United States, Social Security Numerical Identification Files (NUMIDENT) - FamilySearch Historical Records

United States

What is in This Collection?
The Social Security Administration created these records to track the earnings of US workers and determine benefit entitlements. The publishable index only contains information for deceased individuals and was gathered from three record types in the collection: 1. applications, 2. deaths, and 3. claims. Each compiled record includes fields for the name of the deceased, social security number, parents' names, gender, birth city and state or country, birth date, and death date.

Merged Entries
This record collection is taken from a National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) database titled "Numerical Identification Files (NUMIDENT), created, 1936 - 2007." The NARA database consists of three different types of record entries:


 * 72,182,729 Application record entries
 * 25,230,486 Claim record entries
 * 49,459,293 Death record entries

A person often has multiple entries in the NARA database. Utilizing the social security number, FamilySearch merged multiple entries into one, resulting in 63,700,494 records. The name note specifies, for each of the combined entries, the entry type, the name as it appears in that entry, and the date. While the date for death and claim entries specifies the death or claim date, respectively, dates for applications specify when the entry was added to the NUMIDENT database. Take for example, this name note:


 * Name and form dates: Application: DOROTHY ADELE CLAYTON (Aug 1949), Application: DOROTHY CLAYTON RAYMOND (Nov 1955), Application: DOROTHY ADELE CLAYTON (15 Aug 1990), Death: DOROTHY A CLAYTON (29 Feb 2004)

The note indicates the record on FamilySearch is a combination of these four entries from NARA:

Names
FamilySearch created a name alias for each name variant as well as an implied maiden name when a woman's last name was different from the father's last name. In the Dorothy Adele Clayton example, because the father's name is Anthony Jackson, FamilySearch created an additional alias, "Dorothy Adele Jackson." Searching will find the record using the name or any of the aliases.

Sometimes the signature on an application differed from the applicant's name. Percy V Hill signed the application for Edith Raymond Hill (1882-). When the signature name is different than the number holder's, FamilySearch created an additional person with that name, but no alias. This is true even when the signatory may have been the number holder: The signature on the application of Vera Mae Raymond (1897-) was "Mae Raymond."

Consult the Original
After finding a record of interest, consult the entries in the NARA database for further information. While the FamilySearch record collection is easier to search, the NARA database contains additional information. Take the Dorothy Adele Clayton record as an example. The parents' names in the 1949 entry are Jackson and Margaret Burgese, but the 1990 entry specifies Anton Yukunsky and Margaret Pachesa. The latter values are not found in the FamilySearch record. The 1990 entry states that Dorothy was also known as Dorothy Yukunsky.

All the NARA entries specify the social security number. Once one record entry is found on the NARA website, use the social security number to find the other entries.

Consider ordering the original copy of the SS-5 application form. The research wiki contains information about this process.

Field Notes
A few records include a birth certificate number. The field is labeled "Certificate Number." See a Connecticut example and a Georgia example.

The NARA database limits the length of some fields. If NARA truncated a field, FamilySearch indicates that with an asterisk (*). Examples:


 * The record for Ethel Christine Pappageorgeackoupoulos (1917-1987) specifies "Pappageorgeackoupoul*" as her last name.
 * The record for Dayson Thomas Child (1993-2003) specifies "Washington T*, Utah, United States" as his birthplace. This is probably "Washington Terrace."

For technical information about NUMIDENT, consult the nine technical documents documenting the NARA database and the SSA Program Data User’s Manual by Constantijn Panis, et. al.

What Can These Records Tell Me?
Each compiled record includes fields for: • 2

How Do I Search This Collection?
Before searching this collection, it is helpful to know:
 * Name of the person
 * Approximate date of the event

How Do I Analyze the Results?
Compare each result from your search with what you know to determine if there is a match. This may require viewing multiple records or images. Keep track of your research in a research log.

I Found the Person I Was Looking For, What Now?

 * Add any new information to your records
 * If available, check the image for additional information
 * Analyze the entry to see if it provides additional clues to find other records of the person or their family

I Can’t Find the Person I’m Looking For, What Now?

 * Try searching by surname only
 * The person may be recorded with an abbreviated or variant form of their name
 * Remember that spelling was generally not standardized until the early part of the 20th century

Research Helps
The following articles will help you research your family in the United States.
 * United States Guided Research
 * United States Record Finder
 * United States Research Tips and Strategies

Other FamilySearch Collections
These collections may have additional materials to help you with your research.

FamilySearch Catalog

 * Desmond Walls Allen and Carolyn Earle Billingsley, Social Security applications: a genealogical resource Conway, Arkansas : Research Associates, c1995 FS Library 973 D27adw

FamilySearch Historical Records

 * United States Social Security Death Index
 * United States, GenealogyBank Historical Newspaper Obituaries, 1815-2011
 * United States, GenealogyBank Obituaries, Births, and Marriages 1980-2014
 * United States, Cemetery Abstracts, 1949-1969

FamilySearch Digital Library

 * Report of distribution of surnames in the Social Security number file September 1, 1974
 * America's centenarians : reports of interviews with Social Security beneficiaries who have lived to 100. Washington, D.C. : U.S. Department of Health Education and Welfare Social Security Administration, 1963

Citing This Collection
Citations help you keep track of places you have searched and sources you have found. Identifying your sources helps others find the records you used.