Orson R. Palmer was born during the beginning of the Civil War. His father enlisted in the war, and sadly never returned to his family. Palmer married Elizabeth A. Watkins in 1887, and they welcomed a daughter in 1895. Palmer started a business, was a superintendent of a Sunday school and taught Sunday school classes, became an author, founded and pastored a Berachah Church in Philadelphia, helped launch IFMA (now CrossGlobal Link), and served as director for AIM. Palmer died on June 5, 1939, from lymphatic leukemia and myocarditis.