Clinton Woodward "Jack" Orrill
Vital Information
| Field | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Full Name | Clinton Woodward Orrill | WikiTree Orrill-24 |
| Also Known As | "Jack" | WikiTree Orrill-24 |
| Born | 17 Mar 1900 | WikiTree Orrill-24 |
| Birthplace | Wilmot, Cowley County, Kansas | WikiTree Orrill-24 |
| Died | 13 Mar 1926 (age 25) | WikiTree Orrill-24 |
| Death Place | Independence, Jackson County, Missouri | WikiTree Orrill-24 |
| Cause of Death | Burns from tar still explosion, Standard Oil refinery, Sugar Creek, MO | WikiTree Orrill-24 |
| Father | Frederick Thomas Orrill (8 Jul 1869, Pike, IL; d. 4 Jun 1926, Arcadia, CA) | WikiTree Orrill-26 |
| Mother | Mary Alvira Woodward (16 Jul 1866; d. 3 Aug 1950) | WikiTree Orrill-24 |
| Wife | Sybil_Dora_Holt_Fulghum (m. 24 Nov 1920, Wichita, KS) | WikiTree Holt-14739 |
| Children | Leo Eugene Orrill (9 Mar 1922 - 15 Mar 1922; died at 6 days), Aura Gale Orrill (b. 19 Feb 1923, later Gale_Fulghum) | WikiTree Orrill-24, Orrill-25 |
| Siblings | Alice Ada Orrill Parsons (b. 30 Nov 1896, Wilmot, KS; d. 29 Nov 1966), Price Vinton Orrill (b. 2 Aug 1898, Wilmot, KS; d. 26 Dec 1990, Blue Springs, MO) | WikiTree Orrill-27, Orrill-28 |
| Occupation | Lineman (1920); engineer, Standard Oil Company | WikiTree Orrill-24 |
Biography
Clinton Woodward Orrill, known as "Jack," was born March 17, 1900 in Wilmot, Cowley County, Kansas, the youngest of three children of Frederick Thomas Orrill and Mary Alvira Woodward. He grew up on the family farm in Richland Township alongside his older siblings Alice Ada (1896) and Price Vinton (1898).
On November 24, 1920, Clinton married Sybil Dora Holt in Wichita, Sedgwick County, Kansas. Their first child, Leo Eugene Orrill, was born March 9, 1922 but lived only six days, dying March 15, 1922 in Wichita. He was buried at Maple Grove Cemetery, Wichita (Section EC, Lot D, Grave 124).
Their second son, Aura Gale Orrill, was born February 19, 1923 in Kansas City, Missouri. A third son, Robert, was born in 1925 in Kansas. By this time the family had moved to the Independence/Sugar Creek area of Jackson County, Missouri, where Clinton worked as an engineer at the Standard Oil refinery.
On March 13, 1926, a tar still exploded at the Standard Oil refinery in Sugar Creek. Clinton, 25, suffered severe burns and died later that day at the Independence Sanitarium. His son Gale was three years old.
Clinton's father Frederick Thomas Orrill died less than three months later, on June 4, 1926, in Arcadia, California, at age 56.
After Clinton's death, Sybil sent Gale and Bob to live with her uncle and aunt, John William and Clara Holt, on the Holt farm near Wilmot. By 1928, Sybil had remarried to Fred Fulghum, who gave the boys the Fulghum surname. Gale's birth name, Aura Gale Orrill, was replaced.
The "Jack" Nickname
WikiTree lists Clinton's aka as "Jack," resolving the long-standing discrepancy: Gale's memoir identifies his father as "Jack Orille," which is Clinton "Jack" Orrill. The memoir was correct about the name; only the spelling was off.
Orrill Family in Cowley County
The Orrill family settled in Richland Township, Cowley County, Kansas, the same township as the Holt family. Frederick Thomas Orrill farmed there from at least 1895 through the 1910s. All three children were born in Wilmot. Clinton and Sybil's marriage connected two neighboring farm families.
Clinton's brother Price Vinton Orrill moved to Blue Township, Jackson County, Missouri by 1930 and lived in the Blue Springs/Independence area until his death in 1990. Price was buried at Mount Washington Cemetery, Independence. He and Gale lived in the same area for decades.
Document Sources
| Document | Type | Vault Note |
|---|---|---|
| WikiTree Orrill-24 | Online family tree (tertiary) | wikitree.com/wiki/Orrill-24 |
| WikiTree Holt-14739 | Online family tree (tertiary) | wikitree.com/wiki/Holt-14739 |
| WikiTree Orrill-25 (Leo) | Online family tree (tertiary) | wikitree.com/wiki/Orrill-25 |
| WikiTree Orrill-26 (Frederick) | Online family tree (tertiary) | wikitree.com/wiki/Orrill-26 |
| WikiTree Orrill-27 (Price) | Online family tree (tertiary) | wikitree.com/wiki/Orrill-27 |
| WikiTree Orrill-28 (Alice) | Online family tree (tertiary) | wikitree.com/wiki/Orrill-28 |