Jesse Laird and Mary Tharp’s Family

This page describes the families, and briefly the lives, of Jesse Laird’s eleven children with his first wife Mary Tharp. 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 and reportedly worked on a farm to earn the money for passage of his family to America – 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 he Laird section on this site. 

Jesse was married twice – first in 1807 in Pennsylvania to Mary Tharp, who was born about 1793 (the year of her birth is not fully known, it could actually be later) in Pennsylvania and died on May 4, 1837 in Dearborn County, Indiana.  They had eleven children.  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.

There are some researchers who list Mary’s surname as Thorp(e). I have not found earlier records of the family yet, and it is possible there is such a use of the name, but a description of the family, and the middle name of Jesse and Mary’s son David - both indicate the spelling as Tharp.

Jesse’s son Levi Laird went to Oregon on the Oregon Trail - and at some point, returned to Iowa. The beginning of the letter home is the heading above - and is fully posted in the section on Levi below.

Jesse Laird and Mary Tharp Laird had eleven known children. Each one is listed below, in chronological order, with a brief summary of their life, a list of their children, and at least one interesting image about them.

Jesse and Mary’s oldest child, a daughter, married Joseph Chamberlain

1) Laird Daughter, likely the first child of Jesse and Mary, not appearing in any record that listed her first name, born before 1810 in Pennsylvania, died about November 1830 likely in Dearborn County, Indiana, but possibly in Cincinnati, Hamilton County, Ohio; married on unknown date and location Joseph Chamberlain, died in 1831 in Dearborn County, Indiana, although possibly in Cincinnati, Ohio; one known child, Sarah Mariah Chamberlain; I had assumed the name of this first daughter of Jesse and Mary was Mary, the name of her mother and father’s mother, but I have no basis for that and a child of Jesse and Mary’s born in 1824 was named Mary Jane. 

I have pieced the facts about this first daughter because of the work of two descendants (Joyce Hagerty and Dorothy Rediker) about the twenty-year old Sarah Mariah Chamberlain listed with Jesse and his second wife Nancy in the 1850 census.  A 1949 interview with Sarah Chamberlain’s daughter, states that Sarah’s mother died six weeks after Sarah Mariah’s birth on September 28, 1830 and her father six months later.  The interview further states that Sarah was raised by her grandfather and step-grandmother. This would match the 1850 census entry of Jesse Laird, the second image posted below, which shows Jesse and Nancy with Sarah Mariah Chamberlain, age twenty. if Sarah Mariah was the child of a daughter of Jesse Laird, that would make Jesse Laird and his second wife Nancy Priest Laird her grandfather and step-grandmother. There is also a girl of Sarah Mariah’s age with Jesse and Nancy in the 1840 census in Dearborn County.

The first image posted below is the first known record of Sarah M. Chamberlain by name - her baptism in the Ebenezer Baptist Church in November 1848. That is the church where many Lairds are buried, including Jesse Laird. Also baptized with her was Phebe Priest, Nancy Laird’s younger sister - of about the same age as Sarah - who also would have been the aunt of Sarah’s first husband Obediah Priest.

Sarah Chamberlain married 1) Obediah Priest, born abt 1830 in Dearborn County, Indiana and died June 16, 1853 in Sacramento, California. They were married on November 28, 1850 in Dearborn County. Obediah was Sarah’s step-grandmother Nancy Priest’s nephew. He went with a party of midwesterners through Sonora Pass to California - most leaving their families behind as they expected to return.  [This trip is chronicled in the 2006 book by David H. Johnson, “Sonora Pass Pioneers”, which lists Obediah Priest as a member of the Clark-Skidmore Party that had a difficult Sierra crossing east of Sonora, California in 1852.] Sarah and Obediah had no known children.

Sarah married 2) William F. WelIs on March 5, 1854 in Dearborn County, Indiana. He was born about 1824 and died sometime before Sarah’s third marriage in 1872. They had four known children. Sarah married 3) James Kilgore Dodge on December 12, 1872 in St. Joseph, Champaign County, Illinois. He was born April 1, 1820 in Medina County, Ohio and died March 6, 1902 in Champaign County, Illinois. They had two known children.

Sarah’s obituary states that she had seven children, but I have only placed six. She lived in Dearborn County, Indiana; Champaign County, Illinois; and lived during her third marriage in Harvey County, Kansas - where she died. I have a worksheet on the Chamberlain family if anyone is interested. While I collected extensive information on the Chamberlain family in the Dearborn County area at the time of Sarah’s birth, I have yet to have information that specifically indicates her link to the Chamberlain family.

