Thanks Paul..but be very careful not to confuse your names: "Bonnie Prince Charlie was born in exile (Rome Dec 31, 1720), sometimes referred to as the "Young Pretender" (he was the son of the "Old Pretender"..James or the Jacobite James lll ).. Our Bonnie never became King, being defeated in his rebellion against George ll by George's son (Duke of Cumberland or "Butcher Cumberland"). Ian is correct about the many "Lairds" who arrived in N Ireland, but these date back probably a century or so earlier to the Ulster Plantations ..at the end of Eliz l's reign and into James Vl reign .With the concurrent "flight of the Earls", ie the exile of the Irish 'earls" (not equivalent to English earls, they were more like regional minor kings) a vacuum was created in the "estate and landlord business" and this was then deftly filled by the new settlers. These plantations were, of course, followed by more...and thus the very high percentage of Scottish backgrounds in N Ireland. And while the name Laird if proudly Scottish, many spent years in Ireland before crossing the Atlantic. I myself am from ireland and have managed to go back to the 1600's in some of my ancestors families, however with the Laird's there is this barrier, and although I can pick up Lairds earlier (army records, deeds and so on) there is a large Gap in the 18th C. which I'm still trying valiantly to explore. Incidentally, for many of you who may be searching Irish Records, such areas as the DONFAM site may prove worthwhile (Donegal Families....where many of the Irish Lairds resided)..Both in the N of the county (around Raphoe) and in the S of the county (around Ballyshannon) where I happen to be from.... Ken Laird.