Hi Chris, Write the national archives to get his pension records. Send a email to this address inquire@arch2.nara.gov and ask for a NATF form 80. (Get 2 or 3 ). Here is a URL that will walk you through it: http://www.oz.net/~cyndihow/pensions.htm#B Best regards Don http://members.tripod.com/Black_eagle_129/index.html http://black_eagle_129.tripod.com ----- Original Message ----- From: ChrisDix1@aol.com Sent: Wednesday, May 30, 2001 2:59 PM To: IL-CIVIL-WAR-L@rootsweb.com Subject: [IL-CIVIL-WAR] A Soldier's next of kin Hello everyone I have recently discovered that a soldier who served with the 4th Illinois Cavalry might well be the brother of my great-grandmother. I have obtained copies of various documents from the Illinois State Archives which show that this soldier's date and place of birth match those of my distant relative. I had hoped that one of these army documents would have named his next of kin at the time of his enlistment, but so far I have not been able to discover this information. I would have imagined that at a time of war it would be absolutely necessary for the army to know the name of a soldier's next of kin. Can anybody suggest where this information might be recorded? Many thanks for any help that anyone is able to give me. Chris Dixon Newcastle upon Tyne, UKGet more from the Web. FREE MSN Explorer download : http://explorer.msn.com