We are looking for a James Brown, father of W. A. [William Alexander Brown ] later living in Wisconsin and Nebraska], who perished during the Civil War. W. A. stated that he lost his father and brother in the war. Our James Brown and wife Mary Eliza Chambers claimed to have come from South Carolina. We do not know the names of any of their children other than William Alexander. In checking Illinois archives Civil War soldiers for Randolph and Perry Counties for James Brown, shows only one gent who is old enough to have a 20 year old son; this being James Brown, a married farmer age 43 [so born about 1819], residing at Steels Mills, Randolph County, when enlisting July 28, 1862. He was the wagoner for Company A 80th Illinois Infantry. He died of disease Feb. 2, 1863 at Murfreesboro, TN. W. A. Brown stated in his pension application that he was born March 30, 1841, in Perry County, Illinois. Further, he enclosed an affidavit from Lindsay Steele [A bit of sleuthing shows Lindsay Steele was the son of Archibald and Elizabeth Steele of Steeles Mills], in which Mr. Steele writes: "I was well acquainted with said solider [W. A. Brown] both before, during, and after the war. Lived a few miles of each other in Randolph county..." There was also an affidavit from John Wilson, dated 1880, in which he states " That I am personally acquainted with the above named Wm. Alexander Brown and that my acquaintance extends back to his boyhood some years before he enter the U. S. service. Perhaps there is information in the Randolph County book about Illinois Veterans that might help unravel this mystery. Additional information about these Browns http://www.geocities.com/drnancytodd/wabrown/wabrown.html Many thanks for any help. Nancy T. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com