The Orr and Patterson family joined two prominent families from South Carolina and Pennsylvania. Family members included J. L. (James Lawrence) Orr (1822-1873), a state legislator, member of Congress, judge, governor of South Carolina, 1866-1868, and United States minister to Russia; his son-in-law, W. C. (William C.) Patterson Jr. of Philadelphia, Pa., and Greenville, S.C., whose father was Colonel W. C. (William C.) Patterson of Philadelphia; and Lawrence Orr Patterson (b. 1869), a civic leader of Greenville, S.C., and the donor of the collection.
From the guide to the Orr and Patterson Family Papers, 1779-1915, (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection.)