Those of you in the US interested in online census and other historical
references may be interested in the Godfrey Memorial Library,
http://www.godfrey.org/. The Library is a nonprofit physically located in
Central Connecticut, but they have extensive on line resources, including
census, historical newspapers, Revolutionary War soldiers, etc, etc. Dues
are $35 per year (very reasonable compared to some of the commercial
services), and it's very convenient to be sitting at home and think "well,
what about so-and-so?" and be able to pull up the census immediately. It's
not a panacea, but it's another resource and very convenient.
Regards and happy holidays to all!
Art