Jesse Laird and Nancy Priest’s Family

This page describes the families, and briefly the lives, of Jesse Laird’s six children with his second wife Nancy Priest. Jesse Laird was born on May 1, 1789 in Donegal, Ireland and died on November 12, 1865 in Dearborn County, Indiana.  He immigrated with his mother and siblings – joining his father who had come over a few years earlier as an indentured servant – to Washington County, Pennsylvania. The story of the immigration is contained in the Washington County biography of Jesse’s nephew - which is on the cover page of the Laird section on this site. 

Jesse was married twice – first in 1807 in Pennsylvania to Mary Tharp, who was born about 1793 in Pennsylvania and died on May 4, 1837 in Dearborn County, Indiana.  They had eleven children, and those eleven children and their families are detailed in the second Jesse Laird page on this website. 

Jesse was married second to Nancy Priest, daughter of Obediah Priest and Rebecca Winters, on January 16, 1838 in Dearborn County.  They had six children. Nancy was born between 1807-1810 in Dearborn County, Indiana and died on April 21, 1873 in Vermilion County, Illinois. This page includes the information on each of the six children of Jesse and Nancy - including my own great-great-grandfather Joseph Laird. The youngest child was (Aaron) Frank Laird, a Danville Illinois police captain - shown above in a photo from the 1890’s.

I have concluded, based on the information below and my own research, that of Jesse and Nancy’s six children - three died in or around Dearborn County, and the three who survived to adulthood all moved to Vermilion County, Illinois with their widowed mother.

Of the three who died in or near Dearborn County, one child - Nancy - died before the 1860 census. Henry Clay Laird died in that year. And a third child, Elizabeth, was alive at the time of her father’s probate, appears to have married Matthew J. Day in Dearborn County in 1866 - but he remarried Elizabeth Fast in 1869, indicating Elizabeth Laird’s death by that year. It is possible she died in nearby Cincinnati, but there is no record of her death - just a possible burial of someone there by her name in 1868.

When Nancy Laird, the widow of Jesse, moved to Illinois ca 1869 with her three surviving sons, there was an added wild card, in that there was a child born ca 1860 with them - listed in Nancy’s probate as her grandchild. My father’s cousin Bill Laird suspected that this child was likely the child of Nancy Laird Jr., who died before the 1860 census. This was before we knew conclusively that Elizabeth Laird (Day) had died before Nancy and the three sons went to Vermilion County, Illinois before the 1870 census. I now suspect that this child was the daughter of Elizabeth Laird prior to her marriage. That child was named Katie Laird, and I will include a section on her following the six children of Jesse and Nancy - including a longer discussion on which child of Nancy was likely her parent.

Jesse Laird and Nancy Priest Laird had six known children, and they are listed below in chronological order - with an image from their life; a brief description of their life; and a listing of their children.

Martha Elizabeth Laird - Matthew Day

1) Martha Elizabeth Laird - the oldest child of Jesse and Nancy, born about 1840 in Dearborn County, died between 1866 and 1869; married on January 27, 1866 in Dearborn County, Indiana, to Matthew James Day, born about 1844 in Dearborn County, Indiana and died in 1925. No known children from this marriage. The one place Elizabeth’s named was listed as “Martha Elizabeth” was in her father Jesse Laird’s 1865 will. She is listed as Elizabeth in all other records. [I believe there is a possibility that Elizabeth had a child before she was married. This is explained at the end of this page in the description of Kate Laird (Pratt). I have attached Kate to Elizabeth in my family records file - but the parentage is not conclusive.]

The facts about Elizabeth’s life are circumstantial, and I had long been confused about her life - because she married her husband Matthew in January 1866 in Dearborn County, and a woman named Elizabeth was with Matthew in future records over the next decades. However, her husband Matthew married a second time in 1869, to another woman named Elizabeth. This indicates that Elizabeth Laird Day died sometime in those three years between the two marriages. Elizabeth Laird’s mother Nancy died in 1873 in Illinois, and probate documents list her three sons as the only surviving children of Nancy at that tine. For many years, I thought the second Elizabeth was our Elizabeth, but these other facts prove that incorrect and explain why she was not listed in Nancy’s 1873 probate.

Nancy is shown with her parents in the 1850 census at age ten and in the 1860 census at age twenty. She is listed in her father’s probate ca 1865 as Martha Elizabeth Laird. Matthew is shown in the 1860 census at age 16, listed with the Nevitt family very close to where the Lairds lived. Matthew and Elizabeth married in Dearborn County in January 1866, weeks after Jesse Laird died, when Elizabeth was about twenty-two years of age.

