Subscription site Footnote has lots of historical records worth searching, but its interactive features really set it apart. Any member (basic or all-access) can create a “story page” with photos, digitized records and information about an ancestor or an event, plus a timeline and map. On a record itself, you can add pop-up notes with more details, such as maiden names or alternate spellings. You even can look for others who’ve added pages or notes and contact them through the site.

 

But before you set up a page about an ancestor, see if one already exists that you can add to. Footnote has created pages for millions of individuals from government data in the Social Security Death Index (called “Footnote Pages”) and WWII enlistment records (“Hero Pages”). I found my dad’s Hero Page and now I’m hooked on adding his military photos and documents. I’m hoping that through Dad’s page, I can connect with men he served alongside and with my distant relatives.

 

From the July 2010 Family Tree Magazine