A further note: Sarah Mariah is shown in the 1870 census in Champaign County, Illinois - in the area where Nancy and her sons had gone the year before. She is shown with her children AND Joseph Hayburn, the son of Jesse and Nancy’s second daughter (shown below) Sarah. One of her daughters later married Joseph Hayburn - they would have been first cousins once removed. This seems to link the first two daughters of Jesse and Mary with Jesse’s second wife Nancy - and finally provides a link that seems to demonstrate they were all in one family.

Sarah Laird - Joseph Hayburn

2)  Sarah Laird, the second known child of Jesse and Mary, born between 1810 and 1815 in either Pennsylvania or Indiana, and died between 1846 and 1848, likely in Dearborn County, Indiana.  Married John Hayburn in Dearborn County, Indiana on May 19, 1836 - the record is shown below.  John Hayburn born ca 1808 in Pennsylvania and died between 1855 and 1860. 

Sarah and John had four children: 1) Margaret, born ca 1836 and no record found of her after her appearance in the 1850 census, leading to a conclusion that she died after 1850; 2) John Jefferson “Jeff” Hayburn, born August 25, 1840, likely in Dearborn County, Indiana, and died on January 20, 1911 in Elizabethtown, Hardin County, Kentucky. He married Elizabeth “Lizzie” Arnold on June 16, 1875. She was born in May 1847 in Kentucky and died on June 9, 1912 in Jefferson County, Kentucky. They had no known children; 3) Joseph Hayburn, born February, 1844 and died on July 4, 1912 in Columbia County, Oregon. I am confused about his marriages. He married first Nancy Hester “Jennie” Wells, the daughter of Sarah Mariah Chamberlain (Priest/Wells/Dodge), who would have been his first cousin once removed. They had at least two children, Ida May Hayburn was one of the two children, who married Percy Harrison and had at least ten children - and was the only living heir at the time of Joseph’s death. A second child, James, was shown with Joseph and Nancy in the 1875 Kansas state census. Joseph married a second time, to Lillie Cowles on June 23, 1893 in Clatsop County, Oregon - which indicates that Nancy had died by then, but I can find no further record of her. Lillie was born in February 1862 in Oregon, and survived Joseph by a number of years. They had no children; and 4) Elvira, born c 1845 in Indiana. The last record I have for her is in Clark County, Indiana in 1870 - and there is a chance that she is the Elvira who is with Thomas Donohue in later censuses there, but I cannot prove it yet.

Early censuses show a daughter with Jesse and Mary – under the age of ten in 1820 and between the ages of fifteen and twenty in 1830 – putting her birth between 1810 and 1815.  Jesse and Mary came to Indiana from Pennsylvania between 1812, when son John was born in Pennsylvania, and 1815.  So this daughter was born between 1810 and 1815 and in either Pennsylvania or Indiana.  The 1836 Dearborn County marriage record for Sarah Laird and John Hayburn, posted below, seems to land the identity of this daughter.  John remarried in 1848, seeming to confirm Sarah’s death – and with John and his second wife in 1850 and 1860 are four children born before the time of John’s remarriage, indicating four children of Sarah.  Jesse Laird’s sister Margaret married Joseph Hayburn and they were living near Jesse Laird in Pennsylvania – indicating that John Hayburn could have been a relative, and at least provides a link between the two family names no matter what the specific relationship was. 

Additionally, as discussed in the section on the oldest daughter of Jesse and Mary above, it is mentioned that Joseph Hayburn, the son of Sarah Laird Hayburn, is shown in the 1870 census in Champaign County, Illinois - where Nancy and her sons had gone the year before - with Sarah Mariah Chamberlain Wells, the daughter of the oldest Laird daughter. Joseph not long after married Nancy Hester Wells, Sarah’s daughter and his first cousin once removed. This seems to link the first two daughters of Jesse and Mary with Jesse’s second wife Nancy - and finally provides a link that seems to demonstrate they were all in one family.

John Laird - Rebecca Townsend

3)   John Laird, the third known child of Jesse and Mary, likely named for Jesse’s father John Laird, and the first child to be definitely tied to Jesse.  John was one of three of Jesse’s sons who ended up in Taylor County, Iowa - in the very southern part of the state, bordering on Missouri. His life and movement are described in the Taylor County biographical sketch below.

John was born April 22, 1812 in Pennsylvania and died in 1896 in Taylor County, Iowa.  John married on November 30, 1837 in Decatur County, Indiana, to Rebecca Townsend, born about 1813 in Indiana and died on September 11, 1875 in Hayden Grove, Taylor County, Iowa.  [NOTE: The Taylor County biographical sketch of John posted below states that he was born in the “Old Dominion”, which is a term that applies to Virginia. While there once had been a border dispute between Pennsylvania and Virginia over the area where John was born in in southwest Pennsylvania, future censuses list John’s birth state as Pennsylvania and it can safely be assumed that was his state of birth.]

John and Rebecca had eight known children: 1) Jesse, born (probably) in Dearborn County, Indiana on March 28, 1840, and died February 18, 1906 in Holt, Taylor County, Iowa. Married August 27, 1876 in Gravity, Taylor County, Iowa to Sarah Elizabeth “Lizzie” Hollis, born about 1857 in Illinois, and died March 10, 1921 in Minco, Grady County, Oklahoma; Four known children; 2) Thomas, born February 16, 1842 in Dearborn County, Indiana; died October 23, 1915 in Auburndale, Polk County, Florida; married first Julia Ann Scott, born about 1847 in Indiana, died July 1878 in Holt, Taylor County, Iowa; five children; married second, on February 23, 1879 in Gravity, Taylor County Iowa to Mary Ella Combs, born February 15, 1860 in Atchison County, Missouri and died on June 15, 1951 in Americus, Lyon County, Kansas, four children; 3) Margaret, born September 5, 1843 probably in Dearborn County, Indiana, died November 18, 1871 in Taylor County, Iowa; married July 6, 1869 in Taylor County, Iowa to Orange Palmer (O. P.) Harris, born March 23, 1831 in Cheshire County, New Hampshire, died February 10, 1892 in Taylor County, Iowa, one child; 4) William, born April 23, 1845 probably in Dearborn County, Indiana, died April 17, 1916 in Hinton, Caddo County, Oklahoma; married first Sarah Scott, born about 1850 in Indiana and died May 8, 1873 in Holt Twp, Taylor County, Iowa; two children; and married second September 2, 1873 in Atchison, Kansas to Casandra Dunkin (Johnson), born March 7, 1853 in Missouri and died on February 17, 1920 in Wellston, Lincoln County, Oklahoma, five children; 5) Sarah, born April 27, 1847 probably in Dearborn County, Indiana and died on April 15, 1928 in Gravity, Taylor County, Iowa; married September 3, 1867 in Taylor County, Iowa to William Cox, born September 1834 in Randolph, North Carolina; and died on February 10, 1912 in Gravity, Taylor County, Iowa, no known children; 6) Robert, born ca 1849 in Iowa and died on May 30, 1863, likely in Taylor County, Iowa; 7) Mary Jane, born about 1854 in Iowa and died in 1924, probably in Furnas County, Nebraska; married June 2, 1870 in Taylor County, Iowa to Noah Elder Barton, born September 15, 1835 in Juniata County, Pennsylvania and died in October 1913 in Furnas County, Nebraska; two children; and 8) James; James is listed as a deceased child in John’s 1881 biography below, but appears in no other record, so it is unclear where he fits in the order of the eight children. He clearly died at a very young age.

John Laird’s biography in the 1881 History of Taylor County is shown below. In the section on Jesse Laird, I speculate on the religious affiliation of the Dearborn Laird family. Many of the early Lairds - including Jesse Laird - are buried in the Ebenezer Baptist Church cemetery. The first Laird I have found in their records is John Laird, a candidate for baptism in that church in February 1833 - when he was twenty-one years old, and almost five years before he married Rebecca. The Decatur County marriage record of John and Rebecca is shown below, as is the Ebenezer Church record.

David Tharp Laird - Clarissa Hayden and Mary Thorn

4)  David Tharp Laird, the fourth known child of Jesse and Mary, his middle name was his mother’s maiden name, born on February 20, 1816 in Dearborn County, Indiana and died on July 20, 1894 in Rockport, Spencer County, Indiana.  David Tharp Laird was accomplished in politics and government - having been a state legislator, judge, and presidential elector for Millard Fillmore when he ran as the “Know Nothing” Party candidate for president in 1856. The life and movement of David T. Laird is described below in an 1880 book with his biography and also in his obituary.

David T. Laird (also known as D. T. Laird) was married twice – first on August 8, 1837 in Boone County, Kentucky to Clarissa P. Hayden, born June 6, 1818 in Burlington, Boone County, Kentucky and died on July 3, 1880 in Spencer County, Indiana; according to a published biography they had nine children, and I now have identified all nine, three of whom died in infancy.  Most public records of the family have not identified all nine. David T. Laird was married second in Spencer County, Indiana on July 24, 1881 to Mary L. Thorn, born October 30, 1832 in Indiana and died on August 26, 1919 in Spencer County, Indiana.  They had no children.

