The John Orr, Jr. papers consist of approximately 25 letters from VMI cadet John Orr to his parents. The correspondence contains details about cadet life during the early 1890s, including references to daily routines (e.g., guard duty, meals, and studies), faculty, the town of Lexington (Virginia), 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 two religious tracts, circa 1890.
John Orr, Jr. was born in Calvert, Texas on June 15, 1875 to John Orr and Laura Allen. He attended VMI for two years, 1890 to 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 Company packing house in Kansas City, Missouri, but returned to Texas due to ill health. He died on April 11, 1909 and is buried in Austin, Texas.
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John Orr, Jr. papers, 1890-1891. MS 0008. VMI Archives, Virginia Military Institute, Lexington, Virginia.