Fold3 website will focus on military records

Military records have long been among the most valuable and treasured documents used by family historians. So it's big news that an established subscription website now has morphed into what promises to be the definitive portal to these important records.

Footnote.com recently announced it now will focus on military records under the new name Fold3.com. The name comes from the traditional third fold in a flag-folding ceremony honoring veterans.

This site was founded in 1997. In 2007, the group behind the site reached an agreement with the National Archives to digitize specific records and put them online.

Footnote's website then promised to make available "places and people" that shaped the American nation. Wonderful records such as the Guion Miller Rolls, Southern Claims Commission (part of the African-American Collection), FBI Cases, and records from the Great Depression made even the tightest of tightwads ante up with the annual subscription fees.

Last year genealogy giant Ancestry Inc. bought Footnote, and the shift toward military records began.

In addition to the wealth of military records already available, the company is in the process of adding the War of 1812 Pension Files, Mexican War Service Records, Confederate Casualty Reports, World War I Officer Experience Reports and World War II "Old Man's Draft" Registration Cards.

The site is well worth the $79 annual subscription rate (also available at a monthly rate of $11.95). A free seven-day trial subscription also is available. The new Web address is www.fold3.com.

Science has never been my strong suit. When I hear the letters DNA, my head starts to spin. No matter how many times I read the explanations, they don't stick in my brain.

Richard Hill created the DNA-Testing-Advisor.com website and wrote a 12-page overview of DNA testing that even I can understand.

The booklet "How to Identify Ancestors and Confirm Relationships through DNA Testing" is available as a free download.

Richard is adopted, and his website contains much interesting information for people beginning a quest for birth parents. Check it out at http://www.dna-testing-adviser.com/index.html.

In 1998, the Lee County Genealogical Society began an obituary indexing project of Lee County deaths published in the Fort Myers News-Press between the years 1930 and 1997.

More than 65,000 entries — the work of more than 70 volunteers — now is available in a searchable format at the society's website. 

To access the index, go to www.LCGSFL.org. In the left column, select "Lee County Deaths." The database does not contain the actual obituary, but it provides an index that gives the researcher the necessary information to locate the death notice and/or obituary in the microfilm of the Fort Myers News-Press held at the Fort Myers-Lee County Public Library, 2050 Central Avenue. 

Readers have just a couple of weeks before the Oct. 1 deadline to register for the 2011 National Genealogical Society Research Trip to Salt Lake City. The trip is Oct. 16 to 23. For those who might not know, the Family History Library in Salt Lake City is the largest genealogical library in the world — which is why it's easy to think of it as the Fort Knox of genealogy.

This year's trip will be led by two board-certified genealogists, Sandra MacLean Clunies and Shirley Langdon Wilcox. Participants will have ongoing consultation with these two experts throughout the week.

In addition to the consultations, the fee includes seven nights at the Salt Lake Plaza Hotel (which is adjacent to the history center), a reception on the first night, pizza midweek and a last-night dinner. Airfare is not included in the price.

Those interested can get details and start the process at .http://www.ngsgenealogy.org/cs/research_trips.