Monthly Archives: September 2011

Requesting your Ancestor’s SS-5 Social Security Application

16 September 2011
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Discover some great facts about an ancestor. Once you’ve located a family member who is deceased, or one that is in the Social Security Death Index (generally those who died after 1960-although not complete), you may request a copy of that persons original application for Social Security. It is an excellent source of genealogical information and can provide many facts otherwise not known to descendants. The SS-5, or Application for Social Security Number  provides many great resources for learning more about someone who died after 1960, and generally includes the following pieces of information:

  • Full name at birth, including maiden name
  • Present mailing address
  • Age at last birthday
  • Date of birth
  • Place of birth (City, State)
  • Father’s full name
  • Mother’s full name, including maiden name
  • Gender of applicant
  • Race as indicated by the applicant
  • Current employer’s name and address
  • Date signed
  • Applicant’s signature

 

As long as a person is deceased, the Social Security Administration will provide a copy of the original application filed in their office, to anyone who makes a request under the Freedom of Information Act.  In the case of my great- grandfather Jacob F. Strauss (Born 1880), I didn’t have an original Social Security Number for him, and he died in 1957 before the index really could have helped.  I did however, have a copy of his Death Certificate that listed his number and requested this from their office.

Following the link below researchers can request the documents themselves;

Request for Deceased Individual’s Social Security Record SS-5

For a fee of $27.00-if the persons SSN is known and $29.00-for someone who number is unknown, the Administration will conduct a search for the requester.  The time varies by individual.  Although, it typically can run anywhere between 4-8 weeks for delivery.  If the record is located and sent to you, it is well worth your efforts as the information provided will be helpful to future generations.

Articles of Engagement: The United States Life-Saving Service

14 September 2011
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Do you have an ancestor who served in The United States Life-Saving Service? The unofficial motto of this organization which the men lived by was; “You have to go out, but you don’t have to come back“. Many men gave up their lives to live by that motto as they saved shipwreck victims in all sorts of inclement weather. This unique organization has it roots traced back to the early part of the 19th Century. Although, not officially recognized as a service, a system of stations languished until 1871 when Sumner I Kimball was appointed chief of the Treasury Department’s Revenue Marine Division.

Sumner I. Kimball-USCG Historian Office

Articles of Engagement-USLSS Station Fourth Cliff, MA-1885 NARA

One of his first acts was to send officers of the Revenue Cutter Service on an inspection tour of the life saving stations. With the need for life-saving stations and men to work them, Kimball instituted six-man boat crews at each location and built additional stations.

By 1874, numerous stations were added along the coast of Maine, Massachusetts, and later along the Outer Banks of North Carolina. The following year, additional stations were added to serve the Great Lakes. In 1878, the network of life saving stations were formally organized as a separate agency of the United States Department of the Treasury, being called the Live-Saving Service.

One of the more interesting textural records from this venerable service are the Articles of engagement for surfmen that date from 1875–1914. These records are arranged chronologically and then by district and station. They list the names of the surfmen, their terms of engagement, and their record of compensation each received for duty. They may include reports of changes in crew, along with the reason for the change. Medical inspection reports that provide some physical descriptions of the surfmen are also included in these files. These records are located at the main office of the National Archives in downtown Washington, DC.

When ordering these textural records-request them as part of Entry #260, in Record Group 26 (RG26), which is part of the United States Coast Guard. The United States Life-Saving Service merged with the Revenue Cutter Service in 1915 to form the modern United States Coast Guard, with the United States Lighthouse Service joining in 1939. If you have family that may have served, these records (which have never been filmed), are an indispensable part of researching men from this group of maritime rescuers.