U.S. Data Repository http://www.us-data.org/ -- USGenNet Inc. -- Please read the U.S. Data Repository Copyright Statement on the following page: --------------------------------------------------------------------- Orr Family --------------------------------------------------------------------- A History of Preston County West Virginia Biographical Department, Supplied by J. R. Cole Kingwood, W. Va., The Journal Publishing Company, 1914 by H. S. Whetsell Pages 840-847 THE HISTORY OF THE ORR FAMILY. (By U. N. Orr.) My great-grandfather, John Orr, emigrated to America from the north of Ireland about the year 1758, and settled in Baltimore county, Maryland. He married a Miss Dale, a sister to Commodore Dale, a naval officer of Revolutionary fame. He raised a family of six children, two girls and four boys, as follows: John Dale, George, Peter and James, Elizabeth and Mary. The dates of their respective births are not known, except John Dale, who was born in the year 1765. In the year 1782, John Orr, with his family, emigrated from Baltimore county to Fayette county, Pennsylvania, near Uniontown, and lived there until his death, the date of which is not known. John Dale Orr married Elizabeth Johns, and lived about four years after marriage near Uniontown, Pennsylvania. Two children were born to them, James and Catherine; James died in infancy. In the spring of 1798 they moved to Sand Ridge, now known as Scotch Hill, and there built a log cabin in the wilderness. They were encouraged in this move by grandfather's sister, Mary, who had married a man by the name of Davy and settled there before, on what is known as the Hunt farm. At this place the remainder of the family were born, as follows: John, in 1798; Ruth, in 1801; Hiram, 1804; George, 1808; and James in 1813. When John D. Orr raised his cabin, his sister, Mrs. Davy, lived about a mile from his place, and at that time there were but three other families or cabins within a radius of six or seven miles of his place. In moving from Pennsylvania they brought all their possessions on what was called a drag (two poles about ten feet long pinned together at one end, and about four feet wide, like a pair of shafts to a buggy, and strapped to the hames of the horse). They had two of them and two horses. Grandmother rode one horse with a drag attached, and carried Aunt Catharine in her arms, while grandfather brought up the rear with the other horse and drag, driving two milch cows and one yearling. I have often heard them speak of their move. After leaving the settlement of Morgantown they passed only one cabin on the road. It was west of where Gladesville now stands and was occupied by a man named Smith. All the country surrounding their home was a vast wilderness, inhabited only by wild beasts. For years after they had made this cabin their home they had to pen their sheep and small cattle near the cabin to protect them from the wolves and bears. It was not necessary to raise hogs at that time, as deer and bear furnished the larder with meat. Sheep had to be raised and protected to provide the winter clothing, while flax furnished the clothing for summer. Mills to grind their grain for bread were not known in that settlement for several years after they located there. They had to resort to the old-fashioned grater or primitive hand mill to prepare the grain for food. Stores were few and far between, the closest one being at Morgantown, about twenty-five miles distant, and there only a few articles could be obtained. This made it necessary for the settlers to make a trip to Winchester each fall. They made this trip on horseback, driving two or three horses carrying pack saddles loaded with products of that locality, such as flaxseed, ginseng and pelts of wild animals. This they traded for salt, iron, powder, lead and leather, and occasionally, if their products brought good prices, they would bring back with them one pound of green coffee, which was supposed to last the family for the next year. These trips occupied about ten days. They had to take with them their provisions and camp in the woods at night near a spring or creek. It was customary for two or three of the neighbors to make these trips together, not only for the company of each other, but for the protection thus afforded. Some six or seven years after they had settled in their lonely home there was built a water mill about six or seven miles from them on Sandy Creek, by a man named Marquess. This made it possible for them to get their grinding done there, which relieved the grater and hand mill and to a great extent lessened their labors. About this time settlers began to come into that