A few months back I wrote about a journey to Camas Valley, Ore., a place my great-great-grandfather Lorenzo Wolcott bolted to back in the 1880s, leaving his teenage son Jesse Wolcott in charge of the family ranch in Flournoy. We never knew much about Lorenzo, or why he left, or whatever became of him; long story short (and you can read the whole version here if you’d like), I did some internet research, got a vague idea of where he’d lived up there and — voila! — actually found his old home.

Then, in a most fortuitous twist, the present-day owners told us they had a huge box of letters, and photos, and legal papers they found in the old Wolcott home upon acquiring it in the 1990s. There never knew what to do with the stuff, so they held onto it for 30 years, I guess just in case some other Wolcott came prowling around with questions about his ancestors someday.

So, that box — and its treasure trove of history from a now-died-off branch of the family we hadn’t had much contact with in the past 100 years — is all mine.

I’ve barely scratched the surface, but I’ve found stories of Wolcott family history dating back to England, and hundreds of letters; the last Wolcott to live in Camas Valley, Glenn Wolcott, was a proficient letter writer, and I don’t think he threw away a single letter or Christmas card before dying at age 79 in 1997.

By all accounts, Glenn — him being a relative, I suppose I can speak bluntly here — wasn’t exactly known for being…