The Family Tree By Terence L. Day Terence L. Day, genealogist and journalist, is on the Washington State University faculty. During Benjamin Franklin's two trips to England, he found time to search parish registers for his ancestors and to visit many of their graves. Printer, writer, editor, publisher, assembly clerk, postmaster, politician, scientist, inventor, diplomat, horticulturist - Franklin was all of these and more. 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.