In Memorium: Francis James Dallett, FGSP, FSAG

IN MEMORIAM: FRANCIS JAMES DALLETT, FGSP, FASG 7T7rancis James Dallett, a Fellow of the Genealogical Society of PennsylJL vania since 1961 and an honorary vice president of the Society since 1986, died Monday, 16 July 2007, age 79. Following his undergraduate years at Haverford College (AB, 1950), he served in the US Department of State, returning to graduate school at the University of Pennsylvania (AM in American Civilization, 1955). From 1955 to 1962 he was Director and Librarian of the Athenaeum of Philadelphia; he then became Assistant Director and Research Associate at the American Museum in Bath, Eng¬ land. After seven years, Jim returned to the Philadelphia area to accept the position of University Archivist at Princeton University and two years later as University Archivist at the University of Pennsylvania. He served Penn for thirteen years, retiring in 1984. He was a beloved member of the Penn family, a dependable and delightful colleague, and a devoted mem¬ ber of the University staff. “Jim” Dallett was still a teenager when he published his first work of genealogical research, The Genealogy of the Dallett Family. In 1956, at 28, Jim was elected a director of GSP, serving until 1963- In 1956 Jim was named to the Publications Committee of the Society; in 1957 he published his first article in the Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine. Jim rejoined the Society’s Board of Directors in 1982 and was appointed to the Publications Committee in 1983. In 1984 he was elected a vice president of the Society and chairman of the Publications Committee. He was a frequent contributor to journals and books, and in 1961, he was elected a Fellow of The Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania, and in 1966 he was elected a Fellow of The American Society of Genealogists. Perhaps his most significant, scholarly article, “Iconography and Genealogy7,” was presented first as a lecture to the Society and then printed in PGM in 1970. His major interest lay in the early French in Philadelphia, particularly the French Benevolent Society. He donated his research papers to the Historical Society of Pennsylvania in 2001. Jim married, on 14 April 1956, Charlotte Houston Brown, a member of the well-known Chestnut Hill family. They were the parents of four chil¬ dren: Matthew Clarkson Dallett, Richard Sazerac Saunders Dallett, Char¬ lotte Athenaide Houston Dallett Hinman, and Estelina Louisa Dallett. Charlotte and all four children survive him. A year and a half after his retirement from the University of Pennsylvania, Jim moved to Taconic, Connecticut, where he lived until his death. A memorial service was held 29 September at Old St. David’s Church in Wayne. Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine Vol. 45 (2007) 5