Social Security Sleuthing
NGS offers Social Security Sleuthing, a five-lesson course on CD.This course familiarizes you with the history of the Social Security Act in the United States and how this determines when and where someone may have obtained a Social Security number. It also briefly describes the Social Security numbering system and the clues a number may hold for a genealogist.
In this course, you'll learn the facts about what is available for genealogists from SSA records and why these twentieth- and twenty-first-century records can be so helpful to earlier research.
What Will I Learn?
After completing the five-lesson online course, you will be able to- look for a Social Security number for a deceased individual if he/she had one;
- analyze a Social Security number for clues to the owner’s possible residence at a given time;
- use several online Social Security Death Index (SSDI) search engines effectively and know limitations of the data found in various SSDI versions;
- order a copy of an Application for Social Security Account Number (SS-5) from the Social Security Administration (SSA); and
- order a Social Security Administration claim file for someone who received benefits.
To learn more about Social Security Sleuthing, see the Table of Contents for the Course.
Requirements & Fees
You will need a computer and Internet connection to download the Social Security Sleuthing PDF file from the NGS website. You’ll also need the free Adobe Reader to open, view, and print the course on your own computer.
The course tuition is $70, but NGS members receive a discounted price of $45. Join today to receive the member price.
Register online for the Social Security Sleuthing course now.
