Christopher Orndorff was born on 23 November 1752 in Lebanon Township, Pennsylvania, the son of Johann Christian and Elizabeth (Hoffman) Orndorff. The name of Orndorff has been changed in its spelling over the many years from its German origins. 

This writer will spell it as it is written by the local family today. Christopher’s grandfather, Christian Orndorff, immigrated from Prussia, a region in the country of Germany, to Pennsylvania in 1741. 

In 1764, the father, Johann Christian, moved his family and possessions in Conestoga wagons to a farm of 514 acres that he purchased near Sharpsburg, Maryland, on Antietam Creek in Western Maryland beyond the Blue Ridge Mountains. Note of interest: This farm, sixty years after the Orndorff moved from it, is where the famous and most bloody battle of the Civil War took place in 1862, the Battle of Antietam.

On this land during the 1760s and early 1770s, they expanded the farm, built grist mills for flour production, raised tobacco, supplied the areas, and carried the supplies by wagon trains to Baltimore, where some were shipped as far as European markets. The Antietam Creek area was a German community, and the Orndorffs, like their neighbors, spoke the German language for many generations. The old tales were told, songs were sung, and Bible verses were read in German during Christopher’s life and even after they settled in Kentucky.

Early on, while still in his teens, Christopher assumed responsibilities that made him an efficient assistant to his father. He soon had charge of the Conestoga wagon trains and men while hauling flour and tobacco from the mill and plantation of Antietam Creek into Baltimore. Their mill prospered during this time of Western expansion and Eastern trade. 

Christopher married Mary Ann Thomas on 21 March 1775, and they had seven sons and four daughters.

The Orndorff families were very active in their community and were leaders among their peers, friends, and families. 
Johann Christian and his son Christopher joined “The Committee of Observation” on 18 November 1774. This would have been most certainly an act of treason against the British Crown. This committee had a considerable amount of power. It collected money for the American Army and kept a lookout for spying Tories.

On 20 April 1776, Johann Christian and his son, our Patriot, Christopher, are mentioned as officers of the Maryland Militia. Christopher was a 1st Lieutenant of the 36th Battalion of Maryland Militia, and his father was a Major of the same unit. At this time, Christopher was 23 years old and married with a four-month-old son. Christopher was experienced in the organization of supplies and the handling of many men. 

Johann Christian was later ordered directly by General George Washington to return to his mills at Antietam Creek in Sharpsburg so he might increase supplies to the east for the Continental Army. Sometime after Christopher had recruited a regiment of men, Christopher’s talents were also needed in supplying Washington’s Army and other patriotic advancements. His duty was to make plans and arrangements to supply the army, move men, rendezvous secretively with ships, and, in some cases, mislead the British about where their contacts were to be made. Secrecy was paramount as the patriot, ‘Washington’s” spy network was at play here. Details and dates of specific services have been lost, but some historical events have been spared through letters and a diary that was known to be in family possession. At the end of the Revolutionary War, our Patriot Christopher is listed as Captain by research of the Sons of The American Revolution. 

In 1795, an expedition was made into Kentucky, and Christian contracted to purchase 1600 acres of land on the North Branch of the Red River. In 1797, Christopher’s father, Johann Christian Orndorff, died at Antietam Creek. Christopher and his brothers inherited their father’s properties. 

1805 Christopher moved the family into Logan County, Kentucky, where they built several grist mills, produced flour, lumber, and wool, and shipped it to Nashville, Tennessee, by wagon train. 

The Patriot died in Logan County, Kentucky, on 14 September 1823 in the 70th year of his life, and is buried alongside his wife, who followed him in death just three short weeks after her husband on 4 October 1823. Five of their children are also buried in the same cemetery. The Orndorff’s mills continually served the area for over a century until modernization took hold.
The Orndorff family was so prominent and well respected in the East that after Christopher’s death, a notice of his death appeared in October 1823 in the newspapers “The Maryland Herald” and “The Hagerstown Weekly Advertiser.”

Patriot Christopher Orndorff’s time in the service of our country, The United States of America, during the trying times of the American Revolutionary War was well spent, and he served his duties well. His loyalty to the cause is honored today by all of us here. Freedom is not free. We thank him for his talents, courage, and sacrifices. 

Sources: 

1. Find-a-Grave 
2. Sons of the American Revolution (SAR) website: https://www.sar.org
3. Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) website: https://www.dar.org 
4. Orndorff Family File: Logan County, Ky. Archives 
5. Logan County Cemetery Book 2000: Logan County. Ky. Archives 
6. Drake, Julia Angeline and James Ridgely Orndorff, From Mill Wheel TO Plow Share, 1938 
7. The Orndorffs Of Orndorff Place A Family History 1741-1988 book in possession of Frank Orndorff 2023 Russellville, Ky. 
8. First Families of Logan County, Ky. Logan County Archives