William Orr and Jennie Adams: Lawrence and Jasper County Missouri Families
by Elaine L. OrrPublish: Mar 19, 2015Series: Orr Family History SeriesHistory
Book Overview
The Orr and related families (Adams, Campbell, Shirley, Mitchell and more) came largely to Southwest Missouri (though some went to Indiana and Pennsylvania), and many thousands are spread across the U.S. and in Canada and Australia. A more extensive book focused on all descendants (or the 2,400 who could be found) of Paul Orr and Isabelle Boyd. This books hones in on one part of the family and the many families they married into in Southwest Missouri.
Thinking of rural counties brings farms to mind, but every town breeds dozens of professions. Orrs have been furniture makers, millers, grocers, insurance agents, undertakers, teachers and, of course, farmers.
This book has information on four generations, which takes some branches of the family into the mid-twentieth century. There are also links to useful sites (U.S. and Irish) throughout the book and in the Sources section. At the end are brief discussions on the Cherry, Beck, Toliver, and Wilson families of Lawrence and Jasper Counties.
In Ireland, the Orr and related families were in Aghadowey, which is near Coleraine in Londonderry. There are links to some churches there, and to Bann Valley genealogy sites.
BIOGRAPHY Elaine L. Orr writes five mystery series, the fourteen-book Jolie Gentil cozy mystery series, the three-book River's Edge series, the three-book Logland series, and the four-book Family History Mystery series.
The Jolie Gentil series is set at the Jersey shore. Behind the Walls was a finalist for the 2014 Chanticleer Mystery and Mayhem Awards.
Her newest series, Shore Shenanigans, is also set at the Jersey Shore.
The first book in Elaine's River's Edge cozy mystery series, From Newsprint to Footprints, debuted in late fall 2015, followed by Demise of a Devious Neighbor. The latter was a Chanticleer finalist in 2017. The fictional South County sits along the Des Moines River in Southeast Iowa.
In 2016, Elaine issued Tip a Hat to Murder, first in the Logland mystery series. Set in small-town Illinois, its protagonist is a police chief rather than an amateur sleuth. The third book, Final Cycle, was published in June 2019.
Finally, a series set in her native Maryland! The Family History series in the Western Maryland mountains examines crimes of the past with a sleuth in the present. Add a ghost only Digger can see, and you get a great mix of humor and insight of the region.
Nonfiction includes Writing When Time is Scares -- and Getting the Work Published, and many family history books. In 2019, she published Fitting in After Fifty -- to Your New Town. The guide to breaking into a community at a 'mature' age is practical and adds a touch of humor.
Elaine also writes plays and novellas, including Falling Into Place and In the Shadow of Light. Biding Time was one of five finalists in the National Press Club's first fiction contest, in 1993, and her play, Permission to Hope, was part of the Bethesda, MD Plays in Progress series in 1989. The one-act, Common Ground, is a story of three couples planning big moves -- with a twist.
Elaine conducts presentations on electronic publishing and other writing-related topics. Nonfiction includes Words to Write By: Getting Your Thoughts on Paper and Writing in Retirement: Putting New Year’s Resolutions to Work. She also conducts online courses on writing and publishing on the TabletWise and Teachable platforms.
Thought her degrees are in government, Elaine studied writing at the University of Maryland, Georgetown University School of Continuing Education, the Writer's Center of Bethesda, Maryland, and the University of Iowa's Summer Writing Festival. A member of Sisters in Crime and the Indiana Writers’ Center, Elaine grew up in Maryland and moved to the Midwest in 1994.