In this article I will teach you how to use Fold3 for family tree research.

Fold3 is a website in association with Ancestry that provides military records throughout history.

As of this writing, November 2023, records from the following countries are available:

• United States
• Canada
• Australia
• New Zealand
• United Kingdom

So keep reading to learn all about the Fold3.com resources to discover more about your ancestors.

How do you Research on Fold3?

When viewing the home page of Fold3.com you will see the phrase “Discover your family’s military past”

Under that is a search box.

Type in what you would like to look for starting with key details, such as:

• People’s names
• Records
• Places
• Dates
• Service number

Records by Country

Below the search box, military records are organized by country (left to right) followed by wars.

If you are looking for records based on a specific war this would be the best place to start.

Once you select a war to research, you will see a page with featured publications.

Select a publication and then enter in the search box keywords related to what you are looking for.

|Related Article: How to Use Newspapers.com

How to Use Fold3 Military Records?

So once you search for a particular topic, you will see a list of results.

Each result line item will display a photo, title, brief summary, and date details.

Next, click the image to view the original document. It may be zoomed in at first to the specific name you were searching for.

You can scroll the image up and down, left and right, and zoom in and out.

If the document you found matches what you are looking for, you will want to save it.

You have the option to save it your family tree on Ancestry.com if you use that program.

Or you can download the file, print the document, save to a memorial, or share with someone else.

To do this, click the tools symbol in the right upper corner (if using a laptop/computer)

There is also the option to “annotate” meaning typing in written details to be saved.

Another option is adding a “tag” to help you stay organized with all of your research.

| Related Article: Ancestry Passenger Lists

Fold3 Membership Plan Options

First there is an option to do a 7 day free trail to test out the program.

Next there is a Free Fold3 Basic membership, this includes:

• Search free records
• Access free collections
• Create memorial pages
• Virtual memorial walls

Fold 3 Premium – Paid Package

This option includes:

• Search free records
• Access free collections
• Create memorial pages
• Virtual memorial walls
• Full access to over 670 million records
• Access to image collections
• War stories (collection of military records, stories, and photos)
• Download, print, and save all records
• Save to your Ancestry family tree

Ancestry All Access – Paid Package

This includes all the items listed in the Premium package, plus:

• Full Access to the Ancestry.com website
• Publisher Extra access to the Newspapers.com website

For more information and up to date pricing, please visit the Fold3 website at: https://www.fold3.com/choose-a-plan

|Related Article: 1950 Census Records

For more articles about family research please visit: https://rlsphotogenic.com/category/genealogy-family-research/