He also was a genealogist. Today, millions of Americans follow in Franklin's genealogical footsteps, in pursuit of their family history. Genealogy usually is listed as the nation's second most popular hobby. For others, such as the Mormons, it is inextricably interwoven with religion. Still others pursue genealogy strictly out of a sense of mystery, for the thrill of discovery, much as a gardener finds joy in making things grow.
Genealogy is much more than names and dates, births, marriages, deaths and burials.
It also is history. Like all history, it's replete with triumphs and sorrows, with drama and humor, with wisdom and foolishness. It's the story of an uncle who lost his balance and threw a can of white paint over his shoulder, saturating bedding and shoes the day before a barracks inspection. Genealogy is the hungry little girl sent to the grocery store for bread, who ate the center out of the loaf and told her mother it came that way. Genealogy is the farm boy hopping home on one foot from a distant hay field, with a pitch fork jammed through his other foot.