Free Records on Fold3

The March/April 2020 issue of Family Tree Magazine contained an article called "Free Agents" which listed many free databases on subscription websites. Since we talked about Fold3 last week, I thought a list of its free databases might be helpful. (You may need to register for a free account.)

American Battle Monuments Commission

Bounty-Land Warrant Applications Index

Korean War Casualties

Medal of Honor Recipients, 1863-2013

PA: Pennsylvania Archives

Navy and Marine Corp Officers, 1775-1900

War of 1812 Pension Files

American Colonization Society

Dachau Entry Registers

November 16 Workshop

Fold3 was the focus of this week's workshop. Fold3 is a subscription website that concentrates on military records. It is possible to access a free one-week trial, you can purchase a month's subscription for $7.95 and a full year costs $79.95. 

The site contains records from the United States, Canada, the British Isles, Australia and New Zealand. Fold3 provides helpful videos to explain how to use the site.

Search and Browse are the two main ways to access information. The search field should be used for the name of the conflict, a location and your ancestor's name. Choosing the "browse" option allows you to see all of the different databases that are part of the website.

Part of our session involved searching for ancestors of members who were in attendance. We had various levels of success looking for veterans of the Civil War, Vietnam War, World War II and the Revolutionary War.

Workshop - November 9, 2021

The presentation for this week's workshop was a comparison of three cemetery websites. We discussed Find A Grave, Billion Graves and Interment. The sites provide opportunities for volunteers to photograph tombstones or provide additional information for their ancestors.

FindAGrave.com has the largest database and is the only one that includes both obituaries and photographs. In many cases families are linked and you can locate many memorials from an original search. Be sure to scroll down on the page to find other people with the same surname in that cemetery, town, county, state or country!

BillionGraves.com has a mission to locate each tombstone pictured by GPS. Transcribers work to note information included on the tombstone.

Interment.net cannot be searched by surname, as it contains cemetery listings that have been submitted by volunteers from personal research, funeral homes, cemetery associations and others. You can search by location and then check any cemetery list that is available.

Final State Websites

We'll finish the alphabet with the "W" states.

Washington:  digitalarchives.wa.gov has indexes for birth marriage, death, census, cemetery, naturalization and other records. Some of the images are included on the site.

West Virginia:  www.wvculture.org/history/archivesindex.aspx has a growing list of digitized vital records, including births from 1790-1945, marriages from 1780 to 1971 and deaths from 1753 to 1970.

Wisconsin:  www.wisconsinhistory.org/genealogy covers indexes to birth, marriage and death records, and includes obituaries, biographies and photos.

Wyoming:  wyoarchives.state.wy.us includes a death records index, digitized newspapers, oral histories, county record inventories and a guide to genealogical resources at the archives.

State Websites Continued

A few more state websites for your consideration.

Tennessee: teva.contentdm.oclc.org has digitized photos, maps, Civil War records and soldiers' photographs, family histories, family Bibles and other items.

Texas:  texashistory.unt.edu provides digitized books, maps and photos; also college yearbooks, church records, county histories and newspapers from 1813 to the present.

Utah: archives.utah.gov/research/indexes has statewide indexes to births (1905-1911) and deaths (1905-1967). 

 

Vermont:  www.vermonthistory.org says to use the "digital resources" on the "discover" tab to find links to PDF files with indexes and transcriptions of various records, including baptisms, marriages, deaths and town records.

Virginia: www.lva.virginia.gov suggests using the "for the public" tab and search the LVA Catalog and the Research Guides and Indexes for individual collections.

November Plans

We have a variety of topics planned for the next few weeks. We are looking forward to seeing members we've missed for the past 18 months! Bring a friend if you can. Be sure to explain our requirements for this season: vaccine proofs and masks.

November 9: We'll do a comparison of the three major cemetery websites. Have an ancestor's name in mind for exploring those sites.

November 16: We will present a tutorial on Fold3, the subscription website that focuses on military records. 

November 23: This week's presentation is called "Google Tools for Genealogy."

November 30: Tonight we'll take a look at a "home town" genealogy club and explore how to find one for your own locality.

Several State Websites

Here are a few more interesting state websites. We're nearing the end of the alphabet!

Pennsylvania:  https://www.statelibrary.pa.gov/Pages/default.aspx suggests clicking either Electronic Resources or Power Library to locate newspapers, Civil War regimental histories, Pennsylvania history and more.

Rhode Island:  www.rihistoriccemeteries.org includes an index to gravestones as well as dates of birth and death and names of family members.

South Carolina:  www.archivesindex.sc.gov is an index to will transcripts, Confederate veterans, criminal court records and other sources.

South Dakota:  history.sd.gov/archives/genealogists.aspx provides indexes to naturalizations, cemetery records and biographies and a transcript of the 1885 census of Civil War veterans. The Digital Archives tab points to photographs, manuscripts and land survey records.

November Legacy Webinars

Each of the webinars can be viewed (for free) for one week following the original presentation. Find more information or register to watch in "real time" at www.familytreewebinars.com

Tuesday, November 2: "Uncovering the Lives of Your London (England) Ancestors" by Cathy Sherwood.

Wednesday, November 3: "Investigative Genetic Genealogy – the Use of DNA for Law Enforcement" by Diahann Southard.

Friday, November 5: "Say Amen: Going to Church with the Master – Finding the Mother Church" by Char McCargo Bah.

Wednesday, November 10: "The Two Colonial Georgias" by Larry W. Thomas

Friday, November 12: "Court Records for People of Color Family History Research" by Nicka Smith

Tuesday, November 16: "Planning Research" by LaBrenda Garrett-Nelson.

Wednesday, November 17: "Reeling ‘Em in with Cousin Bait—10 Ways to Connect with Family" by Cheri Hudson Passey.

Friday, November 19: "Finding Your Scottish Ancestors in Canada" by Christine Woodcock.

Tuesday, November 30: "Genealogy a la carte – Using Australian Historical Maps in Your Research" by Benjamin Hollister.