Fuller, 8. Newton C, 9. Georgia Belle, 10. Adele.
NOTE— Alexander Young, b. October 14, 1726, d. Feby. 19, 1800 was married in Killeade, Ireland, to Martha Orr, daughter of William Orr, by a dissenting minister and later (May 11, 1769) was compelled to be re- married by a Vicar of the established church. After this they too came to Pennsylvania and settled in the Silver Spring district near William Orr. Their son, Robert Young, born April 16, 1768 died Nov. 27, 1842, is the direct ancestor of the Reverend George H. Bucher who has the original marriage certificates in his possession and who kindly loaned them to me for inspection. M. C. S. THE WATSON FAMILY In the 17th century there were members of the Watson family in both northern England and southern Scotland. John Watson, a noted surveyor of colonial America was descended from the Watsons of Cumberland, England. When allotments of land were made by King James VI, in Ulster, Ireland, we find among the "responsible undertakers", as people applying for allotments were called, "Mr. James Watson and John Watson," both por- tioned of Sauchton near Edinburgh. Each allotment was 2000 acres and James Crawford, burgess of Edinburgh was surety for John Watson. In 1681-1688 John Watson's name appears on the rent roll of the Hamilton Estate "in and near the town of Bangor and Killyleagh, County Down, Ireland" but from the interest always shown by the Watsons of Pennsylvania, in Donegal and Derry, it seems probable that the original Watson allotments were in those countries. At the siege of Derry in 1689 we find prominent among those fighting for religious liberty, several members of the Watson family. At the second battle of Wind Mill Hill, Siege of Derry, Captain Watson, a member of the family afterward emigrating to Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, fell in action. His death is referred to in an old poem found at Armagh: "Whilst valiant Watson fighting until death" "resigned upon the spot his latest breath." (Walker's Siege of Derry, Page 151-152.) This homely poem is of no literary merit but most valuable to historians as it gives accounts of various circumstances and actions during the siege as well as the names of those participating. During this siege, Captain Alexander Watson was master of the 28 FIVE TYPICAL SCOTCH IRISH FAMILIES gunners and after the siege Captain George Watson was one of the signers of the letter sent to William and Mary. (Siege of Derry by J. Graham, page 173). Andrew and Joseph Watson were among the signers of the petition to Governor Shute in 1718. JOHN WATSON 1705 (?)-1757 In 1730, there came from Donegal, Ireland, "John Watson, Yeo- man," with his family and relatives, sternly leaving behind him, oppression both civil and religious and turning with hardy thirft and Scotch determination and aggressiveness to found a new home surrounded by liberty and freedom. He settled in Leacock Town- ship, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, twelve miles east of the city of Lancaster but did not get a warrant for his land until 1 734- 36, as warrants were not issued until then in Lancaster County. His cousin, John Watson, settled near Carlisle, Pennsylvania. In 1731, John Watson married Ann Stephenson, daughter of James Stephenson (died 1 767) who had preceeded him to this country and settled near Donegal, Lancaster County. (See foot- note.) Five children were born to John Watson and Ann Stephen- son and so faithfully were religious and patriotic principles instilled into them by their God fearing parents, that they were always foremost in loyalty to both church and country. Both of their NOTE — Ann Stephenson was the daughter of James Stephenson and Elizabeth Simpson. James Stephenson came from Donegal, Ireland in 1720 and settled near Donegal, Lancaster Co., Penna. on a tract of land called "Seat of Beauty." A warrant for this tract of 334 acres was issued in 1734. This plantation remained in possession of the Stephenson- Watson family for more than a century and a half. In 1882 Dr. Nathaniel Watson sold it to the Hon. Simon Cameron in whose family it still remains. From James Stephenson's daughter Hannah, was descended President William McKinley. http://www.archive.org/stream/fivetypicalscotc00shoe/fivetypicalscotc00shoe_djvu.txt
Re: Obituary or Census - Location
ORR
Posted By: Sarah Thorson Little (email)
Date: 1/6/2006 at 18:33:06
In Response To: Obituary or Census - Location (Judy Smith)
William Asa Orr, Sr. was born 17 Feb 1832 in Salem, Washington, Indiana, and died 6 Jan 1907 in Eagle Grove, Iowa. He married Matilda Evelyn Hardin either on Feb. 17, 1851 or Aug. 25, 1851 in Louisville, Kentucky. She was born 28 February 1835 in Louisville, Kentucky. Both are buried in the Rose Hill Cemetery in Eagle Grove, Iowa. There are no dates on Evelyn Hardin Orr’s cemetery record.
