William Paterson

[Strathaven]

Does anyone out there have the family tree of William Paterson born County Down in the 18th century. He was taken to America as a child together with his siblings when the family emigrated to the then British colony. In manhood the said William was a lawyer and a member of the American Senate who assisted in the framing of the American Constitution.  William Paterson's services to the new American government were duly recognized by their naming the the town of Paterson, New Jersey in his honour. If anyone has the family tree of the said William Paterson I would be greatly indebted to them if they were able to provide me a copy.

[Pat Reid]

Strathaven:
Hope this is of some help. Paterson was born in Antrim and left with family for America when he was two. You might want to check shipping lists for that period to see if you can learn parent's names.

Here are some more sites to review.
From    http://www.army.mil/cmh-pg/books/RevWar/ss/paterson.htm

PERSONAL DATA
BIRTH: 24 December 1745, in County Antrim, Ireland
DEATH: 9 September 1806, in Albany, New York
INTERMENT: Vault at the manor house of son-in-law, Stephen Van Rensselear; later reinterred in Albany Rural Cemetery, Menands, New York


 
 William Paterson (Patterson) was born in County Antrim, Ireland, in 1745. When he was almost 2 years of age, his family emigrated to America, disembarking at New Castle, DE. While the father traveled about the country, apparently selling tinware, the family lived in New London, other places in Connecticut, and in Trenton, NJ. In 1750 he settled in Princeton, NJ. There, he became a merchant and manufacturer of tin goods. His prosperity enabled William to attend local private schools and the College of New Jersey (later Princeton). He took a B.A. in 1763 and an M.A. 3 years later.

http://odur.let.rug.nl/~usa/B/paterson/paterson.htm

For more info and a bibliography check: http://www.infoplease.com/biography/us/congress/paterson-william.html

For archival material and personal papers:
http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/guidedisplay.pl?index=P000102


Good luck,

Pat