Kelly, The Southern Illinois Prison, later Illinois State Penitentiary at Menard, has been around for ages. It is along the Illinois banks of the Mississippi River about 50-60 miles south of St. Louis. It is now called Illinois Correctional Institution at Chester, Il. The city limits of Chester were expanded to include the prison at Menard. By including the residents of the prison in Chester's population count, Chester was eligible for more state and federal funding. My father was Master Mechanic and Chief Engineer there from 1933 to 1941. I lived in a house on the prison property. You might address a letter with your query to: Warden, Illinois Correctional Institution Chester, IL 62233 I suggest you enclose a SASE. If they cannot help you, they may be able to direct you to the proper place. Frank [email protected] wrote: > > Greetings List :o) > I just recently obtained the Civil War Pension File for my GG-Granduncle, > Daniel Lynch and in there, were statements that he was a guard at the > "Southern Illinois Prison (Penitentiary)" for a time, after the Civil War was > over. I have done a 'Google' search, but have come up empty handed on what > prison this may be and where it was located. By chance does anyone out there > have any ideas and/or know if it is possible to obtain records of employment > from such a facility? Thanks > Kelly > > ==== ILMADISO Mailing List ==== > Cyndi's List of Genealogy Links-Lots of helpful links for your research. > http://www.cyndislist.com/