Earnings reported to Social Security

The Itemized Statement of Earnings for my grandmother, Jeannette ODonnell (1920-1993), arrived from the Social Security Administration. This information was requested in June of 2023 for a fee of $100. Proof of death and direct descent was required. (Form SSA-7050-F4.)

The point of requesting this information was to see when and where she worked and possibly ascertain when important life events happened.

The Social Security Act of 1935 created federal old age benefits. Not all workers and employers were required to participate.

One of many newspaper articles explaining the new Social Security Act of 1935.

Jeannette was born in Bayonne, Hudson County, New Jersey in 1920. She applied for a Social Security Number on December 2, 1941. 

Form SS-5 "Application for Social Security Account Number"
completed December 2, 1941.
The year of birth and name differ, but that's another story.
To locate a deceased individual's Social Security Number, search in the Social Security Death Index.
Then fill out form SSA-711 and submit $30.

Jeannette probably worked before December of 1941. The wages were not reported to Social Security.

Her first reported employer was W T Grant. She earned $39.55 in the last quarter of 1941 and $26.75 in the first quarter of 1942.

W T Grant was a bargain store that sold household items. In 1975, the national chain declared bankruptcy, hence the attorney name of Joseph Pardo and the address in New York City. Jeannette probably worked for the store located at 493 Broadway in Bayonne.

Advertisement of sale for W T Grant Co Store in Bayonne.

Help Wanted ad for W T Grant Co Store.
Maybe Jeannette saw this in her local paper.

In 1942 Jeannette began working at the telephone company. This was a national chain, so the current names and addresses do not reflect their names and addresses when Jeannette worked for them. Her last reported earnings from a telephone company were in 1957. Some quarters were little or no earnings. This is probably when she needed time off to have babies.

Jeannette's yearly earnings from what is now called AT&T and Verizon.

Jeannette is seated and third from the left, wearing the dark suit.
Supposedly the other people are her coworkers at the phone company.

Help wanted ad for New Jersey Bell Telephone Company, 1944.
"The telephone company needs more girls to handle war calls."

Jeannette needed a paycheck for personal reasons. The country was at war and women were called upon to work outside the home. This could have made Jeannette's jobs seem natural for the time period without indicating problems in her personal life.

Wages for operators and service assistants at Bell Telephone.
This was published in 1950 to address concerns over rate hikes.
We do not know Jeannette's hours, so we do not know her hourly rate.

After twenty years of no reported wages, Jeannette returned to work in 1978 at Freedman's Bakery in Belford, Monmouth County, New Jersey. She worked there until 1981. This was another national chain, so the current address of the employer is not where Jeannette physically worked.

Jeannette's earnings at Freedman's Bakery 1978-1981

Jeannette behind the counter at Freedman's Bakery

Ad for Freedman's Bakery, Monmouth County locations

The printout of earnings by quarter provides leads as to Jeannette's whereabouts and activities during her younger years. This was worth the fee and effort to obtain.

Pending Orders

Below is the list of records not available online that were ordered and not yet fulfilled.

More items were ordered since the last published list on January 21, 2024.

Service Record and Application for Bounty Land of Jonas Long, War of 1812

Requested from CivilWarRecords.com on February 12, 2024.

$55 via credit card online.

Death certificate of James Cummings, 1912

Requested of the New York State Department of Health. Form DOH-4384 mailed February 9, 2024.

$22 check.

Death certificate of Jane Cummings, 1899

Requested of the New York State Department of Health. Form DOH-4384 mailed February 9, 2024.

$22 check.

Death certificate of John Grant, 1882

Requested of the New York State Department of Health. Form DOH-4384 mailed February 9, 2024.

$22 check.

Death certificate of Beryl Nanejian, 1989

Requested from the State of California. Form VS 112 mailed January 19, 2024.

$24 check cleared February 8, 2024. Confirmation email received February 7, 2024.

Probate records of Jonas Long, 1837, and William Owens, 1853

Requested of the Richmond County, New York Surrogate's Court. Email dated June 25, 2023.

No fee at this time.

Social Security Earning Information of Jeannette ODonnell, 1937 through 1993

Requested of the Social Security Administration. Form SSA-7050-FR mailed June 2, 2023.

$100 check cleared October 26, 2023.

Death certificate of Mollie Schwartz, 1925

Requested from City of Bridgeport and State of Connecticut. Forms VS-39DST mailed April 6, 2023. (Same form number on both town and state forms.)

$20 each via money orders.

Death certificate of Edward Sheeby [Edmond Sheehy], 1893

Requested of the New York State Department of Health. Form DOH-4384 mailed March 1, 2022.

$22 check cleared April 2, 2022.

Originally requested in 2015.

Town of Amenia provided an obscure ledger entry in 2023.

Pending Orders of Records

 While a lot of records are online, many are not.

Below is a list of records I ordered and am still awaiting a response.

One item was received since my last published list on December 6, 2023.

Death certificate of Beryl Nanejian, 1989

Requested from the State of California. Form VS 112 mailed January 19, 2024.

$24 check.

Probate records of Jonas Long, 1837, and William Owens, 1853

Requested of the Richmond County, New York Surrogate's Court. Email dated June 25, 2023.

No fee at this time.

Social Security Earning Information of Jeannette ODonnell, 1937 through 1993

Requested of the Social Security Administration. Form SSA-7050-FR mailed June 2, 2023.

$100 check cleared October 26, 2023.

Death certificate of Mollie Schwartz, 1925

Requested from City of Bridgeport and State of Connecticut. Forms VS-39DST mailed April 6, 2023. (Same form number on both town and state forms.)

$20 each via money orders.

Death certificate of Edward Sheeby [Edmond Sheehy], 1893

Requested of the New York State Department of Health. Form DOH-4384 mailed March 1, 2022.

$22 check cleared April 2, 2022.

Originally requested in 2015.

Town of Amenia provided an obscure ledger entry in 2023.

Personnel File for the Works Progress Administration

Certification of Eligibility
Works Progress Administration file of Clifford Lutter

From the National Archives and Records Administration ("NARA"), I received nineteen pages of the personnel file of my paternal grandfather, Clifford Lutter (1915-1980), for his work with the Works Progress Administration ("WPA"). I knew he worked for the WPA because he wrote them as his employer when he applied for a Social Security number in 1936. (You can request a copy of this application for a deceased person, no relation necessary.)

Form SS-5 "Application for account number"
Clifford Charles Lutter, dated December 1, 1936.

The information was originally requested on October 14, 2023 via postal mail using NARA's form 14137 (found here on their website).

On January 9, 2024 NARA sent an email indicating that the file was located and the fee for copying was $70. I remitted payment the same day.

Email from NARA
"Please allow time for the scanning and uploading process to be completed. Our staff is minimal and all requested records need to be digitized and redacted prior to delivery, so we care currently looking at a much longer turnaround than is typical."

On January 11, 2024 the file was received via an email link.

Email from NARA
"We apologize for the quality of the documents. Our WPA records were microfilmed and the originals destroyed several decades ago. The images we provide are the best possible quality that we can produce."

The Works Progress Administration, later renamed the Work Projects Administration, was created in 1935 to ease the high unemployment rate in the United States during the Great Depression.

Clifford Lutter entered his adulthood during the Great Depression. He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1915 to Howard Lutter (1889-1959) and Ethel Laurel "Laura" Winterton (1891-1962). They lived in Newark, New Jersey, but Howard was performing as a musician in Philadelphia, hence the out-of-state birth. His sister, Beryl, was born in 1918. His parents divorced in 1927. His father remarried in 1928. Clifford resided with his father's newly created blended family.

1930 federal census: 171 Ampere Parkway, Bloomfield, Essex County, New Jersey

Howard Lutter, head; owns a home worth $8,000; owns a radio; age 41; first married at age 23; born in New Jersey.

Fiorita Lutter, wife; age 40; first married at age 21; born in Germany.

Rita Lutter, daughter; age 16; born in New Jersey.

Clifford Lutter, son, age 15; born in Pennsylvania.

Beryl Lutter, daughter; age 12; born in New Jersey.

*Rita was Fiorita's daughter from her first marriage.*

The Great Depression was in full swing as Clifford finished high school and sought employment as a young man.

In 1935, he sought relief from his unemployment through the WPA. He resided in Newark, New Jersey at 8 Gouverneur Avenue with his mother. He began work in December of 1935 as a laborer in Newark at a rate of $55 per month.

