Hello folks, I'm a little late with the 'Brick Wall' theme...but, better late than never. We are really stuck with my 4G-gfather, William PATERSON, who was one of the first settlers to Tasmania in 1804. We know a lot about his Australian history and where he married his second wife. The issue is that we do not know where in the UK he was born (we do know he was born ca 1754). Travelling to Tasmania with him was an adult daughter, Janet PATERSON, who was born ca 1784 (mother unknown). Janet's birthyear predates the second marriage for William (1803, London). The early history of our William PATERSON has stumped generations of our family researchers, including myself, for many years. This is a situation where we have very little information to work with in order to determine William's origins. One of my research activities is to see whether potential candidates can be ruled out. My 3G-gfather (a Tasmanian-born son of William) married Mary COSSAR, who hailed from Duns. We have established Mary COSSAR's origins without question, yet Mary's appearance in Tasmania is a mystery unto itself (but, that's another story). One hypothesis that may explain the origins of William, and the mysterious appearance of Mary COSSAR in Tasmania, is that our William PATERSON knew the COSSAR family back in "the old country". Hence, to test the validity of such a theory I have the following query. From the Scottish OPR indexes I note the baptism of a Janet PATERSON to a William PATERSON and Elizabeth PURVES on 2 May 1784 at Eyemouth, BEW. While I cannot find the relevant notes, I recall that this same couple had another child (a son, possibly John??) baptized in 1774 at Ayton, BEW. Does anybody on this list have knowledge about the above PATERSONs from Eyemouth and Ayton?? If so, I would dearly like to learn of the details. If there is a known story and conclusion to the lives of the above individuals from Eyemouth/Ayton...then I can scratch them from my list of candidates. Any assistance/information dealing with those PATERSON baptisms would be immensely valuable for our family's research. TIA, and best regards to all. Steve Karner (sugarglider@cox-internet.com, Texas USA) In BEW I like BLACKADDER, CAMPBELL, COSSAR, ENNERWICK (& a few more) - it's in the blood!