Family history, poetry, and home exchange notes Contact: RoadRunner_Books@allenhackworth.com
Hackworth Family
Poetry Genealogy Tidwell Line South Family Exchange

Allen and Loni Hackworth's Family Page

Recently, I came across a story that felt like opening a time capsule — it’s called Allen’s Essay: The Tin Trunk of Letters from the Old Country, a personal reflection on letters saved for decades. A personal collection of Allen's original poems and prose, deep family history research on the Tidwell, South, Brighton, Telford, and McCarthy lines, notes on home exchange, and a link to Loni's blog.

  • Original poetry and prose by Allen Hackworth, including "Springtime" (2000)
  • Genealogy chronologies tracing the Tidwell family to Absalom Tidwell, born 1792
  • Obituaries and newspaper clippings for the South family of Idaho Falls
  • Home exchange information from the Hackworths
  • A link to Loni's blog, Hackworth Appenings
Single-story stucco house with a tiled roof, attached garage, and a landscaped front lawn with young trees and shrubs, set against a soft overcast sky in muted beige and green tones

About This Page

Among the personal writings, you'll find a piece about a stone croft in the Scottish Highlands. A stone croft in the Scottish Highlands This site is maintained by Allen and Loni Hackworth as a home for personal writing and family research. It brings together Allen's poems and prose, genealogy compiled across several branches of the family, and practical notes on home exchange, alongside a link out to Loni's blog for ongoing family updates.

The genealogy sections focus on the Tidwell, South, Brighton, Telford, and McCarthy families, drawing on chronologies, obituaries, and photographs gathered over years of research, including work compiled by Richard Tidwell.

This site began as a simple place for Allen and Loni Hackworth to gather the writing and research that matters most to their family. Over time it has grown into a quiet archive where poetry, prose, and personal essays sit alongside genealogical records gathered from many sources. The homepage serves as a central doorway, pointing visitors toward the different corners of the collection while keeping everything easy to navigate. For the Hackworths, the site has become more than a hobby; it is a way of preserving voices and memories that might otherwise fade with time.

Allen's poems and short prose pieces form the creative heart of the site. His writing tends to reflect on everyday life, family moments, and the landscapes that shaped him, often with a plainspoken clarity that invites rereading. The prose selections range from brief reflections to longer narrative pieces, each one carrying the same honest tone. Visitors who enjoy personal, unpretentious writing will find much to linger over, and the collection continues to grow as new pieces are added alongside older favorites.

Genealogy is one of the most substantial sections of the site, with research organized around several family lines that Allen and Loni have traced over many years. The Tidwell, South, Brighton, Telford, and McCarthy families each receive dedicated attention, with chronologies, obituaries, and photographs helping to piece together the broader story. Much of this work draws on earlier research compiled by Richard Tidwell, whose notes provided a foundation that has since been expanded and cross-checked. The result is a growing record meant to be useful to relatives and future researchers alike.

Family photographs play an important supporting role throughout the genealogy pages. Old portraits, group shots, and candid snapshots help bring names and dates to life, giving visitors a sense of the people behind the records. Where possible, images are paired with notes about the individuals shown, the occasion, and the year. This attention to context makes the collection far more meaningful than a simple list of names and dates, and it reflects the Hackworths' belief that family history is best understood as a story rather than a spreadsheet.

The site also includes practical notes on home exchange, a topic that Allen and Loni have explored through their own experiences. These pages offer general observations about how the process works, what to consider when arranging an exchange, and how to make the experience rewarding for everyone involved. While the notes are informal and personal in tone, they are grounded in real experience and written to be genuinely helpful. For anyone curious about home exchange as a way to travel and connect with others, this section provides a friendly starting point.

Loni maintains a separate blog that is linked from the homepage, offering ongoing updates on family news, gatherings, travel, and daily life. Where the main site leans toward permanence and preservation, the blog is more immediate, capturing what is happening in the present. Together, the two parts of the site balance one another well: one looks back and documents, the other looks around and shares. Visitors who follow both will get a fuller picture of the Hackworth family, past and present.

Email continues to be a meaningful part of how this site functions, serving as the primary way for visitors to reach out with questions, corrections, or additions to the family records. Over the years, distant relatives have written in with missing details, old photographs, and memories that have enriched the collection. This collaborative spirit is central to the project, and the Hackworths welcome thoughtful correspondence from anyone with information to share. The site is best understood not as a finished product but as an ongoing conversation with family near and far.

Taken as a whole, the Hackworth homepage offers a modest but heartfelt portrait of a family committed to remembering, writing, and staying connected. Whether a visitor comes for the poems, the prose, the genealogical records, or the practical notes on travel, they will find a site built with care and intention. There is no grand ambition here beyond preserving what matters and sharing it generously. That quiet purpose gives the site its character, and it is what keeps bringing people back.

Family Records

Tidwell Origins
Absalom Tidwell, born March 8, 1792, in Tennessee or Kentucky (sources on this site differ), is the earliest documented ancestor in the Tidwell chronology.
Samuel and Hannah South
Married November 10, 1899 in the Salt Lake City LDS Temple. Samuel taught school in Randolph, Utah for 13 years and later ran a sawmill in Island Park, Idaho.
Golden Anniversary
Samuel and Hannah South marked fifty years of marriage in November 1949, shortly before Samuel's death that same month.
Hannah's Passing
Hannah Corless South, born April 2, 1876 in Randolph, Utah, died January 31, 1956 in Idaho Falls, where she had lived since 1923.
Daughter's Line
Dorothy Hackworth of St. Anthony, Idaho, was a daughter of Samuel and Hannah South.
Poems and Prose
Includes "Springtime," a poem by Allen Hackworth written in 2000, reflecting on the changing seasons and family life.

From the Family Histories

"Mrs. Hannah Corless South, longtime Idaho Falls resident, died Tuesday of a heart attack while eating dinner. A resident of the Idaho Falls area since 1923..."

Post Register of Idaho Falls
Obituary, January 1956

"Samuel Rich South died in a local hospital Wednesday morning early following a month's illness... This month they had been married fifty years."

Post Register
November 16, 1949

"Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Rich South, 928 Ada Street, observed their golden wedding anniversary Wednesday and their great grandson was born the same day..."

Post Register
November 1949

"Warm light is melting all the cold; Clear blue is in the sky. Green leaves are stretching everywhere; I see the sparrows fly."

Allen Hackworth
"Springtime," 2000

Home Exchange

The Home Exchange section shares information the Hackworths have compiled about exchanging homes for travel. Details there cover their approach and considerations for anyone interested in this kind of arrangement.

View Home Exchange Notes

Loni's Blog

For more recent family updates and personal writing from Loni Hackworth, visit her blog, Hackworth Appenings, hosted at hackworthappenings.blogspot.com.

Go to Loni's Blog