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Wesley Fletcher Orr, 1831-1898, was born in LaChute, Quebec. In 1861 he married Priscilla Miller, 1846-?, and they had three children, Maggie Jane (Beattie), 1865-1949, Adelaide Elsie "Addie" (Wood), 1867-?, and Albert Lorne Clark, 1879-1955. Wesley invested in property in Calgary, Alberta in 1883, and in 1886 moved to the city, although his wife and Addie never joined him. He was assistant editor of the Calgary Herald in 1888, but left in 1889 to devote himself fully to promoting his property and the development of Calgary.
He became one of Calgary's most active civic politicians. He was first elected as alderman in 1888 and subsequently served five terms. As Chairman of Public Works he oversaw the development of Calgary's water, sewer and electric lighting systems. He was elected mayor in 1894, shortly after Calgary was incorporated as a city. He was re-elected in 1895, defeated in 1896, and elected by acclamation in 1897. He spent much of his time encouraging the agricultural and industrial development of the Calgary area, including railways and coal mining. He died shortly after completing his last term in office.
For further information see Max Foran's article "The Making of a Booster : Wesley Fletcher Orr and Nineteenth Century Calgary" in Town and City : Aspects of Western Canadian Urban Development / Alan F.J. Artibise, ed. - Regina : Canadian Plains Research Center, 1981. See also Max Foran's entry, "Wesley Fletcher Orr", in the Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. XII. - Toronto : University of Toronto Press, 1990, p. 806-807.