I've hit a brick wall in researching my ggg-grandfather, Andrew P. Patterson. The first time I'm able to locate any information on him is when he received a 17 Jun 1825 land patent for 149.86 acres in Lillard County, Missouri (Lillard became Lafayette County on 16 Feb 1825). On 15 Dec 1826, he was nominated for and appointed the first Justice of Peace for Kaw Township, Jackson County, Missouri. He presided over two presidential elections during his tenure. 2 Apr 1829, he was granted a second land patent for 160.49 acres in Jackson County. He was married to Rachel (unknown last name, date & place of birth, date & place of marriage, date & place of death). They had 8 children: David, Thomas, Rebecca (married Samuel Sweet, 13 Sep 1832, in Jackson Co., MO), Betsey, Robert, Risin, Margaret, (b: abt 1806, married Silas Hitchcock, 15 Feb 1827 in Jackson Co., MO), and Andrew (b: abt 1803; d: abt 1841, married Elizabeth Hitchcock, daughter of Isaac Hitchcock Sr. They had 7 children: Andrew, Mary (b: abt 1828, d: 5 Apr 1851, Williams Landing, Santa Cruz Co., CA, married: James Williams), Isaac Sr., (b: 16 Jul 1831, Jackson Co., MO, d: 18 Sep 1906 in Gilroy, Santa Clara Co., CA, married: Samantha Ellen Barnes, 28 Jun 1854), Lydia Alice (b: 2 Oct 1832, d: 15 Dec 1884 in CA, married Isaac Williams, Jr 1 Jan 1850 in Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz Co., CA), Margaret, (b: abt 1833, married James Frazier), John Jefferson, (b: 13 Nov 1836, d: 22 Dec 1842, killed by a falling tree), and Helen Melinda, (b: 1838, d: 1913, married John F. McClure, 18 Jan 1855 in San Juaquin Valley, CA). Elizabeth Hitchcock Patterson, her 5 children (Mary, Isaac, Lydia, Margaret, and Helen) and her father, Isaac Hitchcock Sr. were members of the Stephens-Townsend-Murphy wagon train of 1844. They were the first pioneer wagons over the Sierra Nevada mountain range at what is now known as Donner Summit more than a year before the ill-fated Donner party perished. They left Council Bluffs, Iowa on 22 May 1844 and crossed the summit of the Sierra Nevada on 25 November 1844. If anyone has any information on any of this Patterson family, please contact me. H E L P !!!!!!!!! This brick wall seems to be getting thicker or maybe the family was dropped of by a passing UFO <VBG>. George Patterson Sacramento, CA Researching: Patterson, Green, Hitchcock, Williams, McClure, Powell, Cole, Bell, and others.