Oral history interview with John R. Laidlaw

Collection

Identifier: SR 9462

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

This oral history interview with John R. Laidlaw was conducted by Joseph A. Schiwek on November 11, 1972. In this interview, Laidlaw discusses the background of his paternal family, the Laidlaws, in Scotland. He talks about an aunt who served as a nurse for Queen Victoria I, and about his family’s connection to the Church of Scotland. He speaks at length about the life of his father, James Laidlaw, including his involvement with the Lancashire Rifle Volunteers, his immigration to Portland, Oregon, and his career as a British consul.

Dates

1972 November 11

Creator

Laidlaw, John R., 1898- (Interviewee, Person)

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Joint copyright for this interview is held by the estates of John R. Laidlaw and Joseph A. Schiwek. Use is allowed according to the following statement: In Copyright – Non-Commercial Use Permitted, http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC-NC/1.0/

Biographical note

John Raleigh Laidlaw was born in Portland, Oregon, in 1898. Because his father served as a British consul, Laidlaw had dual U.S. and U.K. citizenship. During World War I, he served as a pastor in Astoria. He became a Roman Catholic priest around 1927. He retired in 1973, and died in 1983.

Sources: Information provided by Laidlaw in his oral history interview, as well as two other oral histories, SR 9461 and SR 69, at the Oregon Historical Society Research Library; vital records on Ancestry.com.

Extent

0.1 Cubic Feet (1 audiotape reel (28 min., 1 sec.))

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

Oral history interview with John R. Laidlaw conducted by Joseph A. Schiwek on November 11, 1972. Laidlaw discusses the background of his paternal family, the Laidlaws, in Scotland.

Existence and Location of Copies

Audio available online in OHS Digital Collections.

Related Materials

The Oregon Historical Society Research Library also holds two additional interviews with John R. Laidlaw, SR 9461 and SR 69, as well as materials of his father, James Laidlaw, including James Laidlaw's papers, Mss 21; a scrapbook, Mss 2396; and his consular papers, Coll 913.