Entire U.S. Census to be Added to Footnote

Footnote announced today that it will digitize and place online all publicly available U.S. Federal Censuses from 1790 to the most current public census from 1930. The 1860 and 1930 censuses are already online, with digitization of 1900, 1910 and 1920 just getting underway.

So why use the census on Footnote when it is available elsewhere on the Web? Footnote does do it a little differently - offering interactive census pages for each individual which allow users to add comments and insight about that person, upload and attach scanned photos and documents, and identify relatives found in the census by clicking the I'm Related button. Check out the 1930 interactive census page for Jimmy Stewart to see available features.

Footnote also offers an alternative to other subscription genealogy sites, such as Ancestry.com, which offer the complete U.S. census. The census records also make a very nice addition for people subscribing to Footnote for the many other records they offer. Of course, FamilySearch Record Search offers many U.S. Federal Census online for free (along with census records for many states and other countries). They currently have indexes and images for 1850, 1860, 1870 and 1900, plus indexes only for 1880 and 1920.

Check out the latest interactive census additions at Footnote, and sign up to receive an email when images are added for your chosen states.

Entire U.S. Census to be Added to Footnote originally appeared on About.com Genealogy on Thursday, October 29th, 2009 at 09:56:41.

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Locating Historical U.S. Deeds Online

The Bureau of Land Management's General Land Office records are a great online resource for U.S. genealogists researching ancestors in the thirty federal or public land states. As far as online land records go, however, the GLO is not the only game in town. Many U.S. counties, especially in the eastern part of the country, have started putting their historical deed records online. You might be surprised what you can find!

Most of you probably know that I have a lot of North Carolina ancestors. As a result, I've been very happy with the recent trend of North Carolina counties to place their deeds records online in digitized format. Read more...

Locating Historical U.S. Deeds Online originally appeared on About.com Genealogy on Sunday, October 25th, 2009 at 12:04:53.

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Common English Surnames & Their Meanings

Hereditary surnames, the family names passed down from father to son, came much later to England than many other parts of Europe. It was not until almost the 16th century before surnames were in common, everyday use by almost everyone. What's interesting is that the most common surnames in use in England today (according to ONS data) are not all of English origin. Their are several Arabic names in the top 100, along with name of more expected Welsh or Scottish origins.

Is your name one of the most common in use in England today? Do you know what it may mean or where it derives from? While it is fairly difficult to say with a certainty how your specific family name evolved without tracing it all the way back to its progenitor, you can at least learn a little about the common meaning and origin applied to your surname in this list of Top 100 Common English Surnames & Their Meanings.

Common English Surnames & Their Meanings originally appeared on About.com Genealogy on Saturday, October 17th, 2009 at 11:30:06.

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Common English Surnames & Their Meanings

Hereditary surnames, the family names passed down from father to son, came much later to England than many other parts of Europe. It was not until almost the 16th century before surnames were in common, everyday use by almost everyone. What's interesting is that the most common surnames in use in England today (according to ONS data) are not all of English origin. Their are several Arabic names in the top 100, along with name of more expected Welsh or Scottish origins.

Is your name one of the most common in use in England today? Do you know what it may mean or where it derives from? While it is fairly difficult to say with a certainty how your specific family name evolved without tracing it all the way back to its progenitor, you can at least learn a little about the common meaning and origin applied to your surname in this list of Top 100 Common English Surnames & Their Meanings.

Common English Surnames & Their Meanings originally appeared on About.com Genealogy on Thursday, October 15th, 2009 at 11:30:06.

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