Jackson Orr (September 21, 1832 – March 15, 1926) was a lawyer,

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

officer, businessman, and two-term Republican

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

from western

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

. Continuing westward, he spent the last five decades of his life in

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

. Born at

Washington Court House, Ohio Washington Court House (often abbreviated as Washington C.H.) is a city in Fayette County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. The population was 14,401 at the 2020 census. The area was initially settled by Virginia veterans of the America ...

, Orr moved with his parents to

Benton, Indiana Benton is an unincorporated community in Benton Township, Elkhart County, Indiana. History Benton was platted in 1832. It was named in honor of politician Thomas Hart Benton. The railroad was built through Benton in 1892. A post office was e ...

, in 1836. He attended the common schools and

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a state university system, system of Public university, public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. The system has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration o ...

at Bloomington. He moved to

Jefferson, Iowa Jefferson is a city in, and the county seat of Greene County, Iowa, United States, along the Raccoon River, North Raccoon River. The population was 4,182 at the time of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the home of the Mahanay M ...

, in 1856. He studied law and was admitted to the bar. From 1861 to 1863, he served in the Union Army as captain of Company H, 10th Iowa Volunteer Infantry Regiment . He engaged in mercantile pursuits in the City of Montana (now Boone), Iowa, and served as member of the

Iowa House of Representatives The Iowa House of Representatives is the lower house of the Iowa General Assembly, the upper house being the Iowa Senate. There are 100 seats in the Iowa House of Representatives, representing 100 single-member districts across the state, formed ...

in 1868. That year, (when Iowa had six seats in the U.S. House), he fell two votes short of winning the Republican nomination to represent

Iowa's 6th congressional district Iowa's 6th congressional district is a former List of United States congressional districts, U.S. congressional district in the Iowa, State of Iowa. It existed in elections from 1862 to 1992, when it was lost due to Iowa's population growth rate ...

. In 1870 Orr won the Republican nomination, and was elected to represent the 6th district in the

42nd United States Congress The 42nd United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1871, ...

. Based on the 1870 census, Iowa received three more seats in the House, and Orr's home county was then included in Iowa's new 9th congressional district. Running in the new district, Orr won election to the

43rd United States Congress The 43rd United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1873, ...

, where he chaired the Committee on Expenditures in the Department of the Interior. He served in Congress from March 4, 1871, to March 3, 1875. Orr was not a candidate for renomination in 1874, but instead moved to Silverton, a mining town in a newly opened area of southwestern

Colorado Territory The Territory of Colorado was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from February 28, 1861, until August 1, 1876, when it was admitted to the Union as the 38th State of Colorado. The territory was organized ...

, in 1875. In Colorado, Orr was elected county judge and served for three years. He moved to

Denver, Colorado Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

, and engaged in the practice of his profession and also in the real estate business. In 1882, President

Chester A. Arthur Chester Alan Arthur (October 5, 1829 – November 18, 1886) was the 21st president of the United States, serving from 1881 to 1885. He was a Republican from New York who previously served as the 20th vice president under President James A. ...

appointed him as one of three commissioners to implement a treaty between the United States and the

Ute tribe Ute () are an Indigenous people of the Great Basin and Colorado Plateau in present-day Utah, western Colorado, and northern New Mexico.Pritkzer''A Native American Encyclopedia'' p. 242 Historically, their territory also included parts of Wyomi ...

. He was an unsuccessful candidate for the Republican nomination for Colorado's at-large Congressional seat in 1884."Candidates for Congress," Colorado Springs Daily Gazette, 1884-09-09 at p. 1. He served as president of the Denver Fire and Police Board in 1893 and 1894. He died in Denver on March 15, 1926. He was interred in Fairmount Cemetery in Denver.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Orr, Jackson 1832 births 1926 deaths Union army officers People from Washington Court House, Ohio Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Iowa People from Elkhart County, Indiana People from Jefferson, Iowa People from Boone, Iowa People from Silverton, Colorado Politicians from Denver Colorado Republicans Military personnel from Iowa Military personnel from Colorado 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives