Posted on: Johnston Queries Board URL: http://cgi.rootsweb.com/~genbbs/genbbs.cgi/surnames/joh/Johnston?read=260 Surname: Laird, Johnston, Lapsley, Russell, Martin, Petersson, Cravens, Akers, Steele ------------------------- I have been, along with several other individuals, working on the genealogy for the Laird family, as descended from Jacob Laird and Jane Johnston, off and on for several years, and would like to ask for a little help in locating information on Jacob and Jane themselves. It appears that we have hit the proverbial brick wall. Jacob and Jane were married, probably, around 1775 to 1776. It seems likely that they married, if not in Huntingdon, PA, then close by. Huntingdon is where they lived for several years, and is where they died in 1791 and 1796, respectively. Jane's father, we think, was Thomas "The Elder" Johnston, and she had 2 brothers that we know of, William and Thomas Johnston. Jacob was a 1st Lt. in the Bedford County, PA, militia during the Rev. War. With Jacob, there is the apparently typical "three brothers" legend - one went south, one went to Indiana, and one stayed put - which I have seen at least 2 or 3 times during the course of researching the family. It adds a little interest to the search. There were seven children of Jacob and Jane Johnston Laird: 1) William (born around 1778) who was married twice at Huntingdon Presbyterian Church (1-Ann Drennan, 2-Elizabeth Alexander) and had fifteen children (7 with one wife, 8 with the other). William remained in area of Huntingdon, married 1st wife c.1799, married 2nd wife c.1825; 2) Thomas (born around 1779?) who was married to Mary Ann Lapsley at Huntingdon Presbyterian Church, had eleven children and ran a tavern or hotel business in Erie; 3) David (born around 1780-1781) who was married to Ann Law at Huntingdon Presbyterian Church, had at least 2 children (Rebecca and Lydia), left Huntingdon between 1812 and 1820, showed up on the Missouri census for Troy, Lincoln county in 1830, then disappeared; 4) Johnston (born about 1785) who married Elizabeth Raynolds in Canton, Ohio; 5) Sarah married Samuel Hemphill at Huntingdon Presbyterian Church, moved to Canton, Ohio; 6) Anne married Thomas Hemphill (brother to Samuel) at Huntingdon Presbyterian Church, moved to Canton, Ohio; 7) Margaret (born in Dec 1791) married John Saxton at Huntingdon Presbyterian Church, moved to Canton, OH. Jacob Laird died intestate, "seized in his demense" on or about 1 Oct 1791. All of his children were under the age of 14 at the time of his death, and the youngest was born after he died. The mother, Jane, waived her rights as guardian, and Jane's brothers were named the official Guardians for the minor children. Jane died around the spring of 1796. William inherited his father's holdings (or bought out the interests of his siblings with the support of the Huntingdon Orphan's Court). There appeared to be a lot of fighting between the siblings recorded by the Orphan's Court between 1791 and 1815, and this may be the reason David Laird left the area with his family. I would like to find out if anyone knows where Jacob and Jane might be buried, and who (and from where) Jacob's and Jane's parents were. So far as I've been able to determine, they haven't been located in the Huntingdon area, so I assume their remains were transported to wherever Jacob's parents or Jane's parents lived. We are also seeking additional descendants (those we haven't found yet) of Jacob and Jane Johnston Laird. I am most particularly interested in Thomas' descendants (my direct ancestor) and the fate of David Laird (who went more or less missing after 1812) and his descendants. We have found one daughter, Rebecca, who married Elijah Galloway, but I would LOVE to learn more about David, Ann, and others of their children. Thank you - Claudia Laird