PROGRAM: Know Your Records Program – Introduction to Genealogy (5 of 5 videos) LECTURE TITLE: Census Records by Constance Potter LECTURE DESCRIPTION: Archivist Constance Potter discusses US Federal Census records from 1790 to 1930 and how they can be used for genealogical research. Census records are available in digital or microfilm form. LECTURER’S BIOGRAPHY: Constance Potter, an archivist at the National Archives in Washington, DC, specializes in federal records of interest to genealogists. She worked on the release of the 1920 and 1930 censuses. She is the editor for “Genealogy Notes” in Prologue, the Journal of the National Archives and has written about the history of the National Archives for the Association of Professional Genealogists Quarterly and various topics for Prologue. Potter is a regular speaker at the Federation of Genealogical Societies, the National Genealogical Society, the National Institute on Genealogical Research as well as local genealogical groups in Virginia and Maryland. LEARN MORE: Know Your Records program at www.archives.gov/dc-metro/know-your-records or e-mail inquire@nara.gov.

The popular NBC series “Who Do You Think You Are” began its third season last week, and next month PBS will begin a 10-part series called “Finding Your Roots” with historian Henry Louis Gates Jr.

The lineup for “Who Do You Think You Are” includes Martin Sheen, Marisa Tomei, Blair Underwood, Reba McEntire, Rob Lowe, Helen Hunt, Rita Wilson, Edie Falco, Rashida Jones, Jerome Bettis, Jason Sudeikis and Paula Deen. The show airs at 8 p.m. on Fridays.

The PBS series will deviate a bit from its NBC counterpart by featuring two people on each one-hour show. Not all participants have been identified, but they include Kevin Bacon and wife Kyra Sedgewick, Robert Downey Jr., Martha Stewart, Condoleeza Rice and Barbara Walters.

Gates’ interviews will begin airing March 25, but the time varies on different PBS channels.

* * * * *

Tampa Chapter 113, United Daughters of the Confederacy, will meet at 10:45 a.m. Saturday at the Columbia Restaurant in Ybor City. Members Joanne Baldy, Katherine Rizzo and Mary Winn will present short stories about their Confederate ancestors. This is a luncheon meeting. Those interested in attending should contact Frances Nettles at pooh1314@verizon.net for reservations.

* * * * *

The Jewish Genealogical Society of Tampa Bay will offer a two-session seminar titled ”The JGSTB 2012 Guide to Jewish Genealogy Research: A Foundation for Beginners and an Update for Experienced Researchers” at 2 p.m. Feb. 12 (Part 1) and March 11 (Part 2) at Gulf Coast Jewish Family Services, 14041 Icot Blvd., Clearwater.  Registration will be at 1:30 p.m. on both dates.  

The course is free to paid-up members of the Jewish Genealogical Society of Tampa Bay.  A $10 fee will be charged for seminar materials to defray printing costs of a seminar booklet summarizing materials in the seminar. Only one booklet will be needed per couple or family.  Annual membership in the Jewish Genealogical Society of Tampa Bay is $25 per individual or family.

* * * * *

Local lecturer Debra Fleming will lecture on “Newspaper Resources: Following the Lead” at the Feb. 21 meeting of the South Bay Genealogical Society.

This group meets at 11:30 a.m. at the SouthShore Regional Library, 15816 Beth Shields Way, Ruskin. Luncheon starts at noon; program begins at 1 p.m.

Reservations are required no later than Feb. 14. A check for $13 should be sent to the society at P. O. Box 5202, Sun City Center, FL 33573. Follow up with a phone call to Beth Clark at (813) 642-9329 for a meal selection.

* * * * *

Local researchers also should plan to head over to Polk County on March 3 to hear the highly entertaining George Schweitzer at a daylong seminar sponsored by the Imperial Polk Genealogical Society.

Known for his in-character presentations, Schweitzer will appear in colonial costume for his lecture “North-South Colonial Migration Routes,” and he’ll dress as a railroad engineer for “Rivers to Trails to Roads to Canals to Trains.” He also will speak on “Obscure Genealogical Sources (Very Important, Rarely-Recognized Sources).”

