How a celebration of life became a bridge across generations
The family archive now contains over 1,700 indexed documents spanning 1833 to 2022:
78 items have been flagged as “notable correspondence” — letters that reveal character, mark turning points, or capture moments of extraordinary family connection.
This project has two purposes:
Steward — Preserve, organize, and protect the family archive so that nothing is lost. Every letter, every photograph, every document is being cataloged, digitized, and made accessible.
Tell — Share the stories. The archive proves that staying connected is possible. The website is designed to make the family’s history not just stored but alive — something you can explore, contribute to, and pass forward.
The previous generation wrote letters. This generation has a website, a comment section, and an open invitation to add their own stories to the record.
This site — hickmansofbackcreek.org — was built in February 2026 as a single-page family tree and archive explorer. It includes:
The site is maintained by Peter Lightner Hickman II, with help from family members and the growing archive. It is a living project — always being updated, always open to contributions.
If you have family papers, photos, corrections, or memories to share, please visit the Contribute section.