FIND OUT WHEN & HOW a "GHOST" DIED
ATTENTION: The article below is an excerpt from the upcoming book:
GHOST HUNTERS RESEARCH GUIDE TO FREE INTERNET SOURCES
By Elizabeth Eagan-Cox. Publisher is Charles River Press. Publication release date is Autumn 2011. To find out more about this book, use this easy link to the author's Website: http://www.elizabetheagancox.net/id4.html
COPYRIGHT NOTICE: No part of the article below may be used, copied, shared, transferred, printed or saved without expressed written permission by Elizabeth Eagan-Cox. DO NOT VIOLATE THE AUTHOR'S COPYRIGHTS.
EXCERPT:
Death Records from 1937 to Present: Social Security Death Index "SSDI."
Referred to by its initials, the SSDI is sometimes called the Social Security Death Master File "DMF." This database started in 1936 and continues to present day as a collective source for information on deaths as reported to the Social Security Administration from relatives of the deceased, funeral directors, financial corporations and insurance companies, U.S. Postal Service authorities and a variety of government agencies.
The Social Security Administration does not provide public Internet access to the SSDI. It is not set up for this purpose. However, several Internet sites do provide public and free access to the SSDI.
The SSDI is in constant update mode and the timeliness of available information will vary from one databank to another. Generally speaking, any one databank is from a few months to one year behind in current information.
When searching a SSDI databank it is best to begin with the minimal information that is known to be factual in regard to the decedent. For this reason, conduct an initial search using only the decedent's first and surname. Exclude additional details such as age, birthplace, death place, etc., unless you are absolutely certain of the validity of such details. The free-use Websites listed below allow you to search on a name-only basis, as well as including additional details about the decedent. Typical data contained in a decedent's DMF file:
Legal name.
Social Security Number.
Last known residence.
Death date.
Birth date.
State in which the person first applied for a Social Security card.(In the book: Ghost Hunters Research Guide to Free Internet Sources, author Elizabeth Eagan-Cox names four sources to gain free public access to the SSDI. The source listed below is one of the four in the upcoming book).
Source: SSDI at Family Search.URL: www.familysearch.org From the home page, scroll past the search box, continuing down the page toward the bottom. On the left you'll see "All Records Collection," click this target. Next will be a page with an alphabetical list of the entire database collection of files. Scroll down this list to "U.S. Social Security Death Index," and click it. Up pops the file database for searching the Social Security Death Index. There's a search box option. Fill in as much information that you are certain of. Particularly important are the person's surname and either year of death and/or year of birth.
A bonus reason to use the SSDI for research is that when locating a person and their SSDI information, you can exercise the option of ordering, at cost, an exact photocopy of the decedent's original Social Security Card Application. The document is called an SS-5 form. It provides the person's place of employment as well as their signature pertinent to the date they enrolled in the Social Security program. A photocopy of an individual's original application (SS-5) for a Social Security card may be ordered directly from the Social Security Administration. For information:
URL: https://secure.ssa.gov/apps9/eFOIA-FEWeb/internet/main.jsp
The Social Security Administration offers two options: A photocopy of the original SS application or a Computer Extract of the SS application. I advise you opt for the photocopy of the original SS application instead of the Computer Extract.
TIP... the above sources for using free websites to locate when and how a person died are a very small sampling of what is in the upcoming book: Ghost Hunters Research Guide to Free Internet Sources by Elizabeth Eagan-Cox. Learn more about this fascinating must-have book for ghost investigators at this easy link. No name registration is required. No strings attached:
http://www.elizabetheagancox.net/id4.html
GHOST HUNTERS RESEARCH GUIDE TO FREE INTERNET SOURCES
By Elizabeth Eagan-Cox. Publisher is Charles River Press. Publication release date is Autumn 2011. To find out more about this book, use this easy link to the author's Website: http://www.elizabetheagancox.net/id4.html
COPYRIGHT NOTICE: No part of the article below may be used, copied, shared, transferred, printed or saved without expressed written permission by Elizabeth Eagan-Cox. DO NOT VIOLATE THE AUTHOR'S COPYRIGHTS.
EXCERPT:
Death Records from 1937 to Present: Social Security Death Index "SSDI."
Referred to by its initials, the SSDI is sometimes called the Social Security Death Master File "DMF." This database started in 1936 and continues to present day as a collective source for information on deaths as reported to the Social Security Administration from relatives of the deceased, funeral directors, financial corporations and insurance companies, U.S. Postal Service authorities and a variety of government agencies.
The Social Security Administration does not provide public Internet access to the SSDI. It is not set up for this purpose. However, several Internet sites do provide public and free access to the SSDI.
The SSDI is in constant update mode and the timeliness of available information will vary from one databank to another. Generally speaking, any one databank is from a few months to one year behind in current information.
When searching a SSDI databank it is best to begin with the minimal information that is known to be factual in regard to the decedent. For this reason, conduct an initial search using only the decedent's first and surname. Exclude additional details such as age, birthplace, death place, etc., unless you are absolutely certain of the validity of such details. The free-use Websites listed below allow you to search on a name-only basis, as well as including additional details about the decedent. Typical data contained in a decedent's DMF file:
Legal name.
Social Security Number.
Last known residence.
Death date.
Birth date.
State in which the person first applied for a Social Security card.(In the book: Ghost Hunters Research Guide to Free Internet Sources, author Elizabeth Eagan-Cox names four sources to gain free public access to the SSDI. The source listed below is one of the four in the upcoming book).
Source: SSDI at Family Search.URL: www.familysearch.org From the home page, scroll past the search box, continuing down the page toward the bottom. On the left you'll see "All Records Collection," click this target. Next will be a page with an alphabetical list of the entire database collection of files. Scroll down this list to "U.S. Social Security Death Index," and click it. Up pops the file database for searching the Social Security Death Index. There's a search box option. Fill in as much information that you are certain of. Particularly important are the person's surname and either year of death and/or year of birth.
A bonus reason to use the SSDI for research is that when locating a person and their SSDI information, you can exercise the option of ordering, at cost, an exact photocopy of the decedent's original Social Security Card Application. The document is called an SS-5 form. It provides the person's place of employment as well as their signature pertinent to the date they enrolled in the Social Security program. A photocopy of an individual's original application (SS-5) for a Social Security card may be ordered directly from the Social Security Administration. For information:
URL: https://secure.ssa.gov/apps9/eFOIA-FEWeb/internet/main.jsp
The Social Security Administration offers two options: A photocopy of the original SS application or a Computer Extract of the SS application. I advise you opt for the photocopy of the original SS application instead of the Computer Extract.
TIP... the above sources for using free websites to locate when and how a person died are a very small sampling of what is in the upcoming book: Ghost Hunters Research Guide to Free Internet Sources by Elizabeth Eagan-Cox. Learn more about this fascinating must-have book for ghost investigators at this easy link. No name registration is required. No strings attached:
http://www.elizabetheagancox.net/id4.html
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