In 2021, I was gifted with an unexpected treasure trove of family memorabilia in the form of nine shoeboxes of hand-written letters penned by my great-grandmother between 1961-1975. When I added this gift to the letters I had discovered a few years earlier when my mother had passed away, I found that I had over 885 weekly family letters written by my great-grandmother.
This site is setup to record the stories, family history discoveries, and even a few personal memories that I am gleaming in the process of reading through her letters in chronological order. Occasionally, I may diverge a bit in my letter reading to also share some discoveries from my mother’s two primary paternal family branches, Green and Cook.
Unlike most Substack writers, I tend to share my findings in long-form chapters (rather than shorter posts designed for broader audience appeal). If you enjoy this type of deep family research, I welcome you to subscribe for free. As a principle, I do not accept paid subscribers. I research and write because I love to do it. But even so, I am especially appreciative of readers who are inspired enough to provide feedback or comment on any of my postings. So please, if you enjoy my chapters, let me know.
As for the letters, here’s a bit more background. My maternal great-grandmother was May Emma Northcutt Hinkson (1880-1975). She grew up in Knox City, MO and spent most of her adult life living in the neighboring farming community of LaBelle, MO. You can find the four family branches that this site explores on the Family Names page…
… and read about the start of this journey at: A Treasure Trove
