Charlie, my gr/gr/grandparents homesteaded 120 acres and 60 acres on Fort Chaffee in the 1860, 1870, 1880's. My g/g/grandfather served as a volunteer in the Civil War for the 17th & 21st regiment, Arkansas Volunteers, and never returned from Vicksburg & Corinth. He was missing and presumed dead, leaving the acreage for my gr/grgrandmother, Sarah Taylor and her children to homestead after he was missing in 1863. I can't imagine how hard of life it must have been for these pioneers in that time. So many of the men never returned from the Civil War, leaving crops for the wives and children to bring in. As you know, Fort Chaffee is now in dispute with Fort Smith, and Barling on how this should be annexed since the government is turning part of it back. There are several large cemeteries on this piece of land that existed before the government started Camp Chaffee in the II World War. I am surveying one of these: White/Shelby which is about 1 1/2 miles inside the Gate 19. It is a very old cemetery with dates into the 1870's..All the cemeteries on the property are well cared for that I have looked at, and some people do not realize they exist. It is a "gold mine" for those of us, genealogist, who can't find where our ancestors are buried. There is also couple of Catholic cemeteries as well. Just thought this might help some of the Sebastian County line that are looking for "loved ones". The partial survey that I have completed is on Rootsweb, tombstone projects, under Sebastian County. Keep up the good work, Charlie. Carolyn (Parsons) Smedley angelears@alltel.net "Angelears are EARS that listen....and then hears the person's soul...." ====================== Surnames: CLARK, DEHART, ESLINGER, HERYFORD MINCHER, PARSONS, SMEDLEY, TAYLOR, GOODNIGHT, RICKARD, FRANCISCO. ============================================= Volunteer for Rootsweb, Sebastian Obituaries, Obituary Daily Times. ================================================== http://www.geocities.com/angelears1/ ================================================== =============================================