- Joined
- May 23, 2018
This is the second in a series of how-to posts I’ve planned for the Ancestry forum. (Thanks again to @John Winn for suggesting the series to me and @lelliott19 and @east tennessee roots for helping me brainstorm the post and providing helpful suggestions.)
The first entry in this series, posted back in March, was on how to use the NPS Soldier and Sailor Database for as a starting point in Civil War genealogical research.
This one is intended to cover the basics of navigating Fold3, a very helpful resource for finding Civil War soldiers’ compiled service records (CSRs). NPS is usually my first stop, but Fold3 is almost always my second when I am doing ancestry research.
https://www.fold3.com/
Access
Unfortunately, Fold3 is a subscription service, so you need to pay to use it. There are several factors that influence whether or not it is a worthwhile investment for each individual. More on that in a minute.
However, they do offer a free 1-week trial subscription, and they often allow free access to Civil War records for a couple of weeks every April.
My access comes through my Ancestry.com account. You might also see if your library provides free access since many have genealogical subscriptions. And, of course, a lot of folks on CWT have subscriptions, so you can always post a request for someone to hunt down information for you.
How To Use
Below is what the homepage looks like. As with last time, I am using screenshots to (hopefully) make this easier to follow. I even got fancy and circled things in my screenshots. (Politely ignore the fact I cannot draw circles like a normal human.)
Of course, you can always use the regular search function, though I often prefer using the browse feature if I already know what regiment the man in question served in. First, we will look at how to use the search function and then we will look at how to use browse.
Using Search and Filters
You can access the search feature on the home page or at the top of the page.
This screencap shows what it looks like after you have typed in a name.
As with the NPS site, you can use filters to limit your search results.
To the left, you can limit by war, Union or Confederate, or by state. You’ll, of course, want to be careful about making assumptions if you’re not sure about your ancestor’s Civil War service.
Just because you know the state they lived in doesn’t mean that is the state they served in. Likewise, even if you strongly suspect your ancestor was in the Confederate army or the Union army, that doesn’t mean they didn’t serve in both or the exact opposite one you assume.
The name I’ve typed in is one of my ancestors I’ve already researched. I know he was in the Confederate army, so I have filtered the results accordingly.
That brings us down from dozens of men with the same or a similar name who served in wars throughout American history to a handful who served in the Confederate army.
Note: The search function can be a little tricky simply because there are a number of ways your ancestor’s name may be entered, so you might want to play around with variations on initials and full names.
My ancestor was Charles Newton Pyron Candler. He could appear in his full glory as Charles Newton Pyron Candler or as Charles N. P. Candler, C. N. P. Candler, C. N. Candler, Charles N. Candler, C. Candler, etc. Even the last name might be slightly misspelled.
You’ll also want to remember that your ancestor may have served in more than one regiment, and that you need to verify that the person whose information you find is your ancestor and not just someone with a similar name.
My actual ancestor is not the first guy who pops up when you search his name--that's his cousin.
Using Browse
I also like using browse if already know the regiment the person served in since it takes me right to the record, though it probably takes longer to get there.
To access Browse, just go to the Browse tab at the top. From there, you can filter by war (Civil War), Publication (Civil War Service Records), Category (Confederate or Union), and then state. From there, you can scroll down to the right regiment and then find the correct name.
I couldn't fit all this in one screenshot, so I did several that show how things progress the further right you go on the screen.
You will then, hopefully, have access to your ancestor’s service record. (In theory. More on exceptions to that later in the post.)
This can be more complicated if you’re looking for a higher-ranking officer or someone whose position was not necessarily tied to a regiment, such as a surgeon. In that case, for publication, you might want to try “Officers” or “Miscellaneous” rather than a state.
Beyond Service Records
Though I think most of us use Fold3 primarily for the service records, there is a lot of other good stuff on there, including official correspondence, citizen files, claims, and even some pension material. You can browse what is available in that second column once you are in the Browse feature and have narrowed it down to the Civil War.
The Index Card Scourge
Though Fold3 is a wonderful resource, it is not going to be equally helpful for everyone.