Matthew remarried Elizabeth East on March 31, 1869 in Hamilton County, Ohio, and they had two daughters. There is a Find-A-Grave record for Elizabeth Day in Hamilton County, Ohio, showing a death date of November 15, 1868 - which would fit our Elizabeth - daughter of Jesse and Nancy - in the right period between the two marriages for Matthew. However, the cemetery is a Catholic Cemetery, Saint Joseph, and there is no birth year or other identifying information that would prove that this was our Elizabeth.

However, it is clear our Elizabeth died in this period. I always wondered why all living children of Jesse and Nancy went with Nancy to Vermilion County, Illinois ca 1869 and this Elizabeth stayed behind. It was because she had died by this time. I have posted some relevant documents below - the 1869 marriage record of Matthew and Elizabeth East; the census listing for Matthew and Elizabeth (East) Day in 1900; the death record for Ethyl Day (Syford) in Dearborn County in 1933 that shows her mother as Elizabeth East; and a July 31, 1879 Lawrenceburg Register clipping that shows Matthew Day of Cincinnati visits old friends in Lawrenceburg Township.   I do not have the actual 1866 marriage record for Elizabeth Laird and Matthew Day. I will post that if I obtain it.

Henry Clay Laird

2) Henry Clay Laird, the second known child of Jesse and Nancy, born on July 20, 1842 in Dearborn County, Indiana, and died on March 29, 1860 in Dearborn County.

In this period, boys were frequently named for historic figures. Jesse and his first wife Mary had a son George W. Laird - and I have always assumed that he was named for George Washington. One of Jesse and Mary’s daughters married James Madison Henry. Eliza Sanks Laird’s older brother was named James Monroe Sanks. Henry Clay had been prominent in national affairs for decades by the time of Henry Clay Laird’s birth - and Henry Clay narrowly lost the upcoming 1844 presidential race. Jesse appears to have been a fan of Henry Clay’s.

Henry Clay Laird was shown in the 1860 mortality census as sick for nine days with consumption (what tuberculosis was known as at the time) before he died. His obituary from an area newspaper is posted below.

Nancy Laird

3) Nancy Laird, third known child of Jesse and Nancy, most likely named for her mother. She was born ca 1844 and died before 1860. The only known record of her was in the 1850 census, when she was shown with her parents at age six. Given that the 1850 census is the only known record with Nancy in it, it is posted below. She was not listed in the 1860 Dearborn County mortality census, indicating she died before that census year. There is no known grave for her.

There is a child, Katie Laird, born May 3, 1860 (the year of her birth is still unclear from multiple records - it could have been later than 1860) in Lawrenceburg Township, in Dearborn County. She traveled with her grandmother Nancy and uncles to Illinois ca 1869, and married there in 1882 to Samuel Pratt. In 1883 she was the beneficiary of a deed from her grandmother. Looking at the six children of Jesse and Nancy, it is likely that she was the daughter of one of the three oldest. My father’s late cousin Bill Laird believed that she was the daughter of this Nancy Laird. Based on information that is clearer since Bill thought that, I am leaning to the oldest daughter - Martha Elizabeth - as the possible mother of that daughter, Katie. I will include a section on Katie after the six children of Jesse and Nancy.

Joseph Laird - Eliza Sanks (my great-great grandparents)

4) Joseph H. Laird, the fourth child of Nancy and Jesse, and my great-great-grandfather. Joseph H. Laird (I have not found a record that lists his middle name) was born on September 5, 1845 in Dearborn County, Indiana and died on January 2, 1921 in Danville, Vermilion County, Illinois. He married on July 7, 1869 in Dearborn County, Indiana to Eliza Elenor Sanks, born in April 1846 in Dearborn County, Indiana and died on October 13, 1922 in Danville, Vermilion County, Illinois. The 1900 census states that Eliza had six children, and the 1910 census states that Eliza had eight children. I have only been able to find five children in various records, and the civil war pension file form below - when asked to list all children, living or dead - only lists five children. [NOTE: Eliza’s grandfather Joshua Sanks had adjoining property to Jesse Laird in Lawrenceburg Township. There is a page on this website with a biography of Joshua Sanks. There is a second page on this website about the Sanks ancestry.]

