Remarkably, orr had recently written a book and sent it to a publisher with the following cover letter. Filled from orr s 6th battalion, the regiment was raised by colonel john a. Controversy, intrigue and betrayal surround the author, john l. Johnny orr basketball, born 1927 project gutenberg. Seaforde author john launches new books 1 july 2015 tales from a quiet man was launched this week a collection of 33 short stories, dealing with a wide variety of themes from love and hate to. Nehemiah stokely was a captain in the eight pennsylvania regiment, continental line.
A glendale home destroyed in a fire started by john orr in 1990. Captain john orr, an arson investigator with over 20 years experience. Even more unusually, the state had been holding an arson investigators conference. Lori orr kovach, daughter of serial arsonist and murderer john orr, who.
John orr s wife, martha dickey, was a woman of great strength of character and firm christian principles, trained by a father, who in his will, claimed. Class l virginia state library list of the revolutionary soldiers of virginia supplement special report of the department. The proceeds of the sale go to remuneration of the damages his victims suffered, as is common on books by criminals. My firefighter father john orr got sexual thrills from his murderous. John emigrated to america in the late 1790s, perhaps with a brother. As can be understood from the joseph wambaugh book fire lover, this book is essentially a journal of the pyromaniac and murderer, john orr.
There is history enough in that journey to make a good sized book but i will just state a few facts, ansol ansel p. Prince william county court will book c, probate records, page 432. In california, 1987, a bizarre spate of fires occurred in numerous shops and buildings across the state. Orr was the fire captain and arson investigator for the glendale fire department in southern california. John leonard orr born april 26, 1949 is an american former firefighter, novelist, and convicted arsonist.
The protagonist of catch22 is captain john yossarian, age twentyeight, a bombardier in the 256th squadron of the twentyseventh air force, stationed on pianosa during world war ii. John orr, former fire captain and highly respected lead arson investigator of the glendale fire department, california, has written numerous articles and short stories on fire investigations. Truecrime book chronicles south pasadena arson at oles. Incredibly, he was a captain with the glendale fire departments arson unit at the time of his arrest. Chief arson investigator in california town was also the. The films title is a reference to orrs novel, which tells the story of a fireman who is also a serial arsonist.
John stewart, of hannastown, a private in captain robert orr s company, colonel archibald lochrys battalion of westmoreland militia, was killed august 24, 1781, below the mouth of the big maumee, on the ohio in a battle with the indians. Orr had originally wanted to be a police officer, but had failed the. Playing with fire written by former fire captain john l. Deadly secrets on investigation discovery examines this shocking case. A source book of custerania, written and compiled by colonel w. John orr of the glendale fire department was one of the most respected arson. Haunting questions continue to surround the parallels between orr s real life and the lives of his fictitious characters in this compelling novel. A saga of churchill, family, and defiance during the blitz signed book add to wishlist. Find a cause you believe in and make good things happen. My novel, points of origin, is a factbased work that follows the pattern of an actual arsonist who has been setting serial fires in california over the past eight years. Seaforde author john launches new books down recorder. The book of ulster surnames by robert bell isbn 0856404055 brief sketch of the genealogy of captain thomas orr, late of franklin county, pennsylvania, and his descendants compiled by john g. By some estimates, this onetime chief arson investigator for the glendale fire department started as many as 2,000 blazes, killing four and destroying property worth millions.
Genealogy for captain benjamin grayson, i 1684 1757 family tree on geni, with over 200 million profiles of ancestors and living relatives. Yossarian worries about orr, his roomie, who is always shot down during missions. Book summary captain john yossarian, the novels protagonist, is a bombardier in the 256th squadron of the army air forces during world war ii, stationed on pianosa, a fictionalized island in the mediterranean between mainland italy and corsica. Join the investigation as lead character, arson investigator phil langtry, searches every clue to uncover a serial arsonist. The murder trial of john leonard orr, a former glendale fire captain turned. Exglendale fire captain gets 30year term for arson. Freckleton, john orr, reminiscences and journal, 19001902. He was convicted of serial arson and four counts of murder.
