Elizabeth (Geisler) Orr (1782 - 1883)

Born 25 Mar 1782 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, United States

Wife of John N Orr Sr — married 1799 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, United States

Descendants

Died 25 Feb 1883 at age 100 in Fairmount Township, Pike, Illinois, United States

Problems/Questions Profile manager: David Orr [send private message]

Biography

Elizabeth was born in 1782. Elizabeth Geisler ... She passed away in 1883. ^[1]

Elizabeth Geisler Birth March 25, 1782 in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, USA Death February 25, 1883 in Pike, Illinois, United States Mother Birth in Vermont, USA William Geisler Birth 1762 in Vermont, USA 1799 Age: 24 John Orr Marriage to Elizabeth Geisler, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, United States

Died Sunday, February 25, at the home of William Orr, in Fairmount township, Elizabeth Orr, aged one hundred years and eleven months. Elizabeth Geisler was of German parentage, born in Lancaster Co., Penn., March 25, 1782, was united in marriage to John Orr in the year 1799. Five children were born unto them. Two of her sons, John and Thomas, survived their mother. She with her husband and young family removed to Harrison Co., Ohio and there she buried her husband in the cemetery at Deersville in the month of September 1846. (1845) About twenty-six years ago she followed her children to the west, making her home with her sons and grandsons, the greater part of the time living in Pike County. John Orr and family will take her remains to Ohio and on Sunday, March 18, she will be laid beside her husband who preceeded her in the spirit world thirty-seven years. An eventful like has gone out of our midst, and when we consider that she lost her eyesight in 1859 and remained blind until 1875 when her sight began to return, the remarkable activity and mental vigor the last decade are surprising. She died in possession of all her faculties. She was born while the colonies were still contending for American liberties, and as if the troublous times were not enough, her parents were taken from her and she was left an orphan of tender years. At the age of eight years she gave herself to the Lord and became a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church only six years after its organization in America, and was baptized by Bishop Asbury, the first Bishop of American Methodism. In relating these circumstances to the writer only a short time before her death with a trembling voice, she told of the class of ten or more that were baptized at the same time. She stood at the end of the class, and when the Bishop came to her, she was so small that he asked her age. She answered “Eight years old and an orphan.” The tears ran down the good Bishop’s face as he took her in his arms, and while the congregation bowed he prayed for her and commended her to the orphan’s God, and then sprinkled the waters of consecration on her brow. She said, “The prayer has been answered, and the promise is unto me for He has been a father to the orphan, and a husband to the widow.” Her Christian life extending over ninety-two years has been a bright joyous reality, and it is the testimony of those who have been with her most, that her faith was unwavering, that she found God a present help in time of need, and while the world seemed to recede from her, her love for Zion grew stronger. It was manifested by such eager questions as “How is the church prospering?” and “Are our lawmakers men of God?” As we stand in the presence of our dead, we realize that “God buries his workmen, but carries on his work.” [From the March 8, 1883 issue of the Pike Co. Democrat, Pittsfield, Illinois]

John Orr Jr. (1810-1890) was the son of John Orr Sr. (1775-1845) and Elizabeth Geisler (1782-1883). John Orr Sr. came to America in the late 1700's from Ireland. He was of Scottish-Irish descent. He married Elizabeth Geisler in Lancaster Co., Pennsylvania. She was of German origin. They later traveled west to Harrison Co. Ohio, and settled near Deersville. In 1852, after her husband's death, Eliza- beth Orr accompanied her son John Jr. and his wife Ary Moore (1811- 1860) and their ten children to Pike Co., Illinois, where they loca- ted in Fairmount Twp. on the farm known as the Mart Orr place. Descendants live in Illinois, Ohio, Oklahoma, Kansas and elsewhere.

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John Orr Jr. (1810-1890) was the son of John Orr Sr. (1775-1845) and Elizabeth Geisler (1782-1883). John Orr Sr. came to America in the late 1700's from Ireland. He was of Scottish-Irish descent. He married Elizabeth Geisler in Lancaster Co., Pennsylvania. She was of German origin. They later traveled west to Harrison Co. Ohio, and settled near Deersville. In 1852, after her husband's death, Eliza- beth Orr accompanied her son John Jr. and his wife Ary Moore (1811- 1860) and their ten children to Pike Co., Illinois, where they loca- ted in Fairmount Twp. on the farm known as the Mart Orr place. Descendants live in Illinois, Ohio, Oklahoma, Kansas and elsewhere.

Includes related families of Six, Seaborn, Campbell, Forney, Noble, Likes, Oven, Ewing, Osborne, etc.

Orr is a popular surname in Scotland and Northern Ireland. Its origin is within the ancient kingdom of Dal Riata. For further reading on this ancient kingdom I recommend to search for the “DalRiataKingdom” at www.wikipedia.org. The name may have a few origins such as Anglicization of the name Ivar or deriving from an Old English name Ora, or from the Gaelic order Donn.

In Scotland, the name is first known to have been recorded in Renfrewshire. The evidence seems to indicate that a Hugh Del Urre rendered homage in 1296 to Edward I and a John Or was a follower of Campbell of Cawdor in 1578. Brian J. Orr researcher and author of “Orr-Some”, suggested that, and also that it possibly comes from the Parrish of Urr in the Stalwartly of Kirkcudbright.

Since 1290, however, we have seen it mainly in the counties of Renfrew and Ayrshire. The Orr name is now quite common throughout Lowland Scotland and having spread through Lanarkshire across to Edinburgh, Haddingtonshire (Now known as East Lothian) into Fife and even the Highlands.

Brian J. Orr’s book “Orr-Some” gives excellent background on some of the Orr families in Scotland. Although you may not find your particular ancestral line, there is good information about the historical environment including living conditions, social political and religious backgrounds that most of our Orr ancestors faced before migrating to America and other former colonies in search of freedoms and opportunities.

Sources

1. ↑ Entered by David Orr, Nov 13, 2011

• United States Census, 1850", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MX3M-NDN : Fri Sep 15 20:59:53 UTC 2023), Entry for Elizabeth Orr, 1850.
• United States Census, 1860", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MX41-ZVC : Sat Sep 16 07:30:30 UTC 2023), Entry for Wm Orr and N A Orr, 1860.
• United States Census, 1870", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M6HT-JP6 : Thu Sep 14 21:41:07 UTC 2023), Entry for John Orr and Margarette Orr, 1870.
• United States Census, 1880", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MXKW-MTR : Mon Sep 18 07:12:02 UTC 2023), Entry for William Orr and Nancy Orr, 1880.
• Find A Grave Index," database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVL3-WY83 : 6 March 2021), Elizabeth Geisler Orr, ; Burial, Deersville, Harrison, Ohio, United States of America, Deersville Cemetery; citing record ID 86679638, Find a Grave, http://www.findagrave.com.
• https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/86679638/elizabeth-orr
• http://www.shissem.com/Hissem_Orr_Family.html
• Historical Collections of Harrison County, in the State of Ohio, with Lists ... By Charles Augustus Hanna
• Title1984 Family Record of John Orr and Ary Moore Orr

Authors Mary Ellen Orr, Arlene Orr Reese Publisher M.E. Orr, 1984