Person:Joseph Laidain (4)

Joseph Laidain Life Story

Joseph Leon Laidain was born in Boston on 31 October 1805.[1] His parents, Joseph Laidain and Anna Hyde, were married in Boston on 26 November 1796 in the Church of the Holy Cross, a church which later became a Catholic cathedral.[2] Anna Hyde was a descendant of the Puritans of Massachusetts, and Joseph Laidain was born in the West Indies, likely on the island of Hispaniola.[3] I always thought that this marriage, between a descendant of the Puritans and a French Catholic, was fascinating. Joseph had an older sister, Mary Anna Laidain. She married Simon Hunt and raised a family in the Boston area. Joseph had no other siblings. His parents were older when they married, so this is likely the reason for them having only two children. Joseph was a carpenter. The 1829 and 1830 Boston city directories list him as a cabinet maker. The Winterthur Museum in Wilmington, Delaware, has a desk on display created by Joseph in 1826. The desk is beautiful, made of basswood and white pine with a Mahogany veneer and brass fixtures.[4]He may have been inspired to go into carpentry from his father. Joseph, the father, was listed as a housewright in the 1800 Boston Directory. Joseph was only about eight when his father, Joseph, died. He would not have learned carpentry from his father directly, but perhaps he learned the trade from a friend of the family.[5] Joseph married Mary Runey on 30 August 1827 in Boston. They were married by a Presbyterian minister, so Mary was likely a Presbyterian.[6] Nothing is known about Mary before her marriage. Records indicate that she was born in Boston, but no civil birth record could be found. No record lists the names of her parents or other relatives. The young couple had their first child, Mary Ann Laidain, on 23 May 1828 in Boston.[7] Their daughter's namesake was Mary Anna, the older sister of Joseph. Soon after their first child was born, the young family left Boston. A Boston city directory lists Joseph as living in Boston in 1830, but he was in Cincinnati by 1831. A city directory lists Joseph as a cabinetmaker in Cincinnati in 1831.[8] They did not stay in Cincinnati for long, for their second child, Emily, was born in Saint Louis on 22 November 1833.[9]Why did the family leave Boston? Joseph was a skilled carpenter. Anyone who sees the Winterthur desk he created would surely agree. There must have been work for a skilled carpenter in Boston. Saint Louis must not have been their first choice, since they lived in Cincinnati for one year before moving to Saint Louis. We may never know what prompted the family's departure from Boston, or their decision to relocate to Saint Louis. Emily Laidain and Joseph's wife, Mary, were baptized together in Saint Louis in 1835 in the Catholic church.[10] The couple went on to have two more children. Joseph L. Laidain (1834-1920)[11][12] and Eugene L. Laidain (1841-after 1890)[13] were both born and baptized in Saint Louis. Joseph continued to work as a carpenter is Saint Louis. He did some work for the Saint Louis City Water Works Department.[14]Joseph became a member of the Saint Louis Merchant's Exchange in 1839; he was listed as a chair maker in the exchange.[15]He made a coffin in about 1839.[16] Sometimes coincidences are found when researching genealogy. John Francis Mitchell, the uncle of Joseph's daughter's future husband, lived next to the Laidain family in 1840, according to the census. Emily went on the marry a nephew of John Mitchell. How well did the Laidains and Mitchells know each other? They probably would have been surprised to learn that young members of their family would go on to marry. Emily would have only been about seven years old in 1840, so she likely did not know her future husband, Samuel Stevens, at this time. But who knows? Joseph died 17 March 1843 at the age of 37 in Saint Louis.[17][18]He was survived by his wife, Mary, and children, Mary Ann, Emily, Joseph, and Eugene. Only Emily is known to have descendants alive today.