Clifford Lutter with his mother, Laura Winterton

Clifford stopped working for the WPA on June 18, 1937 because he became privately employed. He was working as an observer at City Hall Annex in Newark.

A "Reassignment Slip" appears a few times in the file. This informed of a new job title, location, and rate of pay.

Clifford Lutter reassigned to work as a laborer at Port Newark on April 8, 1936
under the WPA.

On September 4, 1936, Clifford was laid-off from his position as a junior statistical field clerk.

At the end of September of 1936, Clifford was reinstated as a junior clerk on the Radio Survey project at the firehouse on Congress and Lafayette Streets in Newark. His salary was 55 cents per hour and 130 hours were allotted. This is the first time that a new home address was used- 55 Chester Avenue.

On November 2, 1936 Clifford signed a Review of Workers Status. He was unemployed for one and a half years. His household grew from two people to three with the addition of his maternal grandmother, Kate Winterton, age 72.

Clifford Lutter's grandmother and mother-
left: Catherine Butterfoss Dunn, wife of William Winterton, (1865-1944)
right: Ethel Laurel "Laura" Winterton, wife of Howard Lutter, (1891-1962)

The most informative page was the Questionnaire filled out on November 10, 1936. Clifford provided information on his background that I did not know. He attended schooling after high school. I cannot make out the name of the school's initials- looks like "N. I. A. (N.Y.C.) 9 months newspaper co." He also attended the American School of Graphology, where he studied handwriting classification for one year. (I'm not sure where this was located.) He worked as a police reporter for the Star Eagle newspaper in Newark for two years before leaving in 1934. His rate was $22 per week. His other occupation was hand writing expert.

In the 1940 census, Clifford was still living at 55 Chester Avenue in Newark with his grandmother and mother. I think that his employment line was misattributed to this mother. He was working as a photographer for the N.Y.A. Project and earned $360 for working 26 weeks in the previous year. This would average out around $13.85 per week, far less than the $22 per week he reported earning when he worked for the newspaper in the early 1930s. N.Y.A. probably stood for National Youth Administration, another program to ease unemployment.

Note: As of this writing, the newspaper Star Eagle is not online. At Newspapers.com is a collection with this title for the years 1907-1916, but is actually the predecessor, The Evening Star.

If your person of interest lived his or her working years in the 1930s in the United States, you may want to inquire of NARA for a WPA personnel file.

Return Time on Genealogical Requests

While a lot of records are online, a lot are not.

Below is a list of records I ordered and am still awaiting a response.

Works Progress Administration Personnel Records of Clifford Lutter, circa 1930s

Search requested of the National Archives. Form 14137 mailed October 13, 2023.

No fee at this time.

Probate records of Jonas Long, 1837, and William Owens, 1853

Requested of the Richmond County, New York Surrogate's Court. Email dated June 25, 2023.

No fee at this time.

Social Security Earning Information of Jeannette ODonnell, 1937 through 1993

Requested of the Social Security Administration. Form SSA-7050-FR mailed June 2, 2023.

$100 check cleared October 26, 2023.

Death certificate of Mollie Schwartz, 1925

Requested from City of Bridgeport and State of Connecticut. Forms VS-39DST mailed April 6, 2023. (Same form number on both town and state forms.)

$20 each via money orders.

Death certificate of Edward Sheeby [Edmond Sheehy], 1893

Requested of the New York State Department of Health. Form DOH-4384 mailed March 1, 2022.

$22 check cleared April 2, 2022.

Originally requested in 2015.

Town of Amenia provided an obscure ledger entry in 2023.

Bureaucratic Redundancy

A second unrestricted copy of my mother's application for a Social Security Number came in the mail last week.  A redacted version was received in June.  After appealing, the unrestricted version arrived in August.  For some odd reason, another copy was sent in October.

You can search the Social Security Death Index for free at Family Search.  A copy of the application costs between $16 to $29 (US Dollars).

Unfettered Record

After supplying copies of the death certificates of her parents, I received an unrestricted copy of my mother's application for a Social Security number (Form SS-5).  The first copy blacked out the names of her parents.  The enclosed letter explained that her parents could still be living, but I could appeal the decision with proof of their deaths.  I have not been able to find any official restrictions about blocking or revealing the full application.

