----- Original Message ----- From: Bev Cooke To: Shawnnee Ramey Sent: Saturday, August 05, 2000 8:49 PM Subject: Hancock County Historical Society Please pass along to the Hancock County website family: I have just returned from a genealogical research visit to Hancock County. The three days my husband and I spent in the Carthage/Macomb/St Mary/Plymouth area were very productive and enjoyable. This was due to the very gracious and ever willing volunteers who work at the Hancock County Historical Society, the county courthouse and the regional archives at Western Illinois University. Everyone went out of his/her way to pull files, offer suggestions, provide phone numbers, help provide identifications of some old pictures of ancestral home sites, and even provide plat maps which led to these sites. The custodian at Moss Ridge Cemetery even took the time to personally lead us to a number of grave sites of our great-great grandparents and other family members. The Museum connected to the Historical Society is one of the best of its type and size and we were really delighted to find such a well organized and comprehensive collection of artifacts related to the county and its history. Hancock County should be proud of its history and of it! s staff. There are many larger societies who could learn from their example!