Orrin M. Buttles was born on May 23, 1833, in Pennsylvania to Cephus and Nancy Buttles. His father was a farmer who owned $800 of real estate by 1850. The family moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, around 1843, and he grew up and attended school there. By the early 1860s, he was working as a clerk. He married Eva Warner, and they had at least six children: Eva, born around 1860; Edward, born around 1863; May, 1864; Ella, born around 1867; Lula, born around 1871; and Bessie, born around 1874.
He enlisted in the Union army on April 18, 1861, and he mustered in as a corporal in Company A of the 1st Wisconsin Infantry. He mustered out on August 21, 1861. He returned to Milwaukee after leaving the army, and he earned a living as a salesman. By 1870, he owned $2,600 of real estate. He died of hepatitis in Milwaukee on December 27, 1890.