was it free? was it all online?
Everything I found out was for free and it was on-line. I believe I accessed the 1940 census info from Ancestry.com and had to sign up but the first 30 days were free. I found that census particularly interesting for me because I was adopted and my bio father and grandparents are listed but there is no mention of my bio mother or an older sister who reportedly was born that year. As I remember I did have to know something about the part of the country where they lived so I could find the correct report. Of course they are all long gone now but it would sure be a good spot to get a bogus SS# from.
The legal history as I recall was on a website that you had to pay for, at least to use for the first 30 days. Even those websites that you have to pay for are really inexpensive and you can buy and use a MC or VISA gift card to pay for them.
A relative was having problems with her ex-husband and his new wife and she was able to get a copy of the new wife’s previous divorce decree through the FOIA which was pretty interesting.
Seems like a whole lot of stuff there if you want to spend hours digging for it.