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Posts Tagged ‘Social Security Death Index’

Why can’t I find my grandfather in the Social Security Death Index?

November 16th, 2011 7 comments

Hi, I have many details about my grandfather but I can’t find him in any sort of records at all. His name was Charles Michael "Skippy" Hopper Jr. He was born on April 26, 1951 Bronx, NYC and he died on June 20, 1980 in New York. He was in the U.S. Army after Vietnam and trained at Fort Dix. He was stationed in Germany in the mid 1970s’. His younger siblings were Robert Hopper and Marion Hopper (Dovico). I have records on both of his parents, Charles Hopper 1925-1987 and Marion Cerone (Serone or Ceroni) 1928- He married my grandmother Linda Fuchs on July 4, 1970. My mom (their only child) was later adopted and she never knew her dad. He was also an award winning runner. He committed suicide on June 20th 1980. I can’t find any thing on him. Can someone please help?

The SSDI can be incomplete. In general people are always in it if they received a SS benefit. Since your grandfather was young he may not have every received a benefit and his death cert may not have been forwarded and attached properly. If his wife didn’t claim a death benefit I wouldn’t automatically expect him to be in it. If no benefit was ever collected they may or may not be in it. Also, it’s an index compiled by private companies based on information they receive from the SS office and not compiled by the SS office, so there’s room for human error in transcribing the data.

If you know where he died, ordering his death certificate from the jurisdiction is your surest way to get the information you want. It will be in both a state and county agency, usually with vital statistics, health, or registrar in the name. The cert will cost around $12-25.

Add: New York state doesn’t keep certs for the 5 burroughs, so if he died in the Bronx go here: http://www.nyc.gov/html/doh/html/vr/vrbappl.shtml

Where can I search for death records for FREE?

July 10th, 2011 6 comments

I have gone to several different sites but they all end up asking for money. I thought death records were public records and anyone should be able to search for a loved one but I’m hitting dead ends everywhere.

I put some links below. I wanted to deal with a common misconception first.

> I thought death records were public records

They are, and if you send the name and death date to the appropriate county courthouse, plus a check, which may be as little as $5 or as much as $35, you can get a copy. There isn’t any law that says a state or county has to spend tax money on a web site to make death records available for free.

By contrast, some records are NOT public; sealed adoptions records, and agreements hashed out between two parties in a civil lawsuit, for instance. You cannot get them no matter how much you pay.

Below:

These are all free. Some have ads at the top, which sometimes ask for a name and take you to a pay site, so be careful to distinguish between the advertisement and the input form. An index will have name, date and maybe something else; death records – 500 KB jpg’s of death certificates – are rare. Some of these say "Records" – I copied the page title – but are really indexes.

Social Security Death Index
http://ssdi.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/ssdi.cgi
1960ish – now; almost 90 million entries in November 2010.

Find-a-Grave
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi
53 million entries in November 2010, mostly the USA. Entries range; they may have one or more of:
Exact birth and death dates
A short biography/obituary
Links to the person’s parents’ graves and/or and children’s graves
Picture(s) of the person
The best ones have all of the above; the worst ones have just a name and year of death; "J. Smith, b. ????, d. 1912".

Arizona genealogy
http://genealogy.az.gov/
Births 1855 – 1934; deaths 1844 – 1959. Real records, not an index. Number of entries not given.

California Death index
http://vitals.rootsweb.ancestry.com/ca/death/search.cgi
9,366,786 entries from 1940 – 1997

Kentucky Death Records
(Y!A only allows 10 links per answer, so I cheated. Change the "/ca/" in the URL for the California Death index to "/ky/" to get Kentucky.)
2,921,383 entries from 1911 – 2000

Maine Death Records
Change the "/ca/" in the URL for the California Death index to "/me/" to get Maine.)
401,960 entries from 1960 – 1997

Missouri Digital Archives
http://www.sos.mo.gov/archives/resources/deathcertificates/
Real records; Year range 1910 – "50 years ago", so the upper limit changes by one every year. Number of entries not stated, but it too would grow over time. Not all counties are here.

