Hi Listers, I was just at the Alfred State College library this afternoon and came across a wonderful research aid by way of the Abstract of the 1910 Census. I wanted other years, but this was the only one they had, so I used it. It is published by the Bureau of the Census and takes all the census info and compiles tables and all kinds of information. This is extremely helpful to family history researchers if you are trying to compile a profile of the area where your ancestors lived. I believe there is a book like this for every census. Many of my ancestors lived in Reading and Berks from 1850 to the present. So what kinds of information can you find? I will summarize a portion of it for those of you who might want it for your records. This book covers the whole US and had a NY state supplement at the end. Here goes! Berks County in 1910 had an area of 865 Sq. miles and a population of 183,222, up from 159,615 in 1900, and 137,327 in 1890. The population of PA in 1910 was 7,665,111. Fifty to 75% of this population was living in urban areas, defined as cities and other incorporated places of 2500 inhabitants or more. The population of Reading in 1910 was 96,071, of which 74,714 were native born; 11,750 were of foreign or mixed parentage; 8,812 were foreign born whites; 787 were Negroes; and 8 were Ind, Jap., Chi., & other. There were 47,576 males and 48,495 females. It further breaks down the population of the foreign born by nation, the highest percentage being from Germany. It gives statistics on the number of persons 15 and older who are married, single, divorced, widowed, also divided by male and female within these categories. It lists number of school children and number of illiterates. The number of dwellings was 20,798, families 21,809, and breaks it down by persons per dwelling and per family, showing a comparison of the same to 1900 and 1890. Reading's population in 1890 was 58,661 and in 1900 was 78,961. There is data on industry, mining, and agriculture. The agriculture section lists average size of farms and value of farm lands back to 1850. This helped me since my gggrandparents had property on the 1850 census valued at $1500. Taking the average price per acre of farm land in 1850, and dividing it into that total value, I have determined they owned somewhere between 90 and 100 acres. Now.....if I can just locate that farm!!! Next trip to PA, I will!!!!!! It also showed that farmland nearly doubled in value by 1870. Since my gg's moved to Reading in 1867, they probably realized a significant profit when they sold the farm (assuming they did so!) Although this book and the same book for other census years won't help you with specific surnames, it might give you a ton of clues about the times in which they lived and what surrounded them, both people wise, property wise, and economically. So keep researching!!! Judy in upstate NY ________________________________________________________________ YOU'RE PAYING TOO MUCH FOR THE INTERNET! Juno now offers FREE Internet Access! Try it today - there's no risk! For your FREE software, visit: http://dl.www.juno.com/get/tagj.