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I had someone ask me to help them look at their family tree? The grandmother was born in 1914. She probably did not get a birth certificate at that time. The grandmother died in 1999 and there is a SSDI record for her. Would she have been required to obtain a birth certificate to appear on the SSDI?
When my grandmother applied for Social Security--in the 60's or so--she had no birth certificate. They accepted a copy of her daughter's because it showed how old she was when the daughter was born.
Probably what's called a Delayed Birth Certificate. My grandfather was born in a cabin somewhere in the Ouachita Mountains of Arkansas in 1901. No birth certificate, obviously. I've found papers showing that his widow (my grandmother) applied for a delayed birth certificate for SS.
Thanks! My grandparents have delayed birth certificates from Arkansas too. They needed them when they went to work in another state. I don't know if this other lady worked. She may just have to apply for a birth certificate and hope there is one on file.
My grandfather, born in Poland in 1895, had no birth certificate, but Social Security accepted his passenger manifest which showed he was eight years old when he arrived in the U.S.
Many people had no birth certificates when Social Security was started in the 1930's.
You had to be born 1870 or later to participate in Soc. Sec.
That is why several census were indexed by the WPA in the 1930's.
I had someone ask me to help them look at their family tree? The grandmother was born in 1914. She probably did not get a birth certificate at that time. The grandmother died in 1999 and there is a SSDI record for her. Would she have been required to obtain a birth certificate to appear on the SSDI?
No, they did not require birth certificates.
I used to work for a government agency years ago. We were allowed to accept family Bible records, baptismal records, and signed affidavits to verify a person's birth date. At that time, there were still people around from the late 1800s (especially in rural areas) who were been born at home and never had their births officially recorded by any government agency. A birth certificate for them never existed.
Most states didn't begin a system of recording births and deaths until the 1880's, but it was never compulsory. In my state, at least, it wasn't until about 1910 that the state made it mandatory that all births and deaths be recorded with the county courthouses.
I read somewhere about a woman who had no birth certificate when she applied for SS. The SSA accepted the word of her aunt - who was in her eighties - and had been there when the applicant was born.
I used to work for a government agency years ago. We were allowed to accept family Bible records, baptismal records, and signed affidavits to verify a person's birth date. At that time, there were still people around from the late 1800s (especially in rural areas) who were been born at home and never had their births officially recorded by any government agency. A birth certificate for them never existed.
Most states didn't begin a system of recording births and deaths until the 1880's, but it was never compulsory. In my state, at least, it wasn't until about 1910 that the state made it mandatory that all births and deaths be recorded with the county courthouses.
Thanks, very appreciated.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sarahsez
I had someone ask me to help them look at their family tree? The grandmother was born in 1914. She probably did not get a birth certificate at that time. The grandmother died in 1999 and there is a SSDI record for her. Would she have been required to obtain a birth certificate to appear on the SSDI?
I want to add this for people that do not know. Up until the 1990's a social security number was not required at birth. I got mine when I started working in the early 80's. When I had my son in 85 we were given the form but it was not required to hand in until I had my daughter in 93, that's when the birth certificate and social security forms had to be filled out before discharge. It went from being used in order to work to a document that is used to track who we are and what we do. If you're filing a tax return or being claimed on one, you need it. It's a main form of identification next to your birth certificate.
They would be able to get a delayed birth certificate in their later years to be more easily able to get SS.
They could use church records or newspaper announcements or family bibles to substantiate their birthdate, amongst other sources, in lieu of a BC, which not all places issued. Most did not even in the US prior to 1910.
Where I'm from our area had a ledger of "recorded" births, but not everyone recorded the birth of their children. Most of my distant family members from 1860 forward had a record of their birth in Ohio also in WV and Michigan. Those born in other states, did not have a record of their birth.
ETA: When SS was introduced it allowed people to both substantiate their birth and employment records in a variety of ways. They could get an SSN later on in life and still get SS so the SS Death Index will list them if they got SS payments in their lives and the state that their SSN was issued in usually.
Last edited by residinghere2007; 03-29-2017 at 08:52 AM..
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