John orr the pillow pyro fire captain on a fire spree. Many believe it parallels his own activities while working as the fire captain. John orr, a serial arsonist whose deadly skill plagued central and southern california in. Mccallister john daniel thompson mccallister was chaplian, he had been the leader of our company all the way from liverpool, assisted by samuel l. It includes a arsonist act of a large hardware store that killed a toddler and his grandmother. Captain john hatfield, a genealogy of the descendants of captain john hatfield, loyalist, an officer of the british army who came to this country before the american revolution and fought, as a captain, with the 3rd new jersey volunteers, and later settled in parrsboro, nova scotia. Others have indicated that john is related to the orr family of creavery, county antrim, but i havent seen any explanation of this. Fire captain john leonard orr was also an arsonist who. The 31st mississippi infantry was organized by the increase of the 5th infantry battalion to a regiment during the winter of 1861. Compiled service records of soldiers who served in the. Of the 29 fires i described in the book, only three. I read the wambaugh book, but i have not read the convicted killers book.
My firefighter father john orr got sexual thrills from his. A california arson investigator was regarded as a sage. In truecrimenovel form, the story of john orr, glendale, california, fire investigator turned serial arsonist. John leonard orr born april 26, 1949 is an american former firefighter and novelist. He is relieved when orr s plane comes sputtering in. The story of john orr has been chronicled by bestselling true crime author joseph wambaugh in a book entitled fire lover.
John pennell it is certainly a tough assignment to tackle a biography of 2 people who are so interesting that a pulitzerprize winning author has already beaten you to the task. Furthermore, orr wrote a novel titled points of origin about a serial arsonist that. The irony is that the firebug john orr was someone entrusted to protect the public against fire. Brief sketch of the genealogy of captain thomas orr.
This book is a barely fictionalized autobiography of arsonist and murderer john. Orr was the fire captain and arson investigator for the glendale fire. The exfire captain and americas most prolific serial. He was a respected authority and often in the press. There, he meets a beautiful italian girl named luciana and has an affair with her. By that, they mean that he is a leading character who is unlike perhaps the opposite of classic heroes of mythology or legend, such as homers odysseus. Orr john orr, former fire captain and highly respected lead arson investigator of the glendale fire department, california, has written numerous articles and. Orr insisted monday that the story about a firefighter turned arsonist was fiction. Full text of five typical scotch irish families of the cumberland valley. He switches gears for fire lover, his first book in six years, focusing on glendale, calif. Harman was the captain of our train, and elder john t. Orr john orr, former fire captain and highly respected lead arson investigator of the glendale fire department, california, has written numerous articles and short stories on fire investigations. Points of originplaying with fire written by former fire captain john l. Chilling tale of firefighter turned serial arsonist the.
Stephens, who had served one year in virginia with the 17th mississippi infantry regiment. John leonard orr is the most prolific serial arsonist in californias history. John orr has 56 books on goodreads with 326 ratings. John leonard orr murderpedia, the encyclopedia of murderers. John leonard orr is a serial arsonist and mass murderer. Married five times, orr secretly craved the attention of others. Wambaughs meticulous research, along with interviews, case records, and thousands of pages of court transcripts, creates a powerful narrative. He worked as both a fire captain and arson investigator for the glendale fire department in southern california. I have no intention of giving him the satisfaction of buying the book. He killed ada deal, 50, her 2yearold grandson, matthew troidl, carolyn kraus, 26, and jimmy cetina, 17 in a fire at a hardware store, and is suspected by the fbi of setting more than 2000 fires before he was caught. Unusually for an arson attack, the fires were all started in broad daylight. Join 25,788 charities, organisations and schools on justgiving. South pasadena news and local events burned, released june 5, is the story of john orr, the glendale fire captain arsonist, who was convicted of deliberately setting on fire oles home center on fair oaks blvd.
Full text of five typical scotch irish families of the. Ryans story of the battle a 7th cavalry survivors account of the battle of the little bighorn. Firefighter and arson investigator john orr of californias glendale fire department had a way of showing up very quickly at the site of a fire and going right to the point of origin. The following doesnt appear to be our john, he was 6 years older than our man, but shows how members of the family fled ireland after the. Captain john orr, 1790 national galleries of scotland. This book is a barely fictionalized autobiography of arsonist and murderer john orr.
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