Schweitzer is a distinguished professor at the University of Tennessee and holds multiple degrees in chemistry, history and religion. He will sell books and videos at the seminar.

The presentation will be in the Charles Thrift Building (Atrium room) at Florida Southern College, 111 Lake Hollingsworth Drive in Lakeland. Registration will begin at 8 a.m. and the seminar will run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Pre-registration is $40 for society members and $45 for nonmembers. The fee is $50 for all walk-ins. A continental breakfast and lunch are included in the price.

A registration form is online at http://ipgs.org/Seminar-Schweitzer.pdf.

Here are some key facts on the original application: name of person at birth (so it’s a good source for determining a woman’s maiden name), date and place of birth, father and mother’s full names, employer at the time of the application, and address of the person at the time of the application.

It doesn’t take long to realize these applications hold some valuable genealogical data. Requests for copies of the original applications go to the Social Security Administration, Office of Earnings Operations, FOIA Workgroup, 300 N. Greene St., P. O. Box 33022, Baltimore, Md.

A letter should be addressed to the Freedom of Information Officer and should specify that you’re making the request for the SS-5 (Application for Social Security Card) under the Freedom of Information Act, 5 USC Section 552, for a specifically named individual. The request should list the person’s full name, dates of birth and death, and a Social Security number.

Since the original application of a living person cannot be released, it is a good idea to attach a copy of a death certificate or obituary, or state that you found the Social Security number in the Social Security Death Index.

The cost for the SS-5 is $27. The check should be made payable to the Social Security Administration and mailed with the request. If you don’t know the individual’s Social Security number, make the check for $29 and the office will locate the number.

There are several options for finding the all-important Social Security number. Probably the quickest way to get the number is through the Social Security Death Index. This index is available on two Internet sites, Genealogy Bank and Ancestry. Genealogy Bank ((www.genealogybank.com) offers free access to the index, but it doesn’t provide the Social Security number. The best source is to use the index through Ancestry (www.ancestry.com). This requires a paid subscription or a trip to the library to use the library’s subscription service to Ancestry, but it’s worth the cost or the effort.

Another glitch is that Ancestry will not release the Social Security number for any person who has died in the past decade.

Ancestry advises those searching the index to be as specific as possible in order to avoid a large number of hits for a request. But keep in mind that this can work against you if what you “know” is correct information still doesn’t jibe with what someone has entered into the database.

For example, initially I entered “Sarah E. (for Emaline) Hancock” for the object of my search and gave her last place of residence as Fulton County, Georgia. Sure of my information, I was puzzled when I got no return. After several tweaks on the name I still got no result.

So I tried deleting information that could have been limiting a hit. I was successful after I entered only “Hancock” along with the years of birth and death. Her information came back as Sarah W. (for her maiden name Whiddon) Hancock, last place of residence: Pinellas, Florida.

It helps to know that the information in the death index is accumulated based on a survivor filing for a death benefit or someone notifying the administration of a person’s death in order to stop a benefit check. In this case Sarah had never lived in Florida, but a surviving daughter lived in Pinellas. Apparently in making her notification, she gave an incorrect place of death for her mother or someone entered the information incorrectly into the database.

If a person isn’t listed in the death index, the next step in finding a Social Security number should be to comb through the individual’s personal papers if you or another relative have them. The number probably will be on the person’s death certificate, banking records, voter registration rolls or paperwork from an employer.

Sounds like a lot of rigmarole — plus a fee — just to get a little document, huh? But remember there is genealogical gold in these applications. Social Security benefits began in January 1940, when the first recipient, Ida May Fuller, turned 65. That means recipients were individuals who had been born in the 19th century, before many states required birth certificates. The Social Security application may be the only official record with the person’s date of birth.

Also, it isn’t unusual for the informant for a death certificate not to know the deceased person’s parents’ full names, especially the maiden name of the mother. But these names (supplied directly by the individual) are in the application.

If you think you’ve looked everywhere for these vital genealogical tidbits, you really haven’t until you send that check and request to the Social Security Administration.