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Archiver > KYALLEN > 2001-10 > 1003403063


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Subject: [KYALLEN] FYI on Social Security Index at Rootsweb
Date: Thu, 18 Oct 2001 07:04:23 EDT


1. NEWS AND NOTES FROM ROOTSWEB
--------------------------------

1a. SSDI UPDATE WITH NEW "MIDDLE NAME/INITIAL" DATA.
Due to the resolution of a mix-up at the supplier end with an
Ancestry.com and RootsWeb.com standing order, our Web sites are once
again posting monthly updates to the Social Security Death Index
after a brief interruption. The new SSDI update, current to
September 2001, contains roughly 500,000 more entries than the
version it replaces, bringing the grand total close to 66.7
million names.

The new database is also notable in that it contains new fields:
middle names and name suffixes. In fact, the new file contains
middle name information on some 21 million people, almost one-third
of the entire index. The vast majority of these entries are middle
initials only. The benefit to genealogists is to see extra
information about an ancestor that allows one to discriminate
between two potential records. The updated data also contains
name suffixes such as "JR" and "SR," which can be valuable in
determining the identity of fathers or sons.

Search the latest SSDI at:
http://ssdi.genealogy.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/ssdi.cgi



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