Will\\\'s dad died when he was not yet two years old. At the age of 11 he made his home with an uncle, John Hailey. In about 1878, John and Jane Hailey went to Nebraska from Sangamon County, Illinois in a covered wagon, taking William Madison Orr with them. In 1894 he came to Corning, Missouri and lived there one year. Then moved to what was known as the old John Adkins farm where he lived three years. He then bought a farm of his own, and engaged in fruit and bee keeping until 1924 when he retired and moved into Craig, Missouri.