Texas Death Records
Change the "/ca/" in the URL for the California Death index to "/tx".)
3,963,456 entries from 1964 – 1998

West Virginia Birth, Death and Marriage records
http://www.wvculture.org/vrr/va_select.aspx
Real records; number of entries not stated. Years vary by county. Here are the first five counties, to give you a feel for it:

Barbour: 1853 – 1859, 1861 – 1969
Berkeley: 1871, 1875 – 1906, 1917 – 1970
Boone: 1865 – 1873, 1877 – 1883, 1885 – 1968
Braxton: 1853 – 1861, 1865, 1867 – 1969
Brooke: 1853 – 1860, 1862, 1865, 1867 – 1868, 1874 – 1880, 1885 – 1970

Walter Imbiorski mystery?

June 24th, 2011 5 comments

HUGE mystery. Walter and wife Pauline show up in 1920 Chicago census, with children Steven, Lawrence, Adeline. I find he had another daughter in 1915, who seemingly died. Per that census, he was born about 1888 in Poland. I CANNOT find him in any other census. Can’t find him in Illinois death index, findagrave, or google, except for recent obit of his daughter. He is not the Walter who died in 1944. He is not the Walter who was born in 1925 (1944 Walter is father to him).
EVERY Imbiorski in the SSDI is accounted for, and linked to my grandfather Andrew who immigrated before 1888, and his 4 sons. I have census for each of the 4..no Walter who FITS. There is an excellent documented file at rootsweb..he is not in that. I spent hours yesterday at familysearch, found tons of items, but nothing further on THIS Walter.
I don’t have ancestry.com, so if he has an immigration record, or full census showing when he came, I don’t have that. This ISN’T a common name where I could think there isn’t a relationship.. every other Imbiorski is documented and connected, as well as linked to Chicago. An Emborsky family in NY is likely to be a brother to Andrew, but that does not help here. Have been in touch with his granddaughter, who only knows her mom’s brothers name Steven. Want to be able to validate my connection to her.
Where did he come from, and what happened to him? What am I missing here, gang?
the key solution is posted here, but am leaving this open for anyone else to input… my thinking is that he and Pauline/Pearl died after 1950 (end of Illinois death index) but prior to social security death index which begins about 1960ish. I have a lead on what happened to Steven but not Lawrence…
I love this group!

Wendy, I checked Monavo and found a Walter Imbiorski who was born about 1896 and married Marie in 1920 in Winnebago County IL Archives Marriage Recordshttp://files.usgwarchives.org/il/winnebago/vitals/marriages/marri.txt

Ancestry also has a WW2 draft card for a Walter Imbiorski born 12 Dec 1881 in Poland, This would have been from 1942.

The full 1920 census info says
1920 United States Federal Census
about Walter Imborski
Name: Walter Imborski
[Walter Imbordki]
Home in 1920: Chicago Ward 16, Cook (Chicago), Illinois
Age: 36
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1884
Birthplace: Poland
Relation to Head of House: Self (Head)
[Head]
Spouse’s Name: Pauline Imborski
Father’s Birth Place: Poland
Mother’s Birth Place: Poland
Marital Status: Married
Race: White
Sex: Male
Home owned: Rent
Year of immigration: 1905
Able to read: Yes
Able to Write: Yes
Neighbors: View others on page
Household Members: Name Age
Walter Imborski 36
Pauline Imborski 28
Steven Imborski 9
Lawrence Imborski 3
[3 1/12]
Adeline Imborski 0
[7/12]

Ricardo Villalobos was born in the Philippines in 1881 & died in Seattle in 1970. Anyone know more about him?

May 31st, 2011 1 comment

I’m researching his genealogy for a friend of mine. I have had trouble finding his obituary in newspaper microfilm because I don’t know the exact date that he died. Does anyone know this or where I can go to find it out. He does not show up in the Social Security Death Index, or rootsweb, or ancestry.com. Google searches typically bring up stuff about an unrelated Mexican singer of the same name.

Is there a (preferably free) place where I can access records from the censuses that the United States took in the Philippines while they were still an American colony? I’ve tried the National Archives in Washington State. They have everything else including the Panama Canal Zone, but for some reason they don’t have the Philippines even though it was a U.S. territory back then and there were at least three censuses taken by the U.S. in the early 1900s.

Ancestry.com doesn’t have the Philippine census either, nor can I find it anywhere else. Anyone know where I can find it?

