Use the Social Security Death Index (SSDI) to Document Your Relatives

Keep your research simple. Knowing the first step to take when doing your family history searches can save you time and effort.

Here’s one good genealogy search tip to keep in mind: target your relatives using GenealogyBank’s online Social Security Death Index.

What if you know that your family has lived in a certain county for a long time, but you don’t know all of their names?

A good first step to take: use the Social Security Death Index as a quick way to survey death records about your family from that county.

In the following example, this easy search finds all of the deaths in Fairfield County, Connecticut, for everyone surnamed “Carlucci.”

GenealogyBank's SSDI search form for Carlucci family in Fairfield County, Connecticut
GenealogyBank’s SSDI search form for Carlucci family in Fairfield County, Connecticut

This is a simple way to pull back records for many of your relatives with one easy search.

search results in GenealogyBank's SSDI for the Carlucci family in Fairfield County, Connecticut
Search results in GenealogyBank’s SSDI for the Carlucci family in Fairfield County, Connecticut

Use this direct survey approach to gather the records for multiple relatives with one search. This approach will save you time and get you the documentation you need.

Then go on to the next simple step: search in GenealogyBank’s newspaper archives and find the obituaries and other newspaper articles about these people.

GenealogyBank newspaper articles about the Carlucci family in Fairfield County, Connecticut
GenealogyBank newspaper articles about the Carlucci family in Fairfield County, Connecticut

By approaching the SSDI with clear, brief searches you can find your relatives, save time and get the best results.

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