Episcopal Diocese of Northern Indiana Archives

Rev. Francis H. L. Laird

The Rev. Francis H. L. Laird was born on 21 January 1802 in Washington County, Pennsylvania, the son of James and Margaret Jane (Sproat) Laird. He married Sarah McFarland on 15 July 1828 at Trinity Church, Pittsburgh. After attending Washington College and Western University of Pittsburgh, he was ordained to the priesthood there by Bishop Onderdonk on 9 May 1830. That same year he did missionary work in Blairsville, Indiana County. He came to Logansport, Indiana, in 1841 and was instrumental in forming that parish. In 1852, while living in Louisville, he had a change of heart about his ministry and became affiliated with the Presbyterian Church. He later moved to Missouri to do missionary work there. He died in Sangamon County, Illinois, in February 1884.