There are two Ballybeens. One near Dundonald and the other near Comber. I think yours is the latter and the Ros Davioes web site will have a map showing its location. The Orrs were one of the early settlers in the Ards and members married into just about every common name in the area. Most Orrs were in the Ballykeel/Munlough and Ballyblack townlands. The genealogy of the family of James Orr of Ballyblack, drawn up from tombstone inscriptions was worked out by Gawin Orr of Castlereagh and I think is shown on p. 66 of the Montgomery Manuscripts (Rev. George Hill). As I recall Sir Hugh Montgomery's plantation began about May 1606 and before he left Braidstone, Scotland, had induced Col. David Boyd to take part and he bargained with Montgomery for 1000 acres in Greyabbey Parish. I have been told that the name Orr derives from the parish of the same name in Kircudbrightshire and there was MacGiolla Orr in Kintyre, especially Campbelltown. Other explanations of the name in gaelic have been suggested. Likely you have heard of James Orr, The Bard of Ballycarry, who was a United irishman and after the '79 rebellion fled to America but returned under pardon. Following the '79 skirmish in Newtownards the rebel, Andrew Orr was sentenced to 500 lashes but oped for military service abroad for the rest of his life. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Mike Boyd" <mikejboyd@bigpond.com> To: <NIR-DOWN@rootsweb.com> Sent: Sunday, November 18, 2007 5:40 PM Subject: [NIR-DOWN] William Orr of Ballybeen > Do members of this list know where Ballybeen townland or Parish is please? > > William had a older Brother James Orr of Munlough (1655-1728) who married > Jane Campbell > > While William married Agnes Boyd (1670-1741) and they had 6 named children > which goes to the third generation. > > If you know this townland or the family of William Orr and Agnes Boyd, I > would like to hear from you please. > > Mike Boyd > Brisbane, Aust. > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > NIR-DOWN-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message

To add to that, a small piece of info that may or may not be relevant. There was a Rev. James Orr, Priest in Newmills Presbyterian Church in 1850-1887. He married my GG Grandparents, Joesph McMoran and Susanna Pepper, and probably also married my G Grandparents, Sarah McMoran and William McConville. There's a photo of him here http://www.newmillspresbyterian.org/history.html I don't know if there is any relationship but it might be worth keeping in mind in case it turns out there is. Funnily enough, Boyd is also mentioned on that page, at the top. I didn't think Orr was a popular name but a quick search of Griffiths, on failteromhat, shows many Orr names. I'm inclined to agree that it was probably the Ballybeen in comber simply because there are quite a few Orr names in that Parish and at least 2 Orrs in Ballybeen. Claire McConville www.claires-rosleaancestry.co.uk -----Original Message----- From: nir-down-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:nir-down-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of Hugh Macartney Sent: 19 November 2007 04:27 To: nir-down@rootsweb.com Subject: Re: [NIR-DOWN] William Orr of Ballybeen There are two Ballybeens. One near Dundonald and the other near Comber. I think yours is the latter and the Ros Davioes web site will have a map showing its location. The Orrs were one of the early settlers in the Ards and members married into just about every common name in the area. Most Orrs were in the Ballykeel/Munlough and Ballyblack townlands. The genealogy of the family of James Orr of Ballyblack, drawn up from tombstone inscriptions was worked out by Gawin Orr of Castlereagh and I think is shown on p. 66 of the Montgomery Manuscripts (Rev. George Hill). As I recall Sir Hugh Montgomery's plantation began about May 1606 and before he left Braidstone, Scotland, had induced Col. David Boyd to take part and he bargained with Montgomery for 1000 acres in Greyabbey Parish. I have been told that the name Orr derives from the parish of the same name in Kircudbrightshire and there was MacGiolla Orr in Kintyre, especially Campbelltown. Other explanations of the name in gaelic have been suggested. Likely you have heard of James Orr, The Bard of Ballycarry, who was a United irishman and after the '79 rebellion fled to America but returned under pardon. Following the '79 skirmish in Newtownards the rebel, Andrew Orr was sentenced to 500 lashes but oped for military service abroad for the rest of his life. ----- Original Message -----