The five known children of Joseph and Eliza were: 1) Lewis Calvin, born April 29, 1870 in Danville, Vermilion, Illinois; and died January 20, 1955 in Danville, Vermilion County, Illinois. Married twice, first on January 11, 1890 in Danville, Illinois to Lillie McLain, born about 1872 and died in August 1891 in Danville, Illinois; One child. Married second on June 15, 1894 in Danville, Vermilion County, Illinois to Carrie Mae Snyder, born November 8, 1872 in Darlington, Montgomery County, Indiana and died November 22, 1949 in Danville, Vermilion County, Illinois. They had five children (including my grandfather, Ralph Laird, Sr.); 2) (William) Franklin “Frank”, April 18, 1873, probably in Vermilion County, Illinois, and died April 18, 1905, probably in Vermilion County, Illinois; married on January 20, 1897 in Vermilion County, Illinois to Rosanna Meeker, born September 20, 1875 in Newell Township, Vermilion County, Illinois and died on June 15, 1926; they had three known children (the 1910 census said she had had four children, with three living - it is unclear who the fourth was, probably a child who died in infancy) - Rosanna remarried to Charles Burns after Frank died and died with the Burns surname; 3) “Bertie”, born March 21, 1879 and died April 2, 1879 - both in Vermilion County; NOTE: I have not found a record that lists his formal name, just the listing for “Bertie” below in the Civil War pension document; 4) Dory M. Laird, born September 5, 1884 in Danville, Vermilion County, Illinois; and died on November 12, 1954 in Danville, Vermilion County, Illinois; married on October 2, 1905 in Vermilion County, Illinois to Goldie McBride, born October 1, 1888 in Danville, Vermilion County, Illinois and died on January 13, 1950 in Danville, Vermilion County, Illinois; they had five known children; and 5) John Henry (Harry F.); born on September 13, 1886; and died in 1917; no apparent marriage or children.

Joseph was born and raised in Dearborn County, likely on the family property in the Wilson Creek area. He enlisted in the 7th Indiana Cavalry when of age and served in the Civil War. Albert Laird, the son of Joseph’s older brother George W., served in the same unit - Albert being the same age as Joseph. Joseph returned to Dearborn County from his service months before his father’s death. He married Eliza Sanks in 1869 - uniting two well known long time families in the Wilson Creek area - and shortly thereafter moved to Vermilion County, Illinois with his young wife, mother, brothers, and niece. Joseph and Eliza began their family and lived out their lives in Danville, Illinois - as did Joseph’s brothers James and Frank. Eliza’s older brother James Monroe Sanks had already been in the Danville area for a few years.

Posted below are two items from Joseph’s civil war pension file - a statement about his marriage and children; and a statement from the Adjutant General’s office about his service. I have also posted obituaries for Joseph and Eliza, from the Danville Commercial News editions of January 3, 1921 and October 22, 1922 respectively.

“Uncle” Joe Cannon was a legendary speaker of the House of Representatives from Danville, Illinois. He served longer in the House than any other Republican member until modern times. The first House Office Building at the Capitol is named for him. My father was a political items collector, and had a few buttons and other items for Joe Cannon, and they were donated to the Vermilion County Museum after he passed away. Joe Cannon is buried in Spring Hill Cemetery in Danville, where many of the Lairds are also buried.

When getting copies of Vermilion County deeds for various family members, I was surprised to find a deed from Uncle Joe Cannon and his wife and parents to Eliza Laird for a lot in Danville. It was dated in 1882, and it probably was for a lot where the Lairds built a house. I have not been able to find a probate for Joseph and Eliza, to see if the property description matches this one, but it’s a nice historical connection. The deed is posted below.

James Laird - Lucinda “Lucy” Hall

5) James T. Laird, the fifth child of Nancy and Jesse, born on June 18, 1847 in Lawrenceburg, Dearborn County, Indiana and died on April 11, 1931 in Danville, Vermilion County, Illinois; he married June 2, 1871 in Sidney, Champaign County, Illinois to Lucinda “Lucy” Hall, born on January 1852 in Williamsport, Warren County, Indiana and died on December 19, 1926 in Danville, Vermilion County, Illinois. They had two known children: 1) Cornelia May, born April 20, 1872 in Homer, Champaign County, Illinois, and died January 18, 1926 in Danville, Vermilion County, Illinois; married January 23, 1903 in Marion County, Indiana (I have another record that shows them married on June 30, 1889 in Vermilion County, Illinois) to Charles E. Hardy, born on November 26, 1864 and died on July 31, 1909; no known children; and 2) Martha J. “Mattie”, born April 11, 1874 in Vermilion County, Illinois, and died on November 5, 1951 in Danville, Vermilion County, Illinois; never married, no children.

