Windmill sent me this - it is too sad to use for our annual Christmas Letter so I will send it to my captive audience now- Sarah J. (Snyder) Orr, wife of Samuel McClelland Orr. MRS. SARAH ORR b. 1848 d. December 25, 1914 HIT POLE; SKULL IS CRUSHED MRS. SARAH ORR WAS INSTANTLY KILLED AT BROWNSVILLE ABOUT NOON ON FRIDAY HORSES TURNED AND THREW HER OUT ------------------------------ SHE WAS IN A BOBSLED AND THE TEAM STANDING NEAR A TELEPHONE POLE TOOK FRIGHT AND WHIRLED. -------------------- Mrs. Sarah Orr was instantly killed in the business center of the village of Brownsville Christmas Day about noon, when she was thrown from a sleigh and her brains dashed out against a telephone pole. Mrs. Orr and her son, Otto, had driven a two horse team hitched to a bobsled, from their home three miles southwest of Brownsville, and were en route to Gratiot with produce for sale. Stopping in Brownsville for a few moments Mr. Orr went to a doctor's office across the street from where he left his team. Mrs. Orr was left sitting in the sleigh. For some unaccountable reason the team became frightened and before any attempt could be made to provent, the horses whirled around, the suddenness of which caused Mrs. Orr to be hurled out of the sleigh with such force as to throw her against a large pole standing along the curbing. She struck the base of her head against the pole and the impact crushed the skull, while her right shoulder was also badly crushed. Death was practically! instantaneous, for when her son reached her, he having been an eye witness to the accident from the front door of the doctor's office, she was dead. The remains were carried into the McMasters home near by and later taken to the home of the deceased's daughter, Mrs. Gertrude Bowser, six miles south of the village. The funeral will be held Monday morning at 9 o'clock from the Greenwood church. Burial will be in the Lutheran cemetery. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ MRS. SARAH ORR Several people attended the funeral of Mrs. Sarah Orr, who was killed Christmas day when the horses became frightened at some young men coasting on a bobsled and she was thrown from the sleigh. Her head was crushed against a post so that death came instantly. Services were held at the Greenwood church and interment in the Lutheran cemetery. Many Brownsville friends of the deceased extend their sympathy to the bereaved son and daughter. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Many of us have celebrated Christmas at the Bert Orr home, within sight and sound of where this tragedy occurred. But those celebrations were in another generation. We had long since left the Brethren church and their austere quiet remembrance of the Birthday of Jesus the Christ. For them Christmas was no different than any other day. They new the presence of Christ every day. So they were taking produce to Gratiot. In our day we did not think of Gratiot, a hamlet a few miles west on the National Pike, as a place where one would find a market but then times change. One thing never changes- the exuberance of youth. There is a rise in the road to the East I think and so it would have been from there that the bobsled came. The horses were headed that way and they had plenty of time to get stirred up. They saw that sled - no doubt some shouting and waving of arms as the sled sped along the mainstreet and by the time the sled zipped past the horses were out of control. Poor Sarah. No warning. No seat belt. No air bag. They took her to the home of her daughter, Birdie Orr Bowser, who lived near Sarah's beloved Greenwood Church. This was a Brethren church. There had been a nationwide division in 1882 and 1883 and a group of Progressive Brethren had been forced to leave Greenwood. The community had been split. Some of the Bowsers and the Orrs, and there were many of them living along Jonathan Creek, had remained with Greenwood others had been among those that left. Later Bert Orr and Anna Maude Bowser, newly weds of Brownsville were to be found in the Progressive congregation - Bert built the Berachah church a half- mile west of Greenwood. Both churches were in Hopewell Township, Perry County, on the Licking County line. Both churches buried their dead in the Good Hope Lutheran Cemetery a few miles west. Sarah Jane Snider came from a long line of Brethren ministers. So it is no surprise that her daughter Birdie Mattie Orr married Murray Bowser, also a Brethren from a family of Jonathan Creek Brethren. Murray's farm was close by the Greenwood church on the banks of that creek and it was here they brought Sarah - on that sad Christmas Day.** Her husband, Samuel McClelland Orr was the grandson of Robert Orr, the first Orr to settle near Brownsville. He was no doubt named after the Colonel then Major John McClelland who died a hero's death on in 1782 on the Plains of Sandusky, in northern Ohio. The McClellands were next-door neighbors of the Orrs back in Orrsburg, Fayette County, Pennsylvania. It was there that Robert and Bert Orr had common ancestor's. Samuel died September 22, 1904. Two of Sarah's great-granddaughters, Audrey lives in Cincinnati and a sister who lives in Zanesville - survive. Two of Sarah's granddaughters, Besse and Dorthy celebrated their 90+ years not long ago at the very nice (I am told) Bed and Breakfast now in the Brownsville High School. They no doubt had been told how their grandmother died on Christmas Day at noon. ** This may not be quite right. We think Murray was on the Bowser home farm in 1814 - about 4 miles south of Brownsville. It is only 3 + miles to Murray's home in later years. And his wife's name is not Gertrude. Sarah Jane and Samuel Orr may have had another daughter who married a Bowser. Have you ever been able to dot every eye and cross every t in one of your family histories. Best Regards to the list and to my captive audience. Hal