# Who's your grandaddy? Searchable U.S. Census records from 1790 to 1930 now onlne **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 23, 2006, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-grandaddy-searchable-u-s-census-records-from-1790-to-1930-now-onlne/361854 "2006-06-23T13:30:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2006, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-grandaddy-searchable-u-s-census-records-from-1790-to-1930-now-onlne/361854/1 "2006-06-23T13:30:41Z")
[Pretty remarkable achievement](http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13483892/) > [@](#): > > The Provo company was set to announce Thursday that it copied complete U.S. Census records from 1790 to 1930 — a Herculean effort that took a team of experts and workers a combined 6.6 million hours of labor ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2006, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-grandaddy-searchable-u-s-census-records-from-1790-to-1930-now-onlne/361854/2 "2006-06-23T13:56:39Z")
Very impressive. I wish it was free. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2006, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-grandaddy-searchable-u-s-census-records-from-1790-to-1930-now-onlne/361854/3 "2006-06-23T14:09:30Z")
**Kalhoun** , yeah. Or cheaper. $29.95 a month or $155 a year. I understand that they need to recoup their investment, but for casual users, I think that’s a bit high. I suppose if someone was organized and had the time, they could do all their research in a month, but most of us aren’t. Still, good job! ---
**Author:** ![Fir\_na\_tine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Fir\_na\_tine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fir_na_tine)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2006, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-grandaddy-searchable-u-s-census-records-from-1790-to-1930-now-onlne/361854/4 "2006-06-23T15:09:06Z")
Many public libraries have subscriptions to the online library version of [ancestry.com](http://ancestry.com) and you can access the database for free. The search tools are not as good and it takes longer to ferret out what you’re looking for but it’s better than nothing. Check with your local library if you’re interested. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2006, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-grandaddy-searchable-u-s-census-records-from-1790-to-1930-now-onlne/361854/5 "2006-06-23T22:32:33Z")
Those records have been out on CD for some years now, published by Broderbund. That subscription price seems very high. ---
**Author:** ![Can\_Handle\_the\_Truth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Can\_Handle\_the\_Truth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Can_Handle_the_Truth)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2006, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-grandaddy-searchable-u-s-census-records-from-1790-to-1930-now-onlne/361854/6 "2006-06-24T03:19:52Z")
Well, I at least appreciate hearing about this. In the last few hours I’ve found the earliest record of my family in the U.S., in the 1880 census. My great-great grandfather immigrated from Germany in 1873. By 1880 he had a wife and two boys and was established in business as a butcher.