In a message dated 97-02-28 11:41:37 EST, you write: << >The only people who show up in the SSDI are those people who died and for : >whom the death benefit was collected. : > : >Annie Not true... The only people who show up in SSDI are those that the SSA was informed of by the filing of the proper forms. Collecting a death benefit is *not* required; merely notifing them to stop delivering benefit checks is sufficient. The DI is basically the master list of everyone who SSA knows for sure is dead. Anyone who was not collecting benefits, and who there was no one who could legitimately claim a death benefit for, might well not be in the file. Some funeral homes as part of their services automatically notify the SSA *anyway*. >> The way to understand the SSDI is to read the article about it at: http://www.ancestry.com/ssdi/article.htm I believe it was written by someone who understood what we are dealing with much better than I do. Annie