Administrative Information

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Preferred Citation

John Orr Papers, mss 00008, Virginia Military Institute Archives, Lexington, Virginia.

Biographical/Historical Information

John Orr, Jr., the son of John Orr and Laura Allen, was born at Calvert, Texas on June 15, 1875. He attended the Virginia Military Institute for two years, 1890-1892, and subsequently was a student at the University of Texas. For a number of years after leaving school, Orr was a salesman for his family's wholesale grocery business in Austin, Texas. He later worked for Swift and Co. packing house in Kansas City, but returned to Texas due to ill health. He died on April 11, 1909 and is buried at Austin.

Scope and Content Information

The papers consist of approximately 25 letters from Virginia Military Institute Cadet John Orr to his parents. The correspondence contains details about cadet life during the early 1890's, including references to daily routines (guard duty, meals, studies); faculty; the town of Lexington; and an extensive account of the fight between two cadets that led to the death of Warner T. Taliaferro, VMI Class of 1894. The collection also contains 2 religious tracts, circa 1890.