It Takes A Thief - To Solve a Birth Record Mystery - Part 4

Photo by Marcin Wichary

If you are coming into this series on my grandparents' efforts to provide proof of their age for Social Security and my efforts to locate an original birth record, you might like to catch up by reading Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3.

What I found interesting in this document called Instructions on Required Proofs that Grandpa received from the Social Security Administration, is that there were two categories under Proof of Age.

Social Security preferred documents from the first category- Documents Usually Recorded in Early Life. Notice the last item - f - U.S. census record for the first or second census after birth. That is what Richard obtained back in 1960 (see Post 2).  I was surprised that the first or second census record after someone's birth would fall into this category.

Here was another surprise. In the second section, is a list of documents that could be used if a document recorded early in life was not readily available. Note item s - Delayed birth certificate.

Maybe I am mistaken but it seems like I've read, in several places, that people born before vital records were required to be kept often would obtain a delayed birth certificate in order to collect Social Security benefits. Yet here on this form from 1965 (see the year on the bottom of the form), the Social Security Administration is saying that a census record for the first or second census after birth is preferable to a delayed birth certificate. Very interesting.

Richard did end up sending in his Census Bureau transcript as proof of birth asking that it be returned to him, which it was (see Exhibit 5 below).

Summary
Sometimes in our research we need to accept that not finding something is still a good thing. I am thinking there is no reason to continue looking for a birth certificate for Grandpa, or a delayed birth certificate. He used a 1900 Census Bureau transcript as proof of his birth with the Social Security Administration probably because a birth certificate doesn't exist.

Going back to the original hypothesis in Part 1: Richard Roos was born 7 August 1895 in Los Angeles, California. It looks like I may have to be satisfied with the other sources I already have that prove this. That's OK as I have plenty of convincing evidence that my hypothesis is true (not to mention the fact that I used to send Granpa a birthday card every August!). If I could just get the Archdiocese of Los Angeles to cough up the baptismal record...

I hope you enjoyed this series and that it helps you with solving a genealogical problem of your own.

Exhibit 5 - Letter from Richard Roos to Social Security, dated 4 November 1965,submitting proof of birth

© 2011, copyright Michelle Goodrum

It Takes A Thief - To Solve a Birth Record Mystery - Part 3

 If you are coming into this series on my grandparents' efforts to provide proof of their age for Social Security and my efforts to locate an original birth record, you might like to catch up by reading Part 1 and Part 2.

• Sometime in 1963, or later (Thank you Susan in Wi for spotting the date when I could not!) On 19 October 1965, Richard received an undated letter from the Social Security Administration requesting proof of his date of birth in connection with his application for Hospital Insurance Benefits. (See Exhibit 3 below.)
• Here's the good part. They included acceptable proofs and not just for proof of age, which is what Richard needed to provide. (See Exhibit 4 below.) This document includes a list of proof of marriage, death, burial expenses, court appointment of legal representative, dependency, military service after September 7, 1939, and proof of earnings. These might be helpful to you in solving other genealogical problems.
• In Part 2, one of my readers, who wishes to remain Anonymous, supplied a link to the a Social Security Number Chronology.  You might find this helpful. Thank you Anonymous!

 Stay tuned...

Exhibit 3 - Letter from Social Security

Exhibit 4 - Instructions on Required Proofs (from Social Security Administration) - 2 pages

Safe Photo Credit: Marcin Wichary, reprinted under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic 
(CC by 2.0) adapted.
© 2011, copyright Michelle Goodrum

It Takes a Thief - To Solve a Birth Record Mystery - Part 2

Photo by Marcin Wichary

After years of searching for an original birth record for my paternal grandparents, Richard and Margaret Roos, and coming up empty handed, I discovered that they had been trying to do the same thing in the early 1960’s! So for all the searching I've done for grandpa's birth certificate, it's beginning to look like maybe there never was one. Or at least that’s the conclusion my grandparents reached.

Now I've always been confused about when people would try to obtain proof of birth. Was it when they were applying for their Social Security card? Or was it when they became old enough to collect Social Security? Judging from what I found in my grandparents letters and the related papers. It would appear that the answer may be the latter (although I'm really not sure so if you have some insight, please speak up).

Here’s what I’ve been able to recreate of the process Richard went through to obtain proof of birth. First a little housekeeping. In order to be succinct, I've bulleted each step and referenced the appropriate "Exhibit". You will find the image for each "Exhibit" at the bottom of the post, if you really want to get into the details.

• In a letter dated 26 November 1960, Richard wrote the US Census Bureau requesting a transcript of his census record. He gave them the information regarding where he was living in 1910. (See Exhibit 1 below.) He attached a handwritten list of his family's residences on enumeration day from 1900 to 1950 and stated the purpose was "In Lieu of Birth Certificate." (See Exhibit 2.) To me that is a hint that Richard believed he did not have a birth certificate.
• In a document from the Bureau of the Census, dated 28 December 1960, Richard received an "EXACT COPY" of his 1900 census. (See Exhibit 3 below.)
• Several years passed...

Part 3 coming soon...

Exhibit 1- Richard Roos 26 November 1960 letter to US Census Bureau

Exhibit 2-Richard's census summary 1900-1950

Exhibit 3-1900 Census entry for Richard Roos

© 2011, copyright Michelle Goodrum

It Takes a Thief - To Solve a Birth Record Mystery - Part 1

In my "It Takes a Thief" posting from December, I mentioned how we broke into a safe in my parents’ basement. Today we are going to begin to examine one group of items found in that safe. I don't want to look at it from a show and tell aspect, but rather from the perspective of how these documents may answer a research question I've had for quite some time. I'm still left with some questions of my own, so maybe we can all learn a little from this posting.

Background

Since I began researching my family history, I've been looking for birth records for my paternal grandparents. They were born in the 1890s, before vital records were required to be kept. Yet later in life they would need to present proof of birth in order to collect Social Security. What I discovered in the safe were letters written by both of my Roos grandparents. They were attempting to obtain acceptable proofs of their births for Social Security purposes.

My original research objective was to obtain an original copy of their birth records. The question wasn't so much one of when and where they were born, I wanted an original birth record to back up the information I already had.

Using my grandfather, Richard Roos, as an example, the research process I’ve been through for the past 15+ years looks something like this:

Known Facts:

Numerous sources indicate Richard was born 7 August 1895 in Los Angeles, California. Here is a sampling:

1. World War I Selective Service System Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918.
2. Roos family Bible lists Richard’s DOB as 7 August 1895.
3. Application for Equalized Compensation-State of Washington [WWI Veteran’s Bonus]. This document is in Richard’s handwriting.
4. Richard’s death certificate (his wife, my grandmother, was the informant).

Working Hypothesis: Richard Roos was born 7 August 1895 in Los Angeles, California.

Research Steps Taken:

1. Wrote to Los Angeles County Recorder, in 1994, requesting copy of Richard's birth certificate. Result: Issued a “Certificate of Search” stating they searched from January 1895 to December 1895 and were unable to locate a birth certificate.
2. Wrote to the Archdiocese of Los Angeles in 1994 and again several years later, requesting a copy of Richard's baptism. Result: I never received a response from them.
3. Examined FHL Film 1033120, Index to Delayed Certificates of Births, only to discover that all of the surnames beginning with the letter R were missing from the film!

At this point frustration took over and I set the project aside.

Stay tuned for part 2…

© 2011, copyright Michelle Goodrum