The reason for that is not all states have compiled service records uploaded. Some just have index cards, which means you’ll have to contact NARA and order your ancestors’ records.
As of May 2019, most Confederate CSRs are uploaded. Union records are a bit more hit or miss, and there seems to be no rhyme or reason to which states have index cards and which states have CSRs. To make it even more confusing, some states have both!
It’s the difference, though, between finding this:
And finding this:
The first image above is an index card for one of my ancestors, who served in a Union Missouri cavalry unit. It literally just gives his name and his regiment and company, information I already know.
Fortunately, Missouri is one of the states that also has CSRs, and that is what you’re seeing in the second picture. Exact same guy but very different record. The CSR provides enlistment information, muster rolls, information on his time as a POW, a physical description of him, and his mustering-out information. It’s 21 pages of great information versus an index card with his name and his regiment.
State-By-State Records
As of right now, there are complete Confederate CSRs for the following states: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia.
There are also complete Union CSRs for the following states/territories and units: Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Colored Troops, Dakota, Delaware, D.C., Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, and West Virginia.
Index card are only available for Union troops from the following states: Arizona, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Washington, and Wisconsin. Veteran Reserve Corps records are also index only.
Fortunately, they do add cards, though they never seem to announce when new states have been added. You’ll just have to keep checking back or have someone check for you to see if a state that was previously index card-only now has CSRs.
Things to Remember
So . . . we’ve covered how to find CSRs on Fold3, but why exactly is that so helpful for your genealogical research? We’ll cover what is in a CSR and what isn’t in my next post (which hopefully won’t take me two months to write like this one.)
The first entry in this series, posted back in March, was on how to use the NPS Soldier and Sailor Database for as a starting point in Civil War genealogical research.
This one is intended to cover the basics of navigating Fold3, a very helpful resource for finding Civil War soldiers’ compiled service records (CSRs). NPS is usually my first stop, but Fold3 is almost always my second when I am doing ancestry research.
https://www.fold3.com/
Access
Unfortunately, Fold3 is a subscription service, so you need to pay to use it. There are several factors that influence whether or not it is a worthwhile investment for each individual. More on that in a minute.
However, they do offer a free 1-week trial subscription, and they often allow free access to Civil War records for a couple of weeks every April.
My access comes through my Ancestry.com account. You might also see if your library provides free access since many have genealogical subscriptions. And, of course, a lot of folks on CWT have subscriptions, so you can always post a request for someone to hunt down information for you.
How To Use
Below is what the homepage looks like. As with last time, I am using screenshots to (hopefully) make this easier to follow. I even got fancy and circled things in my screenshots. (Politely ignore the fact I cannot draw circles like a normal human.)
Of course, you can always use the regular search function, though I often prefer using the browse feature if I already know what regiment the man in question served in. First, we will look at how to use the search function and then we will look at how to use browse.
Using Search and Filters
You can access the search feature on the home page or at the top of the page.
This screencap shows what it looks like after you have typed in a name.
As with the NPS site, you can use filters to limit your search results.
To the left, you can limit by war, Union or Confederate, or by state. You’ll, of course, want to be careful about making assumptions if you’re not sure about your ancestor’s Civil War service.
Just because you know the state they lived in doesn’t mean that is the state they served in. Likewise, even if you strongly suspect your ancestor was in the Confederate army or the Union army, that doesn’t mean they didn’t serve in both or the exact opposite one you assume.
The name I’ve typed in is one of my ancestors I’ve already researched. I know he was in the Confederate army, so I have filtered the results accordingly.
That brings us down from dozens of men with the same or a similar name who served in wars throughout American history to a handful who served in the Confederate army.
Note: The search function can be a little tricky simply because there are a number of ways your ancestor’s name may be entered, so you might want to play around with variations on initials and full names.
My ancestor was Charles Newton Pyron Candler. He could appear in his full glory as Charles Newton Pyron Candler or as Charles N. P. Candler, C. N. P. Candler, C. N. Candler, Charles N. Candler, C. Candler, etc. Even the last name might be slightly misspelled.
