Samuel Lyle Orr (c. 1850–1930) was an Irish-born minister of the Free Church of Scotland who served as Moderator of the General Assembly in 1913/14. The Lyle Orr Awards have been granted by the Free Church of Scotland annually since 1914 to children showing great Bible knowledge.

Life

He was born in Kilraughts parish, Ballymoney,

County Antrim County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, County Antrim, Antrim, ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, located within the historic Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the c ...

c. 1850, where he became a teacher before deciding to become a minister. In 1904 he was preaching in

Armagh Armagh ( ; , , " Macha's height") is a city and the county town of County Armagh, in Northern Ireland, as well as a civil parish. It is the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland – the seat of the Archbishops of Armagh, the Primates of All ...

. He moved from

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

to Glasgow in 1908. He was minister of Milton Free Church in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

living at 230 West Regent Street. Milton Free Church is now commonly called the St Vincent Street Church and is by the architect

Greek Thomson Alexander "Greek" Thomson (9 April 1817 – 22 March 1875) was an eminent Scottish architect and architectural theorist who was a pioneer in sustainable building. Although his work was published in the architectural press of his day, it was ...

. It was one of the architectural gems of the Free Church of Scotland, usually famed for their puritanical approach to church building. In 1913 he was elected

Moderator of the General Assembly The moderator of the General Assembly is the Chair (official), chairperson of a General Assembly (presbyterian church), General Assembly, the highest court of a Presbyterian or Calvinism, Reformed church. Kirk sessions and presbytery (church pol ...

, the highest position in the Free Church of Scotland. He was succeeded in 1914 by

Finlay Macrae Finlay Macrae (born 13 March 2002) is an Australian rules footballer who plays with the Collingwood Football Club in the Australian Football League. Finlay is the younger brother of player Jack Macrae, who formerly played for the Western Bulld ...

. Some time around the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

he moved to

Saltcoats Saltcoats (; Scots: ''Saulcuts'') is a town on the west coast of North Ayrshire, Scotland. The name is derived from the town's earliest industry when salt was harvested from the sea water of the Firth of Clyde, carried out in small cottages ...

Ayrshire Ayrshire (, ) is a Counties of Scotland, historic county and registration county, in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. The lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area of Ayrshire and Arran covers the entirety ...

. He died at Ballyalbany, Monaghan, on 17 January 1930.

Family

He was married to Ann Henrietta Orr (1859-1913). His son, James Orr, moved to Belfast and became a Dentist. He married Christina Hood from Galashiels. They had one daughter, Sheilagh Lyle Orr. His daughter Henrietta (1886-1904) is buried at

Monaghan Monaghan ( ; ) is the county town of County Monaghan, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It also provides the name of its Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish and Monaghan (barony), Monaghan barony. The population of the town as of the 2022 cen ...

with his wife.

Publications

*''Calvin's Idea of the Church in its Bearing on Our History'' (1909) *''Historical Sketch of Ballyalbany Presbyterian Church'' (1940)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Orr, Samuel Lyle 1850s births 1930 deaths 19th-century Irish people 20th-century Irish Christian clergy Christian clergy from County Antrim Year of birth uncertain 20th-century ministers of the Free Church of Scotland 20th-century Irish Presbyterian ministers People from Ballymoney