James Laird was the youngest of Jesse Laird’s sons to serve in the civil war. In the closing period of the civil war, the 146th Regiment was put together with two companies of men from Dearborn County - and one private in company G was James Laird. He mustered in on February 8, 1865 at Indianapolis, and was mustered out on August 31, 1865 at Baltimore, Maryland. Below are posted two pages from James’ pension file, one that details his marriage and children, and the other that shows that at the time of enlistment he was eighteen, five feet eight and one quarter inches tall, with light complexion, gray eyes, light hair, with the occupation of farmer.

James came to the Champaign and Vermilion County area in Illinois with his mother and brothers ca 1869, although he is missing from the 1870 census. He and Lucinda were married in 1871 and lived out their lives in Danville, Illinois after their marriage. Below are obituaries from the Danville Commercial News - Lucinda Laird’s was in the edition of December 28, 1926 and James Laird’s obituary is from April 12, 1931. The brief article asking all Grand Army of the Republic members to come to James’ funeral was from the Danville Commercial News of April 11, 1931.

James was the last of Jesse Laird’s seventeen children to pass away. When he died in 1931, it was 142 years after his father Jesse Laird’s birth in Ireland. However, his brother Frank’s widow Belle, described in the next section, lived another twenty-eight years.

Aaron Franklin “Frank” Laird - Isabelle “Belle” Starks

6) Aaron Franklin “Frank” Laird, the sixth and last known child of Nancy and Jesse, the youngest of Jesse Laird’s seventeen known children, born June 19, 1850 in Dearborn County, Indiana and died on April 17, 1900 in Danville, Vermilion County, Illinois. Frank married on October 24, 1880 in Vermillion County, Indiana to Isabelle “Belle” Starks, born October 26, 1862 in Vermillion County, Indiana and died on December 22, 1959 in Danville, Vermilion County, Illinois.

Frank was listed as “Aaron Franklin” in his father Jesse Laird’s 1865 will, and was listed as Aaron F. Laird in a Dearborn County deed where his mother acted as Guardian in the sale of Frank’s share of property from his father’s estate. In all later records he was listed as Frank, and in the Danville newspaper article on his police service - posted below - as Frank T. Laird.

Frank and Belle had two children: 1) Hattie, born April 11, 1882 in Indiana, and died on December 3, 1975 in Linton, Greene County, Indiana. Hattie married in 1906 in Champaign County, Illinois to William R. Bailie, born about 1880 in Streator, Illinois, and died May 25, 1914 in Kankakee, Kankakee County, Illinois. They had two children; 2) Joseph Henry, born November 18, 1883 in Vermillion County, Indiana and died January 5, 1957 in Danville, Vermilion County, Illinois. Joseph married on October 1, 1918 in Warren County, Indiana to Alice Brown, born August 11, 1877 in Maroa, Macon County, Illinois, and died June 23, 1938 in Mishawaka, St. Joseph County, Indiana; they had no children.

Frank Laird was buried in Springhill Cemetery in the spring of 1900 in his fiftieth year.  The Danville newspaper had two articles on his death, the originals which I cannot put my hands on for posting.  The text of the first, titled "Death of Ex-Captain Laird", read: "Ex-Capt. Frank Laird died last evening at 6:30 at his residence on Townsend Avenue.  He had been sick for several months, first taking down with a cold which got upon his lungs, and then developing into quick consumption.  The deceased leaves two children to mourn his loss, a boy and a girl.  Captain Laird was known to most all of the citizens of Danville, having served for seven years as a patrolman and captain of the police force.  He was the most popular with his brother officers and had a large circle of friends.  Upon retiring from the police force he engaged in the second hand business on Jackson street and was thus employed at the time of his death.  His age was 49 years.  The date of the funeral has not yet been fixed."

The text of the second article was titled "Funeral of Captain Laird":  "The funeral services of ex-Captain of Police Frank Laird were held yesterday afternoon at 4 o'clock at the family residence on Townsend avenue.  Rev. Snyder officiated, assisted by Rev. S.S. Jones of the First Church of Christ.  Members and ex-members of the police force and fire department acted as pall bearers.  Interment was in Springhill cemetery.  The funeral was largely attended and the floral offerings were many and beautiful."

