Eileen Holt of Howard Lake, Minn., and Susan Dunlap of Perris, Calif., want to share their antique Valentine cards with you. To view the cards, visit http://www.familytreemagazine.com/ancestornews/current.html.

Eileen Holt wrote:

"I read your article last week. It prompted me to go get the boxes from my mother-in-law's home. I have about 200 postcards that were sent for various holidays. I have three Valentine cards from the early 1900s. I also found two cards that are the kind with the fold-out red paper that makes a heart, but I wasn't able to scan them to send you images. I have many other beautiful postcards, some of which have notes written in Norwegian. I will keep these in a separate divider until I can find someone to translate the messages."

Susan Dunlap wrote:

"I enjoyed reading your article and learning about the makers of old cards. I have several cards (Valentine, Easter and Christmas) that were handed down to me. Some are handmade.

"I have attached scans I made of the only card I have with a maker's stamp on it. It sounds similar to the one you described. The signature is the name of my mother; however, it's not her handwriting. She probably was too young to sign it. I believe the handwriting is her mother's. I think this card was probably made in the 1920s."

I hope you all enjoy this week's column as much as you enjoyed last week's.

On my trip to Cass County, Mo., last October, I received copies of the Cass County 1880 and 1900 censuses, both compiled and sold by the local genealogy society.

A census transcription of a county where several of your ancestors lived is a valuable addition to your home library. Although you may think you've gleaned everything possible from a specific census, I guarantee the day will come when you'll need it one more time.

Many genealogical societies (and historical societies) sell transcriptions that interest family historians. The San Diego Genealogical Society, for example, sells transcriptions of several censuses, along with tax assessments and church, newspaper, cemetery and burial records. The Virginia Genealogical Society offers several publications, including the Death Notices from Richmond, Virginia Newspapers, 1841-1853 and Index of Virginia Estate Records, 1800-1865.

How do you find out if records are for sale in your state of research? Visit the Web site of the society you're interested in and look through the site for a link to publications or items "For Sale." Very few societies accept credit cards online, but they do provide an address to send your order and a personal check.

Search these sites to find your society:

• Historical and Genealogical Societies of the United States
www.obitlinkspage.com/hs (If you can't find a site using this page, go to your favorite search engine.)

• USGenWeb County Pages
www.usgenweb.com

• Societies are also listed in alphabetical order on
www.cyndislist.com/society.htm