You've searched the California Death Index and found someone with same name as your classmates. A hit? Maybe. The index supplies you with the name, date of death, initials of spouse, and the social security number, but nothing, not a word, about the person's date of birth or age.You can make a pretty good guess about the decedent's age by understanding the system for issuing the millions of social security numbers needed for the program. The Social Security Issuance Table provides examples of real California numbers matched with the date of issuance.
First of all, the Social Security office issuing the number uses the first digit to identify the state, for example, the first number for California cardholders is "5". Sometimes families move into the area served by your school from another state having already obtained social security numbers for their children. Most states request the bride and groom to list their place of birth on their marriage certificate and that bit of intelligence should be kept in mind when analyzing the number.
Now let's take a look at the middle two digits. Social security numbers are issued in series and those two numbers tell us which cards are older, but there's a twist. Initially, odd numbers were used, then even numbers, then odd numbers again, and so on. We are indebted to an early card for providing an example. This individual was one of the first to get his number, 564-01-6289, after the passage of the Social Security Act in 1935. Unfortunately for his family, but fortunately for us, he died in 1938, which confirms the early issuance of the number.
Cards are issued by the various Regional offices until all available numbers for each series are exhausted. It matters not if they run out of number before the year is over or if it takes several years. Neither do they care that other regions are exhausting numbers for a series at a faster or slower rate. Consequently, region issuing a social security number starting with a "3" for example would change sequence number at a different time than California issued numbers.
Knowing the issuance year is the key to approximating the age of the card holder. If a child's parents were to apply for number on the day of birth, they would not be issued a card in an old series, not matter how much they wanted. To put it another way, you can't get a card before you are born. If the decedent in the California Death Index has a social security number that was issued before your classmate was born, look elsewhere.
It is possible to obtain one's social number number later in life, such as immigrants or survivors claiming benefits. They would be issued a current social security number, and appear to be the same age as your classmates who were born or started working at about the same time. Be aware of this possibility.
A history of the issuance of social security numbers visit the Social Security Administration's Web site. Ancestry, which provides the on line Social Security Death Index used on this Web site, advises caution on interpreting Social Security Numbers. A comparison of death records available in southern California reveal their relative strengths.
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