Posted below (and at the heading of this page) is from an article in the Danville Commercial News in the late 1920’s or early 1930’s. It looks back at the Danville Police Department before the turn of the 20th Century. The photo from the article is posted just below, and Frank Laird is marked. The brief biography of him is posted just below the photo. I was in touch with a descendant of Frank in the 1990’s, Dallas Bailie, and I believe the copy of this article came from him. I posted below an article about the funeral of Frank Laird, likely from the Danville Commercial News at the time of Frank’s death in April 1900.

I have also posted the obituary of Belle Laird, Frank’s widow, from the Danville Commercial News at the time of her death in December 1959. Belle survived the last child of Jesse Laird by twenty-eight years - and her death was 171 years after the birth of her father-in-law Jesse Laird in Ireland. Frank Laird was the youngest of Jesse’s children, born when Jesse was sixty-one years of age. Belle was three years old when Jesse died, lived to the ripe old age of ninety-seven, and outlived Frank Laird by fifty-nine years.

Katie Laird (Pratt) - How Does She Fit In?

Katie Laird was born ca 1860 in Lawrenceburg in Dearborn County and is listed in a key document as a grandchild of Nancy Laird. The big question is how she fits into the family. She clearly is a daughter of one of the six children of Jesse and Nancy. A belated probate document for Nancy Priest Laird, was filed in 1906 in Vermilion County and states clearly that Katie was a grandchild of Nancy. That document is posted just below.

Below are two deeds from Vermilion County that further explain the document above. In October 1869, Nancy Laird of Dearborn County, Indiana purchased property in Vermilion County. This is the same property shown in the 1906 document above. Then in 1874, the year after Nancy’s death, one fourth of the property was sold by Joseph and Eliza Laird to his brother James Laird. This confirms Nancy’s death the year before, and that her property in Vermilion County was split into fourths and left to her three sons and grandddaughter Katie Laird (Pratt). Now that Katie has been established as a grand-daughter of Nancy, I will list what I can from her life to see if it points in any direction about her ancestry.

Facts about Katie Laird (Pratt)

Various documents give a different year for Katie’s birth. One report of her death certificate places her birth about May 3, 1859. The online death record and her grave record as shown on Find-A-Grave places her birth date as May 3, 1864. In the 1880 census she is shown as twenty years old in a census taken in June of that year - implying that her birth date was in May 1860. The 1900 census lists her birth date as May 1861. The 1920 census was taken in February 1920 and Kate was shown as 59 (placing her birth year ca 1860 or 1861). The 1930 census was taken in April 1930 and Kate was shown as 69 (placing her birth year about 1861). All these records conflict, but seem to point to a May birthdate, and more likely ca 1861.

The 1860 census for Jesse Laird was taken in July 1860. The children Nancy and Henry Clay had died by the time of this entry, and there is no listing for Katie anywhere - which is confusing, because if she was born in May 1860, she should be in this census somewhere. She is not listed in Jesse Laird’s probate, filed after his 1865 death. The first apparent mention of Katie is not really a mention of her. There is a ten year old child listed with Nancy in the 1870 census entry in Illinois, and it appears to be a boy and the name is unclear, but appears to be something like Demetrius.

The 1880 census is the first clear record entry for Katie Laird. She is shown as Kate Laird, 20, born in Indiana with both her parents born in Indiana. She is shown with the John and Rebecca Ross family in Carroll Township, Vermilion County, Illinois in a census entry taken on June 12, 1880. There are nine Ross children shown in the entry, but the significant thing is that the relationship box lists Kate as a tenth “adopted daughter”.

Katie Laird was married on November 9, 1882 in Vermilion County, Illinois, to Samuel G. Pratt. The next year Katie and Samuel Pratt sold their share of the property left them by Nancy Laird - even though it apparently took the 1906 document to clear up their right to the land.

Kate and her family are shown in the 1900 census at 596 Van Buren Street in the Third Ward of the City and Township of Danville, Vermilion County, Illinois, in an entry taken on June 6, 1900.  Just above them in the census, at 709 E. Main St., is Kate’s uncle James Laird and his family.  A significant fact in this entry is that between Samuel and Kate’s marriage, they lived in Nebraska and Kansas - before returning to Vermilion County. The late Bill Laird listed the two children born in Kansas as born in Ludell Kansas. Ludell is in Rawlins County in the far northwest of Kansas - just across the border from Nebraska. Their youngest child Edith was born in 1896 in Danville, Illinois, so they were back by then.

