Christmas Eve 1993 in Columbiana County, Ohio

Enjoying pizza at home after the trip

CHRISTMAS EVE IN COLUMBIANA, OHIO

      At 11:00 a.m. on Friday, December 24, 1993, armed with a crowbar, camera, film, and a map, seven intrepid family members climbed into the Chevy Lumina and headed east in search of their roots.  Our destination, on one of the coldest and more blustery days of holiday week was Columbiana County, Ohio--specifically the gravesites of relatives in Fairfield, Elkrun, Middleton and Center Townships.  The deceased relatives were the ancestors of six of our company through Martha Marie Frederick Stark (more affectionately known as "Dear Freddie").

 

     

      After two hours of travel through the swirling snow, we arrived in the town of Columbiana, Ohio.  A family-style restaurant was our first stop and after consuming a large, WARM, lunch, we went our separate ways in search of mementos of this somewhat unusual Christmas Eve.  By 2:30 we were all snug in the car and traveling the short distance to Firestone Cemetery in Columbiana.  The Frederick gravesite was easy to locate since we visited it on Memorial Day.  Three generations left the warmth of the car to inspect and be photographed beside Alfred and Lucinda's tombstone.  Alfred and Lucinda Frederick were "Dear Freddie's" parents.

     The next stop was about one-half hour south.  We drove through Elkrun Township looking for a township road that would lead us to Clarkson in Middleton Township.  After an unsuccessful try, Ted suddenly pulled off onto something that vaguely resembled a rutted road.  As the snow became heavier, we inched our way past a strip mine and several tumbled down shacks.  At times the road was almost nonexistent and we all felt a bit surrealistic.  

     Ken was sitting in the front seat brandishing the crowbar and several, more humorous passengers began to hum "Dueling Banjo's" from the movie Deliverance.  I was very relieved to, at last, reach a paved road.  Within 10 minutes of finding the highway, we drove into Clarkson, Ohio.  Just south of the center of town was our destination; the picturesque, white-framed, Clarkson Presbyterian Church.  

Ken with John Cannon taken on a Fall trip

     Never having been to this cemetery, I thought it would be difficult to locate John A. Cannon's gravesite, however, I walked directly to it.  It is located behind the church in the 2nd or 3rd row.  We brushed the snow off the tombstone and began taking pictures.  John A. Cannon died in 1833 at the age of 56.  He was one of Freddie's maternal great grandparents.  John's son, John A. Cannon is buried beside his father.  He died in 1831 at the age of 18.

Joseph Orr

     Cemetery #3 was the Carlisle Cemetery in western Elkrun Township.  It is located on an unpaved country road and with the snowy road conditions, Ted decided to park the car in the driveway of the house across the road from the cemetery.  He tried to receive permission to park the car in the driveway, but no one answered the doorbell.  (Once they saw all of us tumble from the van with Ken carrying the crowbar, I'm sure they were afraid to open their door).  Climbing up the icy hill to the cemetery proved difficult, but we all made it and found the gravesites of the Orr's--Joseph and Jane, Freddie's other maternal great grandparents and William M. Orr, her maternal grandfather.  

     There are seven graves in the Orr row--all relatives.  In the front row of the Carlisle Cemetery is Lindsey Cannon's (my ancestor and John Cannon's brother) grave.  His tombstone had broken off and fallen forward into the ground.  Ken, Jeff and Ted were able to pry the tombstone out of the snow, ice and dirt with the crowbar and prop it up on the base at the gravesite.

 

Matthew Thomas Orr gravesite

      Relieved to be back on paved roads, it was a short ride to the Lisbon Cemetery in Lisbon, Ohio.  Jeff and I found Matthew Thomas Orr's gravesite while the other travelers searched for Ken's missing contact lens.  Once the lens was found, pictures were taken of Matthew and Mary Ellen Orr's tombstones. Matthew and Mary Ellen Orr were a maternal aunt and uncle of Freddie's.  Of interest in this cemetery was the fresh holiday wreath on Matthew's grave.  I wrote a message and attached it under the bow of the wreath.

John F and Margaret Orr Groomes

     The final stop on our family Christmas Eve ancestor search was the Mount Zion Evangelical Lutheran Cemetery, west of Lisbon, Ohio.  It was Ted (I think, in an act of desperation) who first saw the cemetery partially hidden in the woods on the right-hand side of the road.  We all piled out of the car.  Some of us searched for the gravesite of John F. and Maggie C. Groomes (Freddie's maternal aunt and uncle on the Orr side of the family) while others went into the woods looking for a place to "relieve" themselves!  

