By DONNA MURRAY ALLEN
Published September 18, 2003
As we noted last week, Social Security was started to provide financial assistance to the elderly, and not as a resource for future genealogists. But rooters are relentless. They view such potentially valuable documents with the same alacrity as a hungry pit bull eyes a chunk of rare steak.
The Social Security Administration retains copies of everybody's original application for a Social Security card. These gems usually contain the applicant's name, date and place of birth and parents' names. Citizenship status was added in the 1970s. Since dead people have no privacy rights, you may obtain a copy of any deceased person's Social Security card application.
A quick way to latch onto a copy of an application is through the Social Security Death Index. "Social Security has a Death Master File," said Andy Hardwick, who responded to my questions by e-mail on behalf of the agency's Baltimore press office. "It is not available online, but some organizations have purchased the data and used it to compile the Social Security Death Index, which may be searched online for free."
I use the SSDI on the Mormon Church site at www.familysearch.org Just plug in the person's name and, if you get a hit, you'll immediately learn basic facts like the person's birth and death dates. Itching to know more? Scroll to the far right side of the page and click. A form letter appears. Download it, mail it with a check for $27, and you'll soon get a copy of the person's application.
Unfortunately, most of the people on the SSDI died after 1962, which is when the SSA began computerizing records. You can still get records by snail mail. (Remember that not all workers contributed to Social Security then or now.)
Applicants personally signed the original applications. Unless you long for something containing the individual's signature, request a numident (extract) instead of a copy of the application. For $18 ($16 if you know the Social Security number) you'll get the same data but in printout form instead of a duplicate of the actual card.
If you want to know only a decedent's death date, ask the SSA to conduct a search. If the person was receiving benefits, you can get the death date for $16 or $18. (The SSA keeps records only for those who received benefits.)
Trying to locate a long-lost sibling? The SSA will sometimes act as an intermediary. Write a letter, put it into its own envelope and mail it inside a larger envelope addressed to the SSA, along with a request that it be forwarded to your kin because it's important. Don't write your life story. But do include data like the person's full name, age and birthplace.
"The SSA will search its records to locate that person and attempt to forward the letter," said Hardwick. "Since letter forwarding is not related in any way to a Social Security program, the use of this service must be limited so that it does not interfere with our regular activities. Unless a person is receiving benefits under a program we administer, the only address we normally have is that of an employer who reported earnings for the person. SSA cannot advise the sender of the letter if the address has been located and no assurance can be given that the letter will be delivered or that a reply will be received. SSA cannot forward second letters."
To request records, write to: Social Security Administration, OEO FOIA Workgroup, 300 N Green St., P.O. Box 33022, Baltimore, MD, 21290.
Irish immigrants
Many Irish immigrants who arrived at the Port of New Orleans in the mid to late 1800s eventually settled in the Midwest and other areas. The impoverished ill were admitted to the local public hospital. Reader Jo-Ann Harmon of Lecanto tells us those records are now online at www.rootsweb.com/usgenweb/la/orleans/charity.htm The database is searchable.
- Read past Donna Murray Allen columns online at www.sptimes.com Type "Donna Murray Allen" in the search box. You can write to Allen c/o Floridian, St. Petersburg Times, P.O. Box 1121, St. Petersburg, FL 33731, or e-mail her at rootscolumn@yahoo.com Her Web site, www.rootsdetective.com includes information on classes and lectures. Allen welcomes questions about genealogy and will respond to those of general interest in future columns.
