Ordering a Social Security Application from the SSA
Genealogists today are accustomed to finding records with a few clicks—census records, draft registrations, newspaper articles, and even cemetery images. But not that many years ago, obtaining some records required a different approach: identifying the record, writing a letter, mailing payment, and waiting for the response.
Today’s Friday Find is a reminder of that earlier process.
Recently, while sorting through my CRAWFORD files, I came across correspondence from the Social Security Administration dated 6 February 2001. The letter enclosed a copy of the original application for a Social Security number—better known to genealogists as the SS-5—for Percy Ernest Crawford (1893–1978).
Percy wasn’t a direct ancestor, but he was certainly family: my second cousin twice removed. Percy was the son of William M. Crawford and Katie Kreigh, grandson of James H. Crawford, and great-grandson of Nelson G. Crawford, our shared ancestor.
At the time, I likely identified Percy using the Social Security Death Index, probably through Ancestry, then submitted a request to the Social Security Administration for a copy of his original application. Unfortunately, I no longer have a copy of the request letter itself—but the SSA’s response survived.
The cover letter reads in part:
“I am enclosing a copy of the original application for a Social Security number for the above individual, as requested.”
That enclosed application provided exactly the kind of genealogical clues we love to find.
What the SS-5 Revealed
Percy’s application tells us:
- Full name: Percy Ernest Crawford
- Date of birth: 18 August 1893
- Place of birth: Fairbank, Cochise County, Arizona
- Father: William H. Crawford
- Mother: Kate Kriegh
- Residence in 1944: Palmdale, California
- Employment status: Unemployed
- Date of application: 1 July 1944
For a genealogist, that’s a remarkable collection of information in a single document.
The birthplace helps place Percy’s family in Arizona at a specific time. The parental names help confirm family relationships. And even the application date and residence provide a snapshot of Percy’s life during World War II.
A Different Era of Genealogical Research
Younger genealogists may not realize how many records once required a paper request.
Before widespread digitization, tracking down a document often meant:
- Finding enough identifying information in an index
- Writing a formal request
- Sending a check
- Waiting weeks—or months—for a response
There was always a little anticipation when that envelope finally arrived.
In Percy’s case, the wait was worth it.
Friday Find Reflection
This document is also a reminder to preserve our research trail.
I saved the SSA response and the copied application—but not the original request letter. Today, I wish I had kept that too, if only as a snapshot of my own genealogy methods in 2001.
Have you ever found evidence of your earlier research methods tucked into your files—old correspondence, photocopied record requests, handwritten pedigree charts, or letters from repositories?
Sometimes the “find” isn’t just the ancestor.
Sometimes it’s the researcher we used to be.