I should have sent this message a few months ago, but if you are a descendant of Martin and Mary Wood(s) Pruitt who moved from Tennessee to Illinois, settling in 1806 at Sand Ridge Prairie (now East Alton), please make note of this message and pass the word on to others in the family. Sometime during 2010, one of the DAR chapters in Madison Co IL (I think it's the Ninian Edwards Chapter) will be coordinating a special ceremony to place DAR plaques at their graves.  The chapter is doing this for all Revolutionary War patriots and their wives as part of their participation in the county's 200th anniversary in 2011 or 2012. It's my understanding that the ceremony at Martin's grave will be first.  He is buried in the Preuitt Family Cemetery on the south edge of Bethalto on Moreland Road.  This cemetery is on the Regional Airport grounds now and being maintained by the airport's grounds dept.  The Airport administration is working with the DAR chapter to coordinate access to the cemetery for the ceremony Afterwards the group will go to Vaughn Cemetery off IL 111 south of the Regional Airport for the ceremony to honor Mary Wood(s) Pruitt.  She was the first known burial in the cemetery. I do not know what the date will be, but it would be nice to see many of the descendants there.  As I learn more details I will post a message.  I'm pretty sure that something will also appear in The Telegraph. Martin and Mary's children were as follows - 1) Sarah married William Jones - may have remained in Virginia 2) Leodica married Ephraim Woods and then James Stockton  - some of her descendants are buried in the Vaughn Cemetery 3) Elizabeth married John Halfpenny - have no further info on her so she may have remained in Virginia or Tennessee 4) Isaac married Mary 'Polly' Stickly and then Anna Gilpin - some of his descendants moved from Greene Co IL in the Gillespie, Macoupin, IL area (Link family) while others moved to Christian Co MO, Hickory Co MO and Lincoln Co WA 5) Abraham married Esther - son WIlliam moved to the Dallas/Ft Worth TX area while his daughter Mary (Mrs WIlliam) Rowden remained in Greene Co IL but that part which is now Jersey Co; son Isaac moved to Montgomery Co IL; info about his other 8 children is not available 6) Jacob married unknown - changed spelling of surname to Pruett; moved his family to Madison Co MO before 1830 and many still reside as well in the surrounding counties 7) William married Sarah Roady - his descendants live in Greene Co and Macoupin Co; his 4 sons married Ambrose sisters 8) Margaret - died as a child 9) James married Mary and then Mary Costley - many descendants still in Jersey Co which include the surnames Ruyle and Johnson; some live in Greene Co but others are in Montgomery Co, Macoupin Co, Madison Co and Sangamon Co 10) Solomon married Rebecca Higgins and then her sister Elizabeth - changed spelling of surname to Preuitt although a few of his descendants have switched to the Pruitt spelling; some descendants live in Madison Co, Macoupin Co, and Jersey Co but others went to Oklahoma and Texas as well as other states such as Montana and California If you have any questions, please feel free to write me privately (dgirth@yahoo.com). Debbi Geer