Maybe yes or maybe no…You really don’t have much for sure to go on! I found this in the S.S.D.I.
Born 15 May 1882
Died Washington St
Feb 1969
Name : Mike Lobos
Unless you have something closer! I can"t believe that this guy
worked in this country for many years without a S.S. Card

Are there any FREE public access death records?

March 21st, 2011 3 comments

My great grandfather died a few years back, and i never really had the chance to get to know him. he traveled the country with his wife, until he died. i could ask her, but she is old, and i dont want to make her cry, so im using any other resource i can to try to find out more about my family history

You can search the Social Security Death Index, which is not the same as a certificate at:
http://ssdi.rootsweb.ancestry.com/ or http://www.familysearch.org/ENG/search/frameset_search.asp once you have located it in the index you would have a better idea of where to either order the death certificate or where to search for it online.

There are other Death Indexes that you can search, most notably the California Death Index 1940-1997 at http://www.deathindexes.com/california/i… , which is the (free version) at Rootsweb.

A Genealogy Guide for Finding Obituaries, Cemetery Burials and Death Records for the state of California can be found at http://www.deathindexes.com/california/i… free and some fee.

Texas and Ohio death certificates are available on FamilySearch.org on their pilot site at: http://pilot.familysearch.org/recordsear…. Also, a new beta site on FamilySearch.org has more records at: http://fsbeta.familysearch.org/s/collection/list several states were added.

There are a few websites that have some vital records at no charge. For example, the state of Missouri has death certificates for the years 1910-1958 on their website at: http://www.sos.mo.gov/archives/resources… A few pre 1910 birth and death certificates are also available on the site but all of their records have not been transcribed yet.

There are many other indexes and some that have some actual death certificates online but knowing the time period and state would go a long way toward helping someone locate them. However, there is no centralized location where all death records/certificates that are online can be searched.

As for your great grandfather, the only thing that you will be able to find out about him from these records will be when and possibly how he died and who his family was; you won’t be able to find out what kind of person he was or any interesting stories about his life. Maybe you great grandmother would like to talk about him and tell you some of his stories or about their travels. Try an ice-breaker like asking to see travel photos and see what happens…she might surprise you.

How do i find someones death record?

March 14th, 2011 2 comments

Can someone PLEASE tell me how to find someones death record or can someone search it for me ? Someone recently died but the thing is im not sure if that person is really dead because they live in another state (Its my aunts boyfriend) The person who ”died” lies alot so it is very hard to believe 🙁 someone please answer asap thank you!!!!!!
Name, Osvaldo Chavez – Death November 4th 2010 and location is somewhere in california he is 38…..

It is way too early for this individual to be showing up in any death index. It takes about a month for the Social Security Death Index (SSDI) to be updated, for example, and, even then, some individuals never show up in an index for one reason or another. We could look for an obituary, but California is a BIG state with a LOT of major newspapers… an impossible search without knowing the general place of death. Also, in some cases, the deceased does not get an obituary or death notice.

You will just have to wait until the next SSDI update. In the meantime, you and your aunt might try learning more about Osvaldo’s alleged place of death. Does he have family members that you can ask?

How can I find out death record of a person in Houston,texas,this year 2009?

March 28th, 2010 3 comments

The person has just disappeared & I do not need a death certificate or anything just want to know if something happened to this person.

Google the person’s name and the word "obituaries." If there was an obituary, then you’ll likely find a link to it. You can also try looking them up in the Social Security Death Index (address below), though if they died this year, it’s probably a little early for it to have been reported.

At least this is a start.

Where can I go on the internet to find free public records for obituaries? Every time I search, I hit a brick?

March 28th, 2010 3 comments

wall with a darn ad selling peoplesearch crap. I know there has to be some way to access public death records by city, county, name, birthday, or SOMEWAY without having to pay someone. PLEEEEASE HEEELP!!!!!

I can help, but what is needed, is a reality check.
First.. an obituary is NOT a public record, nor is it free. It is a paid announcement in a newspaper. Many persons don’t have obits (their families choose not to place one). Many newspapers choose to not be online.
A death certificate is defined as a public record.. which does NOT mean that there are no restrictions on those. Many states LIMIT access to the death certificates to immediate family, or do not allow them to be accessed for 50-75 yrs. Death certificates are controlled by the state vital records offices. When thinking in terms of county based records.. nothing anywhere is an obligation that they be online.
If you go to www.rootsweb.com, you WILL find that they offer (free) the social security death index. What it is, is VERY specific.. it is an index ONLY, and it only covers deaths in the US since about 1960ish. Earlier records do exist for ssi.. they simply are not computerized.
If you are researching family history, this is important to remember. The internet is a massive collection of information. It does NOT have everything you might want. Ancestry.com does have many records that you will not find elsewhere, for the simple reason that they are in business to sell service. Meaning access to certain records that are not otherwise available. You might find them free by going in person (which may mean across the country), so the service is completely legitimate.

