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From: Thomas MacEntee <>
Subject: Re: [TGF] SS-5s now restricted to 100 years
Date: Fri, 18 Nov 2011 15:22:20 -0600
References: <94628775.412011321576446277.JavaMail.root@mbs13.homesteadmail.com><CABPpKTiQS8Qy9gVdOx+EKUe4VzgugjUgEb-2KiAAOrnTso1NgA@mail.gmail.com><BAY145-ds465399FF6B0CE8D63AA6992C40@phx.gbl>
In-Reply-To: <BAY145-ds465399FF6B0CE8D63AA6992C40@phx.gbl>


I too wouldn't call it "outrageous" but I'm not about to give up the fight
for records accessibility. As several have pointed out, we are looking at
an inconsistent policy which has developed over time and may not be rooted
in legislative practice.

As a community we can't just throw in the towel and comfort ourselves with
substitute records each time this happens. This type of complacency will
ultimately lead to less and less accessible records in the long run.

Records and their accessibility are vital to our work - and we should be
able to rely upon consistent practices and policies concerning their
accessibility.

The Records Preservation and Access Committee of FGS has more information
about several other ongoing battles regarding records access and the RPAC
committee is already working on a response to the SS-5s issue.
http://www.fgs.org/rpac/

Cheers

Thomas MacEntee

On Fri, Nov 18, 2011 at 1:54 PM, Michael Hait <>wrote:

> While it is certainly an inconvenience (especially when considered with
> other recent changes to the SSDI), I would not call it outrageous.
>
> Most states already have a 100-year restriction on birth records.
> Obviously,
> the loss of the SS-5 application as a suitable replacement record will hurt
> genealogists, it is no worse than these similar restrictions.
>
> We, as a field, simply have to get creative again, like we did when we
> discovered the availability of the SS-5 application as a source of
> information in the first place. How do we handle those whose deaths do not
> appear in the SSDI?
>
> As much as I mourn the loss of a record source, we just have to work around
> this loss. After all, this is not nearly as bad as the destruction of the
> 1890 federal census, or all of the many record losses from courthouse fires
> throughout the centuries. And we found a way around those.
>
> We can do it!
>
> Michael Hait, CG(sm)
>
> http://www.haitfamilyresearch.com
>
> CG and Certified Genealogist are service marks of the Board for
> Certification of Genealogists, used under license by board certificants
> after periodic competency evaluation, and the board name is registered in
> the US Patent & Trademark Office.
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Harold Henderson
> Sent: Friday, November 18, 2011 2:12 PM
> To: Dee Dee King, Certified Genealogist
> Cc: transitional-genealogists-forum
> Subject: Re: [TGF] SS-5s now restricted to 100 years
>
> This seems outrageous. Has any rationale been detected?
>
> Harold
>
> On Thu, Nov 17, 2011 at 6:34 PM, Dee Dee King, Certified Genealogist <
> > wrote:
>
> > Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak posted this on facebook:
> >
> > Social Security Administration extends FOIA restriction to 100 years
> > http://post.ly/3w25w
> >
> >
> >
> > --
> > Dee Dee King, Certified Genealogist (sm), Certificate 903
> > Contract Genealogist, US Navy Casualty POW/MIA Branch
> > www.forensicgenealogyservices.com/NavyCasualty.html
> > www.facebook.com/forensicgenealogist
> > Telephone/fax<
> http://www.facebook.com/forensicgenealogist%0ATelephone/fax>;
> > 281-431-3525
> > PO Box 1085, Manvel TX 77578
> >
> > Certified Genealogist (CG) is a service mark (sm) of the Board for
> > Certification of Genealogists®, conferred to associates who consistently
> > meet ethical and competency standards in accord with peer-reviewed
> > evaluations every five years, and the board name is registered in the US
> > Patent & Trademark Office.
> >
> >
> > The Transitional Genealogists List was created to provide a supportive
> > environment for genealogists to learn best practices as they transition
> to
> > professional level work. Please respect the kind intentions of this list.
> > -------------------------------
> > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to
> > with the word
> > 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the
> > message
>
>
>
>
> --
> Harold Henderson
> Research and Writing from Northwest Indiana
> Professional genealogy from Chicago to Fort Wayne, Kalamazoo to Kokomo
> Compiler, *In Court In La Porte: An every-name index to the first legal
> proceedings
> in La Porte County, Indiana*
> midwesternmicrohistory.blogspot.com
> midwestroots.net
> The Transitional Genealogists List was created to provide a supportive
> environment for genealogists to learn best practices as they transition to
> professional level work. Please respect the kind intentions of this list.
> -------------------------------
> To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to
> with the word
> 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message
>
> The Transitional Genealogists List was created to provide a supportive
> environment for genealogists to learn best practices as they transition to
> professional level work. Please respect the kind intentions of this list.
> -------------------------------
> To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to
> with the word
> 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message
>



--

*Thomas MacEntee*

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Founder, High-Definition Genealogy

http://hidefgen.com

+1 (773) 661-3080



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