Embracing the revolution
Marjorie Frampton can trace her ancestry back to a patriot who fought for independence from Great Britain—a fact that earned her membership in the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR). While attending the organization’s national convention, she connected with people who would draw her into another revolution—this one, technological.
In service of a proud past
An Indiana native, Marjorie earned a degree in medical records and data entry and worked for the National Institutes of Health, Walter Reed Hospital and Montgomery College. She met Francis Frampton through mutual friends, and they raised a son and a daughter. At various times, they lived in Washington, DC; Silver Spring, Maryland; and Lewes, Delaware. Marjorie was a member of the Colonel David Hall DAR Chapter in Lewes and served as the Delaware State Regent for the DAR—a position that put her on the national board of the lineage-based non-profit service organization. She has happy memories of traveling to other states with the DAR, participating in the group’s annual Continental Congress and visiting its national headquarters in DC.
Prospective DAR members must prove bloodline decent from an ancestor “who aided in achieving American independence,” documenting each birth, marriage, and death in the line and the Patriot ancestor’s Revolutionary War service. When the organization began the huge task of moving all those genealogical records online, Marjorie got involved. She received membership applications from the national headquarters and input them into the online system. Today, the DAR’s Genealogical Research System provides access to records the organization has collected since its establishment in 1890.
Balancing high-tech and high-touch
Marjorie’s background in medical records made her a great fit for the DAR’s database project—but this grandmother of six appreciates the natural world as well. Marjorie moved to Jenner’s Pond in 2019 and loves that her apartment at Jenner’s Pond backs up to a park. She enjoys watching the geese and ducks and outwitting the squirrels that challenge her bird feeder. She still has a heart for service, too, and volunteers on the community’s employee scholarship committee. She enjoys the rosary group and attends Mass with her daughter, who lives nearby.
Her secrets to aging well tend to be high-touch rather than high tech: “Take care of yourself. Eat well and get good rest,” she says. “Don’t let what’s going on in the world upset you too much.” And live in a place where the people are as friendly as they are at Jenner’s Pond.