WAKE OF WILLIAM ORR. By William Drennan Here our worthy brother lies; Wake not Him with women’s cries; Mourn the way that manhood ought $it in. silent trance of thought. Write his merits on your mind’ Morals pure and manners kind On his head, as on a bill. Virtue placed her citadel. Why cut off […]

The Land of Urr in the Stewartry of Kirkcudbrightshire.  There are a variety of sources given for the Orr name, which is essentially of Scottish origin. Edward MacLysaght, an authority on Gaelic names, states that the name is derived from the parish of Orr or Urr in the Stewartry of Kirkcudbrightshire. Following up on this […]

H  E  L  P   ……….. !!! I am interested in finding out more about the following. Any help would be greatly appreciated [email protected] William ORR  married  Anne JOHNSON date not known: their son James ORR   b 27 January 1839. married 6 June Antrim Matilda McCLUNE b ca 1838. ********************************************************************** John ORR married  Martha SMITH date […]

Canada There are strong  historical links through fishing with Nova Scotia ( New Scotland) and Newfoundland which was recognised by King James VI in 1625 when the Scottish colony was first established. But the majority of Scottish emigration to North America  was in the 18th century to the thirteen colonies along the Atlantic seaboard. Canada […]

Emigration – a historical snapshot.       It is a tangled web the Orrs and indeed all the so called Scotch – Irish or Ulster Scots, weave.        To understand the widespread emigration of the family it is necessary to be aware of the changes that were taking place in England, Scotland and Ireland in the […]

D N A  The use of DNA testing has gathered pace in genealogy circles as an additional aid in tracking ancestors and can be a help breaking down that wretched `brick wall` that we all eventually hit.  From my own researches into the Orr name worldwide I know that very many of you have roots […]

Distribution of Orr- Around the world in 1998. Where can we be found ? Based on counts of phone books, Census statistics and lists of registered voters there are about 132,000 Orrs in the world. We already know that the Orrs found the young America in the 1650s and today there are over 90,000 scattered […]

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 […]

Orr of Castleaverry Dates in red are approximations to provide a rough time frame. James Orr of Castleaverry b, 1666 d 3 November 1734 married Mary Jackson b 1668 d 23 Jan 1751 Children: James Orr of Castleaverry, b 1694 d 26 Mar 1737 John Orr b 1695, d 7 Jan 1771 m Mary Reid. […]

UK Postcode Towns and Counties AB Aberdeen Aberdeenshire AL Watford Hertfordshire B Birmingham West Midlands BA Bath Somerset BD Bradford Yorkshire BH Bournemouth Dorset BN Brighton Sussex BR Bromley Kent BS Bristol Avon BT Belfast Northern Ireland CA Carlisle Cumbria CB Cambridge Cambridgeshire/Suffolk CF Cardiff Glamorgan CH Chester Cheshire CM Chelmsford Essex CO Colchester Essex […]

Glossary A few basic explanations of terms you will come across in researching in Ulster. Townland The townland is a physical piece of land and is the most important unit of measure and description that is found in Ireland, Each Parish has within it anything from 10 to over 200 townlands. There are 60,462 townlands […]

Orrs residing in Dumfries & Kirkcudbright 1881 Census.  Name Address   Occupation Status Age Year born Place born Patrick Downies Wynd, Annan, Dumfries   Labourer U 30 1851 Glasgow Matthew Glentarras Distillery Langholm, Dumfries   Distiller M 41 1840 Stirling Mary Glentarras Distillery Langholm, Dumfries Wife   M 38 1843 Ireland Emily  D Glentarras Distillery […]

Distribution of ORR in the Griffith Valuation and Tithe Applotments. This report from the Ulster Historical Foundation site at www.ancestryireland.com provides an indication as to the parishes and counties in the ancient province of Ulster ( the 9 counties of Antrim, Armagh, Cavan, Donegal, Down, Fermanagh, Londonderry, Monaghan and Tyrone) where the surname is almost […]