“GEN 10” Hoke siblings - Hampton Westcott (1893-1960), Walter Westcott (1895-1947),

Joanna “Yolande” Gould (1897-1956), and Virginia “Nina” Westcott (1899-1973)

I did not set out to write my family’s story. Rather, the story found me.

Four overflowing boxes landed on my doorstep from a distant relative I’d not even heard of before mid-2020. The treasure trove came from Susie Hester Newcomb of Walnut Creek, California, widow of William Adrian Newcomb—a first cousin of my mother. The Westcott family lore included a detailed pedigree chart, genealogical books, newspaper articles, immigration records, Wills, letters and photographs preserved in archival sleeves, scrapbooks, art work, poetry, diaries, baby books, obituaries, and so much more about my maternal ancestral lineage dating as far back as America’s colonization—and before, to mid-13th century “Old England.”

The only thing I knew to do with the vast collection of ancestral records was to begin writing. And write I did!

Earlier in the same month I received the four overflowing boxes from Susie Newcomb, I completed a “retirement” project working with prominent Pensacola businessman H. Britt Landrum, Jr. as editor of his memoir. I had worked closely with Mr. Landrum—remotely—over the course of 17 months during the COVID-19 pandemic. On August 5, 2020, he released Working a Better Way: A 50 Year History of LandrumHR. The inopportune timing proved highly disappointing for Mr. Landrum and me as the world over insulated itself in shut-down mode. Yet I found the experience—my first as editor of a published work—exhilarating. I absorbed myself in Mr. Landrum’s “rags to riches” story and became enthralled to learn how this humble man with a social work background managed to build a 50-year-old business from the ground up with resounding success. Tangentially, I discovered a creative outlet in my newfound role as Mr. Landrum’s editor.

What on earth was I to do with the ancestral records that appeared at my doorstep? I reasoned that it would take an inordinate about of time to digitize the collection in benefit to living Westcott descendants in my lineage—something I was loathe to do. The only natural course that came to me was to begin writing. I followed the author’s path with but two aims—(1) write the story generationally beginning with my nine-times great “G9” grandfather Richard Westcott who arrived in America from England in the mid-1630s; and (2) weave American history into the thread as it played out in the lives of my ancestors and contemporaries.

I endeavored to write well, without judgment, and to guide readers with a natural, informational flow. To personalize the narrative, I opted to approach the subject in the active voice with a first-person point of view such that it would resonate with the Westcotts’ living progeny—my Broderick siblings and Gordon and Guy first cousins and their offspring. I wanted the story to be personal and educational—especially in benefit to the younger generations who on the whole know relatively little of our nation’s history. However, I hadn’t anticipated the sheer entertainment value I quickly uncovered in the Westcotts’ richly-textured fabric. As you will discover when reading Volumes I and II cover-to-cover without the temptation to jump ahead, I made fascinating discoveries as I peeled the layers one at a time across 14 generations and 400 years.

I uncovered deep insights about my remarkable ancestry but also about human nature, and history, and the circle of life. And yes, genetics. I am profoundly grateful for the opportunity, the experience, and the knowledge gained in the process of researching and writing our story. It is America’s story as much as it is my own.

Our story. America’s story. We’re still making history!