http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~rwguide/lesson10.htm My Tip: Upon using the search engine, don't include a period after a known middle initial. Sending away for a deceased family member's SS application will nearly always help to fill in missing blanks in your FH. It will also provide you with a copy of his/her handwriting! If your person of interest worked for the railroad, be sure and read about that at the website.

FYI the Social Security Death Index is amazing- BUT not complete. If you do find family, there will be a mothers maiden name on the application. And a fathers name. You couldn't get a SS card with out that info. For no apparent reason, some names do not get entered into the index; my oldest daughter, for one. Joan Whitney ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jean R." <jeanrice@cet.com> To: <IRELAND-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Wednesday, January 28, 2009 3:27 PM Subject: [IRELAND] USA Social Security Death Index Interactive Search atRootsweb > http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~rwguide/lesson10.htm > > My Tip: Upon using the search engine, don't include a period after a > known > middle initial. > > Sending away for a deceased family member's SS application will nearly > always help to fill in missing blanks in your FH. It will also provide > you > with a copy of his/her handwriting! If your person of interest worked for > the railroad, be sure and read about that at the website. > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > IRELAND-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message >

Hi Joan - Are you trying to find her on the SSDI. Do you know whether or not she had a SS number? Do you need some other pairs of eyes to help search? (I may be mistaken, but I believe there are more than one or two websites with search engines for SSDI.) The "Application for a Social Security Number" is commonly referred to as the SS-5. In addition to the SSDI, you may find your ancestor's Social Security number in other ways, especially on death certificates. While it may seem like you are recreating the wheel to request the SS-5 form, there are times that this can be the only proof you will have for an ancestor's birth. For instance, for those ancestors born in the 1860s to 1880s who immigrated to the United States, it can difficult to pinpoint their place of birth. On the SS-5 it was required that the applicant supply complete birth information. This means more than just the country of birth, as is usually found on census and death records. Moreover, the maiden name of the applicant's mother was requested, often critical information for a family historian. In 1996, I sent away for half a dozen SS applications on my deceased parents and other relatives. I'm really glad that I did; in every instance, I discovered something new. For example - I knew that dad's sister "Pat" Ford had been born in Liverpool and I knew the name of her parents. Interestingly, she spelled her father's first name as Micheal, while her siblings had spelled it Michael. Her SS application revealed that "Aunt Pat's real name was Winifred Rosina Ford and that in 1936, when she applied for SS, she was married to a Mr. Kelly - new information for me. (Apparently her "Pat" nickname came from her Irish grandfather, Patrick.) Her application gave me her date and place of birth, her age at last birthday, her sex and "color," parents' names, her present address (1936), her employer's business name and address, the date she signed the application and her own signature. Using this new information, I was able to find out about her first marriage and daughter from that union, etc. Similarly, my mother's SS application gave me new clues. In 1936 she was newly married, had moved from OR to WA State, was residing and working in a town I wasn't aware of. I knew her parents' names, Arley Otto Sweany and Vertie May Grymes - names which were badly misspelled in old IN and LDS FHC records, by the way! I was able to further my research and late discover my Grymes line in IN had changed the spelling of the surname; the rest of the family were Grimes! While the price of the SS applications has gone up since 1996, I believe they are well worth the cost, as they can fill in gaps in the data provided on the U. S. Federal censuses taken every ten years. ***BTW, some states and/or counties conducted censuses in between Federal census years, so researchers might want to investigate that.*** Social Security officially was begun in 1937, with some payments being paid as early as 1940. However, the Social Security Death Index is the computerized index to deaths reported and/or death benefits paid out starting in 1962. The SSDI includes a few pre-1962 entries, but the great majority of those included in this index are from 1962 through the present time. While the limitations of dates may exclude your family member, other reasons that your ancestor may not be included in the SSDI might have to do with his or her occupation or lack thereof. Prior to the 1960s, farmers, housewives, government employees, non-employed individuals, and those with a separate retirement plan might not have had a Social Security number. It was not until 1988 that all children had to have Social Security numbers. When using the Social Security Death Index, in addition to the date of birth and date of death, there are three possible places included as well: a.. State of issuance (where a person then lived and applied or the state in which the office that issued their social security number was located). b.. Residence at time of death (this is really the address of record, but not necessarily where they lived or died). c.. Death benefit (where the lump sum death benefit [burial allowance] was sent). Jean ----- Original Message ----- From: "Joan Whitney" <jwhitney@pacifier.com> To: <ireland@rootsweb.com> Sent: Saturday, February 07, 2009 10:46 AM Subject: Re: [IRELAND] USA Social Security Death Index Interactive SearchatRootsweb > FYI the Social Security Death Index is amazing- BUT not complete. If > you > do find family, there will be a mothers maiden name on the application. > And > a fathers name. You couldn't get a SS card with out that info. For no > apparent reason, some names do not get entered into the index; my oldest > daughter, for one. Joan Whitney > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Jean R." <jeanrice@cet.com> > To: <IRELAND-L@rootsweb.com> > Sent: Wednesday, January 28, 2009 3:27 PM > Subject: [IRELAND] USA Social Security Death Index Interactive Search > atRootsweb http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~rwguide/lesson10.htm > My Tip: Upon using the search engine, don't include a period after a > known middle initial. > <snip>

