John O'Rorke was born in County Dublin, Ireland on November 22, 1794. O'Rorke immigrated to the United States in 1818, first residing in Newark, New Jersey before settling in Raleigh, North Carolina around 1820 where he established a carriage making operation. He married Elizabeth R. Guthrie in 1821 and died in Raleigh on March 12, 1867.