The nine known children of David Tharp Laird, and Clarissa, his first wife, were: 1) Jesse W. Laird, November 9, 1839 in Lawrenceburg, Dearborn County, Indiana; died January 6, 1878, Spencer County, Indiana; married November 5, 1861 in Posey County, Indiana to Celia Rogers, born July 5, 1839 in Indiana and died on September 29, 1914 in Phoenix, Maricopa County, Arizona; three children; 2) James Higby Laird, born December 9, 1842 in Lawrenceburg, Dearborn County, Indiana and died May 4, 1914 in Bronx County, New York; married first in 1866 in Wheeling, Ohio County, West Virginia to Mary Maxwell, born abt 1839 in West Virgini, divorced ca 1880; and married second on November 27, 1880 in Indianapolis, Marion County, Indiana to Fannie Gaston, born on December 8, 1853 in Indiana and died February 25, 1939 in Bronx County, New York; there were no known children; 3) Elizabeth, born February 15, 1845, in Lawrenceburg, Dearborn County, died between 1888 and 1894; married twice, first on September 8, 1864 in Spencer County, Indiana to Richard Graham, one, possibly two children; second to Henry Howett, born abt 1840 in Ohio, no known children - many details not determined about Elizabeth and her family; 4) Mary Boyer Laird, born May 28, 1847 in Lawrenceburg, Dearborn County, Indiana and died September 16, 1917 in Cannelton, Perry County, Indiana; married November 12, 1866 in Rockport, Spencer County, Indiana to David Edward Hooper, born August 19, 1838 in New Albany, Floyd County, Indiana, and died in October 1913 in Lawrenceburg, Anderson County, Kentucky; they had three children, one of whom was Clara A. “Clarice” Hooper Hall/Ford, a silent film actress buried in the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in California; 5) Ellen “Ella” C., born April 27, 1849 in Indiana and died December 10, 1925 in Canton, Madison County, Mississippi; married March 12, 1870 in Rockport, Spencer County, Indiana to Casper V. “Cass” Swan, born September 1846 in Michigan and died October 20, 1929 in Canton, Madison County, Mississippi. They had one child, son Mark E. Swan, a well-known New York playwright of his time; 6) Margaret Virginia Laird, shown buried in the Troy City Cemetery, daughter of DT and CP, died on December 23, 1850 at age five months and fourteen days, placing her birthdate about July 9, 1850; 7) George C. Laird, shown buried in the Troy City Cemetery, son of DT and CP, died on October 5, 1853 at age ten months and fourteen days, placing his birthdate about November 21, 1852; 8) Anna “Annie”, born on August 12,1856 in Troy, Perry County, Indiana and died August 14, 1908 in St. Louis, Missouri. She was married twice, first on December 18, 1877 in Spencer County, Indiana to Frank A. Carter, one known child; and second on March 10, 1884 in Spencer County to William B. Sutherland, born in March 1854 in Kentucky and died between 1900 and 1908, two children; and 9) Effie Sharp, born January 18, 1959 in Rockport, Spencer County, Indiana and died by the time of the David Laird family census listing on June 1, 1860.

The David T. Laird Family Bible passed to David’s son James Laird in 1893, and James recounted the family from the Bible in a 1913 statement in his civil war pension file, posted below. Some of the information from this Bible reference informed the family listing just above.

The biography of David Tharp Laird, from the 1880 book Representative Men of Indiana, is posted below. The biography was very long, and spread over two pages in the original book - so it is broken into four parts for posting below. The first part, which describes David’s father Jesse, is posted in the biographical page about Jesse on this website.

David T. Laird’s obituary, from the Rockport (Indiana) Journal of August 3, 1894, is posted below. Much of it is repetitive of the 1880 biography just above.

Levi Laird - Martha McCord

5) Levi Laird, the fifth known child of Jesse and Mary, born on April 5, 1818, in Dearborn County, Indiana and died March 18, 1890 in Bedford, Taylor County, Iowa.  He married June 21, 1838 in Dearborn County, Indiana to Martha McCord, born December 28, 1820 in Harrodsburg, Mercer County, Kentucky and died on December 21, 1903 in Bedford, Taylor County, Iowa. 

Levi was born in Dearborn County, married there, moved to Iowa in the 1840’s, went to Oregon on the Oregon Trail - but returned to Lee County Iowa. He served in the Fourth Iowa Cavalry, Company G during the civil war, enlisting from Lee County. He returned to Lee County after the war, and then moved to Taylor County where he and Martha lived out their lives.

