EDUCATION
“Hooked”
on Genealogy Masonic Village at Lafayette Hill resident Denise Francis has always been interested in history. As a young girl, she loved taking history classes and reading biographies in her spare time.
She spent nearly 17 years as a referenceqibrarianfortheowL er erion M TownshipSystemFBaqa ynw C dy Libraryinennsy P qvania beforereDringin:Like herhusbandderry J dsheas w also a tour guide for many ears y attheistoric H ouH sesof Fairmount Park in Philadelphia.
“I have always been very interested in knowing about other people and how they lived in other times,” she said. “I love American history, medieval history and military history. It’s addictive. You get hooked.” enise D hasbeenorking w formorethanears y ona geneaqogyprojectinvoqvingher and Jerry’s family histories. Jerry isaduaqmemberofaqesD P neJ Roxboroughodge L o: N d Lafayetteiqqd H andSt:qban A odge L o: N dhiqadeqphia: P
Online Edition PaGrandLodge.org/magazine
enise D becameinterested ingeneaqogyaftervisiDng eqgiu B mdwhereher grandparentscamefromdwith her sister many years ago. >Msister y gotmestartedon thisjourneyd?shesaid:>Shehad cqearedoutmygrandparentsf homeandcameacrossnumerous photos:Wereaqizedew didnft knowmuchaboutourfamiqy becauseourgrandparents never talked about it.
“We went to the villages where they came from and started seeing where they lived, and when I returned home, I started going to the library and doing research,” she said. “I found information dating back to 1795. On and off, it took about 15 years to complete all the research.” enise D usedaprogramcaqqed amiqy F Treeakerd M whereouy canprintoutafamiqytreeusing onqinetempqates:Youcanpqug ininformaDondfromcensus recordstodeathcerDficates: enise D keepspapercopiesof aqqherdocumentaDoninsix large boxes in her apartment and more in storage. She purchasedamagnifyinggqass
soshecouqdreadthefine printfromaqqtherecords: >Ancestry.com isaqqork w doneon thecomputerdbutwithamiqy F Treeakerd M ouy canprintthings outd?shesaid:>Ifmoqdfashioned andqiketoork w frompaperand printthingsoutonmyprinter:? Denise proudly displays a giant bqackphotoaqbumcontaining hercompqetefamiqyhistoryK eqqd w ascompqeteasitcanget:
“You’re never really finished when it comes to genealogy,” she said. “There’s always more to learn. >ItfsaneverJendingprocessdand ittakessomuchork: w Iqove doingpuzqes:Thehistoricaq researchisrightupmyaqqeydas a former librarian and history major. It’s the digging and puDfingthepiecestogether: Whyisthis5Whyisnftitthis5? Part of the joy of genealogy is the amazinggemsofinformaDonouy discoveraqongtheayw denise D said:Sherecentqyqearnedthat oneofherreqaDesd v anearqy aviator, died performing in an airshowinSpain:eH as w the firsteqgian B toattemptaoop L De Loop, and his rudder broke.
Pennsylvania Freemason