John Laird and Martha Russell

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Husband John Laird ^{1 2}

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           Born:  - ? Ireland
     Christened: 
           Died: 1766 - Marsh Creek, Adams Co, PA 3
         Buried: 

       Marriage:  - Ireland

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Wife Martha Russell ²

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           Born: 
     Christened: 
           Died: 
         Buried: 

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Children

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1 M William Laird ²

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           Born: 
     Christened: 
           Died: 
         Buried: 

         Spouse: Jane McClure (      -      ) 4

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General Notes: Husband - John Laird

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He was the son of a gentleman of County Donegal, Ireland, who owned in perpetuity a farm of ninety acres, lying within a mile of Raphoe, in that county, and which was still held in the Laird name for many years. The mother of John Laird was an English lady.

He migrated with his wife to America about 1760, and settled in Adams County (at that time it was York County), Pennsylvania, in the manor of Mask, on Lower Marsh Creek, in the township of Strabane, and there reared a family, one of which was William Laird, his youngest son.

The founder of the Laird clan in the United States was John Laird, who came to this country from the county of Donegal, in the province of Ulster, Ireland, late in the eighteenth century. The family was Scotch in its origin, as the name implies, having gone over from Scotland with many others in the reign of James I. Upon the tombstone of this John Laird (dated 1766, at Marsh creek, in Adams county, Pennsylvania), there still exists, in fine preservation, the carving of a curious coat of arms bearing as a device upon the shield, the severed limbs and the spouting blood which was undoubtedly intended to be a memento to coming generations of the terrible time in old Scotland where men gave their lives for opinion's sake. We quote from a history of the family written by Dr. John Milton Duff, of Pittsburgh: "In what appears to us of the present, the misty past, the Laird family lived in Lanarkshire, Scotland. For some reason they looked across the channel to the green fields of Donegal county, Ireland, with favor, and at an early date were enticed to the Emerald Isle, where they lived and prospered. Late in the eighteenth century one of the clan, John by name, determined to leave home and friends to seek fame and fortune across the Atlantic. After a tempestuous voyage he landed on the American shores. He immediately started inland in search of a home. He crossed over the broad and rocky Susquehanna in that beautiful and picturesque Cumberland valley, now so famous in our country's history, and there, in Adams County, Pennsylvania, under the shade of the rock-ribbed Allegheny mountains, he selected a farm upon which he lived and died." [HWCII 1906, 457]

There appear to be some puzzles in the lineage of this family. One source states he immigrated in 1760, settled in Adams County and raised a family. The next source says his tombstone gives the date 1766 - doesn't allow much time for raising a family. Another source (BHCWC, 700) inserts an extra generation which the other sources do not have: John was the father of William Sr., who was the father of William Jr. (husband of Jane McClure), who was the father of Rev. Francis, etc.

1 —, History of Indiana County, Pennsylvania (Newark, OH: J. A. Caldwell, 1880), Pg 388.

2 George Dallas Albert, History of the County of Westmoreland, Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, PA: L. H. Everts & Co., 1882), Pg 341.

3 John W. Jordan, History of Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, Genealogical Memoirs, Vol. II (Chicago, IL: The Lewis Publishing Company, 1906), Pg 457.

4 Samuel T. Wiley, Biographical and Historical Cyclopedia of Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, PA: John M. Gresham & Co., 1890.), Pg 120.