Dick Hudson, I very much enjoyed your recent email about forebearers involvement in the underground railroad and your gggrandfather's involvement with Elijah Lovejoy. I was born in Alton IL . You might be interested in the Alton Webpage at www.altonweb.com I am pleased to see that Alton is now more involved in the restoration of it's historical sites and homes as well as it's rich history. You will find some interesting articles on their webpage about Elijah Lovejoy and Alton's involvement in the Civil War as well as a recent article about the preservation of local underground railroad sites. A few years ago they had a reinactment of the Lincoln-Douglas Debate which occurred in Alton and it was aired on Public Television along with other reinactments of those debates which occurred throughout Illionois. They used local actors in each area's debate and it was most interesting. I highly recommend the Alton Webpage. There was a time when Alton did not value it's rich history and I am proud to see it change. There is also an article on their webpage about the Alton Prison where confederate soldiers were confined. I can recall as a youngster seeing that stack of old blocks at the edge of a parking lot in downtown Alton which had a small sign indicating it was the remains of the prison, but no real value on it's historical significance at the time. It was just a pile of old blocks. There is also a monument in the North Alton area which I stumbled across as a kid riding my bicycle down a side street one day. Inscribed in it's sides are the names of the confederate soldiers who died at the prison. Again, it was of little value and I doubt if most people even knew it was there. Now it is clearly marked. Again, I recommend the interesting webpage for Alton with many wonderful articles about it's history in the Civil War at www.Altonweb.com It also happens to be the home of Robert Wadlow, the tallest man, and there is an article about him as well. As a teenager, I once sat in a recliner chair that had been specially built for him. My feet didn't even reach the end of the seat. P.S. I'm a McGregor on my mother's side, but having great difficulty tracing that line back. Judy Clark-Wick JWick@compuserve.com