Hi MaryJane, The following is an extract from my partial history of my BRIDGNELL family. William BRIDGNELL - 1800 - 1859(my 2nd great-great uncle), served in Sri Lanka between 1824 - 1849. "On 21 March 1827 in Colombo Ceylon{Sri Lanka}, William, a bachelor, married Eliza Meerman, a spinster, the daughter of a local Magistrate of Dutch or Burgher origins {N. Meerman}. They were married by Licence by the Rev A Armour. They had four daughters, all but the firstborn dying in infancy: Eliza Mary, born Kornegalle, Colombo Ceylon, 16 March 1828; Julia, born Matura, Ceylon, 27 May 1831, died 5 December 1845; Anne Amelia, born Ceylon, c. 1834, died abt 1836; Augusta, born Ceylon, c. 1836, died abt 1836. All were buried in the Wesleyan Chapel in the Fort, Galle, Ceylon. Her father was Magistrate of Pullam{?}, her mother a respectable Dutch Lady whose parents came from Holland, & her uncle from whose house , & from under whose care I married her, is {Captain Gaulterus Schneider,RE} the Surveyer General of the Whole Island". My main interests however is in his wife's side of the family - the MEERMANs (WEERMAN?), and any links with the SCHNEIDERs. So would appreciate any information regarding N MEERMAN, who he married and the SCHNEIDER connection. So if you have any details of any MEERMAN marriages, births or deaths. It would be a plus if N. Meerman had married either a Schneider or a STAATS. Finally I would like to thank the MENDIS family (Sunil, Shavindri & Vesta) without whom my research into the Sri Lanka period would still be largely unknown - I have, unfortunately lost contact with them, my PC crashed and I lost the details. In hopeful anticipation. Best regards, David K Bridgnell from overcast and rainy north Cornwall ---------------------------------------- I am using the free version of SPAMfighter for private users. It has removed 37 spam emails to date. Paying users do not have this message in their emails. Get the free SPAMfighter here: http://www.spamfighter.com/len