Obviously, Social Security Death Index won't provide you with a family tree. It can, however, get you started if you do not know the names of the parents for a grandparent or great-grandparent.
Using the Social Security Death Index,
you can find a death date and the state where your ancestor died. Once you have
that, you can obtain a death certificate that might show the names of the
parents. You might then be able to find family trees containing those parents. Click here for more information on obtaining death certificates from VitalChek at Ancestry.com. Also see the definition of
terms for more information on this index.
How to Search the Social Security Death Index
- Best Way to Search: Go to Active Searches for easier searching. At the Active Searches page, you need only to enter your ancestor data once to search all the websites listed at the left. Active Searches is a free service that creates the optimal searches for your ancestor data.
- Manually search the yourself at Ancestry.com. This will open a new window so you can refer back to the search hints above.
Social Security Death Index Website Capabilities
See the definition of terms for any questions on the meaning of the entries.
| x | free searches |
| free viewing of pedigrees | |
| x | paid viewing |
| free downloads of pedigrees | |
| paid downloads | |
| contact information for submitter | |
| ability to see all the names submitted by a particular researcher | |
| ability to restrict searches to updates since a specific time | |
| searches with spouse's name | |
| searches with parent's names | |
| searches by place of birth | |
| searches by place of marriage | |
| x | searches by place of death |
| x | searches by country |
| x | searches by state, province, or political subdivision |
| x | searches by date |
| ability to specify date ranges for searching | |
| x | searches by exact spelling of name |
| searches by metaphone | |
| x | searches by soundex |
| ability to automatically find possible matches in your ancestry |