Anna Apgar Verikios Lake Turns 100-Where Was She When She Was 7?

This is the "Application for Social Security and Tax Account Number" for Anna Margaret Lake, my wife's grandmother who would have been 100 years old on 8 March 2013
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There is no birth certificate for Anna in Cook County, Illinois, which is where her parents were living when she was born and where her older and younger siblings births were recorded. I've speculated on why she has no birth certificate (her older siblings have delayed records and her younger brother has a contemporary birth certificate).

The real mystery with Anna is where she is enumerated in the 1920 census. She has been located in 1930 living with her mother Mary Verikios and step-father Peter Verikios) in Chicago at 221 E. 115th Street (Source Citation: Year: 1930; Census Place: Chicago, Cook, Illinois; Roll: 431; Page: 38A; Enumeration District: 405; Image: 324.0; FHL microfilm: 2340166.)

Her mother and step-father have been located in Chicago's 1920 census, but Anna is not enumerated with them although her siblings are. The family is living at in 907 E 43rd Street in Chicago (Source Citation: Year: 1920; Census Place: Chicago Ward 3, Cook (Chicago), Illinois; Roll: T625_313; Page: 4A; Enumeration District: 159; Image: 267.).

Nothing is known of Anna's father--William Apgar (aka William Frame) after about 1918. He was born in Chicago approximately 1888. It is unknown whether Anna was living with him, but it is doubtful. Family tradition has it that she never actually knew her biological father.

Anna is married and living with her husband Ola Lake by the 1940 census enumeration (as Anna and Ollie Lake living in Marceline, Missouri  (Source Citation: Year: 1940; Census Place: Marceline, Linn, Missouri; Roll: T627_2125; Page: 6A; Enumeration District: 58-23). Her life is pretty well documented from that point--it's just the 1920 census enumeration where I cannot locate her.

Citation reminder: We are a strong believe in citing genealogical source material in the spriit of Evidence Explained. However, we choose not to include properly formatted citations in these blog posts. There's always enough information in the post to create a citation and full citations are included in my how-to newsletter Casefile Clues. 

The SS-5 Form

The SS-5 form is the form a person fills out to apply for a United States social security number. These forms are available for deceased individuals and can be obtained from the Social Security Administration. They can be an excellent genealogical source--depending upon the person and the family situation. The person does not have to be in the SSDI (Social Security Death Index)  in order for a researcher to obtain a copy of the SS-5 form. The person does have to be deceased to obtain a copy of the card.

Anyone who had a Social Security Number completed an SS-5 form  or had one completed for them.

It is easier (read: cheaper)  to obtain the form if you have the person's social security number. This can be obtained from the Social Security Death Index, the person's death certificate, or other sources. You can request an SS-5 form from the Social Secutiry Administration (link below) if you know the person is dead,but you don't have the social security number.

While the SS-5 form contains some of the same information as is on the death certificate, it is important to remember that most people filled out their own SS-5 form. Most people usually don't fill out their own death certificate. In some cases, the SS-5 form may contain information previously unknown.

The form on the page is for my wife's grandmother. The father's name listed on this form is different from the name of the father listed on her death certificate. In this case, it was a significant clue.

You can easily search the index via the link below-- or you can search  the Social Security Death Index at Genealogy Bank. Their version of the SSDI is the most current and is free.

Getting the SS-5 Application

SS5 form for Anna Margaret Lake

• If the person is in the Social Security Death Index, obtain their entry in the SSDI so you have complete information.
• If the person is NOT in the Social Security Death Index, visit the Social Security Administration page for more information on your options. 
• Want to order online or need more information? This SSA page has additonal information.
• Want to us the US mail to make your request? Print out an order form here. Getting the person's number from other records (if possible) is an excellent idea.

Redactions:

Thanks to Judy G. Russell for reminding me about the redactions in the SS-5 forms. The SSA is redacting names of parents unless you can show they are deceased or the applicant on the SS-5 form was born over 120 years ago. Yes--that does mean the parents are completely and totally dead. More information is here on the SSA site. 

From the SSA website:

Fees For Processing Requests For Individual’s Social Security Record
$27	Request for copy of Original Application for Social Security Card (Form SS-5), SSN Provided (Printout from microfilm)
$29	Request for copy of Original Application for Social Security Card (Form SS-5), SSN Not Provided (Printout from microfilm)
$16	Request for Computer Extract of Social Security Number Application, SSN Provided  (*Numident only requested)
$18	Request for Computer Extract of Social Security Number Application,SSN Not Provided (*Numident only requested)
$16	Search for Information about Death of an Individual, SSN Provided (SSA does not usually have place of death, burial, or cause of death)
$18	Search for Information about Death of an Individual, SSN Not Provided(SSA does not usually have place of death, burial, or cause of death)
$25	Forward a letter to inform a person about entitlement to money

[note: this image is (c) 2012 Michael John Neill--any use requires permission]

Another Followup on the SS5 Card Stamp

An update to my post on the mysterious stamp on the SS5 card.

A website visitor sent me this copy of an SS5 form completed in 1960. It contains a similarly worded stamp on the far left hand side. This card says "NO RECORD IN DAO"

This pretty much seals it for me. I don't think the Social Security Administration would use the word "DAD" on a stamp and they were concerned about tracking earnings, not anything else. Remember, this is the 1950s and 1960s we are talking about, not the 21st century.

SS-5 Card and that stamp

Thanks to all who submitted ideas on what the stamp in area 11 of the SS5 card meant.

I found several webpages on the Social Security Administration website that gave me some perspective--and more information that I really thought I would ever need.

Operations in the Candler Building 1936-1960

http://www.ssa.gov/history/candlerops2.html

HISTORICAL INTERVIEW WITH JACK S. FUTTERMAN

http://www.ssa.gov/history/jackforal.html

Oral History Collection
Robert P. Bynum

http://www.ssa.gov/history/orals/bynum.html

Based upon this reading (and the submissions of several members of the APG list, the Gen-Newbie List, and the Roots-L list), I am going with

DAO

NO RECORD

which I am inferring to mean that the Division of Accounting Operations at the Social Security Office had no record of her employment. This would explain why the stamp was in the region of the card that it was. Anna Lake had worked before 1963, but that work was before her marriage which would have been before 1930--which was before Social Security anyway.

Thanks for all the suggestions about the card.

Next question: what made her get her card in 1963? See how one thing always leads to another?

What is an SS5 form?

I have updated my page on the SS5 form from the Social Security Administration. It includes a sample image of one of these forms, but keep in mind they are NOT online and must be ordered from SSA--for deceased individuals through the FOIA.