James Laird was a Nebraska

Nebraska

Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....

 Republican politician.

Laird was born in Fowlerville, New York

York, New York

York is a town in western Livingston County, New York, United States. The population was 3,219 at the 2000 census.The Abbey of the Genesee in the town's hamlet of Piffard is locally famous due to the production of Monk's Bread.- History :...

 and moved with his parents to Hillsdale County, Michigan

Hillsdale County, Michigan

-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 46,527 people, 17,335 households, and 12,550 families residing in the county. The population density was 78 people per square mile . There were 20,189 housing units at an average density of 34 per square mile...

. He attended Adrian College

Adrian College

Adrian College is a private, co-educational liberal arts college related to the United Methodist Church in the city of Adrian, Michigan.-Campus:The school is approximately a 45-minute drive from Ann Arbor and Toledo, Ohio, and 90 minutes from Detroit...

 and served in the Sixteenth Regiment of the Michigan Volunteer Infantry in the Army of the Potomac

Army of the Potomac

The Army of the Potomac was the major Union Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War.-History:The Army of the Potomac was created in 1861, but was then only the size of a corps . Its nucleus was called the Army of Northeastern Virginia, under Brig. Gen...

 during the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

 from 1862 to 1865. He graduated from the law department of the University of Michigan

University of Michigan

The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...

 at Ann Arbor

Ann Arbor, Michigan

Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County. The 2010 census places the population at 113,934, making it the sixth largest city in Michigan. The Ann Arbor Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 344,791 as of 2010...

 and was admitted to the bar.

He set up practice in Hastings, Nebraska

Hastings, Nebraska

Hastings is a city in and the county seat of Adams County, Nebraska, United States. It is the principal city of the Hastings, Nebraska Micropolitan Statistical Area, which consists of Adams and Clay counties. The population was 24,907 at the 2010 census...

 in 1872 and was a member of the Nebraska constitutional convention of 1875. He was elected as a Republican

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 to fill the newly created 2nd district seat to the U.S. House of Representatives to the Forty-eighth United States Congress.

He was re-elected three times serving from March 4, 1883, until his death on August 17, 1889 in Hastings, aged 40. Laird is buried in Hastings' Parkview Cemetery.