Obituary from: Eagle Grove Times Gazette: William Asa Orr Sr.
THE LAST ROLL CALL
Account of the life of Comrade Wm Orr.
William Orr was born in Salem, Indiana, on February 17, 1832 and died at his home in Eagle Grove, Iowa, on Sunday, January 6, 1907. He was married to Miss Evelyn Hardin on August 25, 1851. After living in Indiana for eight years in 1859 they moved to Illinois. While living in that state the civil war broke out and Mr. Orr loyal to the Union enlisted in the 44th Ill. Vol. Inf., and saw three years of hard service with the regiment. At the battle of Franklin, Tennessee, he was wounded, a bullet passing thru one of his lungs, and after gaining sufficient strength and partially recovered from his injuries he was sent home and mustered out at the close of the war. A little incident occurred at the time of his injury that probably saved his life. Mr. Orr had been home on a furlough and upon returning to his regiment he took with him one of his sons, intending that the boy should be returned home by some of his comrades who would be going home on their vacation. However before the lad had left camp his father was seriously wounded in the engagement at Franklin, and it was by his care and nursing that Mr. Orr was brought thru. In 1873 the Orr's moved to Iowa, settling at Dubuque, and in 1875 they moved into Cherokee county, and again in 1880 they moved to O'Brien county. In 1883 they moved onto a farm near Alpena, So. Dakota, were they lived for twenty years. During their residence here Mr. Orr had an attack of pneumonia from which he never fully recovered. Fast failing in health he and his wife moved to be near their son, A. L. Orr. The deceased when nineteen years of age was converted and joined the Methodist, and remained a steadfast and loyal member of that church up to the very time of his death. The funeral services were conducted by Rev. C. E. Chapter at the Methodist Church Tuesday afternoon at 2 o'clock, and a large number of friends of the family were present at the last rites over the departed. The G.A.R's attended the services in a body. Interment was made in the Rose Hill cemetery and at the grave the G.A.R. had charge of the service and the body was laid to rest by their simple and impressive ceremony, and the last roll call for Comrade William Orr was answered.
ORR
Posted By: Sarah Thorson Little (email)
Date: 1/6/2006 at 18:33:06
In Response To: Obituary or Census - Location (Judy Smith)
William Asa Orr, Sr. was born 17 Feb 1832 in Salem, Washington, Indiana, and died 6 Jan 1907 in Eagle Grove, Iowa. He married Matilda Evelyn Hardin either on Feb. 17, 1851 or Aug. 25, 1851 in Louisville, Kentucky. She was born 28 February 1835 in Louisville, Kentucky. Both are buried in the Rose Hill Cemetery in Eagle Grove, Iowa. There are no dates on Evelyn Hardin Orr’s cemetery record.
Obituary from: Eagle Grove Times Gazette: William Asa Orr Sr.
THE LAST ROLL CALL
Account of the life of Comrade Wm Orr.
William Orr was born in Salem, Indiana, on February 17, 1832 and died at his home in Eagle Grove, Iowa, on Sunday, January 6, 1907. He was married to Miss Evelyn Hardin on August 25, 1851. After living in Indiana for eight years in 1859 they moved to Illinois. While living in that state the civil war broke out and Mr. Orr loyal to the Union enlisted in the 44th Ill. Vol. Inf., and saw three years of hard service with the regiment. At the battle of Franklin, Tennessee, he was wounded, a bullet passing thru one of his lungs, and after gaining sufficient strength and partially recovered from his injuries he was sent home and mustered out at the close of the war. A little incident occurred at the time of his injury that probably saved his life. Mr. Orr had been home on a furlough and upon returning to his regiment he took with him one of his sons, intending that the boy should be returned home by some of his comrades who would be going home on their vacation. However before the lad had left camp his father was seriously wounded in the engagement at Franklin, and it was by his care and nursing that Mr. Orr was brought thru. In 1873 the Orr's moved to Iowa, settling at Dubuque, and in 1875 they moved into Cherokee county, and again in 1880 they moved to O'Brien county. In 1883 they moved onto a farm near Alpena, So. Dakota, were they lived for twenty years. During their residence here Mr. Orr had an attack of pneumonia from which he never fully recovered. Fast failing in health he and his wife moved to be near their son, A. L. Orr. The deceased when nineteen years of age was converted and joined the Methodist, and remained a steadfast and loyal member of that church up to the very time of his death. The funeral services were conducted by Rev. C. E. Chapter at the Methodist Church Tuesday afternoon at 2 o'clock, and a large number of friends of the family were present at the last rites over the departed. The G.A.R's attended the services in a body. Interment was made in the Rose Hill cemetery and at the grave the G.A.R. had charge of the service and the body was laid to rest by their simple and impressive ceremony, and the last roll call for Comrade William Orr was answered.