They had nine known children: 1) David, born ca 1839, probably in Dearborn County, Indiana, and died May 31, 1876 in Conway, Taylor County, Indiana; married April 4, 1864 in Lee County, Iowa to Caroline Hatfield, born about 1844 in Indiana and died August 26, 1887 in Kansas City, Jackson County, Missouri; four known children (one was L. E. Laird, patriarch of the Wyoming Lairds); 2) Mary Ann, born November 1842, probably Dearborn County, Indiana and died after 1902; married August 12, 1862 in Lee County, Iowa, (Captain) John Agey, born in 1832 in Indiana County, Pennsylvania and died April 3, 1903 in Kankakee, Kankakee County, Illinois; one known child; 3) William Henry, born about October 1844, probably in Iowa, died in March 1901 in New Orleans, Jefferson County, Louisiana; I have had trouble determining facts about his life, although he appears to have been in an Iowa unit and was wounded at Shiloh, and there was a probate for him in Kansas City - both a pension record and the probate list his wife as Mary F.; 4) Winfield Scott, born about 1847 in Iowa, and died after 1902; appears to have been married twice, first to Lavina Ellsworth on August 24, 1870 in Adams County, Illinois and second to Jennie Dodd on September 7, 1876 in McDonough County, Illinois; 5) Jesse, born July 22, 1849 in Fort Madison, Lee County, Iowa and died January 26, 1932 in Chicago, Cook County, Illinois; married Etta Mueller, who was born May 13, 1852 in Quincy, Adams County, Illinois and died on January 8, 1947 in Chicago, Cook County, Illinois; no known children; 6) Oliver James, born March 1853 in Lee County, Iowa and died October 23, 1922 in Portland, Multnomah County, Oregon; married on February 23, 1876 in Bedford, Taylor County, Iowa to Martha Myers, born in March 1861 in Illinois and died August 1, 1918 in Portland, Multnomah County, Oregon, one known child; 7) Olive Jane “Ollie”, born also March 1853 in Lee County, Iowa, and died after 1902; married August 26, 1873 in Taylor County, Iowa to Frank B. Neff, born March 1846 in Ohio and died in 1908; six children; 8) George W., born about 1856 in Iowa and died after 1870; and 9) Oscar Davis, born November 10, 1857 in Fort Madison, Lee County, Iowa and died April 11, 1942 in Bedford, Taylor County; married on May 30, 1880 in Taylor County, Iowa to Ellen Margaret Hicks, born August 15, 1860 in Iowa and died on June 20, 1937 in Taylor County, Iowa; three children.

Levi went to Oregon from Iowa and a letter home to his father describing his trip appeared in the Lawrenceburg Independent Press of February 28, 1851 – which is posted below.  He does not mention whether his whole family was with him in Oregon, but it is a safe assumption. Levi returned to Iowa later that decade and lived out his life there.   He was forty-four when he enlisted in the Fourth Iowa Cavalry, Company G. I have his pension file, which is not extensive but has additional information.

Martha McCord Laird’s will, taken in January 1902 and shown in Taylor County Will Book B pp. 365-67, shows the state of her family at the time of the will and is posted below. This document is important because it has been hard to track some of Levi and Martha’s children in the decades before this will, and this document clarifies who was alive at the time it was written.

George W. Laird - Adeline Dixon

6)  George W. Laird, the sixth known child of Jesse and Mary, most likely named George Washington Laird, was born April 23, 1819, likely in Dearborn County, Indiana, and died on August 4, 1889 in Dearborn County, Indiana.  George married on June 15, 1840 in Dearborn County, Indiana Adeline Dixon, born on November 4, 1819 in Indiana and died on January 25, 1898 in Dearborn County.

George was one of just three of Jesse Laird’s children who lived his entire life in Dearborn County. He is shown in deed records there twice.  George and Adeline had ten known children.  Their son William B. Laird, born ca 1843, was in the Sixth Indiana Cavalry in the Civil War and died in the last weeks of the war.  His mother Adeline applied for a civil war pension as a result.  She listed eight children in that application – posted below.  Two were not listed, William B., and son Albert, who served in the Seventh Indiana Cavalry with his uncle (the same age of Albert) Joseph Laird, my g-g-grandfather.  Between George and Adeline’s two sons who served in the civil war, there were eight other known children – meaning they had ten. The document below lists a death of son John – who died in a gun accident in 1866.

