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I have a person in our family who I think is an illegitimate child.
He was born in 1923 in a small missouri town, and he assumed the last name of a couple who raised him. I just go his SSN application, and at age 15 he applied with their last name, which I suppose makes sense if he doesnt know who his birth parents are.
Somewhere between the application in 1940 and 1949, he was arrested under what I believe is his legal birth name. He served in the military with the legal birth name, and it is the name tied to his SSN death index name.
What I am not sure of is, how do you get a SSN issued (in 1940) if your name is not your legal name? I'm trying to figure out how he would have eventually discovered his legal name.
I have a person in our family who I think is an illegitimate child.
He was born in 1923 in a small missouri town, and he assumed the last name of a couple who raised him. I just go his SSN application, and at age 15 he applied with their last name, which I suppose makes sense if he doesnt know who his birth parents are.
Somewhere between the application in 1940 and 1949, he was arrested under what I believe is his legal birth name. He served in the military with the legal birth name, and it is the name tied to his SSN death index name.
What I am not sure of is, how do you get a SSN issued (in 1940) if your name is not your legal name? I'm trying to figure out how he would have eventually discovered his legal name.
You didn't always have to provide proof of identity to get a SS card: Social Security History
As I understand it, the application for the number has one name and the SSDI has a different name. That implies that at some point a name change was made with the Social Security Administration. I would contact them and see if you can determine when that happened and what paperwork was submitted to document the reason for the change.
Also, you are assuming he did not always know his birth parents' names. How sure are you that he didn't?
As I understand it, the application for the number has one name and the SSDI has a different name. That implies that at some point a name change was made with the Social Security Administration. I would contact them and see if you can determine when that happened and what paperwork was submitted to document the reason for the change.
Also, you are assuming he did not always know his birth parents' names. How sure are you that he didn't?
yes, that sounds about right. I will see how I can find out about the change between the application and SSDI.
I don't know if he knew his birth situation as a child (or 15 year old SSN applicant). The person I think who was his birth father (my relative) was long-married with several other children. It doesn't appear that any of the legitimate kids knew about this extra son, which I find interesting given that it's a very small town (less than 2000 people today). All of these people are long dead so I am trying to piece this together.
Last edited by christiner81; 03-24-2014 at 09:57 PM..
When I went to apply for my ss number as a teenager, I used my last name; the same name that my parents and sister had. It wasn't until a few years later that my mom informed me that I was never legally adopted by my step-father after she married him. She explained that it was just 'easier' to have everyone's name the same, especially when she enrolled me in school. Doing this allowed them to avoid all that unnecessary paperwork...lol.
The other thing to remember is that many people who were born prior to WWII, did not even have a legitimate birth certificate as home-births were still the norm. So in this situation, it would make sense that it was relatively easy for your ancestor to embrace both names. No biggie...just a wee bit of a complication when doing research.
It is certainly possible that this person was the result of a non-marital event and that the people involved just handled it the best way they could. I think this happens a lot more often than most people realize. And sorting it all out will definitely present a challenge; one that has the potential to be overcome, but without DNA, almost impossible.
So, he was born in 1925. You say they lived in a very small town. You know the "new surname" that he began using in the 1940's. Try searching the 1920, 1930 & 1940 census for that surname in the small town. Maybe you'll find the bio family?
www.familysearch.org You can search the census indices, but 1920 & 1930 census sheets are not viewable at FamilySearch.
www.ancestry.com has the all the census indices & census sheets are viewable. Ancestry is a subscriber site, but is free on many public library computers.
Old city directories may also be hepful. Ancestry has a large database of old city directories.
So, he was born in 1925. You say they lived in a very small town. You know the "new surname" that he began using in the 1940's. Try searching the 1920, 1930 & 1940 census for that surname in the small town. Maybe you'll find the bio family?
www.familysearch.org You can search the census indices, but 1920 & 1930 census sheets are not viewable at FamilySearch.
www.ancestry.com has the all the census indices & census sheets are viewable. Ancestry is a subscriber site, but is free on many public library computers.
Old city directories may also be hepful. Ancestry has a large database of old city directories.
the 1930 census lists him in the town that he was born in as a 5 year old nephew of the "adoptive" parents. This is the last name he used on his SSN application. The next census, he is listed with them again (same name), but this time, as a son, and they had moved a bit further out from the same town. I think all his addresses were rural farms, he was not a city kid. That same year was the year he applied for the SSN (1940).
I am not sure if the woman of the couple who raised him is possibly his biological mother or a random other relative who raised him...all I know is she is not related to my family. We "found" this illegitimate child because he was getting money sent to him from my great great grandfather while he was in jail. By that time, both men had the same last name. I believe he is my great-great grandfathers' illegitimate child but there is no good way to prove it. I'd love to get his birth certificate from missouri but I don't think they would give it to me based on their privacy laws.
the 1930 census lists him in the town that he was born in as a 5 year old nephew of the "adoptive" parents. This is the last name he used on his SSN application. The next census, he is listed with them again (same name), but this time, as a son, and they had moved a bit further out from the same town. I think all his addresses were rural farms, he was not a city kid. That same year was the year he applied for the SSN (1940).
I am not sure if the woman of the couple who raised him is possibly his biological mother or a random other relative who raised him...all I know is she is not related to my family. We "found" this illegitimate child because he was getting money sent to him from my great great grandfather while he was in jail. By that time, both men had the same last name. I believe he is my great-great grandfathers' illegitimate child but there is no good way to prove it. I'd love to get his birth certificate from missouri but I don't think they would give it to me based on their privacy laws.
Does he have any living descendants? If so, have you tried contacting them? How about an obituary, since you know when and where he died?
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