Hello! I am looking for information on my very elusive 3G grandmother, Margaret ORR Luce of Mercer Co., PA. I am hoping to prove that she is the daughter of Elias and Margaret ORR of Mercer Co., PA. At thi point, I have not info on the names of my Margaret's siblings, and so cannot compare with the census listings, etc. If anyone has any leads on this family, please let me know! I'm including a file on her and her husband, Josiah LUCE. Thanks, Cassie Langley Brown ================= Person Sheet Name: Margaret ORR ————————————————————————————————————————————— Birth Date: 23 May 1852[1] Birth Place: PA, USA Death Date: 16 Apr 1945[1] Age: 92 Death Place: Youngstown, Mahoning Co., OH, USA Death Memo: Home of daughter, Mrs. Grace Luce Lewis Burial Date: 1945[1] Age: 92 Burial Place: Oakwood Cemetery, Sharon, Mercer Co., PA, USA Residence Place: Fisher Hill, Sharon, Mercer Co., PA, USA Cause of death: Chronic Myocarditis/arteriosclerosis Spouses ————————————————————————————————————————————— 1: Josiah W. LUCE Birth Date: 18 Mar 1848[2] Birth Place: PA, USA Death Date: 27 Mar 1915[2] Age: 67 Death Place: Sharon, Mercer Co., PA, USA Death Memo: 4 AM Burial Date: 28 Mar 1915[1],[2] Age: 67 Burial Place: Oakwood Cemetery, Mercer Co., PA, USA Residence Place: Fisher Hill, Sharon, Mercer Co., PA, USA Religion: Methodist Occupation: Furnace laborer Cause of death: Infection of left leg[3] Father: [Pvt.] John T. LUCE (1831-1911) Mother: Amanda [BOAL] BOLE (1827-1907) Children: Maude (1871-1957) Vera M. (1878-1911) Grace (1882-1966) Notes for Margaret ORR The death notice of Margaret Orr Luce in the Sharon Herald of April 17, 1945 states: "Mrs. Margaret Luce, 93, formerly of Fisher Hill, died yesterday at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Edward Lewis, Youngstown. She is the widow of Josiah Luce who preceded her in death 29 years ago. In addition she is survived by another daughter, Mrs. Maude Langley of Youngstown." [1] According to family stories told to William H. LANGLEY, the ORR family is originally from Belfast and owned and operated a linen green there. So far this is unsubstantiated, since Margaret ORR's parents have as of yet to be identified. Margaret's death certificate mistakenly lists her name and her husband's name under Mother & Father. It reads Margaret ORR & Josiah LUCE. Gravestone lists birthdate as 1852, but census dates vary between 1850 and 1854. If 1850 or 1851, then possible parents are Elias & Margaret ORR of Springfield and Fairview Twp., Mercer Co., PA. In the 1850 Census for Springfield Twp., Mercer Co., PA there is a Margaret ORR, age 3 months, the daughter of Elias and Margaret ORR. The census was taken on August 9, 1850, which would fit, more or less, with the birthdate of May 23 given for Margaret on her grave and death certificate (although in both locations,the year is given as 1852). Put together with the 1850 year of birth on the 1900 census for Mercer Co. this is a possible match for Margaret's parents. 1850 Census, Springfield Twp., Mercer Co., PA 9 Aug 1850 1 126 128 ORR, Elias 39 M Farmer 1000 Mercer Co., Pa. 2 126 128 ORR, Margaret 38 F Mercer Co., Pa. 3 126 128 ORR, Mary 9 F Mercer Co., Pa. 4 126 128 ORR, Robert 8 M Mercer Co., Pa. 5 126 128 ORR, Beriah 7 M Mercer Co., Pa. 6 126 128 ORR, Sarah 5 F Mercer Co., Pa. 7 126 128 ORR, Robert W. 4 M Mercer Co., Pa. 8 126 128 ORR, Jane 2 F Mercer Co., Pa. 9 126 128 ORR, Margaret 3m F Mercer Co., Pa. 1870 Census, Fairview Twp., Mercer Co., PA June 4, 1870 Orr Elias 59 m, w, Farmer 5390 970 PA f.f.b., m.f.b., (father/mother foreign born) citizen over 21 Orr Margaret 57 f, w, Keeping H. PA Orr Mary 30 f, w, House K. PA Orr Sarah 26 f, w, House K. PA Orr James W. 24 m, w, At School PA school, Orr Margaret 