region and general improvements followed the settlers. House raisings and log rollings were becoming a common occurrence, the bear and the wolf had been killed or driven away, so that domestic animals were now safe from their ravages. The men now had more time to sow and reap, while their better halves would spin and weave. Thus they lived in peace and contentment. Thus John Dale Orr and his wife, Elizabeth Johns, lived there from 1798 until about 1835. By this time their children were all grown up and married, and my father, Hiram Orr, had built a house close to the old folks' cabin, and shortly after its completion they came to live with him and continued to do until their death. John Dale Orr died in April, 1840, and his wife, Elizabeth Jane Orr, died in October, 1853. I was eight years old at the time of grandfather's death, and twenty- one years old when grandmother died, and I lived with them until their deaths. What I have here written I gathered from conversation with them and by knowledge of these events as I recollect them. John Dale Orr was six feet two inches in height, straight as an arrow, fair complexion, blue eyes, sandy hair, and weighed from 160 to 170 pounds. In religion he was a Presbyterian, and in politics an old Line Whig. He cast his last presidential vote in 1836 for General William H. Harrison. He had a war record of which his children, 2rrandchildren and great-grandchildren should all be proud. At the age of sixteen he went into the Revolutionary army as a substitute for his father, who was drafted from Baltimore county. He was in the battle of Yorktown and saw the flag of Lord Cornwallis go down and witnessed the surrender. After he moved with his father to Fayette county, Pennsylvania, he volunteered to join the unfortunate expedition of William H. Crawford against the Indians in the state of Ohio, and in battle was severely wounded. This expedition proved to be very disastrous, as of the army of five hundred mustered in, only three hundred and forty got back to the settlement. By all rights he should have been a pensioner, and he made application for one, but because of his being a substitute in the Revolutionary War his claim could not be established, and the Crawford expedition to Ohio was not authorized by the United States Government, it having been made up by citizens of Pennsylvania for their own protection, and acts of this character were not pensionable. The brothers of James Dale Orr, James, George and Peter, married early in life in Pennsylvania, all of them moved to Licking county, Ohio, and there raised large families. There are quite a number of their descendants still living there and some of their descendants in nearly all of the western states. A number of them served as officers and soldiers in the late Rebellion. Mary, as noted above, married a Mr. Davy, and Elizabeth married John McClelland and lived and died in Fayette county, Pennsylvania. Elizabeth Johns Orr was a small woman, about five feet two or three inches high, weighed about 110 pounds, fair complexion, blue eyes and black hair. I have heard her say that during the harvest time in her young days she could take a sickle and keep up with grandfather all day. Where she was raised in Pennsylvania there were quite a number of her family living. I recollect of seeing one brother who came to visit us a short time before her death. His name was Daniel Johns. She had another brother named Ellis who moved to Hamilton county, Ohio. My father went out to see him when a young man and stayed with him about one year. Children of John Dale and Elizabeth Johns Orr: Catharine was born near Uniontown, Pennsylvania, about 1797, and died about 1860, in Harrison county, West Virginia. She married Joshua Fortney. They lived a short time after their marriage on Scotch Hill, on what is now known as the Lamire place, afterwards moving to Harrison county, near Shinnston, where they both died between the years of 1850 and 1860. They had born to them the following children: Jacob, Julia, Hiram, Naomi, George, John and Seth. Jacob married a Miss Reeves. Julia married John Duncan, Hiram married a Miss Conaway, and Naomi married Dr. Flowers. I do not know who George and Seth married. Jacob, Julia and Naomi are now dead. John and Hiram still live in Harrison county, while George and Seth at last accounts were still living in Missouri. John Orr was born on Scotch Hill, in 1798, and died in 1884, aged eighty-six years. He married Susan Menear. About that time they bought a farm adjoining the old Orr farm, near the Cross Roads at Scotch Hill. There all of their children were born, as follows: Emily, who married James Shaw and