Warren Henry Orr (b. 1886) — also known as Warren H. Orr — of Hamilton, Hancock County, Ill.; Carthage, Hancock County, Ill.; Rock Island, Rock Island County, Ill.; Wilmette, Cook County, Ill. Born in Hannibal, Marion County, Mo., November 5, 1886. Son of James H. Orr and Louisa E. (Watson) Orr; married, September 10, 1914, to Dorothy Wallace. Democrat. Lawyer; Hancock County Judge, 1919-30; delegate to Democratic National Convention from Illinois, 1924; justice of Illinois state supreme court 4th District, 1930-39; chief justice of Alabama state supreme court, 1933-39; president, Belmont National Bank of Chicago. Methodist. Member, American Bar Association; Phi Delta Phi; Delta Tau Delta; Freemasons; Union League; Kiwanis. Interment at Hamilton Cemetery, Hamilton, Ill.
Cleo R. Orr was born November 24, 1915 in Eagle Grove, Iowa, the daughter of Frank and Susan (Berg) Orr. At an early age she moved with her family to Midland, South Dakota. She grew up and received her education in Midland, graduating from Midland High School.
Cleo was united in marriage to Leonard M. Addison on February 7, 1938, in Midland. They ranched in the Stamford area until their retirement. After they retired from the ranch, they moved to Belvidere, and later into Kadoka.
Cleo’s husband Leonard preceded her in death on February 11, 2001. She continued to live at the Kadoka Nursing Home, where she resided until her death.
Grateful for having shared her life include her daughter Kathleen Leutenegger and her husband Joe of Kadoka; her son Leonard Addison of Rupert, Idaho; seven grandchildren September and her husband Cory, Shawna and her husband Richard, Shanesa and her husband Wade, Starette and her husband Brian, Melodie, Memory, and Monica; sixteen great-grandchildren; and a host of other relatives and friends.
In addition to her husband Leonard, Cleo was preceded in death by a daughter Melody as an infant; a grandson Shane L. Leutenegger; a daughter-in-law Joan Addison; her parents; two sisters Jean Williams and Virginia Hinker; and two brothers Charles and Roger Orr.
Visitation was held from 5-7 p.m. on Wednesday, December 2, with a vigil service at 7:00 p.m., all at Our Lady of Victory Catholic Church in Kadoka.
Mass of Christian Burial will be held 10:00 a.m. Thursday, December 3, at the church, with Father Bryan Sorensen as celebrant.
Interment will follow the luncheon at the Belvidere Cemetery.
The family requests memorials directed to the Kadoka Nursing Home.
Memorials can be mailed to Kathleen Leutenegger, P.O. Box 545, Kadoka, SD 57543.
Russell Orr .b Mahoning co. Ohio. May, 12,1839 and d. Feb .24,1925. Cisne. His father Russell Orr sr. died when he was 6 months old. A family of nine children. They came to Wayne co. 1853. His four brothers have died. , Rodney, Casseman, James, Gates, Eleanor Pearce, Susan Brock , Mary Milner and Jacintha Truscott. all have died. He leaves an aged sister. Mrs. Olive Varner of Augusta, Kans. He married about 1870 to Sabrina Allen who died with 2 years along with a little girl. 2nd. m. 1875 to Margaret Hawk who died Dec. 1877. Leaving a 7 weeks old son Lloyd of Flora. 3rd. m. Mar. 1879 to Elizabeth Decker of Johnsonville. Four children. Ella C. wife of C.B. Brooks of Wellington, Tx.. Clara of Cisne, Minnie who died and Chas. Of Bisbee, Ariz. Also took into there home 2 fatherless boys. Spencer age 5 and Wilbur age 3. Spencer Decker of Calif. And Rev. Wilbur Decker died 18 months ago
>From 'The Orr Family', by B.J. Clark Laube and Arthur H. Laube, 1994:
Five ORR brothers fought bravely on the side of William and Mary at the Battle of the Boyne, Ireland, in 1690. The first ORR ancestors were of the MCGREGOR clan. At the end of the 16th century, the MACGREGOR clan had lived for two centuries by pillage, and although harried by larger forces, they always overcame, or at least survived. James VI of
Scotland abolished the MACGREGOR name. Many refused to change their surname and were killed; others hid their origins by dropping all but the last letters from the clan name, taking the name ORR and mingling with the Presbyterians while remaining secretly Roman Catholic. One ORR ancetor, when Cromwell in the 1653 Act of Satisfaction offered Protestant soldiers land in northern Ireland, became a Presbyterian and established his new identity in Ulster. The five sons of this ORR ancestor settled near Derry. One, JAMES, remained in the north of Ireland. He was born, lived and died in Donegal County. His wife, MARY, was a descendant of Lord John Russell.