Shown in the entry are Samuel G. Pratt, 31, head, a fireman at ??, born in Indiana with both his parents born in Ohio; with Kate, 39, no occupation, wife, born in May 1861 in Indiana with both her parents born in Indiana.  They are shown as married eighteen years, and Kate is shown as having had four children, with four living in 1900.  With them are a son and three daughters – William T., 15, a butcher apprentice, born in November 1884 in Nebraska; May 14, sews overall tacks (?), born in June 1885 in Kansas; Maud, 13, at school, born in September 1886 in Kansas; and Edith, 4, born in January 1896, born in Illinois – with all four children showing both their parents born in Indiana. This entry is posted below.

Kate and Samuel are in the 1910 census together in Danville. Then Samuel is shown in online Illinois death records, showing him as Samuel G. Platt, born in 1862 in Indiana, dying on September 26, 1917 in Danville, Vermilion County.  He was shown as 55, a laborer, married, white, the son of John Pratt, born in Indiana and Anna Shelton, born in Indiana.  He was shown as buried in Springhill Cemetery in Danville.  

An obituary for him - posted below (thanks to the late Bill Laird for the copies of the Pratt obituaries posted in this section) - in the September 28, 1917 issue of the Danville Commercial News states that S. G. Pratt, “veteran pumper for the Chicago & Eastern Illinois, will be held from the family residence, 509 Townsend Avenue, at 10 o’clock Saturday morning and interment will be at Springhill cemetery.”

Kate was shown in the 1920 and 1930 censuses with her daughter Edith and her husband Ray Schenk in Momence in Kankakee County, Illinois. In the 1920 census Kate was listed as age 59 and in 1930 listed as age 69. In 1925, Kate’s daughter Maude died, and her obituary is below from the Danville Commercial News of March 2, 1925.

There is an obituary in the Commercial News posted below, dated March 1, 1933, for Mrs. Kate Pratt, showing she died at the home of her daughter, Mrs. ?? Schenk in Momence.  She will be buried in Springhill Cemetery.  There is an online death record for Kate Pratt in Momence, Kankakee County, Illinois, showing that she had died on February 27, 1933.

A death certificate from Kankakee County (#14692) for Kate Pratt.  Unfortunately, it states that her parents were “unknown”.  She was shown as born in Lawrenceburg (sic), Indiana and died as a resident of 307 E. Indiana in Momence.  She was widowed, her husband was Samuel Pratt, and she was buried in Springhill Cemetery in Danville, Illinois.  She is shown as dying on February 27, 1933 at age 63 years, 9 months, 24 days.  This would put her birth date at May 3, 1859.

What can we conclude about Kate Laird Pratt’s Ancestry?

Some things are clear from these records. Kate was a granddaughter of Nancy Laird, she was born in May in Lawrenceburg, Indiana. The year she was born is not clear, various records show she might have been born as early 1859 or as late as 1864. However, she does not show up in the 1860 census, and it is more likely that she was born ca 1861.

The real question is which child of Nancy’s is Kate’s parent. There are six candidates. The three older children - Elizabeth, Nancy and Henry Clay - all died young. Elizabeth died between 1866 and 1869, Nancy before 1860, and Henry Clay in 1860.

The three youngest, all sons, Joseph, James and Frank - were born in 1845, 1847, and 1850 respectively. They all seem too young to have had Kate, and they might have had her with them after Nancy’s death - or with the mother of the child by them - if she was in fact the daughter of one of them.

That leaves one of the older three as the likely parent. The late Bill Laird, my father’s cousin, suggested that Nancy was the mother - she died before 1860. Given that Kate was likely born just after - and by some accounts more than a little after - and does not show in the 1860 census, seems to reduce the chance that she was Nancy’s daughter - but it’s still possible. Henry, if he fathered Kate, would likely have left a mother that Kate would have been with.

Elizabeth was the oldest, would have been about twenty at the time of Kate’s birth, and didn’t marry until 1866 and died in the next couple of years. Both Bill Laird and I thought that she lived much longer than she did due to the fact that her husband Matthew Day was married to someone named Elizabeth after she died - so she was not considered as a candidate to be Kate’s mother.

Kate could have been with Elizabeth, and then moved with Nancy once Elizabeth died - which was in the 1866-1868 period. I am leaning toward Elizabeth as the mother - but we will never absolutely know. I will list Kate with Elizabeth in the family records file, so that I have a place to put her family’s information. I welcome any advice or additional information on this issue.

This page completes the story of Jesse’s seventeen children - with this page containing the story of his six children with Nancy Priest Laird and the story of Katie Laird Pratt.