Have you been sure to check for social security applications for all the women in your family?
I’m surprised at the number of women I have been able to find who had SSNs. They sometimes provided wonderful little tidbits of information.
Although this blog title is Working Women, I found plenty of applications from women who were housewives. (And of course what they did was also work!)
The card below reflects everything I’ve heard about my great-grandmother Beatrice Prather. Look at all the extra details, and her very precise handwriting:
Here’s the card for a cousin, Grace Howard:
Have you found many SS5 cards for women in your trees? Have you looked?
Do not forget to use these valuable records in conjunction with the Social Security Death Index (SSDI) and the Social Security Applications and Claims Index (1936-2007) database on Ancestry.
I am an engineer by day, but my true passion lies in genealogy. I have been a researcher, writer, lecturer and teacher for over twenty years. This blog is where I share family history methods, resources, tips and advice, with an emphasis on slave research, slavery and its aftermath. This lifelong quest has helped me to better know my family’s past. I’ve taken back– reclaimed– some of that lost memory, especially that of my enslaved ancestors. I hope you’ll sign up to receive my posts—if you do, you’ll get a free PDF with some of my favorite tips! And please do share posts that interest you.
Excellent post!
You asked – “Have you guys found many SS5 cards for women in your trees?”
Yes indeed! Actually during my beginning stages with family research, a few of the early “how-to” books that I referred to often recommended ordering Form SS-5s. I probably ordered more for male ancestors than female ones. But I learned a lot about the females in my family when I did indeed! I discovered that I had an aunt and uncle that migrated from Texas to live and work in Harlem & Brooklyn, NY during the late 1930s until their deaths. My aunt worked at the Jeannette Hat Shop that was once located on Madison Ave in New York City. I don’t believe I would have ever learned those key facts about her if it had not been for me adding Form SS-5s in my research.
I haven’t ordered an SS-5 in quite some time because they went from $7 each back in the early 1990s to $10 and more in 2002. Were the copies you have featured here affordable? Let me know your thoughts; again, great post!
I can barely find SS5 cards for the men much less the women. That being said I’ve anxiously awaiting the card from one female in the family. She’s not a direct line ancestor but she’s supposed to be my great grandmother’s baby sister. Other than her daughter stating that, I’ve no proof, so hoping that this solves the mystery.