     Of all the graves we visited, we had the most difficult time locating the tombstone in this small roadside cemetery.   I realized which one belonged to our relative when she saw "John F. and Maggie C." on the front.  The last name "Groomes" was on the top of the stone and was covered with several inches of ice and snow.

      By this time, we were all frozen and tired.  Ken's feet must have been suffering early stages of frost bite as he was wearing tennis shoes.  After 3 hours of searching for our ancestors in below freezing weather, we were ready to drive back to North Olmsted for pizza, presents and beverages.

      To the older descendants who made the journey, it will be a memorable and somewhat unusual Christmas Eve experience.  To the two younger descendants, although it was at times boring, the trip to Columbiana County, Ohio will be a Christmas Eve that they will never forget. 

PASSENGERS                Relationship to Martha Frederick Stark    "Freddie"                                                       

Ted S. Hiser                                   None

Linda Hughes Hiser                       Granddaughter

Martha Stark Hughes                     Daughter

Kenneth George Hughes                Grandson

Jeffrey Charles Hughes                  Grandson

Aric Hughes Hiser                         Great Grandson

Garrett Bevin Hiser                        Great Grandson

CEMETERIES VISITED IN COLUMBIANA COUNTY, OHIO

Firestone Cemetery in Fairfield Township my maternal great grandparents Alfred & Lucinda Orr Frederick

Clarkson Presbyterian Presbyterian Church Cemetery in Middleton Township  John A. Cannon and his son, John A. Cannon

Carlisle Cemetery in Elkrun Township my maternal great great great grandparents, Joseph and Jane Kelso Orr; my maternal great great grandfather, William Morland Orr; my maternal great great great grandparents, Lindsey and Elizabeth Fife Cannon; my maternal grand-aunt Mary Ann Orr; my maternal second great grand-uncle Franklin Orr; my first cousins three times removed Benjamin Franklin Orr and Joseph Frederick Orr (both casualties of the Civil War); my second great grand-uncle and aunt Matthew and Elizabeth Hepburn Cannon.        

Lisbon Cemetery in Center Township my maternal great-grand uncle Matthew Thomas Orr and his two wives, Mary Ellen Smith Orr and Libbie Elizabeth Keck Orr.

Mt Zion Evangelical Lutheran Cemetery in Center Township my maternal great-grand aunt and uncle John F. and Margaret (Maggie) C. Orr Groomes.                                                       

                                                 

                                                       

                                                                                                                                                         

                                                                         

I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU. All comments are welcome; however, if they are inappropriate, they will not be published.    PLEASE post your e-mail in the comment section if you would like to network about a particular surname or topic. I will capture it for my use only and not include it when I publish your comment.

© 2025, copyright Linda Hughes Hiser



Joseph Orr and Jane Kelso Orr of Columbiana County, Ohio

          I am spending many hours at work cleaning out my hard copy genealogy files and putting the important information into the cloud.  I realized that I had not blogged about my maternal great great great grandparents, Joseph Orr and Jane Kelso.  I had started a draft of this blog in 2022.  Time to continue and finish.  😁   

     These maternal great great great grandparents are all the further back I have researched on this branch of the tree.  Joseph Orr, born on December 15, 1788 in Ireland.  Ancestry gives William Orr and Agnes Crawford as his potential parents.  I have not confirmed that data.

     My maternal great great great grandmother, Jane Kelso, born on January 14, 1794 in North Carolina or Virginia, was the daughter of Major Hugh Kelso and Elizabeth Carpenter.  This is all undocumented information from Ancestry, except the name Jane. 

1820 Ohio Census
New Lisbon, Centre Township, Columbiana County
August 7, 1820

     What I do know is that Joseph and Jane Orr were living in New Lisbon, Centre Township, Columbiana County, Ohio in 1820.  

Free White Males under age 10--4

Free White Males age 16 thru 25--2

Free White Males age 26 thru 44--1

Free White Females under age 10--1

Free White Females age 16 thru 25--1

Free White Females age 26 thru 44--1

Number of Persons engaged in manufacture--3

     Who are the people enumerated on the census?  Joseph and Jane are the ones in the 16 thru 44 age bracket.  There were four known sons under age 10 in 1820.  James John Orr, William Morland Orr (my maternal great great grandfather), Thomas Jefferson Orr  and John Butler Orr.  The two males age 16-25 are unknown.  There was a daughter in the under age 10 listing, Margaret Anne Orr.  The one female in the age 16 thru 25 is unknown.

