Robert Orr Jr. (March 5, 1786 at Hannastown,

Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania Westmoreland County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 364,663. The county seat is Greensburg. Formed from, successively, Lancaster, Northumberland, and later Bedford co ...

– May 22, 1876 at

Kittanning, Pennsylvania Kittanning ( pronounced ) is a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough in, and the county seat of, Armstrong County, Pennsylvania, Armstrong County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It is situated northeast of Pittsburgh, along the east bank of the Al ...

) was a Pennsylvania political figure.

Biography

Orr was the son of Hugh Orr, a Scottish-born gunsmith and politician. He attended the public schools in Westmoreland County and

Armstrong County, Pennsylvania Armstrong County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 65,558. The county seat is Kittanning. The county was organized on March 12, 1800, from parts of Allegheny, Westmoreland and Lycomin ...

. He later moved to Kittanning, where he was elected to the post of Deputy Sheriff for Armstrong County in 1805. He studied

surveying Surveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, art, and science of determining the terrestrial two-dimensional or three-dimensional positions of points and the distances and angles between them. A land surveying professional is ca ...

and was appointed deputy district surveyor. Orr served in the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

, where he rose to the rank of colonel in the US Army.

Post-war political career

In 1816 Orr successfully ran for a seat in the

Pennsylvania House of Representatives The Pennsylvania House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Pennsylvania General Assembly, the legislature of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. There are 203 members, elected for two-year terms from single member districts. It ...

. He served two terms (1817–1820), after which he successfully ran for a seat in the

Pennsylvania Senate The Pennsylvania State Senate is the upper house of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, the Pennsylvania state legislature. The State Senate meets in the State Capitol building in Harrisburg. Senators are elected for four year terms, staggered ev ...

. He served there from 1821 to 1825; he resigned before completing his term because he had been appointed as a Jacksonian member of the Nineteenth Congress

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of

James Allison Jr. James Allison Jr. (October 4, 1772June 17, 1854) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania, serving two terms from 1823 to 1825. Biography James Allison Jr. (father of Jo ...

In 1826 Orr successfully ran for re-election, to the Twentieth Congress. He served in that capacity from October 11, 1825 to March 3, 1829.

Military career

After the War of 1812 Orr retained his interest in military affairs. He eventually attained the rank of general.

Later life

Orr resided for a short while in Orrsville in 1845, and lived in

Allegheny City, Pennsylvania Allegheny City was a municipality that existed in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania from 1788 until it was annexed by Pittsburgh in 1907. It was located north across the Allegheny River from downtown Pittsburgh, with its southwest border formed by ...

from 1848 to 1852. He returned to Kittanning, where he died in 1876. He was buried in the Kittanning Cemetery.''Biographical Directory''

References

;Notes ;Sources
The Political Graveyard
{{DEFAULTSORT:Orr, Robert 1786 births 1876 deaths People from Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania Pennsylvania state senators Members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives United States Army personnel of the War of 1812 Jacksonian members of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania 19th-century American politicians United States Army generals