Laird of PA, IL, and NE and Rev Joseph Montgomery
Printed in 1879 at Harrisburg, PA,, A Sketch of the Life of the Rev. Joseph Montgomery mentioned a bible said to have belonged to Joseph which passed through the Laird family who occupied the Rev Joseph Montgomery's house in Harrisburg after his death and kept his possessions. As of the writing, late 1870s, one T C Laird of Nebraska was owner. The date of Joseph's birth and the fact that his parents John and Martha originally from Ireland are said to have comes from this bible.
(Rev) Joseph Montgomery [23 Sept 1733-14 Oct 1794]. Presbyterian minister and delegate to the Continental Congress from PA. M1: Elizabeth REED or REID [d: March 1769]; m2: 11 July 1770 Rachel (RUSH) (BOYCE), widow. Elizabeth [ca: 1669/1770-12 Oct 1814, aged 44] m: Samuel LAIRD [b: 15th Feb 1769], if I understand, was a daughter of the first wife Elizabeth who died in March 1769, which would have made Elizabeth junior at least 45 when she died. In his later years, Joseph made his home with his daughter, Elizabeth Montgomery Laird, and her family in Harrisburg, PA. When Joseph died in Harrisburg on 14 Oct 1794, he was buried in their family plot in the Lutheran Church Cemetery.
One "Samuel Laird, Esq., d. at Carlisle Sept. 27, 1806." Wm H Egle, Deaths of Prominent Persons Eighty Years Ago. Pennsylvania Vital Records, Vol II. He was the father of the next.
LAIRD, SAMUEL, the son of Samuel Laird, was born at Carlisle Penn'a, on the 15th of February, 1769. His father was for many years one of the Provincial magistrates of Cumberland county, and, under the Constitution of 1776, one of the justices of the courts. Mr. Laird received a classical education, studied law at Carlisle, and was admitted to the Dauphin county bar at the September term, 1792. He located at Harrisburg, and soon secured a large and successful practice. [n the early years of the borough he took an active part in its local affairs, and was a prominent actor in the first decade of its history. He died at Harrisburg, January 15, 1815, aged forty-five years. He married Elizabeth Montgomery, second daughter of Rev. Joseph Montgomery, who died October 12, 1814, aged forty-four. Their remains lie interred in the Harrisburg cemetery. Mr. Laird was a good lawyer, a pleasant speaker, and a courteous, honorable gentleman of the old school. [W H Egle Notes and Queries. First and Second Series Volume I, LXII BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY OF DAUPHIN COUNTY—IV. Page 358-359]
Samuel Laird, a lawyer of prominence, admitted to the Dauphin county bar in 1792, and for many years a leading actor in the affairs of the county. He and Col. Forster married sisters, daughters of the Rev. Joseph Montgomery. Mr. Laird died in 1815, at the age of forty-four. (W H Egle Notes and Queries. First and Second Series Volume II page 450.)
1796, April 22: In this town [Harrisburg], on Friday, April 22, 1796, by Rev. Snowden, Samuel Laird, Attorney-at-law, and Miss Betsy Montgomery, daughter of the late Joseph Montgomery, Esq., of this place. [Wm H Egle, Notes and Queries, First and Second Series, Volume I, Page 194 Dauphin County Marriages Eighty Years Ago.—II LAIRD—M0NTG0MERY.]
Based on a clue on this Forum, it seems likely that the T C Laird who had the Montgomery bible was the son of a Samuel Laird born ca 1808-1809 in PA, likely a son of the Samuel Laird who m: Elizabeth Montgomery.
In 1850, listed at Town of Buckeye, Stephenson Co, IL, were Samuel Laird 42; Elizabeth 36; Mary 12; Robert 3; Thomas 10; and William 8. All were born Pa.
In 1860, listed at Town of Buckeye, Cedarville post office area, Stephenson Co, IL, were Samuel Laird 52 Pa; Elizabeth 45 Pa; Henry 22 Pa; Thos 19 Pa; William 15 Pa; R 13 Pa male; J 10 Ill male; and P 7 Ill male.
In 1870, Thomas Laird 30; Mary 32; Wm 26; Robert 23; James 19; and Paschal 16, all listed as born in Pa, were in the Lena, IL, post ofice area, in DakotaTwp, Stephenson Co, IL.
The 1880 census of Oak Creek, Webster Co, Nebraska shows Thomas Laird 39 self and both parents b: Penn; Mary E Laird 31 b: Ills both parents b: Penn (wife); Lee D Laird 2 (son) b: Nebraska father born Penn mother b: Ills; Elisabeth Leetsch 18 (servant); James Laird 29 b: Ills, both parents b: Penn (boarder); Pasckal Laird 25 b: Ills, both parents b: Penn (boarder).
The next entry if for William Laird 35 self and both parents b: Penn; Margret A Laird 36 b: Ills father b: Penn mother b: Ireland (wife); Bessie M Laird 6 b: Nebraska father b: Penn mother b: Ills (daughter); Laura M Laird 5 b: Nebraska father b: Penn mother b: Ills (daughter); Paul Laird 3 b: Nebraska father b: Penn mother b: Ills (son); Lewis Laird 1 b: Nebraska father b: Penn mother b: Ills (son); Mary Murdaugh 25 (boarder); Robert Laird 38 (boarder) self and both parents b: Penn.
Sounds like the right family.
So, does anyone have more info, especially as to the current status of the Joseph Montgomery bible?
Don Maring
[email protected]
More Replies:
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Re: Laird of PA, IL, and NE and Rev Joseph Montgomery
DONALD MARING 4/27/09
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Re: Laird of PA, IL, and NE and Rev Joseph Montgomery
Angela Kraft 10/14/09
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Re: Laird of PA, IL, and NE and Rev Joseph Montgomery