Alpha F. Orr Biography


	This biography appears on pages 891-892 in "History of South 
	Dakota" by Doane Robinson, Vol. I (1904) and was scanned, 
	OCRed and edited by Maurice Krueger, mkrueger@iw.net.

	This file may be freely copied by individuals and non-profit 
	organizations for their private use. 

	Any other use, including publication, storage in a retrieval 
	system, or transmission by electronic, mechanical, or other 
	means requires the written approval of the file's author.

	This file is part of the SDGENWEB Archives. If you arrived here 
	Inside a frame or from a link from somewhere else, our front door 
	is at

	http://www.usgwarchives.net/sd/sdfiles.htm


	ALPHA F. ORR, attorney at law, Sioux Falls, was born in Jersey 
City, New Jersey, April 28, 1860, the son of James and Susan (Royle) 
Orr. When two years old he was taken by his parents to Florence, New 
York, where he spent his childhood and youth and received his 
preliminary education. After finishing the public-school course, he 
attended Whitestown Seminary, and from that institution became a 
student of Hamilton College, where he pursued his literary studies for 
a period of two years. On quitting college he took up the study of law 
and in 1882 was admitted to the bar in the city of Rochester, New York, 
after which he opened an office in Rome, New York, where he practiced 
for one year. From the latter place Mr. Orr went to Camden, New York, 
where he soon built up a lucrative professional business and achieved 
marked prestige in legal circles. He continued in that city until the 
fall of 1889 when he came to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, where he has 
since been actively engaged in professional work, achieving the 
meanwhile distinctive precedence as an able lawyer and successful 
practitioner.  

	Mr. Orr is an untiring worker, a close student with a profound 
knowledge of jurisprudence and occupies a prominent place among the 
leading lawyers of his adopted state. While devoted to his profession, 
he is also deeply interested in politics and ever since locating in his 
present field of labor he has been active in upholding the principles 
of the Republican party and zealous in his efforts for its success.  

	Mr. Orr has never been an office seeker nor an aspirant for any 
kind of public distinction, notwithstanding which he is always an 
active and influential participant in political campaigns, taking the 
field in the interest of his party's candidate and rendering valuable 
service on the hustings. He is an able and logical speaker, a clear, 
concise reasoner, and by his eloquence has contributed much to the 
success of the ticket, not only in local affairs, but throughout the 
state. He has served one term as city attorney of Sioux Falls, aside 
from which he has held no office, preferring the duties of his 
profession and the simple title of citizen to any honors within the 
power of the people to bestow. Mr. Orr has a pleasing personality, 
enjoys high professional and social standing and is one of the popular 
men of the city in which he resides. He is identified with the 
Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and the Knights of Pythias, and 
at the present time holds the title of past chancellor in the latter 
organization. He is a married man and has a pleasant and attractive 
home in Sioux Falls, his wife having formerly been Miss Eva E. Green, 
of Knoxboro, New York.