From: ciarlett@mizar.usc.edu (Joni Ciarletta)
Newsgroups: soc.roots
Subject: Social Security Administration
Date: 5 Nov 1992 08:50:23 -0800
Organization: University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA
Distribution: world
NNTP-Posting-Host: mizar.usc.edu


For those of you who are interested in what the Social Security
Administration (SSA) has to offer in the way of genealogy research,
I have compiled a summary of responses I received from several
individuals.  Many found the experience to be frustrating, but
worth the effort.  I hope some of you find it useful.  Thanks to
all who responded to my original post.
 
1.    You can contact the SSA and request a "Third Party Request for
      Information Form".
 
2.    When you fill the form out, try to fill it out as completely
      as you can, and include the social security number of the
      individual whenever possible.  This will help to move the
      search along considerably.  Leaving the social security number
      off often results in a negative response.
 
3.    The SSA must know that the person you are requesting
      information on is indeed dead.  Therefore, they also require
      that you submit a copy of the death certificate, SS Death
      Index Printout, funeral memorial card, newspaper obituary,
      letter from the cemetery where the person is buried, or any
      other proof that the person is no longer living. (They are
      unable to give information out on a living person.)  One
      person said that they were able to talk the SSA into giving
      them the information by proving that the person would have
      been about 130 years old if they were still alive today,
      therefore making it impossible. That was good enough.
 
4.    Responses from the SSA will vary considerably, depending on
      who receives the request, and take an average of 4 months. 
      Sometimes people were charged for the request, sometimes not. 
      The general consensus was to keep sending requests in until
      you get the desired response.  Some responses included
      abstracts of the application, some included photocopies of the
      original applications, and some included both the application
      and the abstract.  The abstracts are not a complete transcript
      of the original application; it lists only the date of birth
      and death.  The original applications are much more useful.
      (They list full name, residence, present employer and address,
      age, birthdate, birthplace, parent's names, gender, ethnicity,
      date signed and signature.)  They are filled out by the person
      themselves, so you know the information is accurate. (As
      opposed to a death certificate filled out by a relative who
      may not know the true information and is only guessing.)  It
      is a good idea to ask for both the abstract and a copy of the
      original application to make sure everything matches.
 
5.    Remember only to request information on people who died after
      1936, as that is the earliest the SSA began keeping records. 
      
6.    The SSA also provides a forwarding service, for people who you
      are looking for that are still living.  You simply write a
      letter to the "lost" person, and place it in an unsealed
      envelope.  Place this into a larger envelope along with a
      written request to the SSA to have the letter forwarded. 
      Indicate in your request that this is for genealogical
      research, and will aid you in reuniting family members.  SSA
      will not give you the address, but will conduct a search to
      find the person's address and forward the letter for you. 
      There is no fee for this service.  The SSA will send you a
      letter to let you know if the individual was located or not.
 
Hope this helps some of you!
 
Joni
ciarlett@mizar.usc.edu