Out of the many free services useful in genealogical research, the Social Security Death Index is one of the best. It does not provide an extensive amount of information about deceased persons, but it does provide information that can be very helpful when doing family tree research and can assist in discovering additional information. The information in the Social Security Death Index is generated from the master death file maintained by the Social Security Administration.
The Social Security Death Index can be accessed from many genealogical sites. It is always free, even if accessed from a pay site. Learning details about ancestors is critical to genealogical research, and the Social Security Death Index is a good place to start when beginning research on individual ancestors.
There are six main components of information reflected in the Social Security Death Index. These are:
1. Date of Birth
2. Date of Death
3. Last Residence
4. Last Benefit
5. Social Security Number
6. State Issued
Searching the Social Security Death Index is not at all complicated. An initial search asks for the first and last name of the person you are looking for, middle initial, and Social Security Number. You can input just the first and last name so don't despair if you do not know the Social Security Number of the individual. An advanced search option is also available, which contains additional optional information fields such as dates of birth and/or death, last residence, etc. The more information you know at the beginning, the fewer search results you will have to go through before you find your ancestor's information.
Once you have located your ancestor, you have an option to purchase a photocopy of the original Social Security application. This is a pricey option, as one photocopy costs $27. It may be money well spent, however, because Social Security applications often contain valuable information, such as names of the person's parents.
Not all information fields are always filled in one every person you search for. Only the information that the Social Security Administration had available is posted in the Social Security Death index. Often you will find only the month and year of death, for example, rather than the entire date of death.
It also takes time for recent deaths to be posted to the Social Security Death Index. Other deaths may not be indexed for various reasons, including people who died before Social Security was implemented or people who never obtained a Social Security card, as examples.
Other uses for the Social Security Death Index include people searches. For example, if you are trying to track down an old friend you can check this resource to make sure the person is still alive. I realize that sounds a bit morbid, but it is better to know up front than to find out later on.
If you have never explored the Social Security Death Index, I recommend you give it a try. If you are not already a genealogical researcher, it just might spark your interest and at the very least you may find out important information about people in your family tree.