The complete 1920 U.S. Federal Census Index will fill many CD-ROM disks. The first few to be released cover large cities in the eastern United States. Later releases will cover rural areas and will also move westward. The disk I used this week lists 686,353 heads of household enumerated in the Fourteenth Census in New York’s Brooklyn Borough.

The difference between the Standard and Deluxe versions is the inclusion of the actual images of the original census records. The Standard version contains the census index only, not the original images. Once you find a name, you will want to obtain a copy of the original census pages to view the information yourself. Keep in mind that the index only shows the Head of Household, not the names of all the residents of that household. The index also contains a limited amount of information about that head of household: their name, birthplace, age, and race, as well as the census page where detailed information may be found. However, the original census pages contain much more detailed information about all residents in each household, including name, age, relationship to the head of household, place of birth, citizenship, education, native language, place of birth of both parents and so forth.

Anyone who subscribes to Ancestry.com’s Super Subscription plan already has the capability to view original census pages stored on Ancestry.com’s Web servers. However, those who do not have that subscription may purchase the Deluxe Edition of any of the Census Index CD-ROM disks and thereby obtain access to the original census pages for the records contained on the CD-ROM they purchased. For instance, anyone who purchases the Deluxe Edition of the 1920 Federal Census Index CD-ROM for Brooklyn will be able to view the index on the CD-ROM, click on an icon in a record listed there, and then automatically connect to the Internet to view the original images as stored on Ancestry.com’s Web servers. That person will only be able to view the Brooklyn pages for 1920, however. Similarly, a person who purchases the Deluxe Edition of the Manhattan census records will only be able to view those original census pages for Manhattan, and so on.

Macintosh users will want to note that their version of the Ancestry.com 1920 Federal Census Index on CD-ROM consists of all Deluxe Editions bundled with online access to original census images. There is no "Standard Edition" for Macintosh.

Software installation was quick and easy. AncestryView version 2.0 software gets installed on the local hard drive while the index data remains on the CD-ROM disk. The system requirements are rather modest by today’s standards: a 486/33 or faster processor (with a Pentium recommended), Windows 95 or later, 16 megabytes or more of RAM memory, 15 megabytes of available hard disk space, a double-speed or faster CD-ROM, and a monitor with 800x600 pixel display or greater that can display 16-bit color or better. The Deluxe and Macintosh versions also require an Internet connection to view the images of source records. I installed the software on a 600 MHz Pentium III system running Windows 2000 connected to a cable modem.

Navigation around the census index proved to be simple and intuitive. When looking at new genealogy products for the first time, I usually search first for my own surname. In this case, I simply typed that name into the space provided, and a second or so later I was looking at an alphabetical list of all the heads of household that had the same surname as my own.

Of course, Brooklyn has always been a melting pot of nationalities, and there was ample proof of this displayed on my screen. The folks who sell you the shoddy "histories of your family name" will always claim that the surname of Eastman originated in England; but, here I was looking at census records for families of that name showing places of birth in Sweden, Finland, Galicia (the 1920 name for land that today is mostly in Poland and the Ukraine), Germany, England, the Channel Islands, Barbados, and the British West Indies. The index listings were brief: name, birthplace, age, and race, as well as the census page where detailed information may be found.

The CD-ROM disk I was using was a Deluxe Edition, so I was able to view the original census images. I clicked on an icon labeled "View Actual Census Image" and was immediately connected to Ancestry’s Web servers through my normal Internet connection. The first time I did this I was advised that I needed to download a plug-in for my Web browser. The plug-in is called MrSID, and obtaining it was quick and painless. The plug-in was soon downloaded and installed. I was then looking at an image of the original census pages as stored on Ancestry.com’s Web servers. I used MrSID to zoom in and out and to "pan" around the pages (move a page around on the screen so that I could examine one small piece at a time). One of the records proved to be very difficult to read with poor handwriting. I had the most success when I zoomed in a bit and then printed that section of the image on my local printer. I could then clearly decipher the letters from the printed image even though the on-screen image was still a bit fuzzy. The MrSID plug-in worked well and allowed me to decode words that were difficult to read when looking at the entire image.

When using the MrSID viewer, you can print census image pages on your local printer. The quality of locally printed pages appears to be as good, if not better, than photocopies I have made in past years from microfilm images. You can also zoom in and magnify a portion of the page and then print that magnified image.

All in all, I was pleased with the operation of the Ancestry.com 1920 Federal Census Index CD-ROM disk. It was easy to use and worked well. Potential buyers should be aware that the ability to view original images is included only on the Deluxe Editions and the Macintosh Editions whereas the Standard version requires a subscription to Ancestry.com in order to view the supplemental images.

The Macintosh version is an interesting addition to Ancestry.com’s catalog of products, as demand for Mac products seems to be dwindling in recent years. I suspect this is a bit of an experiment for Ancestry.com; if they receive a significant number of orders for the Mac version, they probably will devote more time and money to develop future Macintosh products.

The Standard Edition (for Windows) of the 1920 US Federal Census Indexes on CD-ROM sell for $19.95 (U.S. funds) plus shipping. The Macintosh Edition and the Deluxe Edition (for Windows) sell for $49.95. For more information, look at: www.ancestry.com.

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