JAMES ORR, b. 1710, in Donegal County, Ireland. Married MARY RUSSELL.
He died in 1790 in Donegal County, Ireland.
James and Mary had five children:
1. JOHN, b. 1748, Donegal, Ireland, d. 1829, Washington County, PA;
(wife not listed); had five children: (1) DAVID, b. 1770 d.?, m.
REBECCA STEPHENS; (2) JAMES, b. 1775, m.(1)MARGARET HAWKINS (2) HANNAH
MARSHALL; (3) SARAH, m. CHARLES HAWKINS; (4) ISABELLA, m. JOHN WILSON;
(5) MARY, m. DOUGHERTY or CAMPBELL.
2. JAMES b.?, d.?.
3. BARBARA, b. 1752, d. 1856, m. BENJAMIN WILSON. Lived in Washington
County, PA. No issue.
4. WILLIAM, b. 1755, d. 1815, m. MARY BAILEY (See below)
5. HUMPHREY. His descendants live in Roney's Point, West Virginia.
The following notes are taken from my family history done by my
great-great-aunt, Cecile Orr in 1976.
WILLIAM ORR, b. September 29, 1755 in County of Donegal, Ireland. Came
to the United States in 1774, and settled in Washington County, Penn.
Also lived in Franklin Township, Fayette County, PA. Married February
18, 1783, to MARY BAILEY (who was born July 14, 1755, daughter of
Alexander Bailey (who was born in Scotland) and Jane Brown), and died
April 28, 1849. Moved to Jackson Township, Trumbull County (now
Mahoning) Ohio in 1802 or 1803. William died August 7, 1815, and is
bured in old Covanenter Cemetery, on the brow of the hill, Jackson
Township, Mahoning County, Ohio.
(Ref.: Penn. Archives, 3rd Series, Vol.23, pp. 199, 212, 312, 810;
Trumbull and Mahoning County History, Vol. 2 Also, DAR Ref. 458,
10/23/29, National Number 255458 by Eva A. Scott of Youngstown, Ohio.)
During the Revolution, William was a Ranger in Washington County, PA.
and Westmoreland County, under Capt. Andrew Sweatingen, Cumberland
County, Penn. Pensioned.
William and Mary had 11 children:
1. JAMES ORR, b. December 25, 1783. Lost trace since 1820.
2. MARGARET ORR, b. September 29, 1785, m. JOHN EWING at Jackson,
1806.
3. JOHN ORR, b. December 11, 1787, Washington County, PA. m. SARAH
BOWMAN, May 19, 1814, PA.
(See below)
4. HUMPHREY ORR, b. September 10, 1789, Washington County, PA.
5. MARY ORR, b. October 5, 1791, Washington County, PA., d. 1805,
buried in Covanenter Cemetery.
6. WILLIAM ORR, b. September 19, 1793, Washington County, PA. m. (1)
Hannah Meekel Brooks (2) Jane McCahen Lennox.
7. THOMAS ORR, b. October 18, 1795, Washington County, PA, m. Jane
Laughlin (McLaughlin), moved to Jackson City, Iowa.
8. RUSSELL ORR, b. April 3, 1798. d. 1834 in Ohio, m. Eleanor Winans
1820.
Orr of Lochwinnoch
Our name is of Scottish origin and possibly comes from the Parish of Urr in the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright. But since about 1300 or so we have been mainly in the shires of Renfrew and Ayrshire. The Orr name is now quite common throughout Lowland Scotland having spread through Lanarkshire, across to Edinburgh, Haddingtonshire into Fife and even the Highlands. By the time of the 1881 (Census ) Orrs were dispersed throughout the whole of England Scotland and Wales. Orrs from Ayrshire were probably the first of the name to migrate to Ulster ca 1607 where there is also a strong presence.