Their ten known children were: 1) Anna S. “Annie”, born January 30, 1841, probably in Dearborn County, Indiana and died October 10, 1913 in Greensburg, Decatur County, Indiana; married on May 21, 1902 in Decatur County, Indiana William Harry Bartlow, born March 6, 1830 in Franklin County, Indiana, and died on March 17, 1911 in Clarksburg, Decatur County, Indiana; no children; 2) William B. Laird, born about 1844, probably in Dearborn County, Indiana and died March 25, 1965 in Harpers Ferry, Jefferson County, West Virginia, as a member of the Sixth Indiana Cavalry, Company A; 3) Albert, born June 1845 in Dearborn County, Indiana, and died November 2, 1917 in Overland Park, Johnson County, Kansas; married February 18, 1868 in Columbus, Bartholomew County, Indiana to America J. Anderson, born June 1848 in Indiana and died in 1927 in Kansas; six children; 4) Louisa Jane, born September 1846, probably in Dearborn County, Indiana and died February 29, 1911, Peoria, Illinois; married September 30, 1866 in Dearborn County, Indiana to Nathan N. Coons, born February 1840 in Indiana and died October 27, 1918 in Danville, Vermilion County, Illinois; six children; 5) Mary A., born abt. 1849 probably in Dearborn County, Indiana and died on November 2, 1883; married November 8, 1870 in Dearborn County, Indiana to Franklin Nevitt, born October 22, 1822 in Dearborn County, Indiana and died on September 18, 1899 in Hamilton County, Ohio; three children; 6) George W., born July 1853, probably in Dearborn County, Indiana, and died December 1923 in Pesotum, Champaign County, Illinois; married twice, first to Martha Ann Wymond, on May 22, 1880 in Dearborn County; and second on Sarah Emma Wolverton on July 10, 1900 in Decatur County, Indiana; no known children from either marriage; 7) Harriet G. “Hattie”, born November 25, 1856, probably in Dearborn County, Indiana; and died on June 15, 1933; married Robert Robinson, born 1861 in Illinois; one child; 8) John, born about 1858 probably in Dearborn County, Indiana and died June 9, 1866 in Dearborn County, Indiana; 9) Lewis Edward, born on January 1, 1860, Aurora, Dearborn County, Indiana, and died on April 27, 1927 in Kingston Mines, Peoria County, Illinois; married in 1923 in Champaign County, Illinois to Berdellah Coffrin Condon, born May 9, 1858 in Ohio, and died September 11, 1925 in Washington, Decatur County, Indiana; no known children; and 10) Sarah, born March 10, 1862 in Aurora, Dearborn County, Indiana and died on April 22, 1935 in Kingston Mines, Peoria, Illinois; married on December 24, 1890 in Mason County, Illinois; to Robert Robinson, born 1854 in Illinois; and died on October 30, 1926 in Kingston Mines, Peoria County, Illinois; two children [NOTE: it is unclear if this is the same Robert Robinson who was previously married to Sarah’s older sister Hattie.]

George W. Laird died in August, 1888, as described in the two articles below from the Lawrenceburg Press. The first one, below left, was in the August 2, 1888 edition and described George’s illness and family gathering. A brief obituary, below right, was in the August 16, 1888 edition.

Lytle Laird - Maria Harmon

7) Lytle W. Laird, the seventh known child of Jesse and Mary, was born in February 1822, likely in Dearborn County, Indiana and died on March 11, 1903 in Caney, Montgomery County, Kansas. He married on January 28, 1846 in Washington County, Pennsylvania to Maria (also listed in various records as Mary and Mariah) Harmon, born about 1820 in Pennsylvania and died September 1, 1899 in Independence, Montgomery County, Kansas. A Harmon descendant I was in touch with in the 1990’s reported that Maria was the daughter of Henry D. Harmon Sr. and Elizabeth Hipple – and was the second of nine children. Lytle and Maria had four known children.

I have always wondered about the name Lytle - whether it is a family name of some sort - but have uncovered no evidence to answer that question. I also have been unable to determine what Lytle’s middle name actually was. Lytle’s marriage in Washington County, Pennsylvania in 1846 - roughly thirty years after his father left there for Indiana - indicates that the family kept ties to the region where Jesse immigrated with his family ca 1800, and lived and married until moving to Indiana ca 1813.

Lytle grew up in Dearborn County, and lived there with his wife for roughly the first ten years of their marriage. It appears the first three of their four children were born there. Sometime in the latter part of the 1850’s, they moved to Clark County, Missouri - just across the Iowa/Missouri state line from Lee County, Iowa, where his brother Levi lived during the same period. Lytle served in the 21st Missouri Infantry, Company A during the civil war (I have his pension file and a page is posted below describing his family). He and his family moved to the area of Independence, Montgomery County, Kansas sometime in the early 1870’s and he and Maria lived there for the last thirty years of their lives

The four children of Lytle and Maria were: 1) Mary E., born April 20, 1850, probably in Dearborn County, Indiana and died March 8, 1908, probably in Montgomery County, Kansas; married abt 1876 Frank Joseph Frantz, born November 6, 1851 in Monroe County, Pennsylvania and died on March 2, 1917 in Independence, Montgomery County, Kansas; two children; 2) John H., born April 16, 1852, probably in Dearborn County, Indiana, and died in 1918 in Texas; married November 25, 1885, in Callahan County, Texas, Ellen Johnson, born March 13, 1859 in Illinois and died October 9, 1932 in Callahan County, Texas, no children; 3) George, born November 14, 1854, probably Dearborn County, Indiana and died in 1900 in Baird, Callahan County, Texas; never married; and 4) Alice, born July 1860 in Missouri, and died about 1902, probably in Jasper County, Missouri; married about 1889 to John W. Creek, born July 1850 in Missouri, and died August 23, 1923 in Jackson, Jasper County, Missouri; two children; Alice appears to have had a daughter from a relationship prior to this marriage.