     The unknown people could be extended family living and working with Joseph, hired laborers or boarders.  There is a Margaret Orr enumerated below Joseph in the census.  More family?  She is in the age 26 thru 44 age bracket.  2 young males under age 10 and one male age 16 thru 25.

History of Columbiana County Ohio
Centre Township
page 111

     Joseph Orr immigrated from Ireland with a trade.  He is listed in the Mack Columbiana County history book as a tailor in New Lisbon, Centre Township (Mack, 1879). 

History of Columbiana County Ohio
Elkrun Township
page 132

     By 1828 Joseph Orr and family relocated from the growing town of New Lisbon in Centre Township to a 162 acre property in section 31 of Elkrun Township about four miles away (Mack, 1879).

1829 Ohio Tax
Elkrun Township
Columbiana County

     Joseph Orr paid taxes on a 162 acre property valued at 376 (type of currency?) in Section 31 of Elkrun Township.

1830 Ohio Census
Elkrun Township, Columbiana County

White Males under age 5--2  George Washington Orr, Henry Orr

White Males age 5 to 9--1  Joseph Milton Orr

White Males age 10-14--1  John Butler Orr

White Males age 15-19--3  James John Orr, William Morland Orr, Thomas Jefferson Orr

White Males age 40-49--1  Joseph Orr

White Females under age 5--1  Elizabeth Jane Orr

White Females age 10 thru 14--1  Margaret Anne Orr

White Females 40 thru 49--1  Jane Orr

History of Columbiana County Ohio
Elkrun Township
page 132

     In 1831, Joseph Orr was elected as a Trustee of Elkrun Township (Mack, 1879).

     There are tax records in Elkrun Township, Columbiana County, Ohio for Joseph Orr from 1830-1838.  By 1838 the value of his 162 acres was 838 (currency ?).  He was paying taxes for the canal, roads, schools and township.

1840 Ohio Census
Elkrun Township, Columbiana County

Joseph Orr

Males age 5 thru 9--1   ?

Males age 15 thru 19--2  John Butler Orr and Joseph Milton Orr

Males age 50 thru 59--1  Joseph Orr

Females under age 5--1  ?

Females ages 5 thru 9--1  Mary Elenor Orr

Females ages 10 thru 14--1  Martha Caroline Orr

Females ages 20 thru 29--1  Elizabeth Jane Orr

Females ages 40 thru 49--1  Jane Orr

3 persons employed in agriculture

     Elkrun Township map in 1841 showing the piece of section 31 owned by Joseph Orr.  Lindsey Cannon's, my maternal great great great grandfather, property is also shown.  Lindsey Cannon's daughter, 

  Jane   

Wife of 

Joseph Orr

Died

Dec 28, 1847

at age

53 years

11 months

15 days

     Jane Kelso Orr died on December 28, 1847 in Elkrun Township, Columbiana County, Ohio at age fifty-three.  She was buried in the Carlisle Cemetery, Elkrun Township, Columbiana County, Ohio.  

     

     On July 5, 1849, sixty year old Joseph Orr married Elizabeth Bowman in Elkrun Township, Columbiana County, Ohio.  T.B. Cushman (Thomas Branch  Cushman) a Methodist Episcopal minister married the couple.  I have not been able to follow Elizabeth Bowman Orr.  I do not know if Bowman is her maiden name or if she was married to another man first.

      On June, 1850, one month less than one year, Joseph Orr filed a petition for divorce against his second wife, Elizabeth Bowman Orr.   The court found Elizabeth guilty of committing fraud against Joseph and the marriage became null and void.  Joseph had to pay $100.00 alimony and the court costs.  

     At age sixty-one, Joseph Orr married forty-two year old Mrs. Elizabeth Cushman on August 27, 1850 in Columbiana County, Ohio.  The minister who performed the ceremony was Presbyterian minister A.O. Patterson (Reverend Andrew Oliphant Patterson).

1850 Ohio Census
Elkrun Township, Columbiana County
August 31, 1850

Joseph Orr, age 60, male, hotel keeper, value of real estate owned $4,000, born in Ireland

Elizabeth Orr, age 42, female, born in New Jersey

Elizabeth, age 24, female, born in Ohio

Martha, age 18, female, born in Ohio

Mary, age 16, female, born in Ohio

Jas Reed, age 21, male, laborer, born in Ohio

     

     In the 1857 September Term Elizabeth Cushman Orr filed a petition for divorce from Joseph Orr for extreme cruelty.  The court ruled that Joseph had to pay $175.00 in alimony for each of the seven years they were married and court costs.