19 f, w, School Teacher PA school, Orr Samuel 17 m, w, Farm L. PA school, Orr John 13 m, w, At School PA school, 1880 Census, Hickory Twp, Mercer Co., PA Josiah W. Luce, 31, b. Mar. 1848, PA laborer Maggie 26, b. PA Maud 9 b. PA Bera 3, b. PA (Female) 1900 Census, Hickory Twp, Mercer Co., PA Josiah W. b. Mar 1848 Self and both parents b. PA Furnace laborer Margaret b. May 1850 " " " " Grace b. Dec. 1881 " " " " Notes for Josiah W. (Spouse 1) Josiah's obituary in the Sharon Herald states: "Josiah W. Luce, aged 67, well known and highly respected resident died at his home early Sunday (3/28/1915) after an extended illness with a complication of diseases. Mr. Luce was born in this state and had been a resident of Sharon for many years. He was a member of the Oakland Avenue Methodist Church, Sharon Lodge Knights of Pythias, Franklin Lodge of Odd Fellows, Tribe of Ben Hur, and the Rebeccas. He is survived by his widow and two daughters, Mrs. James Langley of Youngstown and Mrs. Edward J. Lewis of Cleveland, a brother, George Luce of Sharon, and three sisters, Mrs James Burford of Youngstown, Ohio, Mrs. N A Sieg of Farrell and Miss Mary Luce. The funeral services will be held Tuesday afternoon at 2 o'clock with the Rev. C. A. Williams officiating. Interment will be made at Oakwood Cemetery." [1] Josiah is not mentioned in his father’s civil war pensioner reports and is not listed with the other children although he (Josiah) was living at the time the pension applications were filed. John and Amanda’s names appear as parents on Josiah’s death certificate, and the names of his siblings in his obituary match those listed by John in his pensioner’s application. Possibly Josiah and John were not on speaking terms and John refused to acknowledge his son’s existence (other evidences of feuds in the family are documented). Another possibility is that Josiah is the son of Amanda and a first husband who died soon after Josiah's birth. Language in John's pension application does allude to the fact that it was the first marriage for both parties, however (for instance, wife's name is listed as Miss Amanda BOLE, daughter of James & Elizabeth BOLE---not as Mrs. Amanda so and so, dau. of J & E BOLE, which would likely be the case if she had been married before). Amanda could have, of course, had Josiah out of wedlock, either with John or another party and for this reason, John did not wish to disclose this fact on his application. (Josiah was born, apparently, 3 years before John & Amanda's marriage). Obviously John gave his surname to Josiah, although, whether this is due to actual paternity or to adoptive purposes is unknown. Amanda and Josiah are not found in the 1850 Mercer Co. census, although John Luce, about 19 at the time, is living with his mother and other siblings. The whereabouts of Amanda and Josiah in 1850 and the identity of his father are uncertain at this point. There is a possibility that Josiah's middle name is Wilson, after Wilson BOAL/BOLE(S), the brother or cousin of Josiah's mother Amanda. This is a commonly passed down name in the family and possibly derived from a surname of a relative. In the 1870 census for Venango Co., PA, Josiah and John are shown living with Wilson BOLES and wife Nettie while working in oil fields. Location of Amanda during 1870 census is unknown (have not seen returns for Hickory Twp., Mercer Co., PA 1870). It is assumed that Wilson is Amanda's brother----in the 1850 Census for Sandy Creek Twp, Mercer Co., PA, there is a Wilson BOLE (spelled BOWLS in the listing) with parents James and Elizabeth (same as Amanda's parents' names). As Amanda is not present in the listing, further investigation is necessary in order to positively link her with this family.