New Ancestry Database: Social Security Applications and Claims Index

Ancestry added a new database, U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007.  For decades, the United States Social Security Death Index has greatly aided researchers tracing people born in the late 1800s forward.  Copies of the actual applications can be ordered directly from the Social Security Administration for a fee.  This new database goes beyond the Death Index.  I played around with it and noticed that many people listed in the Claims Index, but not in the Death Index.  Plus, the Claims Index can include names of parents- and parents are a search field!

The Claims Index is an excellent tool for figuring out what happened to someone when other trails run cold.  I'll use Grace Catherine Joyce to illustrate how to use the Claims Index to trace someone.

Grace Catherine Joyce was born January 9, 1917 in California to James William Joyce and Margaret Catherine Mason.  Grace was a second cousin to my maternal grandmother, Jeannette ODonnell (1920-1993).  Their common ancestors were their great grandparents, Peter ODonnell and Margaret Gallagher, who were probably born around 1820 in County Donegal, Ireland.  Jeannette descended from their son, Patrick Francis ODonnell (1856-1931).  Grace descended from their daughter, Kathryn.  I did not know about Kathryn until I read about her in Patrick's obituary in the Bayonne Times newspaper.

This obituary was printed in 1931, so I looked in the 1930 federal census for Kathryn Mason Kennedy in Stockton, California.

In 1930, Katherine Kennedy was residing in Stockton, California with her daughter, Margaret C; son-in-law, James W Joyce; and granddaughter, Grace.

Katherine was not easy to trace.  She moved a lot.  In the 1900 census, she was living in Brooklyn, New York, as the widowed Katie Mason.  Her children, Margarite and John, used the last name Mason.

I did not find Katherine in 1910.  In 1920, she was living in Bridgeport, Fairfield County, Connecticut, with her son, John Mason.  Between the 1920 and 1930 census, Katherine married a man by the name of Kennedy, was widowed, and moved to California to live with her daughter.

In the 1940 census, Katherine is not living with her daughter, Margaret; perhaps she has passed.  This is the end of the trail for Katherine's granddaughter, Grace C Joyce.  What became of her?

I tried the Claims Index for Grace Joyce.  I searched for someone whose father was James Joyce and mother was Margaret Mason.  Found her.

Grace Joyce married Robert Duggan and changed her last name, making it more difficult for me to find her.  But I did.  She died December 23, 2003 in California.

Grace had children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren.  I don't see Grace in any family trees, but I've added her to mine.

Withholding Information

The United States Social Security Administration makes available to the public some information for certain people who are deceased.  You can search this Death Master File for free at FamilySearch in their Social Security Death Index.  This is a great resource if you are looking for someone who would have applied for a number, which started in 1935.  Results should include the deceased person's name, date of birth, month and year of death (day of death in more recent years), and the place that the last benefit was sent.

If you find an entry of interest, for $27 you can request a copy of the original application for the Social Security account number.  The fee used to be $7.

The original application asked for address, date and place of birth, employment, and names of parents.  This is great information in the study of a family's history.

I ordered my mother's application and was surprised to see information blocked from the copy.

The enclosed letter explained, "We have deleted the names of the parents, however, as they may still be living."  Another paragraph explained that I can file an appeal if I can prove that the parents are dead.  A decision will then be made if the people whose deaths I can prove are the same people on the application.

I can indeed supply copies of the death certificates and will appeal this decision.

I don't know if names of parents are automatically blocked on the copy of the application, or if there is a year of birth to serve as a cut-off time frame.  Research is greatly hindered when information is purposely withheld on what is supposed to be a document available to anyone by request and payment of a fee.  Imagine someone's predicament if the names of parents were not known and this document was the only way of discovering these names.

If anyone has recently requested a copy of the application for a Social Security Number, please let us know your experience.

Two wives named Anna

In your research you may get snagged by the Two Wives, Same Name situation.  One wife dies and the husband remarries to a woman of the same first name.  You may not realize that you are dealing with more than one wife or you may mix up records of one for the other.