Earliest dates for Orr include one Hew Orr (probably the same as Hugh del Urre ) who rendered homage in 1296 to Edward I (The Ragmans Rolls ). Four persons named Or were summoned to appear before the Abbott of Paisley in 1504 and a John Or was a follower of Campbell of Cawdor in 1578.The rental of Paisley Abbey which owned quite a bit of the land in the vicinity had Orrs as tenants in the 14th century and probably earlier. Andro Crauford, in his "Cairn of Lochwinnoch " ca 1836 noted that Orrs had had deeds (for rentals of land ) for five hundred years. Orrs were also in Campbelltown in 1640 probably having migrated from Renfrewshire. It is likely that they migrated across the Irish Sea to join Orrs from Beith who had gone with the Montgomery Settlement to the Ards Peninsula, County Down in 1607
In the Charter records of Paisley Abbey there is a summons at the instance of Robert, Abbott of Paisley, dated January 1504 against
John, Lord Rope of Hawshed
Alan Or
Ninian Or
Johnne Or
Johnne Or
William Glenne
Johnne Dunlop
Johnne Whytefuird.
The charge is in coarse Latin " pro injustis intro mifsione, occupatione, laboratione, et manoratione terrasum " which seems to translate roughly that they had occupied land and put the populace in fear ie had been bad landlords (assuming they must have rented the land from the Abbey ).
" A General Description of the Shire of Renfrew" by George Crawfurd (1710) was updated by George Robertson in 1818. Extracts from this book give details of the population of Renfrewshire by parish ca 1818 and a record of the land valuations for the Parish of Lochwinnoch. Among the proprietors are several Orrs. The land in the area is largely owned by some of the ancient families, especially Semple who were the hereditary Stewarts (Stewards) of the Barony of Renfrewshire since the 1300s. Beltrees had a charter in 1477 to a William Stewart and his spouse Alison Kennedy, passing to Lord Semple in 1559. Achinames belonged to the Crawfords as long ago as 1100 when two brothers Sir John and Sir Gregan were rewarded for services by King David I. Gavan and Risk belonged to the Boyds ca 1205 and the Glens were in Barr from ca 1450 and passed to the Hamiltons in 1710.
There were Orr`s also in the neighbouring Kilbarchan Parish where Jok and John Orr are mentioned in Sir John Craufurd`s Protocol Book. This tells us that in 1541 Gabriell Sympyll of the forty shillings land of Toris, commissioned his sergeant officer [ bailiff ] Jok Orr to evict Jok Andro, Pate Blackburne, Hobe Luif, George Park and William Lang. An entry on 1 April 1550 records that Lord Sempill sent his sergeant John Layng to the Weitlands and seized all John Orr`s goods and gear. In both instances the actions were probably taken for non payment of rents.
Although the period from then to ca 1700 is vague, there is a rich vein of Orr ancestry to mine in the locality. The main occupation was farming and it is there we find some significant family records of the Orrs of Risk, Kaim and Midhouse farms, In all Orrs occupied at different times, some 30 farms in the vicinity, almost all being tenants of a superior land owner. It is only in later years ca 1600 onwards, that they appear as freeholders and selling or renting their lands to others.
From 1681 heritors had been required to take action against conventicles and to report them to the authorities (even if they did not know they were taking place !). Land owners were in an invidious position being held responsible for the actions of their tenants and many were fined for alleged compliance when they were not even aware that tenants were engaged in an alleged illegal activity. The Justiciary Circuit Courts were held in the regions when the Justiciary Circuit in Edinburgh had risen for the summer recess. By these courts the pressure was maintained on non conformists. In July 1684 a Committee of Public Affairs pursued the magistrates to clear the backlog of prisoners held locally with instruction to imprison or discharge from custody; only to be followed by an Order in Council of 1 August 1684 to clear the prisons and the guilty to be executed within six hours of sentencing.
Such was the panic about loyalty to the King that four further Circuit Courts were set up on 6 September 1684 to take `justice` out to the people. The Lords given power included the Earl of Mar, Queensberry, Balcarres and the infamous John Graham of Claverhouse, with any two to act as judges. They were actually given a list of some 28 offences that they were to enforce with the objective of `extinguishing disaffection`. How on earth it was expected that enforcing Draconian laws with possible execution a high possibility was going to remove disaffection I have yet to fathom out.
