Heritage Quest (HQ) can be free via one's public library right to 
your home computer, if one has a library card.  HQ's census 
repository also has an advanced search engine that allows robust and 
specific searches well beyond heads of families. For the non-indexed 
years, I have found that browsing the census by district helps me 
understand the 'neighborhood' better and several times, by sheer 
serendipity, I have come across another ancestor who happened to live 
in the same district as the one I was researching. For those few 
times I have needed the non-indexed years (1830, 1840, 1850), I have 
asked a cousin to tell me what district our ancestor was in or what 
page number in the census and was able to easily get to the right 
page quickly. Take a look at the home page of your public library or 
email them and inquire about their ability to share HQ by giving card 
holders passwords and user names. It is really quite simple. I signed 
on right after a quick phone call to my friendly librarian. No need 
for your own microfilm reader. Just your trusty home computer and 
printer -- any time of day or night.

Another great source for searching from home is footnote.com. Some of 
their material is free. For less than $8 / month one can access all 
of their images, now in the multi-millions including large portions 
of NARA documents and 100% of their Revolutionary War records, I 
believe. The images download easily and print beautifully.

Gayle Hudgens
in Texas

At 07:30 PM 1/29/2008, you wrote:
>I would disagree also. Time is money. If I don't have to drive to the
>library and hope a reader is not in use so I can view microfilm, then
>it is worth it to me to pay Ancestry so I can sit in my home and view
>the same images. Unless of course you have your own microfilm reader
>at home and a copy of every census microfilm.
>
>___________________
>Donald W. Moore
>Virginia Beach, Virginia
>
>
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