Does anyone know anything about the Mc business? My ancestor John Laird named one of his sons James Mc Laird. No one can figure out why. My ancestor's name was spelled just Laird as was the last name of his other children. Would be interesting to get some sort of a clue. Mc is a very strange middle name. Mary Szy HKLEA@aol.com wrote: > For Sarah. I changed the subject since not everyone on the Laird > mailing list would be interested in our discussion. William McLeard had > strong > ties to South Carolina. Specifically he enlisted in the War of 1812 at > Marion, SC. > This record also indicates that he was born in Marion, SC. This could have > been coincidence since later census records usually list his place of birth > as NC. However, in the 1870 census his name was spelled "Laird" and his > place of birth was listed as SC. His wife, Elvey, was listed as NC. I have > spent several years trying to find something that would connect him to any of > the earlier Laird's, Leard's and Leaird's with no luck. > Since it seems most likely he was born (1792) in either SC or NC I keep > hoping that someone will provide a clue that will lead to the identification > of his > parents. One theory is that the "Mc" was simply added to his name to indicate > that he was "son of Leaird." If that is true, then it might also be assumed > that > his father would also be named William. Since there was a James Leaird listed > on the 1790 Anson County, NC census and William and Elvey named their eldest > son James I have long felt that it is more likely that this could have been > his father. > I have records of most of their descendants and would be happy to provide the > names if you are interested. If you have anything that might indicate a > possible > connection to your branch I would really like to explore it further. Ken > > ==== LAIRD Mailing List ==== > Laird Resource Page: > http://resources.rootsweb.com/surnames/l/a/LAIRD/