It's finally here! Ancestry.com has begun posting electronic images of every record from the U.S. Federal Census between the years 1790 and 1920. The census records, which Ancestry.com recently obtained from the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), contain more than 450 million names. The first images posted are of the 1790 Census, and subsequent postings will bring hundreds of millions of images to the site throughout the year. Through Ancestry.com's Images Online service, census records will more faithfully reproduce original documents than mere indexes or bi-tonal, black-and-white images available with competitive offerings. Ancestry.com records will be easier to read since they will be viewed in a full 256 shades of gray--dramatically increasing the quality and legibility of the image. In addition, Ancestry.com uses MrSID technology in its Images Online(tm) collections. This technology gives Ancestry.com and its customers two important benefits: 1) High-quality computer images at legible resolution take up a lot of disk space. MrSID allows us to compress these documents to a greater degree, allowing the images to be sent more quickly over the Internet to you. 2) Some of our image collections are still very large, even after compression. The MrSID technology allows us to extract and send over the Internet just that portion of an image you want to see, rather than requiring that you download the entire image first. Census schedules represent the most important and sought-after group of genealogical records in the United States. The information supplied for each individual in the census allows researchers to determine family structure, ages, residence, occupation, and much more. Ancestry.com Premium Members will have exclusive free access to the 1790 U.S. Federal Census for a limited time at: http://www.ancestry.com/search/rectype/census/1790/main.htm. ============================================================ PRICING ============================================================ U.S. Federal Census Images is a new subscription feature of Ancestry.com. For the first time, Ancestry.com subscribers can conduct research online by using original primary sources. And for a limited time, free access to census images is available if you are a current subscriber. Following the free access period, pricing will be as follows: Non-Ancestry.com Subscribers: --- 1-year U.S. Federal Census Images Subscription: $59.95 --- Quarterly U.S. Federal Census Images Subscription : $19.95 --- Subscription Bundle: 12-month access to both Ancestry.com (Preferred Plan) and the U.S. Federal Census Records: $99.95 Current Ancestry.com Subscribers: --- Add an Annual Census Images Subscription for only $39.95. --- Add a Quarterly Census Images Subscription for only $19.95. For membership questions, call toll-free: 1-800-262-3787.