I have been doing Illinois research for some time. Today I opened a small 3 inch by 2 inch (very old) shadow box picture frame. I hesitated to open this because it contains a lock of hair from a child that I believe was born after 1866 and died before 1870. There is also a poem.."My Boy", with a few small pieces of his clothing. I decided to open this on the hope that perhaps something was written on the back of the small paper that had the poem on it. To my amazement..there was something written in pencil on the inside of the frame itself. Some of it is not yet readable...I hope to magnify it enough to decipher it later. Part of it says.. Aged 18 ... (I am guessing the word "months" is what is next.) On the 8th of August Prairie Eden, Illinois Now my question. Where might I find this Prairie Eden, Illinois? The couple who had this child were: William S. Gilcrest and Mary Ann Ewin...married in Marshall County, IL..1866. This child is said to be their son, Walter, who died in an accident before the census of 1870. This couple and their infant son, Laurence, is enumerated on the 1870, Marshall County, Bennington twp. Other members of their family lived in LaSalle County at that time. A granddaughter of this Mother tells me that the Mother of this child kept this little frame with the lock of hair under her pillow and slept with it there the rest of her life after this infant's death. The poem is precious..it reads: My Boy.---- A lock of golden hair, Tied with silken thread; A tiny shoelet lying there; A snow-white curtained bed. A little broken toy; A book all soiled and torn; A jaunty velvet cap my boy Has often, often worn - Alas, are all that's left! (Such is the Father's will.) His joyous laughter sounds no more. His little heart is still. THANKS FOR ANY SUGGESTIONS OR HELP ANYONE CAN GIVE ME ABOUT PRAIRIE EDEN, IL. Linda Ziemann Iowa GenWeb County Coordinator, Plymouth, Sioux & Monona Counties http://www.iagenweb.org/ Iowa Old Press IAGenWeb Special Project Coordinator http://iowaoldpress.com/ "A Look Back at the Lives and Times of Our Ancestors"