Hello subscribers, I am writing to all of the mailing lists that I administer (which means some inevitable duplicate posts for some you) to inform you, in case you haven't already heard, that the fee for requesting copies of Social Security Applications is being raised on July 1st, from $7 to $27. So, if you have been thinking about requesting some copies, you should have your requests postmarked before July 1st in order to get your requests in at the $7 fee which is good for requests postmarked through June 30th. Most of the sites that have a searchable SSDI database also include a link to generate a request letter for you. The sites I am aware of that offer a searchable SSDI (Social Security Death Index) database include: http://ssdi.genealogy.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/ssdi.cgi http://www.ancestry.com/search/rectype/vital/ssdi/main.htm http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/fto_ssdisearch.html http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Search/frameset_search.asp (choose the US Social Security Death Index link on the left-hand side of the page) Requesting a copy of the social security application for someone whose record you find in one of these search engines is straightforward. To request a copy of the application for any other deceased person, you must first provide proof of the number and proof of death (which I just might do for my grandfather -- I have his original card and a copy of his death certificate). For persons whose ancestors changed their surnames, this can be an invaluable source of information. The most recent copy I received showed that my husband's grandfather (known to most people as Irving Siegel) was born with the name Samuel Saminowitch -- I never would have learned that any other way. And his grandmother, known as Minnie Hummel, was shown as being born with the name Minnie Homlevsky. So, for fairly recent immigrants (i.e. since late 1800's, early 1900's), it is definitely worth having. For others who are not immigrants -- the social security application will generally contain the names of both parents, including the maiden name of the mother. This information has been invaluable to me so far in my research. Can you tell that I'm in favor of requesting copies???? -- Mary Taffet List Administrator for 12 mailing lists [email protected]