TERRE HAUTE — Every once in a while, it pays to revisit the Social Security Death Index, even if you have been there before. That’s because people are always dying and the index is always being updated. The SSDI is a free tool available on several web sites. The Kindred Konnections site at recently announced that it has updated its version of the Social Security Death Index to include 86 million records current through Nov. 30, 2009.
If you are a beginner to genealogy, the SSDI is a good place to start looking around. You can search for the records of your recently deceased relatives and go back to in time to anyone who died after 1935 (when the Social Security program began). They had to have been on Social Security in order to be included on the index. In most cases, that means they had reached retirement age and begun receiving Social Security checks. Others who might be on the list are disabled individuals who got on the Social Security program at an earlier age due to their disability.
Don’t expect to find anyone and everyone who died after 1935, on the index, though. The person also had to have worked after that date, had Social Security withholding payments taken out of his paychecks, and then lived to collect Social Security. For instance, my own grandfather is not listed on the SSDI. He was already 65 when the Social Security Act passed, was not working at that age, and so never paid into or collected Social Security. He died in 1952 and is not on the SSDI because there was no reason to contact Social Security upon his death.
The SSDI lists the person’s name at the time of death, date of birth, date of death, last known residence at the time of death, and sometimes the state from which the person made his/her social security application. If you are searching on the Kindred Konnections site, you can search by last name only (the minimal information required), first and last name, date or year range for birth, date or year range for death, and location of last residence. These latter search options help you to zero in on your person of interest when there are multiple hits for the same name.
A nice feature of this site is that after you find your person of interest on the SSDI you can click on a link that takes you directly to an order form for a copy of the person’s Application for a Social Security Card. A photocopy is $27 and a computer extract that includes the information on the application is $16 from the Social Security Administration. The Social Security Card Application can include the person’s full legal name, date of birth, parents’ names, mother’s maiden name, state of residence, and employment information.
If you know your deceased ancestor’s Social Security number, you can figure out what state he/she lived in when the application was made. Up until 1973, the first three digits of a social security number indicated the state where the person was living. The numbers started with 001 on the east coast and got higher as they went westward through the states. All Indiana numbers start with 303 through 317 and Illinois numbers start with 318 to 361.
Social Security numbers starting with 700 to 728 indicate someone receiving railroad retirement.
A word of caution. The residence at the date of death does not necessarily mean that the person died in that place. It means that is where the last check was sent. A person could have been living in Terre Haute but died in Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis, at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, or while visiting a relative in California. So knowing the last place of residence does not always lead to discovering the place of death.
History
GENEALOGY: Don’t forget to revisit Social Security Death Index
- History
-
-
LOOKING BACK: 1962: Terre Haute Works of Allis-Chalmers closes
Dorothy Jerse looks back at local history from 10, 25 and 50 years ago as reported in the Tribune and Tribune-Star.
-
GENEALOGY: BMD website great for tracing England, Wales
If you have ancestors who trace back to England or Wales within the past 175 years, then the Free BMD website at RootsWeb, at freebmd.rootsweb.com/, is the place to visit.
-
HISTORICAL TREASURE: WBOW introduced some fine Valley talent
When it first began broadcasting in 1927, station WRPI (Rose Polytechnic Institute) focused on educational programing.
-
HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE: Inventor John B. Deeds and highwayman William G. Murray
Among the many unsolved local history mysteries is the fate of master machinist and inventor John B. Deeds.
-
BRUCE'S HISTORY LESSON: This little-known compromise may have saved the union
When the Constitution was signed in September of 1787 and sent to the Congress that then existed under the Articles of Confederation, Congress was instructed to send that Constitution to the states to be ratified … or not. The message to the states was clear: Accept the Constitution or reject it, but don’t try to change it.
-
Traveling Civil War exhibit makes history personal
Civil War history will come alive for visitors to the Sullivan County Public Library who experience “Faces of the Civil War,” a traveling exhibition created and managed by the Indiana Historical Society.
-
GENEALOGY: Virginia Historical Society takes on ambitious project
Over the past few months, the Virginia Historical Society has launched an ambitious project to scrutinize more than 8 million 17th, 18th, and 19th century documents in order to identify the enslaved population of those times.
-
HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE: The Legacy of ‘The Old Silkworm House’
In 1837, and for several years thereafter, a gray sandstone obelisk was installed next to a one-story frame residence at the northwest corner of Sixth and Eagle streets.
-
HISTORICAL TREASURE: A blast from valentines past
Valentine’s Day — it brings to mind simple paper valentines and the elaborate, fancy store-bought cards with multiple verses and glittery covers.
-
LOOKING BACK: 1962: Flu outbreak forces Schulte closed
Dorothy Jerse looks back at local history from 10, 25 and 50 years ago as reported in the Tribune and Tribune-Star.
-
Original copy of 13th Amendment at Lincoln Library & Museum
A fully signed and recently restored copy of the Congressional resolution for a 13th Amendment to the Constitution, the official act that would abolish slavery in the United States, will be on display in the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library & Museum’s Treasures Gallery.
-
BRUCE'S HISTORY LESSON: Freedom of religion — beliefs and actions
Because religious faith is, arguably, the quintessential example of our right to privacy, to say nothing of its prominent place in our First Amendment, throughout our history court cases involving the free exercise of religion have been handled with great trepidation and with particular care. One of the milestone “free exercise” religion cases, Davis v. Beason, was decided by the Supreme Court this week (Feb. 3) in 1890.
