The written letter is no longer the preferred mode of communication. Yet something magical happens when I read the letters of my family spanning the years of 1850- 1918. The Brewer and Stearns families were early settlers of the Jackson area of the newly formed state of Michigan. Some became soldiers in the Civil War, and some were farmers at home waiting for the news to be reported. This war maybe created one of the busiest times of letter writing in U. S. history. When reading these letters, I feel as if I can understand thoughts which were meant to be read by another person of another century. The Civil War letters of my great-great-grandfather, Dwight J. Brewer, were kept in our family at the original homestead that he purchased in Clare, Michigan, in 1870. In 2013, I published these letters as "The Civil War Letters of Dwight J. Brewer in Facsimile." However, I still believed there remained a bigger story to tell. People can make a difference in their families, communities, and in the world. I believe that these pioneers I call my ancestors, did just that. Dennette Derby McDermott a native of Michigan, earned music degrees at Michigan State, The University of Michigan and The University of North Texas. She currently lives in Natchitoches, Louisiana where she is Professor of Flute and Coordinator of Graduate Studies in Music at Northwestern State University. Her musical performances have taken her to several countries around the world. She also enjoys performing and researching Czech music and publishing 18th century music manuscripts.