by Annalou Mack

Created on: August 21, 2008

A useful tool to the genealogist is the Social Security Death Index (SSDI). This is a huge database containing more than 82 million records of deaths that have been reported to the Social Security Administration. Included in the file is the name of the decedent, the social security number, state where the social security number was issued, date of birth, date of death, state and zip code of last residence, and zip code of last payment. I have found the SSDI extremely helpful in my genealogy research.

The SSDI is a searchable online index that can be found on several places on the web. Three prominent sites are FamilySearch.com, Ancestry.com and RootsWeb.com. I prefer the RootsWeb.com site. To me is seems to offer more information.

When you find a site you want to search, start by typing in the decedent's first name and last name in the fields provided. Be sure to use the name that was used at the time of death. A woman's married name would be the one reported to the Social Security Administration. You can also try searching on obvious alternate name spellings. Another search option is by first name. Alternate spellings, nicknames, middle names and initials can be tried.

You can also search by state of issue if you are sure of where your ancestor was living when (s)he received the Social Security number. One problem with that is that sometimes people have had their number issued in a different state from where they were living.

Birth and death dates can be used as a search option but often that is information that you are hoping to find. The address where the person last lived is also a way to search, as is the location of last benefit. Be aware that about 20% of the records do not have that information. Also the last benefit may have been paid to someone other than the ancestor, such as next of kin.

If you don't find your ancestor after numerous searches there are several reasons why. It may be that they did not have a Social Security Card. There were many occupations that were not eligible for social security enrollment prior to 1960. Most of the records prior to 1962 were never added when the SSDI was first computerized. Your ancestor's death may not have been reported to the Social Security Administration. Errors may have been made when the information was entered into the database.

Once you find the record you can request a copy of the form SS-5. That is the person's original application for a Social Security Number. There is a charge for that copy but there is additional information on the form and worth your while to order it. You may find all kinds of clues about your ancestor from the original application.

The SSDI is a valuable resource, but be aware that there are flaws. The information given was received from numerous sources such as: relatives of the decedent, funeral home directors, financial institutions, and postal authorities. These sources may not have had the correct information, particularly the birth date. This is another reason to order the original application because that info should be accurate.

Genealogists use any tool available to help them in their research and this is an important one.

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