Orr, William (1826-1899)

ORR

Posted By: Joyce Hickman (email)
Date: 3/14/2008 at 13:31:26

William Orr
Mar 13, 1826 - Jan 27, 1899

(From the 1883 History of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, by J. H. Keatley, p.129, Keg Creek Twp.)
Col. William Orr, farmer and stock-raiser, P. O. Council Bluffs, was born near Belfast, Ireland, March 13, 1826. He is the son of John and Margaret Orr. His father died in Ireland in 1841. Our subject received his education in Ireland. He first attended the subscription schools, and afterward the public schools, when the national system of free instruction came into vogue. When but sixteen years of age, he came to Ohio, where he remained until the year 1856, with the exception of about four years, during which he lived in Western Pennsylvania. In the fall of 1848,he returned to the old country, and was married, near Belfast, in 1849, Miss Margaret Orr. He immediately came back to Ohio and commenced farming and stock-raising, in which occupations he has ever since been engaged. The same year, his mother visited him, but returned to Ireland shortly afterward, and died there in 1853. In the spring of 1857, our subject moved to a place near Florence, Neb., remaining there for four years, when he went to Harrison County, Iowa, where he lived till 1872, finally coming to his present farm in Keg Creek Township. Mr. and Mrs. Orr have had twelve children, seven of whom are living - three sons and four daughters. Lamont, William, Mary and Emma are living at home. John A. is married, and lives in Harrison County, near the old homestead. Margaret A. and Elizabeth J. are married, and reside in this county. From about 1866 to 1879, Col. Orr was engaged in breeding Short-Horn cattle, but he held a sale in 1879, from which he retained but a few head. He is at present engaged in breeding cattle of the Hereford blood. Besides this, he makes it a business of feeding cattle through the winter season, having at times several hundred head. The Colonel is also a breeder of thoroughbred horses, sheep and hogs, at present breeding the Chester White and Poland-China hogs. Col. Orr is one of the earliest who have made fine stock-raising a specialty, and he has probably been more extensively engaged in that business than any other man in the county. His farm consists of 640 acres, and he has a quarter-section more, which he leases. His farm is complete in all the necesssary equipments pertaining to the business. In his pasture he has a self-regulating Halliday windmill. Col. Orr raises his own hay, in which he has been very successful, cutting as high as three tons fo the acre. In politics, the Colonel is a Democrat, but has never taken a very active interest in political affairs. His party did, however, run him for the State Senatorship in the fall of 1880, but he was defeated by Hon. George F. Wright, the Republican candidate.

[From the 1891 Biographical History of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, p.675]
COLONEL WILLIAM ORR, of sect 5, Keg Creek Township, the proprietor of Hardindale Farm, is one of the prominent citizens of the county. He came here in 1872 from Harrison Co, Iowa, where he has since made his home. He was born in Down County, near Belfast, Ireland, son of JOHN and ELIZABETH (LAMONT) ORR. William lived in his native place until sixteen years of age, and then sailed from Belfast to Liverpool and from there to New York. He went to Harrison Co, Ohio, then to Tuscarawas Co, where he lived until 1844, then to Butler Co, Pennsylvania, until 1847, then to Washington Co, Pennsylvania, until the fall of 1848, then returned to the old homestead in Ireland. After six months, he returned to Ohio and lived in Carroll Co until 1856, when he went to Nebraska; and in 1857, near Florence, and in 1861 to Harrison County, Iowa. Here he bought an improved farm four miles south of Logan, where he settled and lived until the fall of 1872, when he came to Pottawattamie County, purchasing the land where he now lives, which was partly improved. Hardindale now contains 590 acres in a body, and is one among the well improved farms of Keg Creek Township. The farm is fenced and divided into cultivated fields, meadows, and pasture, and everything about the ORR homestead shows thrift and enterprise of the owner. COLONEL ORR is one of the prominent stock raisers and feeders in the county, making a specialty of Red Polled cattle, of which he has as good as can be found in Western Iowa. He was married in Belfast, Ireland, March 24, 1849, to MARGARET ORR, daughter of JOHN ALEXANDER ORR. They have had 12 children, six of whom are still living: Margaret Anna, wife of D.S. FRANK of this township, was born January 24, 1850; Elizabeth Jane born June 15, 1855, wife of H.B. KNOWLES, of this township; Mary wife of ARTEMUS WARD; Lamont and Mary, twins; William, at home born May 12, 1861; and Emma, born February 27, 1865. they have lost six by death, namely: John Alexander, born July 25, 1851; Mary, born Nov 27, 1852, died when a child; William Orr born March 15, 1857, also died when a child; Edwin, born January 10, 1864; Hiram Woodworth born February 28, 1869; and Minnie, born January 15, 1871. The great loss of COLONEL ORR's life was in the death of his wife on May 6, 1888. They had lived together for nearly 39 years. She was reared a Unitarian and was a woman of many virtues, an affectionate wife and mother and a very estimable lady. Politically Colonel Orr is a Democrat and has served as Trustee and a member of the school board. He also served as Trustee of the Deaf and Dumb Asylum for 4 years, from 1874 to 1878. He is a man 64 years of age, has traveled extensively, and is well informed on all the questions of the day.