SS-5 Update

In my post SS-5 Waiting Game, I explained why I was ordering the SS-5 (application for a Social Security number) for my great-grandfather.

Well the record arrived today and delivered splendidly!

Here's the new information I learned from thus record:

Noel's middle name is spelled Holly. Some information I had said Hollie.

His birth year is 1889. Some records said 1886, but since Noel filled out this record himself, I'm counting it as the strongest source I've acquired so far.

Noel's father is Noel Sr.! I already knew this, but I had no record that directly said it. I had proof that Noel Jr.'s sister was Elizabeth. I had proof that Elizabeth's father was Noel Sr., but nothing that said the 2 Noels were connected. This seems obvious, but in Louisiana, Thibodeaux is a common name and you can't assume anything.

Noel had really neat penmanship. It's tidy capital letters. My grandfather and aunt write the same way.

This record was filled out June 11, 1937. It gives Noel Jr.'s residence and place of employment at that time. He was working construction in Calexico, California, right on the Mexico border. Wonder what he was building? This is a nice 1940 census substitute until I can get my hands on the real thing.

You can order SS-5s online. The whole transaction for me took less than the 20 business days advertised. It's easy, but not cheap.

SS-5 Waiting Game

I ordered my great-grandfather's SS-5 this week. For those that don't know, an SS-5 is the form one fills out to get a Social Security Number. You can request these documents for deceased individuals through the Freedom of Information Act.

It's been a while since I ordered a SS-5. So long, in fact, that this is the first one I've ordered using the new-ish Social Security Administration online order form. This is also the first time I've ordered a SS-5 for someone who is not in the Social Security Death Index.

I am hoping this form lists the names of my great-grandfather's parents. I already know who they are, but their connection is made using lots of indirect evidence. For example, I have documents that say Noel (my great-grandfather) is brother of Elizabeth. I have documents that say Elizabeth's parents are Noel Sr. and Lizzie. I do not have documents that state Noel's parents. Hopefully with this SS-5 I can document that Noel's parents are Noel Sr. and Elizabeth.

Noel Sr. was the guy who got shot in 1889. The newspaper articles don't mention the family by name, so this is where it gets sketchy. Complicating matters is the lack of an 1890 census.

I'm also hoping this SS-5 tells me where Noel Jr. was living and working at the time of his SSN application. He moved around so much! Many documents, voter records, census entries and city directories have helped me map Noel Jr.'s multiple relocations in Louisiana and California.

SS-5 records are expensive ($27 and $29) so I don't order many. However, this I felt was too important not to have such a record. Now I play the waiting game for a present in my mailbox,

All About the Benjamins

I just spent $100 and it was frighteningly easy. Here's what records I sent for and hope to get:

Social Security Appliations for William Woodberry Williamson's 3 youngest kids: Buena Vista, Thula and Wood.

Arkansas death certificates for Buena Vista and Bessie.

If I get these death certificates, and the one from Oklahoma, I'll have collected the whole set for all 7 of WWW's kids. Not bad.

I debated getting the SS Applications because they cost so dang much. However, these three youngsters intrigue me and I want to know more about them. They are the half-siblings of my great-grandfather.

Today I also finalized my cemetery notes for the road trip. I also bought some bribery implements for my son, who won't be so amused to be touring cemeteries in Arkansas, or hanging out in the local library for hours on end.

Next task, a list of significant dates so I can hunt for obituaries or other events in the film reels of local Russellville-area newspapers.

Home Again, Mail Bag

I'm back from my mini-vacation in San Diego. Guess what was waiting for me in the mail? A jury summons. Guess what else? My grandmother's SS-5.

No bombshells here. The application is dated December 1, 1936. She was 22 and living with her parents in Duncan, Oklahoma. She was employed by Duncan Publishing Company. I wonder if this was the newspaper job she talked about? I wonder if she did any writing? I'll have to investigate further whenever I get back to Oklahoma.

The house my grandmother grew up in is now called the "Saye Home," but my great-grandfather was the one that built the house. I'm not sure he is recognized as the builder by the locals. They seem more enamored by the later occupants. When I go back there, I plan on proving it was the Williamson Home before it was the Saye Home.