The Orrs were mainly Presbyterian and there is record in the Cairn of Lochwinnoch that at least three of them were committed to jail at Stirling on 1 November 1684. They were Robert Orr of Millbank; John Orr of Jamphraystock ; and John Orr of Hills. Imprisonment at that time would probably have been for refusing to take an oath or suspicion of conventicling activities. The Cairn account refers to refusal to take the Test or to give a Bond and it is confirmed by records of the Glasgow Justiciary Court that sat in October 1684. The following extract is from The History of the Sufferings of the Church of Scotland from the Restoration to the Revolution. Robert Wodrow, Ed R Burns. Glasgow, Blackie & Son, (1835) Volume 4, p 134-136. ]
" At length they were called, and, as they answered to their names, the teat and bond of regulation was put to them, and the oath of allegiance with the supremacy intermixed with it. Upon their refusal to swear, and to sign, they were cast into prison, where they lay twenty days. The throng was so great, that they could not lie down upon the floor all at once, but did this by turns. They were a second time called before the lords, who passed a sentence of banishment on them to the plantations. This, they say, they were very glad of, for they choosed banishment rather than an appearance before the lords, where they knew the escaping of one word would hazard their lives. "
And, November 1st, Robert Orr of Millbank, James Allan portioner of Kerse, John Orr of Jamphreystock, James Ramsay portioner of Auchinhane, John Orr of Hills, Robert Sempill of Balgreen, William Orr portioner of Keam, and Robert Blackburn of' Landiestone, these belonging to Lochwinnoch, and all of them heritors, were carried in hard frost and snow to Stirling on foot, with about forty other prisoners. There, though very weary, and without any refreshment, they were forced into three low vaults, some steps under ground, without fire or light, or any thing to lie on, and no place to ease nature in, but the corners of the vault.. Indeed they met with no small kindness from some good people in the town, who brought in straw to them to lie on, and coals for fire, and some sent meal and money to them, which was a great relief. They were made to believe, that very soon they were to be sent off to the plantations, and accordingly they sent to their friend, in the west for some money to take with them, which was sent as far as could be done in a short warning. Whether this was a trick of the soldiers, that they might finger any little money they could get, I know not; but no sooner did it come up to them, but a serjeant, named John Downie, in Bell's company in Marr's regiment, by order, as he said, from the earl, came to the prison with a party of soldiers, with kindled matches.The town officers who kept the keys were caused open the doors, and the serjeant with the soldiers went in and searched them, and took all their money from them; from Robert Blackburn, thirty seven pounds, Robert Sempill as much, Robert Orr fifty merks, James Ramsey eighteen pounds, John Orr three ducatoons, John Orr in Hill, eleven full dollars. It is not minded what was taken from the rest of the prisoners. When the soldiers were robbing them of their money, the prisoners earnestly begged they might leave them some small part of it for their present maintenance, and accordingly some little was given beck to each, and the soldiers left them, but came back within half an hour, and took it again; and though they should have starved would not allow them to keep one farthing.
They remained in Stirling till May, when they were taken out, and tied two and two with cords, and sent into the Canongate, where they lay some tine, and some of them were sent to Dunottar, where we shall afterward hear of their, hardships; and all this they with multitudes of others endured, merely because they refused the test and bond, which by no law could be forced upon them. "
Such was the confused state of affairs and overcrowding of the prisons that it is likely the four Orrs were arraigned and probably fined, required to take an oath and to give a bond for good behaviour. At least they do not appear in the lists of the executed or transported.
Two Orrs, James Orr and William Orr ( probably of Keam/Kame , above), from Lochwinnoch, were among the prisoners brought to Burntisland, Fife, on 20 May 1685 and marched to imprisonment in Dunnottar Castle. It is known that William Orr took the Test and was released on 26 July 1685. No Orrs appeared in the lists of those from Dunnottar that were transported in August 1685, and it is likely that James Orr was also released on taking an oath and giving bond.
A curious and vindictive event was the attempt by an episcopalian precentor (an official of the church that leads a choir but especially reads or sings the lines of the psalms for the congregation to follow) to claim fees for marriages and baptisms which had in fact been performed illegally by an outed minister. This included several prominent Orr farmers in and around Lochwinnoch; the area was clearly a Covenanting one. Read the libel or charge
Our name is of Scottish origin and possibly comes from the Parish of Urr in the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright. But since about 1300 or so we have been mainly in the shires of Renfrew and Ayrshire. The Orr name is now quite common throughout Lowland Scotland having spread through Lanarkshire, across to Edinburgh, Haddingtonshire into Fife and even the Highlands. By the time of the 1881 (Census ) Orrs were dispersed throughout the whole of England Scotland and Wales. Orrs from Ayrshire were probably the first of the name to migrate to Ulster ca 1607 where there is also a strong presence.
