I am one happy camper! I just learned that the 1795-1925 U.S. Passport Applications have been added to Ancestry.com. I'm nostalgic about this collection as I've been using it so long that I can actually recall being taken to one of those hidden, almost half-floors at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. the first time I requested access.
I love this collection as it's a terrific and underutilized one that sometimes even serves up the bonus of a photo. I especially enjoy finding records for immigrants returning home as they often provide the place of birth, father's name and other details straight from the horse's mouth -- not from a survivor in the person's death certificate. About as handy as Social Security applications for this purpose, but now, a heck of a lot easier to access!
And as if I needed something else to be thankful for, Ancestry also added the 1895 New Jersey State Census! Something tells me I'm going to be spending at least some of the holiday searching for my Jersey City Irish!