The following is of important general interest even if it tends to be a commercial announcement. Some of you subscribe to Ancestry, so you will already be advised. Regards, Bob Schimmel, listowner ****************** Reprinted form Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter Vol. 4 No. 11 - March 13, 1999 OREM, UTAH, March 11, 1999 -- Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com), announced today the exclusive online availability of a 35 million-name index to state and federal census records dating from 1790 through 1870. Often the most comprehensive resource from the beginning of the federal government through the Civil War and Westward expansion, federal and state census indexes list the name and residence for millions of Americans. In addition to traditional census data, the collection includes "non-population" schedules, which include listings of deaths, military service, and slave ownership. These schedules provide additional details that assist in locating family members or developing more extensive personal profiles. The collection of census data is available at no extra charge to Ancestry.com subscribers. However, you can search in the free area to see if a name is listed. For instance, I looked for my great-great- grandfather in the free area and found the following: SEARCHED FOR: WASHINGTON EASTMAN AIS Census Indexes AIS Arkansas Census Index 3 AIS Maine Census Index 1 This indicates that men of that name are found in one census index in Maine and three census indexes in Arkansas. The exact census records available vary a bit from state to state. Here is Ancestry's description for census listings in Maine: This collection contains the following indexes: 1800 Federal Census Index; 1810 Federal Census Index; 1820 Federal Census Index; 1830 Federal Census Index; 1840 Federal Census Index; 1840 Pensioners List; 1850 Federal Census Index; 1860 Federal Census Index; 1870 Federal Census Index; 1890 Veterans Schedules; Early Census Index If you are a subscriber of Ancestry.com and want to search the census indexes, go to: http://www.ancestry.com/census/. If you are not yet a subscriber, Ancestry.com's web servers run secure sockets so that your credit card information is encrypted for the protection. There are several membership options, ranging from $59.95 to $99.95. Complete information can be found at: http://www.ancestry.com/subscribe.htm