Jean, thanks for the offer of help and the other information. I know my daughters SS# and death date, and the SS office close to me says she isn't on the index. They aren't much help. (I also know her birth date as I was there then, too.) You posted a lot of info on the SS death index that I am sure will help everyone in their search. Thanks again. Joan ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jean R." <jeanrice@cet.com> To: <ireland@rootsweb.com> Sent: Saturday, February 07, 2009 1:16 PM Subject: Re: [IRELAND] USA Social Security Death Index InteractiveSearchatRootsweb > Hi Joan - Are you trying to find her on the SSDI. Do you know whether or > not she had a SS number? Do you need some other pairs of eyes to help > search? (I may be mistaken, but I believe there are more than one or two > websites with search engines for SSDI.) > > The "Application for a Social Security Number" is commonly referred to as > the SS-5. In addition to the SSDI, you may find your ancestor's Social > Security number in other ways, especially on death certificates. While it > may seem like you are recreating the wheel to request the SS-5 form, there > are times that this can be the only proof you will have for an ancestor's > birth. For instance, for those ancestors born in the 1860s to 1880s who > immigrated to the United States, it can difficult to pinpoint their place > of > birth. On the SS-5 it was required that the applicant supply complete > birth > information. This means more than just the country of birth, as is usually > found on census and death records. Moreover, the maiden name of the > applicant's mother was requested, often critical information for a family > historian. > > In 1996, I sent away for half a dozen SS applications on my deceased > parents > and other relatives. I'm really glad that I did; in every instance, I > discovered something new. For example - I knew that dad's sister "Pat" > Ford > had been born in Liverpool and I knew the name of her parents. > Interestingly, she spelled her father's first name as Micheal, while her > siblings had spelled it Michael. Her SS application revealed that "Aunt > Pat's real name was Winifred Rosina Ford and that in 1936, when she > applied > for SS, she was married to a Mr. Kelly - new information for me. > (Apparently her "Pat" nickname came from her Irish grandfather, Patrick.) > Her application gave me her date and place of birth, her age at last > birthday, her sex and "color," parents' names, her present address (1936), > her employer's business name and address, the date she signed the > application and her own signature. Using this new information, I was able > to find out about her first marriage and daughter from that union, etc. > Similarly, my mother's SS application gave me new clues. In 1936 she was > newly married, had moved from OR to WA State, was residing and working in > a > town I wasn't aware of. I knew her parents' names, Arley Otto Sweany and > Vertie May Grymes - names which were badly misspelled in old IN and LDS > FHC > records, by the way! I was able to further my research and late discover > my > Grymes line in IN had changed the spelling of the surname; the rest of the > family were Grimes! > > While the price of the SS applications has gone up since 1996, I believe > they are well worth the cost, as they can fill in gaps in the data > provided > on the U. S. Federal censuses taken every ten years. ***BTW, some states > and/or counties conducted censuses in between Federal census years, so > researchers might want to investigate that.*** > > Social Security officially was begun in 1937, with some payments being > paid > as early as 1940. However, the Social Security Death Index is the > computerized index to deaths reported and/or death benefits paid out > starting in 1962. The SSDI includes a few pre-1962 entries, but the great > majority of those included in this index are from 1962 through the present > time. While the limitations of dates may exclude your family member, > other > reasons that your ancestor may not be included in the SSDI might have to > do > with his or her occupation or lack thereof. Prior to the 1960s, farmers, > housewives, government employees, non-employed individuals, and those with > a > separate retirement plan might not have had a Social Security number. It > was > not until 1988 that all children had to have Social Security numbers. When > using the Social Security Death Index, in addition to the date of birth > and > date of death, there are three possible places included as well: > > a.. State of issuance (where a person then lived and applied or the state > in which the office that issued their social security number was located). > b.. Residence at time of death (this is really the address of record, but > not necessarily where they lived or died). > c.. Death benefit (where the lump sum death benefit [burial allowance] > was > sent). > Jean > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Joan Whitney" <jwhitney@pacifier.com> > To: <ireland@rootsweb.com> > Sent: Saturday, February 07, 2009 10:46 AM > Subject: Re: [IRELAND] USA Social Security Death Index Interactive > SearchatRootsweb >> FYI the Social Security Death Index is amazing- BUT not complete. If >> you >> do find family, there will be a mothers maiden name on the application. >> And >> a fathers name. You couldn't get a SS card with out that info. For no >> apparent reason, some names do not get entered into the index; my oldest >> daughter, for one. Joan Whitney >> ----- Original Message ----- >> From: "Jean R." <jeanrice@cet.com> >> To: <IRELAND-L@rootsweb.com> >> Sent: Wednesday, January 28, 2009 3:27 PM >> Subject: [IRELAND] USA Social Security Death Index Interactive Search >> atRootsweb > http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~rwguide/lesson10.htm > >> My Tip: Upon using the search engine, don't include a period after a >> known middle initial. >> <snip> > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > IRELAND-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message >