Check out Fold3 Links on Find a Grave Memorials

If you have military veterans in your family tree, take a look at the bottom of their Find a Grave memorials. More and more now have a direct link (see orange arrow) from Find a Grave to that veteran's Fold3 memorial page. 

This little link can lead to interesting genealogical information! It's there because Find a Grave and Fold3 are both owned by Ancestry.com.

Fold3 memorial pages are FREE

Go ahead and click the link leading to Fold3--because a memorial page is completely free to view (or create or improve).

Above is part of the Fold3 memorial page for Union Army veteran Train C. McClure, which popped up when I clicked the link from Find a Grave. I can navigate to facts (shown in timeline format), stories, gallery, and sources. 

In the facts section, you'll see that the sources of both the birth date and birth place are 1 Fgv Document. Translation: one Find a Grave page. 

What are the sources?

In the sources section of this memorial page, there are two records attached (see below). 

One is Civil War info from Fold3, and the other is the Find a Grave memorial for Pvt Train C. McClure, marked as a Fgv Document. Since Pvt McClure is in my husband's family tree, I examined everything in detail.

Other documents, images, even photos may be attached to a veteran's Fold3 memorial page, so definitely click to see what you can learn. Save whatever you can to your own computer, attach to your family trees, and follow up any clues.

Looking Ahead to 1960 US Census Release in 2032

Nine and a half years from now, the 1960 US Census will be released to the public, as the US National Archives kindly pointed out on social media just the other day.

Of course I had to preview the questionnaire (see list of questions here). 

And again, I see that some of the same outdated assumptions from the 1950 US Census were carried over to the 1960 US Census.

Only men in the military?

As shown at top, the 1960 Census questionnaire asks specifically about military service. 

But only men were asked. Just as in the 1950 US Census questionnaire.

Despite the fact that in the Korean War alone, more than 50,000 women served in military roles. 

Despite the fact that in World War II, more than 275,000 women served as WACs, WAVES, and WASPS.

Thousands of women served in military roles during World War I. 

But no women were asked about their military service on the 1950 or 1960 Census form. Sigh.

Never married? Not asked about babies!

In the 1950 Census, only women who reported they were married, widowed, divorced, or separated were asked about how many children they had ever had.

As shown above, the 1960 Census had a question about the number of babies a woman had ever had. 

But women who reported they were never married would not be asked this question. 

Great genealogical clues

Still, the 1960 US Census will have lots and lots of great genealogical clues. For one thing, more people were asked sample questions in this Census than in the 1950 Census, so there's a better chance one of our ancestors answered in some detail.

As shown in the image above, answers to the question about when the person was married (and, if married more than once, when married for first time) will narrow the window for researching marriage certificates.

As shown at left, we'll get wonderful clues from the question about where each person was born (note that enumerators were told to "use international boundaries as now recognized by the US).

Also an interesting question about what language was spoken in an immigrant's home before arriving in the US.

Really glad to see questions about country of birth for each parent.

And a question about the specific period when a person moved into the house or apartment where he or she is being enumerated.

Lots of clues to follow up on April 1, 2032, when this next Census is released.

Only 3,465 days to go!

Free Ancestor Memorial Pages on Fold3

I'm in the process of setting up or beefing up memorial pages on Fold3.com (owned by Ancestry) for ancestors who were military veterans. Memorial pages can be created for non-veterans--even for special events or organizations--but because Fold3 is heavily focused on military records, I'm prioritizing memorials for ancestors who had military service.

At top is a photo showing thumbnails of the 12 memorial pages I've created for vets in my family tree and my husband's family tree. Some were from the US, some from England, some from Canada. Some served in the US Civil War, some in World War I, some in World War II. But now all are searchable and findable on Fold3!

You don't have to be a Fold3 subscriber--just register for a free account. This will allow you to set up memorials, add bite-sized bios, and upload photos. 

But remember, you won't be able to conduct extensive research unless you subscribe, with the exception of using more than 200 free Fold3 databases.

Fold3 may have already given you a head start by creating a memorial page with your ancestor's name and, possibly, some details about his or her service. I discovered a few of my ancestors already had a memorial page with bare-bones about military service. Then I added a bite-sized bio, photos, etc. 

To start, register for a free account and then go to the "training center" page where you can learn more about memorials. From Stories Behind the Stars, here's a brief video that shows, step by step, how to create a new memorial. 

Just another way to keep our ancestors alive by sharing info on multiple sites.

This is my post for Amy Johnson Crow's #52Ancestors challenge, following this week's theme of service.