Written by Richard Kozeny, 31 December 2015

(1)Baptismal record of Joseph Laidain, the Church of the Holy Cross, Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston, baptismal date 9 December 1805 (2)Marriage record of the Church of the Holy Cross, Roman Catholic Archdioses of Boston Archives (3)Death Certificate of Mary Ann Hunt, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, City of Quincy, 25 February 1877 (4)Winterthur Museum, Wilmington, Delaware, Object ID number 1979.0026 (5)Name:Joseph Laden.Dates:1801-1825. Location:Boston Massachusetts.Occupation: house wright building trades. Address:Pleasant street, Boston, Massachusetts.Source Date:1800.Source Info:Listed in The Boston Directory [for 1800], 1800. Boston; Printed by John Russell, for John West, No.75 Cornhill. Available on Ancestry.com (6)Marriage Certificate of Joseph Laidain and Mary Runey, Registry Division, City of Boston, 30 August 1827, certificate number 011392, book 1800-1849, volume 2, page 42 (7)Death Certificate of Mary Wilder, City of Malden, Massachusetts, 3 August 1898 (8)The Cincinnati Directory for the Year 1831. Published by Robinson and Fairbank, Cincinnati, 1831. Page 92. (9)Death Certificate of Emily Stevens, Health Department, City of Saint Louis, Issue Number 5286, 15 August 1905 (10)Mary and Emily Baptism records, Saint Louis Archdiocesan Parish Records, Saint Louis Old Cathedral. From the Saint Louis County Public Library, microfilm, Roll 172, Item 3, Page 1. FHL 1902830. (11)Joseph Laidain Baptismal Record, from Ancestry.com, Early U.S. French Catholic Church records (Drouin Collection), 1695-1954, baptismal records form the Old Catherdral, Saint Louis, Missouri, 1839 (12)Death Certificate of Joseph Laidain, Missouri State Board of Health, Number 35411, 13 November 1920 (13)Eugene Laidain Baptismal Record, Saint Louis Archdiocesan Parish Records, Saint Louis Old Cathedral. From the Saint Louis County Public Library, microfilm, Roll 172, Item 3, Page 333. (14)Daily Commercial Bulletin, 5 November 1838, Issue 53, Column D. (15)From Google Books, accessed 7 February 2013. Stevens, Walter. St. Louis, the Fourth City. 1764-1911. II. St. Louis-Chicago: The S.J. Clarke Publishing Company, 1911. 484. Print. (16)From the Missouri Secretary of State online Missouri Judicial database, from the Saint Louis City Probate Records, 1839, Case Number 01475, Microfilm Reel C27511, Probate Records of Hyacinth Moran. (17)Death Notice of Joseph Laidain, From Google Books, accessed 20 October 2012, from "The New World", New York, April 1, 1843, Volume 6, Number 13, Whole Number 147, page 400 (18)Probate Case Files, 1802-1876; Case Number 1877. Author: Missouri. Probate Court (St. Louis County); Probate Place: St Louis, Missouri. Source Information. Title: Missouri, Wills and Probate Records, 1766-1988. Author: Ancestry.com. Publisher: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc. Publisher Date: 2015. Publisher Location: Provo, UT, USA

1. ↑ ^1.0 1.1 United States. 1830 U.S. Census Population Schedule. (National Archives Microfilm Publication M19)
   Year: 1830; Census Place: , Suffolk, Massachusetts; Roll: ; Page: .

   Residence date: 1830 Residence place: Suffolk, Massachusetts, United States _APID: 1,8058::1811413

   http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=sse&db=1830usfedcenancestry&h=1811413&ti=0&indiv=try&gss=pt

2. ↑ ^2.0 2.1 Ancestry.com. U.K. and U.S. Directories, 1680-1830. (Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2003.Original data - Avero Publications. Biography Database, 1680-1830. Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England: Avero Publications, 1998.Original data: Avero Publications. Biography Database, 1680-183).

   Residence date: Residence place: Boston Massachusetts _APID: 1,3877::1442561

   http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=sse&db=biodat&h=1442561&ti=0&indiv=try&gss=pt

3. ↑ ^3.0 3.1 Ancestry.com. U.K. and U.S. Directories, 1680-1830. (Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2003.Original data - Avero Publications. Biography Database, 1680-1830. Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England: Avero Publications, 1998.Original data: Avero Publications. Biography Database, 1680-183).

   Residence date: Residence place: Boston Massachusetts _APID: 1,3877::1455490

   http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=sse&db=biodat&h=1455490&ti=0&indiv=try&gss=pt

4. ↑ Massachusetts, United States. Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620–1988: [database on-line]. (Provo, Utah, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011).

   Marriage date: 30 Aug 1827 Marriage place: Boston, Massachusetts _APID: 1,2495::9334048

   http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=sse&db=matownvital&h=9334048&ti=0&indiv=try&gss=pt

5. ↑ Massachusetts, United States. Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620–1988: [database on-line]. (Provo, Utah, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011).

   Marriage date: 30 Aug 1827 Marriage place: Boston, Massachusetts _APID: 1,2495::46005520

   http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=sse&db=matownvital&h=46005520&ti=0&indiv=try&gss=pt

6. ↑ Massachusetts, United States. Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620–1988: [database on-line]. (Provo, Utah, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011).

   Marriage date: 30 Aug 1827 Marriage place: Boston, Massachusetts _APID: 1,2495::45780226

   http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=sse&db=matownvital&h=45780226&ti=0&indiv=try&gss=pt

7. ↑ Massachusetts, United States. Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620–1988: [database on-line]. (Provo, Utah, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011).

   Marriage date: 10 Aug 1827 Marriage place: Boston, Massachusetts _APID: 1,2495::8395052

   http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=sse&db=matownvital&h=8395052&ti=0&indiv=try&gss=pt

8. ↑ Massachusetts, United States. Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620–1988: [database on-line]. (Provo, Utah, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011).

   Marriage date: 10 Aug 1827 Marriage place: Boston, Massachusetts _APID: 1,2495::46372168

   http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=sse&db=matownvital&h=46372168&ti=0&indiv=try&gss=pt

9. ↑ Massachusetts, United States. Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620–1988: [database on-line]. (Provo, Utah, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011).

   _APID: 1,2495::8327561

10. ↑ Massachusetts, United States. Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620–1988: [database on-line]. (Provo, Utah, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011).

    _APID: 1,2495::9358448