Barbara,
I just recently began the research of our Taft ancestry. My husband is also a descendant of Robert Taft, the immigrant. His line continues with
Robert, Jr.,
Gideon,
Asa
daughter Elisabeth, who married Laban Gates,
their daughter Eliza, who married Charles Nash of Gilsum,N.H.
and down through the Nash line to my husband and son.
What I have so far been able to glean from various publications is that Robert and Sarah came from England. There is a book by Lewis Alexander Leonard, publ. in 1920 - THE LIFE OF ALPHONSO TAFT OF CINCINATI. Alphonso Taft became a judge and in time was appointed Attorney General of the United States. The biography about him is fascinating in itself, even if you are not a descendant (neither are we). What peaked my interest was the appendix, which contains a wealth of genealogical information about the Taft ancestry. Leonard writes that there were 3 brothers who originated in Scotland. One brother settled in Ireland, one in England (our Robert Taft), and one brother went abroad and settled in Bohemia. Some of those descendents even went as far as Persia. So, if the info is correct, it appears that Robert, the immigrant, came from England, not Ireland. You can read the book online at
www.archive.org/stream/lifealphonso.
Familysearch.org has the Taft pedigree on line, and that also shows Robert originating in England.
Eva Nash