Memorial Day 2021: Hubby's Ancestors Who Served

Sadly, a few members of my husband's family tree died during their wartime military service. I've been memorialized them on my trees and on other genealogy sites. Now, for Memorial Day, let me pay honor to those who died by listing them individually:

• Isaac Larimer Work (hubby's 1c4r) - died in U.S. Civil War, served in 74th Indiana Volunteer Infantry 
  
• John Wright Work (hubby's 1c3r) - died in U.S. Civil War, served in74th Indiana Volunteer Infantry 
• Arthur Henry Slatter (hubby's 1c2r) - died in WWI, served in Middlesex Regiment and Labour Corps 
• Arthur Albert Slatter (hubby's 1c1r) - died in WWI, served in Royal Fusiliers, 20th Battalion 

I also want to remember the service of hubby's ancestors who were in the military and then returned to civilian life, with respect and appreciation:

War of 1812, American side

• Daniel Denning (hubby's 3d great-uncle) - Mounted Infantry, Ohio Militia
• Isaac M. Larimer (hubby's 4th g-grandfather) - Capt. George Saunderson's Company
• John Larimer (hubby's 3d great-grandfather) - 90 days service, No. Ohio
• Robert Larimer (hubby's 4th great-uncle) - Hull's Division
• Elihu Wood Jr. (hubby's 3d great-uncle) - Sgt. F. Pope's Guard, Mass. Volunteer Militia

Union side, U.S. Civil War

• Ira Caldwell (hubby's 1c3r) - 84th Indiana Infantry
• George H. Handy (hubby's 1c2r) - 4th Massachusetts Infantry
• Harvey H. Larimer (hubby's 1c3r) - 151st Indiana Volunteer Infantry
• Isaac Newtown Larimer (hubby's 1c4r) - 35th Indiana Volunteer Infantry
• Jacob Wright Larimer (hubby's 1c3r) - 151st Indiana Volunteer Infantry
• James Elmer Larimer (hubby's 1c4r) - 17th Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry
• John Wright Larimer (hubby's 1c3r) - 17th Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry
• John N. McClure (hubby's 2d great-uncle) - 89th Indiana Infantry
• Train Caldwell McClure (hubby's 2d great-uncle) - 89th Indiana Infantry
• Hugh Rinehart (hubby's 2d great-uncle) - 15th Ohio Infantry
• Benjamin Franklin Steiner (hubby's 2d great-uncle) - 10th Ohio Cavalry
• Samuel D. Steiner (hubby's 2d great-uncle) - 8th Ohio Infantry
• Lemuel C. Wood, Sr. (hubby's 3d great-uncle) - Commander of the USS Daylight, Union Navy
• Lemuel C. Wood, Jr. (hubby's 1c3r) - 3d Massachusetts Infantry
• Robert Crooke Wood, Sr. (hubby's 4c4r) - Asst. Surgeon General, Union Army
• Thomas F. Wood (hubby's 1c2r) - 3d Massachusetts Infantry

Confederate side, U.S. Civil War

• John Taylor Wood (hubby's 4c5r) - Confederate Navy
• Robert Crooke Wood Jr. (hubby's 4c5r) - Mississippi Cavalry Regiment
• Dr. Thomas Fanning Wood (hubby's 6c3r) - 18th No. Carolina Infantry, 3d No. Carolina Infantry

World War I

• Albert James Slatter (hubby's 1c1r) - 3d Canadian Battalion, CEF
• Albert Matthew Slatter (hubby's 1c1r) - 134th Battalion, CEF
• Albert William Slatter (hubby's great uncle) - 1st Depot Battalion
• Ernest Slatter (hubby's 1c1r) - Royal Flying Corps/RAF
• Frederick William Slatter (hubby's 1c1r) - 75th Battalion
• John Daniel Slatter (hubby's great-uncle) - 48th Highlanders of Toronto

World War II

• Joseph Miles Bradford (hubby's 2c1r) - U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
• Albert Lloyd Forde (hubby's 2c1r) - U.S. Army
• Harold McClure Forde (hubby's 2c1r) - U.S. Army HQ European Theater of Command
• Albert Henry Harvey (hubby's 2c) - U.S. Army
• John Albert Slatter (hubby's 2c) - U.S. Army
• John Hutson Slatter (hubby's 2c) - Canadian military

It is a privilege to honor these ancestors on Memorial Day weekend, 2021.

--

This week's #52Ancestors prompt is "military." 

Memorial Day 2021: My Ancestors Who Served

Although Memorial Day is traditionally for honoring military members who died in war, none of my ancestors died during their service in WWI or WWII.

A couple were wounded and many came back profoundly changed, however. 

My maternal and paternal roots stretch back to Eastern Europe, where all four of my immigrant grandparents (and some of their children) were born. 

By the time World War I broke out, a number of my immigrant ancestors and a few of their descendants and in-laws were eligible to serve in the U.S. military. 

