He was born 19 November 1780, at
Blackhouse, Selkirkshire, where his father was a sheep-farmer. After receiving an elementary education at
Peebles he assisted his father for a time.
James Hogg, whose mother was his distant cousin, was employed at Blackhouse for ten years, and formed a lasting friendship with Laidlaw. In 1801, Hogg and Laidlaw helped Scott with materials for the
Border Minstrelsy. After two unsuccessful attempts at farming, in
Peeblesshire and
Midlothian, Laidlaw in 1817 became steward to Sir Walter Scott at
Abbotsford. In 1819, when Scott was recovering from an illness, Laidlaw and
Ballantyne wrote to his dictation most of
The Bride of Lammermoor, and subsequently
A Legend of Montrose, and nearly all
Ivanhoe. ''
St. Ronan's Well'' may have been due to Laidlaw's suggestion that Scott should devote a novel to "Melrose in July 1823", according to
John Gibson Lockhart. Scott suffered financial ruin; but after an interval, Laidlaw again became his amanuensis, retaining the post till Scott's death in 1832. Subsequently he was factor to
Sir Charles Lockhart-Ross, 8th Baronet, at
Balnagowan,
Ross. Retiring in poor health, he died in the house of his brother at
Contin, near
Dingwall, 18 May 1845. ==Works==