In a message dated 10/6/00 2:25:08 PM Central Daylight Time, w4mlk@worldnet.att.net writes: > His locations were written for people familiar with the area John, The following site is from the Illinois Public Land Sale site it may give you some idea of locations as it does show the range areas. http://www.sos.state.il.us/depts/archives/pubdom.pdf "The rectangular coordinate system of surveys divides Illinois into 36-square mile townships that are located in ranges west of the 2nd Principal Meridian or east or west of the 3rd or the 4th Principal Meridian. Townships are further located as north or south of base lines that serve as reference points for each meridian." Hope this helps. PS you might also try checking the public land sales database to see if your ancestor bought any public lands. Sam Brown Benbrook, TX