German laborers who built the system of drainage tiles and sloughs on the more than 30,000 acres in Logan County were given leases on the land. Scully wasn't poor -- lots of people think he was since he came from Ireland in 1850. He bought a lot of the land from the Government Land Office. I would guess a search of BLM or the state's land purchase database would turn up a good portion of the Scully purchases. The Scullys were educated in agriculture. In 1926 they embraced the Illinois System of Permanent Soil Fertility, ie, crop rotation. They promoted soil conservation, soil testing, grassed waterways, etc. In Logan County they also gave some land to the county for parks and trails. If anyone has seen the book Tom listed I'd be interested in hearing about it. Cheryl Rothwell LoganCty@mindspring.com http://www.rootsweb.com/~illogan/loindex.htm Central Illinois Regional Coordinator, ILGenWeb --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.268 / Virus Database: 140 - Release Date: 8/7/01