5 replies to this topic

[Flat Black]

I am looking for Tom Orr's place of birth. He competed in the 1915 Indy 500. Perhaps he also went by Thomas.

The reason I would like this information is because I'm trying to ascertain who was the first native Texan to race in the Indy 500. The earliest I've been able to confirm is Jack McCarver of Houston who competed in the 1926 race. I've been able to eliminate all other drivers before him except Orr.

[fines]

Surely "Texas George" Clark would've been the first, although I see ORC/WATN has him born in Oklahoma, and that may well be right.

As for Tom Orr, I've seen him listed as coming from Detroit (MI), but of course, it's not uncommon for drivers being listed with hometowns from their entrants, and Maxwell was a Detroit company! But I have him also marrying in Michigan, Jackson to be more precise, and to a Chicago girl. Doesn't mean much, I know...

[Richard Jenkins]

Orr is an immensly frustrating one - as Michael has said, we know where he married, who he married (Elizabeth Lowery), where he worked, but almost nothing about him. I had hoped that this thread would solve the answers. In fact, it may still do so if new info comes to light.

Howver, I understand him to, if not from Michigan, to either come from Illinois, Massachusetts or New York.

My research shows McCarver to be the first to have raced in the Indy 500 from Texas, but Fred Melaun was a long-time resident there when he non-qualified (but born in Illinois), whereas the very first Texan at the Indy 500 was:

Jess Calahan, born 25 October 1889, Midland, Texas & also based there for a large part of his racing career. He non-qualified in 1914.

[Flat Black]

Thanks fellas. I knew the TNFers would unearth something. Regardless of where Orr was from, it sounds like he was from nowhere close to Texas.

PS--Sometimes those nicknames don't count for much. Lone Star JR was actually from Kansas, I believe. Seems as though many like to cop the Texas mystique.

[fines]

Both JR and (probably) George Clark grew up in Texas, whereas "Cowboy Red" Shafer is often listed as Texan, but I'm not sure he ever really lived there. He was apparently born in Iowa, started racing there around 1915 (billed as a "cowboy from Texas") and apparently still lived there in the forties when his long career drew to an end. By the way, not many racing drivers drove competitively at the Nürburgring and still competed in the National Championship when already over sixty years old, besides building most of the cars he drove himself. Interesting guy.

[Richard Jenkins]

Well, it took a while, but Tom Orr has been solved.
He certainly wasn't from Texas. Basically, the Michigan marriage index is now online & it confirms Thomas S Orr married Bessie Lowery in 1915. That Thomas S Orr was born in Chicago, Illinois in August 1879.

In the 1900 census he is listed as being born in August 1877.

In the 1920 census, he is listed as Captain Tom S Orr in Colorado along with Bessie. And a bit of further research reveals the following:
Captain Thomas S Orr, born 27 August 1877, Chicago, Illinois, d. 11 Dec 1954, Denver, Colorado - the Captain coming from his World War 1 days. He worked with Maxwell for a while, but went over to France to fight in 1917.

There's been 8 other mysteries solved too... the whole list will be on my regular update at the start of next month, but I'm posting a few on respective driver threads on here.