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Randy and Roz first meet

Was feeling nostalgic today and came across my email stream with Roz. Below is the first email back and forth we had in 2009. Humble and helpful from the start. RIP Roz.

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-------- Forwarded Message -------- Subject: Re: Horr surname database on rootsweb.com Date: Thu, 25 Jun 2009 15:44:32 -0400 From: Roz Edson <mrsrozedson at gmail dot com> To: randy at modiharr dot com Hi Randy, You've asked some really good questions. As to your question "A".....you really (already) answered it in your "PS"....you wrote: "It is because of your different names for Orville that I even discovered the connection and finally determine through other records that Jesse Horr changed his last name." In order to answer your question "A" I need first to explain that I am a genealogy hobbyist, not a licensed researcher, but I am a careful, dedicated, and thorough genealogy hobbyist. I take it very seriously, in other words. I will not be able to duplicate (to show you) all the places I found the various spellings for both "Orwell" and "Horr". In a nut shell I look for information, but I have no idea, when I find it, if it's correct or not (census records, for an example)....in other words, I can't prove anything beyond what I find in legal documents, and I don't come across those very often (legal documents, that is). Sooo, when I find a name that has a different spelling given, I add the different version, basically for people, like you, who will best be able to determine which is correct. The census records are notorious for mis-spelling peoples names. The "O" in Horr can be written to look like the "O" is an "A" and vice-versa. First names may have been heard wrong, thus recorded wrong, and I think some people simply spelled names the way they sounded (phonetically), and to make things even more confusing, I've found a number of census records where the first and middle names were interchangeable over the years (census years). I'd say that the majority of "different spellings" , that I've found, come from census records. I put the info out there hoping that more people like you will write and make corrections so that the info is as near correct as possible when there is no other proof to be had. Orwell's dad was Peter. I'd love to know Peter's parent's names if you should ever discover them. In reply to your question "B". My grandfather was James Webster Horr...we pronounce Horr as Haw (as in Hee-Haw, or saw). But... other people pronouce it as whore. Re:<<I have seen some references claim the name comes from England where it was written Hoar. Others claim Danish or German descent.> All are correct. My grandfather's ancestors spelled their surname Hoar ...from England. As far as descents you can add Irish also. Hope to hear from you again with more updated and corrected info. Kind regards, Roz On Thu, Jun 25, 2009 at 11:19 AM, Randy Harr <randy at modiharr dot com> wrote: A few questions if you do not mind: (a) You list Orville Horr with many variations of spelling (both given and surname). What are the references that caused you to do this? (b) Have you found a more definitive reference of how the last name "Horr" is generally pronounced? In all the records I find for Orville, he is always listed as "Horr" with an "O". Hence why I wonder about the variation you provided. I am a third generation "Harr" but it looks almost certain that the name was changed/created from "Horr". Orville's son and a nephew are known to have made this change directly. Just wondering if Orville also made the change at some point. I have not found Orville's death record yet; likely in Keokuk, IA. I do not know anyone with the last name "Horr" and have not found any entymology or pronunciation references on the web that would indicate the conventional pronunciation. My father seems to think "Horr" is pronounced the same as "Harr" anyway (i.e. like the beginning of Hardy or Hart). I have seen some references claim the name comes from England where it was written Hoar. Others claim Danish or German descent. It has been a surprise to us to learn by great-grandfather changed his last name. My grandfather never mentioned anything like this. He is the Walter Harr in the 1905 Iowa census with Mahala in Burlington, Iowa. Once I confirm everything absolutely a little more by getting copies of some documents, I will be able to confirm, correct and refine your Peter and Elizabeth Horr area of the Horr tree. There are a lot of common mistakes others have made in this area as there were a lot of similar names with similar characteristics around that time. For example, Mahala Caroline Dennis father is Harvey Dennis. There was a Harvey Dennis born in Greene Tennessee who married Rebecca Jane More there as well (have certificates). But in that same year there was a Harvey Dennis born in Greene County, Illinois. Harvey Dennis from Tennessee moved with his wife to Fulton County, Illinois. So you see the confusion by many. So I would be most interested in the sources for information in the Peter and Elizabeth Horr family ancestry before I can accept information you have. Randy Harr P.S. It is because of your different names for Orville that I even discovered the connection and finally determine through other records that Jesse Horr changed his last name.


As mentioned in the About Us page, Roz first helped me discover my great-grandfather had changed his surname (at least the conventional spelling). Then, after I still hit a dead-end in records 2 years later, and first STR DNA tested to discover I was a descendant of Hezekiah Hoar, she helped me work forward on the possible parents of my Peter Horr and Elizabeth McKee. All this led to our joining forces with Tim to create this combined project here.