-
GENEALOGY: SoCal Genealogical Jamboree coming up in June
The Southern California Genealogical Society announces its 43rd Annual Jamboree, to be staged for three days on June 8-10, at the Los Angeles Marriott Burbank Airport Hotel in Burbank, Calif.
-
LOOKING BACK: 2002: Disco Ernie featured on Maury
Dorothy Jerse looks back at local history from 10, 25 and 50 years ago as reported in the Tribune and Tribune-Star.
-
HISTORICAL TREASURE: Flashing the mayor's badge
This mayoral badge was presented to the Vigo County Historical Society by Elizabeth K. Schultz, the granddaughter of Samuel E. Beecher Sr., who served as mayor of Terre Haute from 1936 to 1940.
-
HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE: Deadly tornado devastates York in 1907
John T. Staff loved water and, particularly, the Wabash River.
-
HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE: Notorious Western desperado Ellsworth Wyatt captured in Clay County
In October 1892, Terre Haute police received a circular from the State of Kansas containing a description of Ellsworth Wyatt and offering a $1,200 reward for his capture.
-
LOOKING BACK: 2002: ISU students honor Martin Luther King Jr.
Dorothy Jerse looks back at local history from 10, 25 and 50 years ago as reported in the Tribune and Tribune-Star.
-
HISTORICAL TREASURE: News letter filled with wonderful local news
We recently received five bound volumes of copies of the “Terre Haute Onizette,” the Owen-Illinois Glass Company news letter for the Terre Haute Plant.
-
GENEALOGY: Peyton, Downey, Fifer queries and a plea for help from Scotland
This week, we have several queries.
-
Extension plans seminar on land use
The Purdue Extension Land Use Team is hosting a video seminar titled “Welcome to the Plan Commission and Board of Zoning Appeals” from 7 to 9 p.m. Wednesday.
-
BRUCE'S HISTORY LESSON: Kennedy, Camelot, and other myths
This week (Jan. 20) in 1961, John F. Kennedy was inaugurated as our 35th president, and his tragic death by assassination notwithstanding, his was a mediocre presidency that, undeservedly, became the stuff of legend — in part because of his assassination.
-
Actor to portray Lincoln at dinner for historical society
A special program, “And Lincoln Wrote,” is coming to Harlan Hall in Marshall, Ill., with a featured presentation by Dick Benach as Abraham Lincoln and Chuck Hand as the publisher of the Prairie Beacon.
-
GENEALOGY: Celebrate MLK Day with the Indiana Historical Society
On Monday, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., the Indiana Historical Society will offer free admission to celebrate Martin Luther King Day.
-
HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE: Light Guards savor military and social experiences
Never during the Civil War was there a time when the City of Terre Haute was in danger of hosting an armed conflict involving one or more armies.
-
LOOKING BACK: 1962: 87 high school hoops teams compete in 47th annual Wabash Valley Tournament
Dorothy Jerse looks back at local history from 10, 25 and 50 years ago as reported in the Tribune and Tribune-Star.
-
HISTORICAL TREASURE: A bottle of clove oil at the pharmacy
The Historical Treasure for today is a bottle of Clove Oil.
-
LOOKING BACK: 1987: St. Mary’s Parish congregation celebrates 150th anniversary
Dorothy Jerse looks back at local history from 10, 25 and 50 years ago as reported in the Tribune and Tribune-Star.
-
HISTORICAL TREASURE: Fire up the jukebox for a great night
The jukebox existed long before Glenn Miller’s “Juke Box Saturday Night” swing version.
-
GENEALOGY: 1752 is one memorable year for genealogists
The year 1752 is one to remember if you have ancestors who lived in areas controlled by Great Britain; and this includes the American colonies.
- More History Headlines
-
LOOKING BACK: 1962: Terre Haute Works of Allis-Chalmers closes
Recording Superstar Whitney Houston Dead at 48
Police: Houston Found Dead in Her Hotel Room
Palin Brings Anti-Washington Message to CPAC
Maine GOP Chairman Says Romney Wins Caucuses
Obama Scraps Birth Control Mandate
Fans 'Speechless' Over Houston's Death
Raw Video: Deadly Blasts in Syria
Androgynous Model Walks Runway As Man and Woman
US Airmen's Killer Sentenced to Life in Germany
Snow Strands Italian Towns
Latest Jason Wu Collection Shows Chinese Roots
ShowBiz Minute: Madonna, Beresford-Redman, Pawsc
Navy Names Ship for Gabrielle Giffords
Raw Video: Rough Seas Stop Oil Removal
5 Killed in Wrong-way Crash on I-10 in La.
Uzbek Man Pleads Guilty in Plot to Kill Obama
Stars Show Support at AMFAR Charity Gala
The Pits: Israelis Spit Olives for Glory
Winter Slamming North Asia, Parts of Europe
Raw Video: Italy's Mount Etna Bursts Into Life
Romney Tops Santorum in CPAC Straw Poll
First glimpse of Blue Ivy Carter
Absolute Lin-sanity
Hate to be Rude: Bubba Watson
Peek inside Barbie's closet
Test on Comforter in Powell Unit Shows Blood
Angry Dad Shoots Teens Laptop
Hero Driver Saves Kids From Burning Bus
Funeral to be held for Powell boys
Sandusky on having to stay inside and people turning on him
Woolly Mammoth Caught on Camera?
Did JLo 'Assault' Marc Anthony on Camera?
Christie Brinkley's Runway Slip
Toddler forced to run half-naked in snow
Halle Wants to Leave the Country
Northern Lights shine above earth
Plane makes perfect belly landing
