WILLIAM ORR of Farranshane, Co. Antrim. Irish Patriot. THE FIRST VICTIM “They led him forth from his prison cell! They swung him high on the gallows tree And the people wept as the brave man died- Died for his faith and counterie.”- Old Ballad William Orr was the son of a farmer and bleach-green proprietor, […]
The Honourable Judge Smith Orr – Orrville, Wayne Co., Ohio Many emigrants and adventurers were not only fleeing poverty, or religious and social persecution, but they were enticed by the thought of a better life and free or exceedingly cheap land. To many anything was better than the environment from which they came; they were […]
Claims to Fame Canada Bobby Orr – Canadian Ice Hockey player. What more can be said about `the greatest ice hockey player of all time` See more at dedicated sites on the web [ Google ] Wesley Fletcher Orr, 1831-1898. Mayor of Calgary. Wesley Fletcher Orr was born in Lachute, Quebec and married Priscilla […]
Hugh Orr of Lochwinnoch, Renfrewshire and Massachusetts, USA. Hugh Orr was born in the small town of Lochwinnoch in Renfrewshire on 13 January 1717. His Father Robert was a maltster, meaning he made beer and probably operated a public house. His mother was Margaret and possibly also with the maiden name Orr. Lochwinnoch was for […]
THE IRISHMAN by James Orr, The Bard of Ballycarry. Tune — “Vive La. “ THE savage loves his native shore, Though rude the soil and chill the air; Well then may Erin’s sons adore Their isle, which Nature formed so fair! What flood reflects a shore so sweet, As Shannon great, or past’ral Bann? Or […]
Claims to Fame We all like to think there is someone famous in our ancestry, and in the broader family there some Orrs worthy of comment. Here are a few I have come across so far. If you have any to add do please get in touch. Congressional Medal of Honour. The following are the […]
An opinion about the Origin of the Campbell Name. An extract from the Montgomery Manuscripts (Rev. Geo Hill 1869). p443 ” Some have been surnamed from a remarkable part of their face which has stuck to ye Posterity of ye Eminent Person who was first designed soe, as ye Campbells from one who had a […]
Orrs who gave their lives in World War I and their Regiments Irish Regiments. They served with the Royal Irish Rifles, the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers , the Royal Ulster Rifles, and The Irish Guards. It is noteworthy that a number of those killed were amongst the first to join up as gauged by their low serial […]
Rev. Henry Duncan Minister at Ruthwell Moderator of the Church of Scotland The Rev. Henry Duncan (1774 – 1846) would have earned a place in history even without his efforts to save the Ruthwell Cross. He was also a leading geologist, antiquarian and an accomplished artist. He was the discoverer of the first fossil footprints […]
The Bishop`s Dragnet and the Cess. The Bishops Dragnet was another name for a law passed by Parliament on 10 July 1663 “ An Act for Separation and Disobedience to Ecclesiastical Authority “. It ran hand in hand with the infamous Middleton`s Act which evicted ministers who had not obtained patrons and presented themselves to […]
Orr in Ireland My thanks to Barbara Holt in New Zealand for a new claimant for the 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 […]
Locations of the Orrs. Did we begin in Kirkcudbrightshire ? It is likely that the Orrs took their name from a parish in the south west of Scotland which is to some extent substantiated by the existence of the Parish of Urr (Pre 1975 Parish ref.884 in Dumfries and Galloway Region ) to the north west […]
Clan Campbell The Orr connection to Clan Campbell is rooted in the feudal system where small families gave allegiance to a larger, more powerful, family. Clan or family membership comes about through three means: birth, as generally understood by having one of the surnames of a clan or family; marriage, although a woman may choose […]
William Quarrier and the Quarrier Homes William Quarrier (1829-1903), was the only son of Annie Booklass and William Quarrier, a ship’s carpenter who died of cholera in Quebec in 1832. Thus at an early age young William became acquainted first-hand with deprivation, his mother taking in sewing and he working as a messenger boy […]