Q: I have tried to find out the answer to this seemingly simple question and keep running into dead ends. If a person is listed in the Social Security Death Index, why wouldn't they know "where" they died if they know they're dead? -- Helen

A: I'm going to assume that you are actually referring to the Last Residence field in the Social Security Death Index. While many people assume that this field is the place of death, this is a misconception. If there is a place listed, though, it is certainly a place to begin your research when trying to get a death certificate.

The last residence is, in fact, the last known legal residence for the individual in question. This may not, however, be the most current address for the individual. There are any number of reasons why the Social Security Administration may not have known the most current information. Perhaps mail sent to that address had been returned or perhaps the information was not entered into the Death Master File, from which we get the Social Security Death Index.

If your purpose for finding the place of death is to get ahold of the death certificate, it sounds like you are disappointed. If you were looking for the death certificate in order to get information about the parents, you can find this information on the application for a social security number (the SS-5 form). This would list the individual's date and place of birth along with the names of the parents, including the maiden name of the mother. If you are instead trying to find the death certificate so you can completely record the death event on these individuals, it looks like you still have your work cut out for you. If you know where the individuals lived, you may want to start there, looking for an obituary after the date of death you found in the SSDI.

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