Obituaries of Maria and Lytle are posted below, both from the Weekly Star and Kansan of Independence, Kansas. Maria’s was from the edition of Friday, September 1, 1899 and Lytle’s was from the edition of Thursday, March 12, 1903.

Mary Jane Laird - James Madison Henry and Isaac H. Carbaugh

8) Mary Jane Laird, the eighth known child of Jesse and Mary, was born on December 28, 1824, likely in Dearborn County, Indiana and died on December 31, 1892 in Aurora, Dearborn County, Indiana. Mary Jane married twice, first to James Madison “Madison” Henry (who married Mary Jane after his own first wife had died) on August 13, 1843 in Dearborn County. Madison was born about 1814 in Virginia, and died between 1858 and 1860, probably in Dearborn County. They had five known children. Mary Jane married a second time to Isaac H. Carbaugh (after his first wife had died) on September 8, 1861. Isaac was born on June 10, 1810 in Kentucky and died on February 11, 1885 in Dearborn County. They had no children. Mary Jane Laird was the second of three children of Jesse Laird who lived her entire life in Dearborn County.

The five known children of Madison and Mary Jane were: 1) Aaron B., born June 18, 1844 in Dearborn County, Indiana and died on January 15, 1921 in Aurora, Dearborn County, Indiana; married on September 26, 1865 in Dearborn County to Sarah A. Powell, born on July 28, 1847 in Kentucky and died on December 13, 1930 in Aurora, Dearborn County; eleven children; 2) Sophia, born about 1845 in Dearborn County, Indiana, and died August 13, 1866 in Dearborn County; married twice, first to John M. Dolson on November 28, 1861 in Dearborn County, John Dolson born about 1837 in Indiana and died before 1865; no known children; and married second in Dearborn County on September 26, 1865 to Joseph C. Powell, born about 1840 in Indiana and died on August 15, 1866 in Dearborn County, Indiana; no known children; 3) Lydia Fancier Henry, born August 23, 1847 in Dearborn County, Indiana and died on June 8, 1920 in Miami, Miami-Dade County, Florida; married twice, first on July 6, 1864 in Dearborn County, Indiana to George Carbaugh (this appears to be a marriage between Isaac Carbaugh’s son and Mary Jane’s daughter - by 1864 they would have been step-brother and step-sister), born on February 22, 1840 and died on January 27, 1878; and second on December 27, 1870 in Dearborn County (indicating a divorce from George Carbaugh, since he lived until 1878) to James Robert Teaney, born July 24, 1846 in Aurora, Dearborn County, Indiana, and died on October 17, 1909 in Aurora, Dearborn County, Indiana; five children; 4) Jesse, born about 1849 in Dearborn County, Indiana and died January 23, 1894; married on March 26, 1882 in Dearborn County, Indiana to Josephine McKay, born December 14, 1857 in Switzerland County, Indiana and died June 20, 1907 in Cochran, Dearborn County, Indiana (remarried to Lewis [John] Hammond); five known children; and 5) Charles, born about 1854, and died after 1860.

There are not many records of this family that I have found to date. Below left is a copy of the Dearborn County marriage record for Madison Henry and Mary Jane Laird from 1843. On the right is a newspaper article from the Aurora Commercial of April 24, 1862 - which shows that George Carbaugh, the son of Isaac and future husband of his step-sister Lydia Henry - as a member of the 18th Indiana Regiment Company A, sent a remittance home to his father I. H. (Isaac) Carbaugh.

Jesse M. Laird - Eunice and Sarah Jane Proctor and Rachel Kerr

9) Jesse Martin Laird, the ninth known child of Jesse and Mary, was born on November 28, 1827 near Wilson Creek in Lawrenceburg Township, Dearborn County, Indiana and died on December 21, 1905 “near Wilson Creek” in Dearborn County, Indiana. Jesse Martin appears to have been married three times. There is no record of his first marriage, but he is buried with Eunice, born on March 24, 1828 and died on June 4, 1854. There is no record of her I have found other than this burial record. He married second Sarah Jane Proctor on July 1, 1855 in Dearborn County. Jesse Martin’s one child - Samuel M. Laird - lists Sarah Jane Proctor as his mother on his 1934 death certificate. Sarah must have died by 1858 - as in Dearborn County marriage records, Jesse Martin is shown as marrying Rachel P. Kerr on October 17, 1858. She survived Jesse by one year, born on June 11, 1831 in Indiana and died on September 21, 1906 in Center Township, Dearborn County, Indiana.

