Group, I received this post from Jeffery Scism the USGENWEB Cordinator fo the NE NC region. Pat Miller Hi Pat, please pass along if you wish. The SSDI is an index of those whose deaths were reported to Social Security and those whose death was followed by a death benefit claim. In 1995 the Social Security registration process became mandatory for children who enter public school, most jurisdictions start the process at birth. The Tax laws indicate that children over one must have a ssan to be included as dependants on a federal tax form. The early results on SSDI (pre 1963) are sporatic and were added after the fact. Most were Railroad Retirements, and come from when the Railroad retirement program was merged with social security. Farmers and self employed were not required to have a SSAN. ~~ Jeffery G. Scism, IBSSG Local Coordinator Representative, NE/NC Region, USGenWeb Project http://usgenweb.org/