moved to Kansas; Ellis, who died when twenty-two years old; Priscilla, who married A. P. Moon, is now living at Newburg, West Virginia, and is now eighty-two years old; Lovina died at the age of seventeen or eighteen; Ruth also died when a small girl; Caroline married Thomas Shaw, a brother to James Shaw, the husband of Emily; Marshall, who went to Pikes Peak during the gold craze of 1859 and 1860, and died there, lies buried at the foot of the mountains; Franklin died when a small boy; Harriet never married, and now lives with her sister, Catharine, at Reedsville, West Virginia; Catherine married John Bolyard, and lives at Reedsville, West Virginia; Elizabeth married William Heidelburg, and lives in Halifax county, Virginia; Isaac died when about twenty-one or twenty-two years old. John Orr in religion was a devout Baptist, and was a deacon in that church. In politics he was a Democrat until Virginia seceded from the Union. At that time he left the Democratic party and became one of the most radical Republicans of his day, and continued in that faith until his death. I have often heard him make this statement with great feeling, "That Jefferson Davis should have been hung." Ruth Orr was born in 1801, on Scotch Hill, and lived there until her death, in ____. She married William Menear, and they settled on the old Menear farm, near Scotch Hill, and lived there the remainder of their lives. They had born the following children: Amie, who married David Duncan; David B., who married a Miss Piggott, Rhoda, married Francis Warthen; James P. married a Miss Nose; Cornelius, Chester and John died when young men; Amie died when about thirty-five years old; David and Rhoda lived their threescore and ten, and died but recently. It is my understanding that James P. is still living somewhere in Pennsylvania. Ruth Orr's family were Methodists in religion, and her husband, William Menear, in politics was an old Line Whig, but in his later life was a Republican. Hiram Orr was born in 1804, on Scotch Hill, and died 1855. He married Keziah Menear, a sister to Susan Menear, wife of John Orr. By this marriage the following children were born: (1) Uriah N. married Annie A. Talbot; she died in 1854, leaving two children, and in Jan., 1867, he married Mollie J. Squires. (2) Martha J. married Andrew B. Menear, in 1859; she died in Kingwood, in 1864, leaving two children. (3) Eugenus J. married a Miss Warthen, in 1855; he died in 1868, leaving five children. (4) Morgan D. married Belle Henry; they live in Fairmont, West Virginia, where they raised a family of three boys and two girls. (5) Miles H. married a Miss Ashburn; they live at Masontown, West Virginia, where they raised a family of three girls and one boy. (6) Keziah Orr married S. M. Martin; they live at Reedsville, West Virginia, where they raised a family of ten girls and boys. The wife died in March, 1846, and in 1848 Hiram again married, this time the widow of Holt, whose maiden name was Hartley. By this marriage there were born one girl, who died in infancy, and Waitman L., who married Carrie A. Pfeil, and lived in Baltimore until his death, which occurred in 1905, leaving one adopted son, they having no children of their own. George Orr was born in 1808, on Scotch Hill, and died in ____. In religion he was a Baptist, and in politics a Republican. He married Sarah Fortney, a cousin of Keziah and Susan Menear Orr. There were born to them the following children: (1 and 2) Naomi and William, who both died when quite young. (3) Elizabeth, who married Samuel Armstrong. She and her husband are both dead. (4) Leah, who married William H. Menear, is still living near Reedsville, her husband having died four or five years ago. (5) James P., married a Miss Springer; they moved to Illinois shortly after their marriage and resided there a short time, then moved to Kansas, where he lived until his death which occurred about two years ago. (6) Amie, married a Miss McKinney; they now live on a part of his father's old home place, near Irondale Furnace, now Victoria. (7) Clarissa, married a Mr. Cleaver, and moved to Kentucky with him; after living there several years her husband was drowned and she then moved back to Preston, where she lived with her brother until she died. Some of her children are now living in Valley District. (8) Rachael, married John A. Walls, and now lives on the old Rogers farm, near Gladesville; her husband died but recently. (9) Daniel, married a Miss Ashburn; four children were born to them; they now live on a portion of the old homestead adjoining Amie's farm. (10) George, married a Miss Loar; they have raised a family of five children; he lives on