Last Will and Testament of Joseph Orr
October 3, 1857

          

Joseph Orr

Died

Oct 26 1857

Aged

     Joseph Orr died on October 26, 1857 at age sixty-eight in Elkrun Township, Columbiana County, Ohio.  He is buried beside his wife Jane Kelso Orr in the Carlisle Cemetery, Elkrun Township, Columbiana County, Ohio.

 

1860 Elkrun Township, Columbiana County, Ohio

 Joseph Orr's property marked for his heirs  

Children of Joseph Orr and Jane Kelso Orr

1. James John Orr born August 25, 1812 in Pennsylvania; died September 20, 1885 in Madison Township, Columbiana County, Ohio; married Nancy Florence Frederick.
2. William Morland Orr born April 28, 1813 in Ohio; died February 11, 1849 in Elkrun Township, Columbiana County, Ohio; married Nancy Agnes Cannon. (my maternal great great grandparents)
3. Thomas Jefferson Orr born April 25, 1815 in Ohio; died after 1857
4. Margaret Anne Orr born January 20, 1817 in Columbiana County, Ohio; died July 22, 1852; married Samuel Ramsey.
5. John Butler Orr born January 25, 1819 in Columbiana County, Ohio; died April 21, 1897 in Ohio; married Mary Jane Frederick.
6. Joseph Milton Orr, born March 20, 1822 in Columbiana County, Ohio; died September 17, 1890; married Jane Gaskill.
7. Henry Orr born November 29, 1824 in Columbiana County, Ohio.
8. Elizabeth Jane Orr born August 22, 1826 in Columbiana County, Ohio; died April 13, 1909 in Cook County, Illinois; married William Porter Ellison.
9. George Washington Orr born June 26, 1828 in Columbiana County, Ohio; died March 8, 1904 in Ohio; married Adeline Sphar.
10. Martha Caroline Orr born April 12, 1831 in Columbiana County, Ohio; died October 24, 1865 in Alliance, Stark County, Ohio; married Isaac Denson Ellison.
11. Mary Elenor Orr born June 12, 1834 in Columbiana County, Ohio; died September 19, 1924 in Ohio; married Benjamin Dawson Fisher.
12. Franklin Orr born March 16, 1837 in Columbiana County, Ohio; died August 16, 1839 in Columbiana County, Ohio.

Sources

Mack, Horace.  History of Columbiana County Ohio, D.W. Ensign & Co., Philadelphia, 1879, page 111, 132. 

Joseph Orr--Tombstone Tuesday

Jane Kelso Orr--Tombstone Tuesday

Orr Family Bible Records

I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU. All comments are welcome; however, if they are inappropriate, they will not be published.    PLEASE post your e-mail in the comment section if you would like to network about a particular surname or topic. I will capture it for my use only and not include it when I publish your comment.

© 2025, copyright Linda Hughes Hiser



Tombstone Tuesday--Jane Kelso Orr

Jane

Wife of

Joseph Orr

Died

December 28, 1847

aged

53 years

11 months

15 days

     Jane Kelso Orr died on December 28, 1847 in Elkrun Township, Columbiana County, Ohio at age fifty-three.  She is buried beside her husband, Joseph Orr, in the Carlisle Cemetery, Elkrun Township, Columbiana County, Ohio.

  There are two readings of the cemetery.  The 1900 reading gives the information above, although Jane is listed as Mary Orr

Bibliography

Columbiana County Genealogical Society,  Columbiana County Ohio Cemeteries, Elkrun Township, Carlisle Cemetery, pages 448 and 451

I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU. All comments are welcome; however, if they are inappropriate, they will not be published.    PLEASE post your e-mail in the comment section if you would like to network about a particular surname or topic. I will capture it for my use only and not include it when I publish your comment.

© 2025, copyright Linda Hughes Hiser



Joseph and Jane Orr Bible Records

Bible Records

of the

Family of Joseph and Jane Orr

Elkrun Township

Columbiana County, Ohio

 

I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU. All comments are welcome; however, if they are inappropriate, they will not be published.    PLEASE post your e-mail in the comment section if you would like to network about a particular surname or topic. I will capture it for my use only and not include it when I publish your comment.

© 2025, copyright Linda Hughes Hiser