The Hairston family is from the Dumfries area of Scotland. Documents found in Scotland spell the name in many ways - Hairstanes, Hairstains, Hairstones, Harestons, Herstaines, Hairstens, Harston, Hairsteins, Hairstons, etc.
Peter Hairston signed a land lease with Sir Robert Adair in Antrim, Ireland in 1726 and around 1728 came to America with his family. He is known as "Peter the Immigrant". (Ireland research trip) (Scotland research trip)
"Peter the Immigrant" is living in Pennsylvania about 1729 and lived there until about 1739, when Peter and family moved to Virginia.
“Peter the Immigrant” did not fight in the 1746 Battle of Culloden as several books have stated. He and his sons were in Virginia when the 1746 battle took place.
There are no known records that “Peter the Immigrant” had a son named Peter. There are no known wills, land records, court records, militia records, etc. relating to a son named Peter Hairston, Jr.. Court records mention the brothers Andrew, Samuel, Robert and their father Peter, but no Peter Jr. Jury lists mention brothers Robert, Samuel and Andrew, but no Peter or Peter Jr..
I have not found any old records indicating the name of the father of the South Carolina Hairstons. The original South Carolina Hairstons were named William, Thomas, John, and Peter. They start showing up in South Carolina records in the mid-1760s, which is shortly after "Peter the Immigrant" sells his Virginia property. There are court documents stating that John and Peter were brothers. It appears that William and Thomas were also brothers of John and Peter. The idea that a "Peter Jr." was the father of the South Carolina Hairston's was proposed by Carl Greenway in a 1966 letter. Even in this letter, Carl Greenway states that his addition of a son named "Peter Jr." is based on "circumstantial evidence". A Peter Jr. is also mentioned by Elizabeth Seawell Hairston in her book "The Hairstons and the Penns" in 1940, however this Peter was Andrew Hairston's son who died unmarried and left a will about 1780 in Virginia. The descendants of the South Carolina Hairstons that I have talked with, believe their ancestors may have immigrated directly from Scotland or Ireland and are related, but not descended from the Virginia branch. DNA testing indicates the Virginia and South Carolina branches are related. There is another possibility, some family stories say that the wife of "Peter the Immigrant" died at sea on the way to America, but when Peter sold his property in 1762, he listed his wife Agnes. If his first wife died at sea he would have been about 33 and could have remarried.
New research indicates that "Peter the Immigrant" had a daughter named Eleanor. Samuel Hairston, son of "Peter the Immigrant", mentions niece Jane Phillips and nephew Samuel Phillips in his 1782 will. Jane and Samuel Phillips moved to Georgia about 1777. In 1754, a Richard Phillips lived close to Samuel and Robert Hairston and worked with Samuel Hairston to clear a road. In 1758, Richard Phillips is in the Militia with Samuel, Andrew and Robert Hairston and in 1768, Richard Phillips and the Hairston brothers witness the same deed. Richard Phillips sells his Virginia properties in the late 1780s and then appears in Georgia. In 1789, Richard Phillips and Samuel Phillips obtain land grants #572 and #573 on the same day in Franklin County, Georgia. In 1790, Richard Phillips bought land and Samuel Phillips was the witness. It appears that Richard and Eleanor Phillips are likely the parents of Jane and Samuel Phillips.
Was there another daughter named Jane "Jenny"? Andrew Hairston named a daughter Jane "Jenny" and his brother Robert named a daughter Jane "Jennett". Also, the above mentioned Eleanor Phillips named a daughter Jane "Jennett". It is a likley that "Peter the Immigrant" may have had a daughter named Jane.