a farm adjoining Amie's and Daniel's, which is also a part of their father's old home farm. James Orr was born in 1813, and died in 1890. He married Margaret Fortney, who was a cousin to Susan Menear Orr and Keziah Menear Orr. They lived several years on a farm near Independence, now owned by a Mr. Newman. There were born to them four children, as follows: Ashbel, Louise, John D. and Margaret. Ashbel was accidentally killed at the age of sixteen years by the discharge of a gun in the hands of a careless playmate. Margaret Fortney Orr died in 1843, and in 1848 James Orr married his second wife, Mary Roofs, and moved to Harrison county. By this marriage there were four sons born, as follows: A. R., James, Thomas and Franklin. In 1854 James Orr moved with his family to the state of Illinois, where he lived until his death. Mary Roofs Orr died about two years ago. Their children, Louisa, John D., Margaret and Thomas, are all dead. A. R., James and Franklin all live in Illinois. In his early life James Orr was a school teacher. He taught the first school I ever attended. It was in the winter of 1838 and 1839. This school was held in a log cabin near Independence, on what is now known as the Sinclair farm. After teaching school a short time he was ordained as a minister of the Baptist church, and continued to preach for this church until old age retired him. In politics he was a Democrat. The three sons of James Orr now living in Illinois are Democrats, but with the exception of them, all the other descendants of John Dale Orr are Depublicans. All are loyal and strong supporters of the laws that govern the country, and I have been unable to find any record where any of them were ever arrested for a crime. When the dark cloud of secession loomed up from the southern horizon in the year 1861, and the Secessionists fired on Fort Sumpter, John Dale Orr's descendants entered into the spirit of war that was then created and gave their services to their country until the Secessionists were conquered and the armies of the Rebellion laid down their arms. When the Rebellion was declared, John Dale Orr had eleven grandsons that were subject to military duty, and two — Jacob Fortney and David B. Menear — were over the age limit. Of the eleven subject to military duty, ten of them enlisted, as follows: Morgan D. enlisted 1861, Company D, 3rd W. Va. Vol. Inf.; Uriah N. Orr enlisted 1861, Company I, 6th W. Va. Vol. Inf.; James P. Orr enlisted 1861, Company I, 6th W. Va. Vol. Inf.; Hiram Fortney enlisted 1862, Company G, 12th W. Va. Vol. Inf.; John Fortney enlisted 1862, Company G., 12th W. Va. Vol. Inf.; George Fortney enlisted 1862, Company G, 12th W. Va. Vol. Inf.; James P. Menear enlisted 1862, Company H, 12th W. Va. Vol. Inf.; Miles H. Orr enlisted 1862, Company B, 14th W. Va. Vol. Inf.; Amie Orr enlisted in 1863, Company B, 4th W. Va. Cav.; James B. Orr enlisted in an Illinois regiment. Engenue J. Orr was the only one of the grandsons that did not enlist in this war; he was a captain of a military company which was called out two or three times. They served in what was called at that time the Bunker War. Bunker was a brigadier-general and had under his command four regiments of the militia, two regiments from Preston, and two from Monongalia counties. Morgan D. Orr was the only one that was wounded. This happened in the battle of Cross Keys, when he was shot in the leg. He still carries this ball embedded between the bones in the calf of his leg. On account of this wound he was discharged in 1863. U. N. Orr and James P. Orr were discharged at Cumberland, Maryland, November 25, 1864, four months after their enlistment time had expired. The remainder of the grandsons that had enlisted during 1862 and 1863 were still in the war at the finish. The Twelfth Regiment was in the army of the Potomac, and the members of this regiment were present at the surrender of General Lee. George Fortney was a sergeant in his company at the time of its formation, and was later promoted to the rank of 2nd lieutenant. U. N. Orr was the first duty sergeant. Morgan D. Orr, Miles H. Orr, and James P. Menear were corporals. All of these grandsons have honorable discharges. None of them were ever under arrest or courtmartialed for disobedience of orders or neglect of their military duty, and none of them have any hospital record. --------------------------------------------------------------------- If you've reached this file through a SEARCH, you can access other biographies for Preston County, WV by going to the following URL: http://www.us-data.org/wv/preston/bios.html ---------------------------------------------------------------------