THE CORRESPONDENCE OF THW - A major development has just been accomplished as of this date - the completion of a supplementary website describing the correspondence of one of the original family members, Thomas H. Wickenden. The ideas was suggested by Cynthia Steinmann, who also sorted the letters by correspondent and date. These documents consist of typed and hand-written letters as well as carbon copies of letters and notes for replies. Thomas H. Wickenden II completed the task by scanning each of the 504 pages of correspondence, cropping and editing each image to maximize its readability, compressing each page to make efficient use of storage, uploading the sets of images into the website, and publishing the letters of each correspondent, in chronological order, by decade from the 1920's through the 1970's. The titles of each set of letters serve as an index of the contents of each decade of correspondence. Also, a home page, an About Us page, a timeline and a contact page were also developed as part of this website. The website can be accessed directly through its URL, but since it does not have it's own registered domain name, it has been attached to the Thomas Wickenden page of the main Wickenden Family website.
PLANS FOR THE FUTURE - A second supplementary website to publish picture albums, gallerias films and video, has been started for the Thomas H. Wickenden page and is currently under construction. This website will be developed sporadically, as new albums are added and visuals are developed for special occasions. However, since most visuals now are published through social media, it is anticipated that these might be included by linking them to the appropriate page of the Wickenden Family website. Another aspect of family history that requires development is the Wickenden family tree recently begun using Wikitree.com. The plan is to include all the information for each family that is included in the Memoir book. Finally, I have managed to locate place-names based on the Wick root in Central Germany (Wickendorf, Wickenburg), and in what was once the island of Thanet (Wychdene). If these places can be verified as being of historical origin, they will help to verify the conjecture regarding Wickenden History that the Hwicce were an ancient clan of the Angles, that they migrated to the North Sea coast along with the rest of the Angles, traveled from there to Britain, where they fought as mercenaries and were granted land on Thanet, prior to moving down the Thames to the west of London, where they formed the Kingdom of Hwicce.
RECRUITMENT OF COLLABORATORS - When Ruth Wickenden Abel and I last spoke, we agreed to continue our efforts to recruit descendants of the original family of Thomas Rogers and Ida Consaul Wickenden to participate in the development of this website. So if you read this newsletter, please contact us, and please be aware than we may be contacting you. Even if you have only a family picture or two to contribute, it would help us develop this website as a legacy for any and all future Wickendens and their relatives. Thank you!