You’ll also want to remember that your ancestor may have served in more than one regiment, and that you need to verify that the person whose information you find is your ancestor and not just someone with a similar name.
My actual ancestor is not the first guy who pops up when you search his name--that's his cousin.
Using Browse
I also like using browse if already know the regiment the person served in since it takes me right to the record, though it probably takes longer to get there.
To access Browse, just go to the Browse tab at the top. From there, you can filter by war (Civil War), Publication (Civil War Service Records), Category (Confederate or Union), and then state. From there, you can scroll down to the right regiment and then find the correct name.
I couldn't fit all this in one screenshot, so I did several that show how things progress the further right you go on the screen.
You will then, hopefully, have access to your ancestor’s service record. (In theory. More on exceptions to that later in the post.)
This can be more complicated if you’re looking for a higher-ranking officer or someone whose position was not necessarily tied to a regiment, such as a surgeon. In that case, for publication, you might want to try “Officers” or “Miscellaneous” rather than a state.
Beyond Service Records
Though I think most of us use Fold3 primarily for the service records, there is a lot of other good stuff on there, including official correspondence, citizen files, claims, and even some pension material. You can browse what is available in that second column once you are in the Browse feature and have narrowed it down to the Civil War.
The Index Card Scourge
Though Fold3 is a wonderful resource, it is not going to be equally helpful for everyone.
The reason for that is not all states have compiled service records uploaded. Some just have index cards, which means you’ll have to contact NARA and order your ancestors’ records.
As of May 2019, most Confederate CSRs are uploaded. Union records are a bit more hit or miss, and there seems to be no rhyme or reason to which states have index cards and which states have CSRs. To make it even more confusing, some states have both!
It’s the difference, though, between finding this:
And finding this:
The first image above is an index card for one of my ancestors, who served in a Union Missouri cavalry unit. It literally just gives his name and his regiment and company, information I already know.
Fortunately, Missouri is one of the states that also has CSRs, and that is what you’re seeing in the second picture. Exact same guy but very different record. The CSR provides enlistment information, muster rolls, information on his time as a POW, a physical description of him, and his mustering-out information. It’s 21 pages of great information versus an index card with his name and his regiment.
State-By-State Records
As of right now, there are complete Confederate CSRs for the following states: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia.
There are also complete Union CSRs for the following states/territories and units: Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Colored Troops, Dakota, Delaware, D.C., Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, and West Virginia.
Index card are only available for Union troops from the following states: Arizona, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Washington, and Wisconsin. Veteran Reserve Corps records are also index only.
Fortunately, they do add cards, though they never seem to announce when new states have been added. You’ll just have to keep checking back or have someone check for you to see if a state that was previously index card-only now has CSRs.
Things to Remember
- Fold3 is a great resource, but if you have a lot of ancestors who served in states that don’t have CSRs uploaded, it’s probably not going to be as much use to you or be worth paying for a subscription.
- Though it is often overlooked, there are a lot more Civil War records than just service records and that is worth checking out.
- Even if you think you know your ancestor’s service, you might uncover additional regiments/units he served in, so it doesn’t hurt to search for his name and variations of that name. Your ancestor may have re-enlisted in another regiment, been transferred, or had their original regiment re-organized.
- Names are sometimes misspelled in the records. Those can be hard to locate, as are records where the soldier is only listed by initials and has a common surname. If you get stumped, ask for help!
- Even if you are 100% sure you found your ancestor on Fold3 everything seems to match, remember that you still need to verify it is, in fact, your ancestor. There is always the off-chance it’s not your ancestor and instead someone else with a similar name living in the same area who is actually the one who enlisted.
- If you are only relying on oral family history about your ancestor, remember that that information can often become distorted over the years and isn’t always accurate. If the information matches information you’ve researched but not the family tradition that has been passed down, recognize that it could still be the right soldier.
So . . . we’ve covered how to find CSRs on Fold3, but why exactly is that so helpful for your genealogical research? We’ll cover what is in a CSR and what isn’t in my next post (which hopefully won’t take me two months to write like this one.)