William Orr is one of the leading stock raisers and dealers of Pottawattamie county. He is now the owner of five hundred and seventy-five acres of rich and valuable land known as the Hardindale Stock Farm, a property well improved for the purposes to which it is put. It is located on section 5, Keg Creek township, and Mr. Orr is extensively engaged in feeding, buying and selling stock there. He is a native of Harrison county, Iowa, and of Irish lineage.

His father, William Orr, Sr., was born in the north of Ireland, of Scotch-Irish parentage, and died January 27, 1899, at the age of seventy-two years, upon the farm which is now the property of his son William. The mother, Mrs. Margaret Orr, died in 1889, at the age of sixty-two years. In their family were eleven children, of whom the following still survive: Mrs. Margaret Frank, a resident of Council Bluffs; Mrs. Elizabeth J. Knowles, also of that city; Lemont, who makes his home with his brother whose name introduces this review; William; and Mrs. Emma Cleary, of Weston, Iowa.

The father first came to America in 1843 when but sixteen years of age. However, he afterward returned to Ireland and made several trips between the two countries prior to 1850, when, at the age of twenty-three years, he married and made a permanent location in the new world. He first settled in Pennsylvania, where he worked on a farm and at stock-raising, thus gaining his first knowledge and practical experience concerning the live-stock business, which he afterward continued to follow. In 1855 he sought a home in the middle west and for a short time was engaged in the stock business at Florence, Nebraska, He then removed to Harrison county, where he bought land and followed farming and stock-raising until 1871. He then sold that property and came to Keg Creek township, investing in four hundred and eighty acres of prairie land on section 5. He improved this place, built a fine residence and swilled to his original holdings until at the time of his death his landed possessions aggregated eight hundred acres. He carefully managed his business affairs and his enterprise and labor made him one of the prosperous agriculturists of the community. He was a member of the Presbyterian church, loyal to its teachings, and his good qualities of heart and mind made him a valued citizen of the community. In politics he was a democrat.

William Orr was reared under the parental roof in the usual manner of farm lads, and the public schools afforded him his educational advantages. He early became familiar with the stock business, as he assisted in the care of the stock on the old home place, and at his father's death he inherited four hundred and eighty acres of land, to which he has since added a tract of ninety-five acres. The entire farm is in grass, affording excellent pasturage for the stock and is known as the Hardindale Stock Farm.

Mr. Orr follows in the business footsteps of his father and is now extensively engaged with live-stock interests, feeding about five hundred head of cattle and between six and seven hundred head of hogs annually. His business interests are thus large and his careful control thereof makes his labors profitable. He belongs to the Royal Arcanum of Council Bluffs, and is a democrat in politics.

[History of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, Volume II, 1907, submitted by Cathy Danielson]