Let me use Charles Lutter as an example.  Charles, also known as Carl or Karl, was born in the 1860s in a German area of Europe and settled in Newark, Essex County, New Jersey as a child.  To add confusion, there appears to be two contemporaneous men of this name and age in Newark, plus other men in later generations with this same name.  I am still sorting these lines.

Charles had a son named Elwood Lutter (1905-1989).  This is a rather unique name among the Lutters and easier to trace.  I especially remembered this name because many years ago, someone from Salt Lake City called my home, seeking information on Elwood and the Lau family.  (I think my father is one of the few remaining people in Essex County using the surname Lutter.)

In the past, applications for Social Security numbers were cheap and easy to obtain.  Elwood's application cost $7 and provided me with the names of his parents, Charles K Lutter and Anna Lau.

This family is seemingly easy to identify in the federal census from 1900 through 1930 by searching for Elwood or his siblings, Elizabeth, Florence, Charles, and Robert.

1900 United States Federal Census
Parents Charles and Anna of Germany; children Lizzie, Florence, and Charles.

1910 United States Federal Census
Parents Charles and Anna of Germany; children Elizabeth, Florence, Charles, Elwood, and Robert.

The 1920 census is quirky.  First, the family is in no longer in Newark, but rather in Keansburg, which is in Monmouth County, New Jersey.  Also, Anna's birthplace has changed from Germany to New Jersey.  This is accurately carried over to the children's rows- mother born in New Jersey.  In addition, Anna's mother, Minnie or Wilhelmina, is living with them, with a last name of FREY.  Not quite LAU, but this is okay.  I've seen wackier entries in the census.

1920 United States Federal Census
Lutter Charles with wife Anna; children Elwood and Robert; mother-in-law Minnie Frey.

In the 1930 census, the family is back in Newark, minus the mother-in-law.  Anna's birthplace is still New Jersey.  There is a discrepancy with the marriage information.  Charles is 7 years older than Anna; but he was first married (does not mean to the listed spouse!) at age 20, while Anna was 30 years old at her first marriage.  With these numbers, their first marriages were not to each other.  But I've seen far greater discrepancies that were simple attributable to errors in the census.

1930 United States Federal Census
Lutter Charles, wife Anna, son Robert.

So I was proceeding with this branch when I was contacted by the Frey family, inquiring of Charles Lutter and his family history.  There are online family trees naming the wife of Charles Lutter and the mother of the five children as Anna FREY.

Great to hear from the Frey family.  My question:  Why did Elwood Lutter list his mother as Anna Lau and not Anna Frey?  Answer:  Don't know.

More research required.  I looked for the birth certificates of the five children born to Charles Lutter and wife Anna.  I found four of them.  All listed the mother as Anna Lau, not Frey.

My first thought was that I had mixed up the two men named Charles Lutter.  I thought that the other Charles Lutter had died in 1912 and was buried at Fairmount Cemetery in Newark.

The other possibility was that the first wife died and Charles remarried to another woman also named Anna.  This would have occurred between the 1910 and 1920 census recordings, when Anna's birthplace "changed" from Germany to New Jersey.

These Lutter branches are not lacking in women named Anna.  I had plenty of women to reconsider if Anna Lau/Frey had not lived to see the 1920 census.  In a grave at Woodland Cemetery in Newark, marked only with a blank white stone and one marked stone, I had a good candidate:  Anna Lutter, died 1914.  Only her stone, fallen flat on the ground, remained in this Lutter plot at Woodland Cemetery.

Woodland Cemetery, Newark, New Jersey
photo taken June 2, 2007 by J Lutter

Anna Lutter
Mar. 14, 1869 - Oct. 21, 1914
Woodland Cemetery, Newark, New Jersey
photo taken June 2, 2007 by J Lutter

Next I located the 1914 death certificate for this Anna Lutter.  She was indeed Anna Lau.

1914 death certificate for Anna Lutter, nee Lau
Very poor copy.

I have not found a marriage record for Charles Lutter to either wife.  Charles would have married Anna Frey after the death of Anna Lau in 1914 and before the 1920 census.

Anna Frey with her family of origin in the 1880 federal census.
24 Action Street, Newark, Essex County, New Jersey

When someone's wife changes her information, but not her name, from census to census, you may want to consider a remarriage to another woman with the same given name.