Good Afternoon, "The first memorial service in Illinois, and perhaps the first in the country, to honor those who had died in the Civil War, took place at Woodlawn Cemetery [Carbondale, Jackson Co, IL] on April 29, 1866. Woodlawn was Carbondale's only cemetery at that time. There are records of over twenty Civil War dead being buried in Woodlawn Cemetery during the war years, and there were probably more, for some of whom the records did not survive. Besides the men from Carbondale who were returned home for burial, many other servicemen, men who had been sent to Carbondale for treatment when the hospitals further south were overcrowded and who died at Carbondale, were also buried in Woodlawn. Counting those who had Civil War service and who died in later years there are over sixty men who served in that war buried in this cemetery." ~ "A History of Early Carbondale, Illinois, 1852-1905," by John W. D. Wright. John W. D. Wright, was my 1st cousin, 3 times removed, and a good and wonderful friend. An avid genealogist who produced many publications for the Jackson County Historical Society. The entire chapter of the above description of the first Memorial Service held in Illinois can be read at the following URL: http://www.rootsweb.com/~illinois/MemorialDayCarbondale.html. Best wishes, Karima List Administrator of: Illinois Roots Discussion List (ILROOTS-L) http://userweb.springnet1.com/quest/Illinoismailinglist.htm Southern Illinois Discussion List (SOIL-L) http://userweb.springnet1.com/quest/SOIL.htm J a c k s o n County, Illinois Discussion List (ILJACKSO-L) http://userweb.springnet1.com/quest/JacksonCoWelcome.htm