James Sherman Orr, born in Tennessee October 28, 1852, came to Texas soon after the close of the Civil
War. He made the trip on horse back,
chose Tarrant County as his destination and settled on
a farm east of the present site of Keller.
This farm, now owned by Carl R.
Blythe, bears the marks of some of the very early history of the area. Not far from the barn, there is still a
depression in the ground which was at one time a barbecue pit used by Indians
to cook beef, deer and other wild game.
In later years, it became a favorite picnic spot for white
settlers. The well in the front yard
predated the coming of white settlers.
Originally, it had only a partial rock wall. A dug out trench made it possible for the
Indians to walk down to the water level and fill their jugs. In the late 1800’s the Orrs’ built the wall
to about ground level and used ropes and pulleys to draw water.
On August 25, 1890, James Sherman
Orr was married to Martha (Mattie) Frances Weaver, daughter of William W. and
Sarah T. Read Weaver. They became the
parents of five children:
1)
Sarah Edith (Sabie), born June 15, 1891.
2)
William Robert (Ike), born November 29, 1892.
3)
Edwin Tillman (Ed), born February 26, 1895. He was named after his mother’s uncle, Dr.
E.T. Read.
4)
Lula Elizabeth, born December 2, 1897.
5)
Sherman Paten (Pate), born May 18, 1900.
The father of this family passed
away March 19, 1903. He was buried in Bourland Cemetery. The mother took over the management of the
farm with the help of her children whose ages ranged from three to twelve
years. She passed away at the age of
sixty two, March 17, 1932 and was buried in Bourland Cemetery.
The Orr children, all of whom
established permanent homes in the Keller area, married as follows:
1)
Sarah Edith married Tine Marcum, born February 12, 1886
and died March 13, 1932, on November 11, 1911.
Sarah died on December 11, 1947.
Their four children are: James Sherman, born May 6, 1916, married Verna
Mae Pond; Robert Edwin, born March 1, 1923; John Paul, born December 18, 1925;
and Harris Quitman, born July 31, 1928.
2)
William Robert married Mabel Maten. Their children are: William L. married Annie Dennis; Harold,
married Sybil Armstrong; and Lula Francis married Felton Robinson.
3)
Edwin Tillman and Minda Blevins were married December 24,
1916 after a courtship of three years.
Following the example set by her mother, Minda made her own wedding
dress, which was a light blue wool. She
also wore an antique gold bracelet, a gift from the groom. It has since become an heirloom and has been
worn at the weddings of two grand daughters and a daughter-in-law. The couple went by horse and buggy to the log
cabin home of the minister. The ceremony
was ready by Rev. R.K. Grimes, who was the pastor at Mt.
Gilead Baptist church. Mr. and Mrs. Orr
farmed in the Keller area until 1952, when he joined the staff of Roscoe
Minton, County Commissioner of Precinct 9, where he
served eight years before retirement.
The children of Edwin Tillman and Minda Blevins Orr are: Ina Faye, who
married A.J. Blakeley; Lewis Sherman, married Crystal Whitworth; and Wayne
Edwin who married Blanche Banner.
4)
Lula Elizabeth married Tim Choate. They became parents of three sons, who died
in infancy and one daughter, Ruby, who married J.T. Blevins. The mother passed away October 25, 1922 and
the father May 5, 1953. Both are buried
in Bourland Cemetery.
5)
Sherman Paten married Ida Porter.
