Using Social Security For Genealogy

Social security records can be a helpful tool for genealogists to use. If you have a relative who was working after 1935 they probably had a social security number.

Social Security Application, Form SS-5

When someone applied for their number they filled out an application, Form SS-5. This form contained the following information:

Applicants full name and address
Applicants age and birthday
Place of employment
Place of birth
Name of parents, including mothers maiden name
Their sex and race
Date of application
Signature

Visit Freedom of Information Act page of Social Security On-Line for information on how to obtain a copy of SS-5.

Social Security Death Index

The Social Security Death Index can be a very useful database. Many genealogy sites contain copies of the index but the one I use the most is at the Family Tree Maker site. Their Social Security Death Index database is one of the largest and most useful databases available. It contains names, birth dates, death dates, Social Security numbers, and other useful information about more than 55 million people. Best of all, it's FREE.

Social Security Number

As you probably know a social security number is made up of 3 parts (XXX-XX-XXXX) The first three numbers represent the area, the second two numbers are the group, and the last four are the serial number. The area is determined by where the person applied for the social security number. Knowing someone's SSN can help determine where a person was living at the time of application. Below is the number/area list:

0000 Unused	001-003 NH	004-007 ME	008-009 VT	010-034 MA
035-039 RI	040-049 CT	050-134 NY	135-158 NJ	159-211 PA
212-220 MD	221-222 DE	223-231 VA	232-236 WV	237-246 NC
247-251 SC	252-260 GA	261-267 FL	268-302 OK	303-317 IN
318-361 IL	362-386 MI	387-399 WI	400-407 KY	408-415 TN
416-424 AL	425-428 MS	429-432 AR	433-439 LA	440-448 OK
449-467 TX	468-477 MN	478-485 IA	486-500 MO	501-502 ND
503-504 SD	505-508 NE	509-515 KS	516-517 MT	518-519 ID
520 WY	521-524 CO	525 NM	526-527 AZ	528-529 UT
530 NV	531-539 WA	540-544 OR	545-573 CA	574 AK
575-576 HI	577-579 DC	580 Virgin Islands	581-584 Puerto Rico	585 NM
586 *Pacific Islands	587-588 MS	589-595 FL	596-599 Puerto Rico	600-601 AZ
602-626 CA	627-699 Unassigned	700-728 Railroad workers/1963	729-899 Unassigned	900-999 Not valid

*Guam, American Samoa, Northern Mariana Islands, Philippine Islands.