|
History of the Orrell Family Association
|
The Orrell Family Association was
founded in 1986 by Reverdy Lewin Orrell, III of Catonsville,
Maryland. Other Charter Members included Robert Stanley Orrell,
Terence Anthony David Orrell, Edwin Howard Orrell and David Oliver
Orrell. All five men were interested in genealogy and of documenting
and recording for prosperity the history of the Orrell family. The
first newsletter was published in July, 1986. The first Orrell Family
Reunion was held on Saturday, July, 19, 1986 at Reb's home in
Catonsville, Maryland. The Orrell Family Reunion has been held
yearly.
The driving force behind the Orrell
Family Association since its inception has been Robert Stanley Orrell.
He lives and breaths genealogy. Over the years genealogy has
been forced to take a back seat for the others, but not Bob. He
has constantly researched, not only his direct Orrell lines, but ALL
Orrell lines in America. Terence, the recognized authority on
the early beginnings of the family and of the British branch, is also
the authority on the Orrell Coat of Arms.
The newsletter ran from July, 1986
until March, 1994 and again from July, 1996 until September, 1998.
With the advent of the computer and internet its return is not
anticipated. The computer age has become a godsend for
genealogists. The research collected over years can now be
accumulated in a matter of days. While nothing compares to actually
handling old documents and trudging through dreary cemeteries in
search of allusive ancestors, the speed at which material is located
does have its advantages.
The original OFA website grew to
mammoth proportions. It ran from June, 2000 until November,
2003. When finally removed from the internet it contained over
26,000 pages, and close to one million hyperlinks. Several
complete genealogy databases were in the website which was too large
to be put onto a single CD. In all, there were 4,000 photos and
documents within the pages - all broken out into various categories.
Maintenance and updating became very
time consuming and impossible for one webmaster working part time on
the project.
The purpose of the current OFA website
is to serve as a contact point for those researching the various
Orrell lines. |
|
|
Orrell Family
Association |
BEATITUDES OF A FAMILY GENEALOGIST
Blessed are
the great-grandfathers, who saved embarkation and citizenship papers, for
they tell WHEN they came.
Blessed are
the great-grandmothers, who hoarded newspaper clippings and old letters,
for they tell the STORY of their time.
Blessed are
the grandfathers, who filed every legal document, for these provide the
PROOF.
Blessed are
the grandmothers, who preserved family Bibles and diaries, for these are
our HERITAGE.
Blessed are
the fathers, who elect officials that answers letters of inquiry, for - to
some- the ONLY LINK to the past.
Blessed are
the mothers, who relate FAMILY TRADITIONS and LEGENDS to the family, for
one of her children will surely remember.
Blessed are
relatives, who fill in family sheets with extra data, for to them we owe
our FAMILY HISTORY.
Blessed are
the children, who will never say, 'Grandma, you have told that old story
twice today.'
|