Samuel Laird, Jesse’s son, had two children - one of whom was the Howard Laird listed below. Howard had three children. His only son, Thomas Laird, died in Lawrenceburg in 1995 - a link from Jesse Laird to modern Dearborn County.

Jesse Martin Laird was the third of three children of Jesse’s who remained in Dearborn County - and in his case in the Wilson Creek area - his entire life. This was noted in the 1915 Shaw History brief item on Jesse in the Lawrenceburg Township section, posted below.

This section in the 1915 history was verified by (Jesse) Martin Laird’s obituary, shown below at right, from the Aurora Dearborn Independent issue of December 28 1905. An article showing J. Martin Laird being sick - and visited by family - from the same newspaper from its July 7 1904 edition is shown below at left.

Edward William Laird - Helen Yeatman

10) Edward William Laird, the tenth known child of Jesse and Mary. Of the eleven children of Jesse and Mary, Edward (known as William and also E. W. Laird) was unique in one respect - he is the only one of these eleven to not have had children. Edward married Helen Yeatman in Dearborn County in 1866, and by 1870 they were in Taylor County, Iowa - where his older brother John was, and his older brother Levi was later. They lived out their lives in Taylor County.

Edward William Laird was born about 1829, likely in Dearborn County, Indiana, and died on January 23, 1894 in Taylor County, Iowa. He married on August 8, 1866 in Dearborn County, Indiana to Helen Yateman, born on January 1, 1839 in New York, and died on February 7, 1896 in Taylor County, Indiana. They had no known children.

Normally there are many items to choose for in posting images for each of Jesse and Mary’s children. But with no children, there are not many items - just census and tombstone records to post. Below is posted Edward’s tombstone in Taylor County, Iowa - courtesy of the Find-A-Grave website.

Robert Laird - Cynthia Harwood

11) Robert Laird, the eleventh and youngest known child of Jesse and Mary. Robert was born about 1832 in Indiana, and died while serving in an Indiana civil war regiment on November 24, 1862 in Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky. Robert married on September 21, 1854 in Dearborn County, Indiana to Cynthia Jane Harwood, born on December 3, 1831 in Kentucky, and died on August 26, 1880, probably in Decatur County, Indiana.

Robert and Cynthia married and had four children - one of whom was born within weeks after Robert enlisted as a private into Company “E” of the 79th Indiana Volunteers on August 22, 1862 at Shelbyville, Indiana, was mustered in on September 2 or 3, 1862 at Indianapolis, and died November 24, 1863 at Hospital #7 near Louisville, Kentucky.  The records show he was 30, dark eyes, brown hair, five feet eight inches tall and dark complected.  His occupation was a laborer. His widow Cynthia was granted a pension on February 19, 1864, and I have a copy of that pension file.

It appears that Robert and Cynthia lived in Dearborn County from their marriage to his enlistment. It appears that Cynthia lived in Decatur County, Indiana after Robert’s death.

Robert and Cynthia had four children: 1) Emily Josephine, born May 30, 1855 in Indiana, died on February 24, 1934 in Shelbyville, Shelby County, Indiana; married on September 16, 1880 in Indiana to William M. Dicks, born December 20, 1848 in Decatur County, Indiana and died on March 31, 1931 in Shelbyville, Shelby County, Indiana; one child; 2) Sarah Florence, born on October 26, 1857 in Indiana and died February 11, 1936 in Shelbyville, Shelby County, Indiana; never married; 3) Mary Ellen, born November 25, 1859 in Dearborn County, Indiana, and died on August 24, 1936 in Lafayette, Tippecanoe County, Indiana; married December 24, 1895 in Shelby County, Indiana to Joseph A. Wilson, born May 27, 1848 in Indiana, and died on January 8, 1917 in Addison, Shelby County, Indiana; one child; and 4) Robert Laird, born September 4, 1862 in Indiana, and died after 1889. The last record of him I have found was as postmaster in St. Omer, Decatur County, Indiana in 1889. There is a Robert Laird who married Arametha Farlow in 1883 in Rush County; she is in the 1900 census widowed with a son, Harry Clifford Laird, who was shown in a later record as born in Shelbyville, Shelby County, Indiana. But I have no proof of this connection. Harry died single with no children.

The pension card for Cynthia’s widows pension, listing her four children and their birth dates - as well as Robert’s regiment - is posted below.

This is the story of Jesse’s eleven children with Mary Tharp Laird. The story picks up on the next page with the story of Jesse’s six children with Nancy Priest Laird.