Robert Orr Jr.

Orr was the son of Hugh Orr, a Scottish-born gunsmith and politician. He attended the public schools in Westmoreland County and Armstrong County, Pennsylvania. He later moved to Kittanning, where he was elected to the post of Deputy Sheriff for Armstrong County in 1805. He studied surveying and was appointed deputy district surveyor.

During the War of 1812 Orr served as a colonel in the US Army. After the war he became a politician. The hat was donated to the Carnegie by his son Grier C. Orr.

In 1816 Orr successfully ran for a seat in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. He served two terms (1817–1820), after which he successfully ran for a seat in the Pennsylvania Senate. He served there from 1821 to 1825. He resigned before completing his term because he had been appointed as a Jacksonian member of the Nineteenth Congress U.S. House of Representatives to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of James Allison Jr.

In 1826 Orr successfully ran for re-election, to the Twentieth Congress. He served in that capacity from October 11, 1825 to March 3, 1829.

After his term, he re-entered the US Military again and acquired the rank of Brigadier General. He died at age 90 in Kittanning, Pennsylvania.