Earliest dates for Orr include one Hew Orr (probably the same as Hugh del Urre ) who rendered homage in 1296 to Edward I (The Ragmans Rolls ). Four persons named Or were summoned to appear before the Abbott of Paisley in 1504 and a John Or was a follower of Campbell of Cawdor in 1578.The rental of Paisley Abbey which owned quite a bit of the land in the vicinity had Orrs as tenants in the 14th century and probably earlier. Andro Crauford, in his "Cairn of Lochwinnoch " ca 1836 noted that Orrs had had deeds (for rentals of land ) for five hundred years. Orrs were also in Campbelltown in 1640 probably having migrated from Renfrewshire. It is likely that they migrated across the Irish Sea to join Orrs from Beith who had gone with the Montgomery Settlement to the Ards Peninsula, County Down in 1607
In the Charter records of Paisley Abbey there is a summons at the instance of Robert, Abbott of Paisley, dated January 1504 against
John, Lord Rope of Hawshed
Alan Or
Ninian Or
Johnne Or
Johnne Or
William Glenne
Johnne Dunlop
Johnne Whytefuird.
The charge is in coarse Latin " pro injustis intro mifsione, occupatione, laboratione, et manoratione terrasum " which seems to translate roughly that they had occupied land and put the populace in fear ie had been bad landlords (assuming they must have rented the land from the Abbey ).
" A General Description of the Shire of Renfrew" by George Crawfurd (1710) was updated by George Robertson in 1818. Extracts from this book give details of the population of Renfrewshire by parish ca 1818 and a record of the land valuations for the Parish of Lochwinnoch. Among the proprietors are several Orrs. The land in the area is largely owned by some of the ancient families, especially Semple who were the hereditary Stewarts (Stewards) of the Barony of Renfrewshire since the 1300s. Beltrees had a charter in 1477 to a William Stewart and his spouse Alison Kennedy, passing to Lord Semple in 1559. Achinames belonged to the Crawfords as long ago as 1100 when two brothers Sir John and Sir Gregan were rewarded for services by King David I. Gavan and Risk belonged to the Boyds ca 1205 and the Glens were in Barr from ca 1450 and passed to the Hamiltons in 1710.
There were Orr`s also in the neighbouring Kilbarchan Parish where Jok and John Orr are mentioned in Sir John Craufurd`s Protocol Book. This tells us that in 1541 Gabriell Sympyll of the forty shillings land of Toris, commissioned his sergeant officer [ bailiff ] Jok Orr to evict Jok Andro, Pate Blackburne, Hobe Luif, George Park and William Lang. An entry on 1 April 1550 records that Lord Sempill sent his sergeant John Layng to the Weitlands and seized all John Orr`s goods and gear. In both instances the actions were probably taken for non payment of rents.
Although the period from then to ca 1700 is vague, there is a rich vein of Orr ancestry to mine in the locality. The main occupation was farming and it is there we find some significant family records of the Orrs of Risk, Kaim and Midhouse farms, In all Orrs occupied at different times, some 30 farms in the vicinity, almost all being tenants of a superior land owner. It is only in later years ca 1600 onwards, that they appear as freeholders and selling or renting their lands to others.
From 1681 heritors had been required to take action against conventicles and to report them to the authorities (even if they did not know they were taking place !). Land owners were in an invidious position being held responsible for the actions of their tenants and many were fined for alleged compliance when they were not even aware that tenants were engaged in an alleged illegal activity. The Justiciary Circuit Courts were held in the regions when the Justiciary Circuit in Edinburgh had risen for the summer recess. By these courts the pressure was maintained on non conformists. In July 1684 a Committee of Public Affairs pursued the magistrates to clear the backlog of prisoners held locally with instruction to imprison or discharge from custody; only to be followed by an Order in Council of 1 August 1684 to clear the prisons and the guilty to be executed within six hours of sentencing.
Such was the panic about loyalty to the King that four further Circuit Courts were set up on 6 September 1684 to take `justice` out to the people. The Lords given power included the Earl of Mar, Queensberry, Balcarres and the infamous John Graham of Claverhouse, with any two to act as judges. They were actually given a list of some 28 offences that they were to enforce with the objective of `extinguishing disaffection`. How on earth it was expected that enforcing Draconian laws with possible execution a high possibility was going to remove disaffection I have yet to fathom out.
