Every once in a while someone asks me what I think of those paid Web sites, where you pay so much a month, often with a one-year commitment, to gain access to perhaps thousands of genealogy databases.

I had not used such a site until recently, because there is so much free data on the Web. For instance, if you use the Mormon Church free site at www.familyhistory.org, plugging in a name will bring up not only information extracted from town records, but also references to the U.S. Census of 1880. Once you find a name linked to the census, you can look at the entire household if you like.

I signed up for a year on www.ancestry.com, and am just beginning to learn what it offers. My comments are intended as information, not as a review, and if you are interested in such sites, I’d suggest talking to several subscribers. Also, Bangor Public Library has one computer with access to Ancestry.com. To use it, ask in the Reference Room.

Researchers who do not live close to facilities that own the U.S. Census on microfilm might be interested in such a Web site, which offers actual images of the census, and indexes for several years.

I started off by looking for ancestors David and Lucy Bennett, who I knew lived in Parkman and were on the Piscataquis County microfilm for 1850. I found David in the index, listing him on page 198.

At first I had trouble looking at some portions of the page, until I downloaded the suggested MrSid, a free accessory intended to help with zooming in and out, and panning across the page.

But when I looked at page 198, I found no David Bennett. Then it occurred to me that some censuses have two pages for every page number. So I took a jaunt up to the University of Maine’s Fogler Library to check the microfilm, and there were David and Lucy on the second of two pages under 198.

Then it was back to the computer to see whether I could get to that second page. Only one page came up, but at the bottom of the screen was a little box indicating that this was image 21 of 31, or something like that. So I clicked on “next image,” and got the second page of 198, with David and Lucy. Success.

Ancestry.com sends out frequent updates on new offerings. I was interested to note recently that the site has a database for the 1884 Bangor City Directory. I tried it out by looking for my Hayford cousins.

The search turned up an image of the page containing the one Hayford entry: Hayford, Wm. B., land and lumber, office 43 West Market Square, house 148 Cedar. There you go.

Wigglesworth, Middlebrook, Culver and Chesebrough – isn’t that a great collection of names? Each crops up in the October issue of The New England Historical and Genealogical Register, the quarterly published by the New England Historic Genealogical Society.

The related articles include “The Middlebrook Sisters: Mother and Mother-in-Law of Michael Wigglesworth,” and “More on the Reyners,” both by Maxine Stansell.

Also: “English Origin of Edward Garfield of Watertown, Massachusetts,” by Robert Charles Anderson; “Martha Ellsworth, Second Wife of John Osborn of Windsor, Connecticut,” by Justine Harwood Laquer; “Joshua Culver, Revolutionary War Soldier of Wallingford, Connecticut; Wells, Vermont; and Springfield, Ohio,” by Faye Burnham Thompson; and “Walter and Mary (Fry) Harris of New London, Connecticut,” by Gale Ion Harris (continued).

In addition, there is another installment of Michael J. Boonstra’s “Descendants of ‘King’ David Chesebrough of Newport, Rhode Island, With Clues to the Identity of His Son-in-Law, Hon. Alexander Grant Esq., of Scotland, Newport, Nova Scotia, Jamaica, and London.” These articles are well done, and you can find The Register in libraries such as Bangor Public Library.

Speaking of Bangor Public Library, at 145 Harlow St., join us for a meeting of Penobscot County Genealogical Society at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 20, in the Children’s Story Room.

Library staff Bill Cook and Shawn Weisser will speak on “Beyond the Stacks,” presenting plans for the Bangor Room and a look at genealogical material not readily found on the shelves. You don’t want to miss this program. The library has wonderful resources on New England genealogy and history, including 10 volumes of Boston Evening Transcript notes and queries – indexed.

3206. BURGESS-DODGE. Seeking parents for Rhoda Burgess, b. March 16, 1795, md. William Dodge of Twenty-Five Mile Pond, also called Unity Pond, Nov. 8, 1812. She d. March 22, 1875. Gail Danforth, P.O. Box 425, Fort Klamath, OR 97626.

Send genealogy queries to Family Ties, Bangor Daily News, P.O. Box 1329, Bangor, ME 04402; or send e-mail to familyti@bangordailynews.net.