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Magill, Orrin R. (Orrin Rankin), 1887-1976

 Person

Biographical Note

Orrin Rankin Magill, son of Robert N. and Ella F. Doty Magill, was born in Dayton, Tennessee on November 21, 1887. Magill later moved with his family to Alabama, and he graduated from Mississippi State University. While attending graduate school at Virginia Polytechnic Institute (VPI) in 1911 and 1912, Magill served as secretary of the university's YMCA. Later, after obtaining a master's degree in education from Columbia University, Magill moved to China, where he served on the staff of the Chinese National YMCA. In September, 1915, he briefly returned to Southwest Virginia to marry Ellen Howe Bell (1893-1968), the daughter of Francis Bell. The Magills, who would eventually have six children, both worked in establishing a YMCA in Manchuria. Beginning around 1917, they lived for 25 years in Shanghai, where Magill served on the staff of the National Chinese YMCA and Ellen Magill worked as a teacher fo the American Community Church and worked with refugees. The Magills lived in New York during World War II then returned to China for a few years. After retiring from the YMCA in 1950, Magill served for five years as public relations director of the International Missionary Council.

In 1955, the Magills moved to Blacksburg, Virginia, where Magill became active in civic, educational, and religious affairs. Magill served on the Montgomery County Board of Supervisors from 1959 to 1971 and is generally credited with leading efforts in passing several ordinances to govern the orderly development of the county during its period of rapid growth in the 1960s. During these years, Magill also served in numerous other boards and commissions, some as a direct result of his position on the board of supervisors, while others were separate from his work there. Among the other bodies on which Magill served were the New River Valley Industrial Commission, Mountain Empire Board of Mental Health Clinic, Virginia Polytechnic Institute Centennial Planning Committee, Associaiton of Virginia Counties, Showalter Memorial Hospital board of directors, New River Valley Airport Commission, and New River Valley Planning District Commission. (Ellen Magill also remained active in the community, working with the university's foreign students and serving on the board of directors of Showalter Memorial Hospital. In 1962, she was named Virginia's Mother of the Year.) Orrin Rankin Magill died on September 3, 1976, and was buried at New Dublin Presbyterian Church, Dublin, Virginia.

Found in 1 Collection or Record:

Orrin Rankin Magill Papers

 Collection
Identifier: Ms-1975-010
Abstract The collection contains the papers--including correspondence, memoranda, subject files, and printed materials--of Orrin Rankin Magill, graduate of Virginia Polytechnic Institute (class of 1913), VPI professor of philosophy and religion, and active participant in civic and political affairs of Blacksburg and Montgomery County, Virginia. Materials document Magill’s community activities, particularly as a member of the Montgomery County Board of Supervisors and the New River Valley Planning...
Dates: 1945 - 1972; Majority of material found within 1960 - 1972