Can someone help me find a record on Ancestry.com?

March 28th, 2010 1 comment

My great great grandparents who died in Brooklyn, New York

Names:

Vito Manzella (born 1872) (Immigrated in 1903)
Anna Manzella (born 1882) (idk when she immigrated)

They married in 1898 and had a daughter in 1903 Rosa (immigrated 1920)

Anna and Vito Manzella both died around the same time, (1952-1955) somewhere around there, idk the exact year but it was in the early to mid 1950s

I cant find a death record for them anywhere. Theres a website italiangen.com it shows death records up to 1948, and the ssdi only shows like late 1960s to 2009

that big gap between 1949- 1965? where are the records

someone plz help

I checked the Social Security Death Index, and this is all I found.

Antonio Manzella born 2 Jan 1871 died Jan 1965
Augusto Manzella born 24 Jan 1873 died 15 Dec 1967 Brooklyn, Kings, New York

I didn’t find anything really close to Vito and Anna, but I did find these.
Seeing how Augusto died in Brooklyn, he may be somehow connected to your family.

Try asking a relative, they may know when they they died, or try finding a cemetery they may be buried at. The 1950’s weren’t that long ago, and I’m sure someone out there knows something.

Suggestions to find George "Joe"Kennedy?

February 28th, 2010 2 comments

George (we called him Joe,why I don’t know) was born about 1899 place unknown. He married Leona Ruth Jackson who was first wife of Ward Arlie Goodrich. George and Leona were living in Santa Monica California in the 1950’s where I believe he died. He as a chef in Santa Monica and Los Angeles Hotels.(Leona is since deceased).If Joe had any children we knew of none .
Sources I have checked:
1900,1910,1920,1930 US Censuses
Los Angeles death records online.
Social Security Death Index
Santa Monica death records.
Records of Leona Ruth Jackson
All open genealogical websites(Roots Web,Ancestry etc.
All entries mentioning him or Leona on any of these sites are my research entries.
Thank you
Please read the above sources before sending information. Also do not waste my time with foolish responses.I am 81y/o and neither have the patience or time for such foolishness.I always thank those who take this site seriously

Hi,
.
To find your George, we’re either going to need more information(George’s mother’s maiden name, or last location you know he lived in and when) , or you’ll have to get the obituary/death notices of the following people and see if Leona is mentioned. (George’s death certificate would serve equally as well. It might be better than the newspaper if you can only find a death notice. ):
.
= = = =
George Kennedy 04/01/1899 (?) – 08/31/1966 (San Francisco, CA)
George Dewey Kennedy 03/17/1899 (Texas) – 06/11/1993 (Yolo County, CA)
George W Kennedy 05/14/1899 (Iowa) – 09/24/1976 (San Bernardino, CA)
William George Kennedy 08/16/1899 (Illinois) – 12/20/1991 (Napa, CA)
= = = = =
George W Kennedy 05/15/1898 (Indiana) – 02/21/1970 (Santa Barbara, CA)
George W Kennedy 12/01/1898 (Massachusetts) – 10/24/1987 (Riverside, CA)
William George Kennedy 03/24/1898 (Oklahoma) – 12/30/1957 San Diego, CA)
= = = = =
.
California has a very good Death index for the entire state at:
http://vitals.rootsweb.ancestry.com/ca/death/search.cgi
.
It’s much more effective than the Social security death index, because it includes people that didn’t qualify for Social security.
.
I’ve often seen birth and death dates rounded up or down on headstones, so he may have been born the year before or after you were told.
.
I’d start with the Riverside, Santa Barbara, San Bernardino entries…all near Los Angeles.
.
The following Genealogy societies might be able to help you as well:
http://www.sbgen.org/
http://www.scgsgenealogy.com/
.
Hope this helps, and Good Luck!