During World War II, my Dad, two uncles, one aunt, many cousins, and many in-laws served in the U.S. military. I was surprised that the family was represented in every branch of the armed forces--Army, Navy, Air Corps, and Marines!

Remembering Ancestors' Military Service

For some time, I've been blogging about many of these ancestors and posting a few sentences about their military service (or even longer bios) on genealogy sites--or at least a flag or flower on grave memorials.

With affection and pride, I want to honor the military service of these ancestors in my family tree who served in the U.S. armed forces:

World War I

• Julius Farkas (my great uncle) - U.S. Army
• Peter Farkas (my great uncle) - U.S. Army
• Louis Volk (my great uncle) - U.S. Army
• Frank Maurice Morris Jacob (my 1c2r) - U.S. Marines
• Joseph A. Markell (my great uncle) - U.S. Navy
• Milton Grossman (my great uncle) - NY National Guard
• Albert Farkas (my great uncle) - U.S. Army
• Morris Pitler (my great uncle) - U.S. Army

World War II

• Harold Burk (my Dad) - U.S. Army Signal Corps
• Sidney Burk (my uncle) - U.S. Army Air Force
• Frederick Shaw (my uncle) - U.S. Army
• Dorothy Schwartz (my aunt) - Women's Army Corps (WAC)
• George Farkas (my 1c1r) - U.S. Army Air Corps
• Robert Farkas (my 1c1r) - U.S. Army Medical Corps
• Myron E. Volk (my 1c1r) - U.S. Navy
• David Philip Smith (my 1c1r) - National Guard, 8th Regiment
• Harvey Smith (my 1c1r) - U.S. Army 
• Jules Smith (my 1c1r) - U.S. Marine Corps
• Harry S. Pitler (my 1c1r) - U.S. Army
• Ronald J. Lenney (my 1c1r) - U.S. Army (post-war occupation)
• Arthur M. Berkman (spouse of my 1c1r) - U.S. Army 
• Murray Berkman (spouse of my 1c1r) - U.S. Army 
• George W. Rosen (spouse of my 1c1r) - U.S. Army
• Abraham Ezrati (spouse of my 1c1r) - U.S. Army Air Corps
• Bill Kobler (spouse of my 1c1r) - U.S. Army
• Arnold D. Rosen (spouse of my 1c1r) - U.S. Army
• Burton S. Wirtschafter (my 1c1r) - U.S. Army
• Robert S. Whitelaw (cousin-in-law) - U.S. Marines

Genealogy Clues on Find a Grave

Find a Grave can be a very rich source of genealogy clues! I'm continuing my project of posting brief bios of ancestors online, to keep their memories alive. (This is a way to repurpose content from bite-sized family history projects, my talk for the New England Regional Genealogy Conference in April!)

Having written a few paragraphs about Arthur Albert Slatter (1887-1917), my husband's 1c1r who, sadly, was killed in action during WWI, I set out to repurpose it on multiple websites, including Find My Past, Fold3, Family Search, and Find a Grave.

Linked family members = clues

I've visited cousin Arthur's Find a Grave memorial page in the past. The page was originally created by a group focused on war graves, with photos of the Arras Memorial by another dedicated volunteer. 

To post a bio on a memorial I don't manage, I use the "suggest edits" function, and type (or paste) in a few sentences or even a few paragraphs. If I manage the memorial, it's easy to post the bio with a click.

In the process, I also look at any linked family members related to the person on the memorial page. Here, checking the links to Arthur Albert Slatter, I recognized the name and photo of his father (Henry Arthur Slatter, 1866-1942). I posted Henry's photo myself a while back. 

See image of Arthur's memorial page at top, where I've circled Arthur's parents' names? Alice is shown with a maiden name. A clue for me to check out! Of course, everything is a clue until confirmed.

"Alice Good, widow" 

I had previously noted, from Henry Arthur Slatter's military records, that he married widow Alice Good in 1887 (document excerpt at right). But until now, I haven't actively looked for Alice's maiden name. 

Alice's Find a Grave memorial offered me the clue I needed to investigate further. Using Ancestry, I quickly located Alice's 1882 marriage (to Harry Thomas Good) and added not only her first husband and her maiden name but also the name of her father to my Slatter family tree.

Then I inserted Alice's maiden name into my bio of her oldest son and submitted the request to the manager of Arthur Albert Slatter's memorial page, asking that the bio be posted. It's already up on Family Search, Find My Past, and Fold3, to help future generations know something of his name, his service, and his sacrifice.

--

"Genealogy clues and cousin bait on Find a Grave" is the title of one of my most popular presentations. Links between relatives with Find a Grave memorials can be  wonderful clues to family history -- and excellent cousin bait as well!