The Orrs were mainly Presbyterian and there is record in the Cairn of Lochwinnoch that at least three of them were committed to jail at Stirling on 1 November 1684. They were Robert Orr of Millbank; John Orr of Jamphraystock ; and John Orr of Hills. Imprisonment at that time would probably have been for refusing to take an oath or suspicion of conventicling activities. The Cairn account refers to refusal to take the Test or to give a Bond and it is confirmed by records of the Glasgow Justiciary Court that sat in October 1684. The following extract is from The History of the Sufferings of the Church of Scotland from the Restoration to the Revolution. Robert Wodrow, Ed R Burns. Glasgow, Blackie & Son, (1835) Volume 4, p 134-136. ]
" At length they were called, and, as they answered to their names, the teat and bond of regulation was put to them, and the oath of allegiance with the supremacy intermixed with it. Upon their refusal to swear, and to sign, they were cast into prison, where they lay twenty days. The throng was so great, that they could not lie down upon the floor all at once, but did this by turns. They were a second time called before the lords, who passed a sentence of banishment on them to the plantations. This, they say, they were very glad of, for they choosed banishment rather than an appearance before the lords, where they knew the escaping of one word would hazard their lives. "
And, November 1st, Robert Orr of Millbank, James Allan portioner of Kerse, John Orr of Jamphreystock, James Ramsay portioner of Auchinhane, John Orr of Hills, Robert Sempill of Balgreen, William Orr portioner of Keam, and Robert Blackburn of' Landiestone, these belonging to Lochwinnoch, and all of them heritors, were carried in hard frost and snow to Stirling on foot, with about forty other prisoners. There, though very weary, and without any refreshment, they were forced into three low vaults, some steps under ground, without fire or light, or any thing to lie on, and no place to ease nature in, but the corners of the vault.. Indeed they met with no small kindness from some good people in the town, who brought in straw to them to lie on, and coals for fire, and some sent meal and money to them, which was a great relief. They were made to believe, that very soon they were to be sent off to the plantations, and accordingly they sent to their friend, in the west for some money to take with them, which was sent as far as could be done in a short warning. Whether this was a trick of the soldiers, that they might finger any little money they could get, I know not; but no sooner did it come up to them, but a serjeant, named John Downie, in Bell's company in Marr's regiment, by order, as he said, from the earl, came to the prison with a party of soldiers, with kindled matches.The town officers who kept the keys were caused open the doors, and the serjeant with the soldiers went in and searched them, and took all their money from them; from Robert Blackburn, thirty seven pounds, Robert Sempill as much, Robert Orr fifty merks, James Ramsey eighteen pounds, John Orr three ducatoons, John Orr in Hill, eleven full dollars. It is not minded what was taken from the rest of the prisoners. When the soldiers were robbing them of their money, the prisoners earnestly begged they might leave them some small part of it for their present maintenance, and accordingly some little was given beck to each, and the soldiers left them, but came back within half an hour, and took it again; and though they should have starved would not allow them to keep one farthing.
They remained in Stirling till May, when they were taken out, and tied two and two with cords, and sent into the Canongate, where they lay some tine, and some of them were sent to Dunottar, where we shall afterward hear of their, hardships; and all this they with multitudes of others endured, merely because they refused the test and bond, which by no law could be forced upon them. "
Such was the confused state of affairs and overcrowding of the prisons that it is likely the four Orrs were arraigned and probably fined, required to take an oath and to give a bond for good behaviour. At least they do not appear in the lists of the executed or transported.
Two Orrs, James Orr and William Orr ( probably of Keam/Kame , above), from Lochwinnoch, were among the prisoners brought to Burntisland, Fife, on 20 May 1685 and marched to imprisonment in Dunnottar Castle. It is known that William Orr took the Test and was released on 26 July 1685. No Orrs appeared in the lists of those from Dunnottar that were transported in August 1685, and it is likely that James Orr was also released on taking an oath and giving bond.
A curious and vindictive event was the attempt by an episcopalian precentor (an official of the church that leads a choir but especially reads or sings the lines of the psalms for the congregation to follow) to claim fees for marriages and baptisms which had in fact been performed illegally by an outed minister. This included several prominent Orr farmers in and around Lochwinnoch; the area was clearly a Covenanting one. Read the libel or charge
