Finding Navy Records of an Ancestor

Marilyn's Question:

I am trying to find information about my mother's brother, Stanley Stewart Schultz, who seems to appear in only one record---the 1930 US Federal Census. He was incorrectly transcribed by ancestry.com as Stanley I Schultz. I have searched for Social Security records, death records, and any other information possible but can find nothing.

I know Stanley was born on March 24 (or 26) 1925. His parents names were Max M. and Gertrude Schultz. He married Lorraine Kutcher (Kutscher) in Hamburg (Buffalo) N.Y. in June in the mid-1940's . He had two children, Bruce Mitchell Schultz and Ward Allen Schultz (later adopted by a man named Brock). He lived on 51st St., Brooklyn, NY until the early 1950's when he and his family moved to a house in Glen Cove, NY. Stanley was a teacher, I believe at Tilden H.S., in Brooklyn. I looked at a yearbook from the school (online) but did not see him listed on staff.

Stanley served in the Navy in the 1940's (in Hawaii) but I don't know if he enlisted or was a draftee. I looked at muster rolls but I don't know the name of his ship and there are many Stanley Schultz's listed. Stanley died in a car accident on June 28, 1956 and is buried in Mt. Hebron Cemetery in Flushing, NY.

1.I thought that if I could find his Social Security information,including his SS number I could further my search about other ancestors, but it does not appear in the SSDI. Where else do I look?

2. How do I find other information about his naval background?

Ask Olive Answer
Hello Marilyn - you say you have found nothing but you have amassed quite a collection of data for Stanley. Have you checked local papers for an obituary? Or for the World War II announcements about local soldiers off to war, or safely returned? I suggest you try Newspaper Archives or GenealogyBank for their newspapers. Search GenealogyBank.com or NewspaperArchive.com

As he died in 1956, he would most probably not appear in the SSDI; the records found in the index, with few exceptions, are from the 1962 and later. But that does not mean the Social Security records do not exist for him.

You have his birth and death dates; you can request a copy of his SS-5 from SSA

"Without an SSN, we will need the person's full name, date and place of birth, and parents' full names to locate the record. If you can provide the necessary identifying information, we will search for the number.

You may send your request to:

Social Security Administration
OEO FOIA Workgroup
300 N. Green Street
P.O. Box 33022
Baltimore, Maryland 21290-3022

You will be charged the cost of searching our records even if we are unable to locate any information on the person you are asking about. The fee for searching our records is $27 when the SSN is known and $29 when the number is unknown or is incorrect. The check or money order should be made payable to the Social Security Administration. We will also accept VISA, MasterCard, American Express, Diner's Club or Discover. Please include the appropriate credit card number, along with the expiration date of the credit card with your written request."

His Naval records may be ordered via the standard from 180

Obtaining a Copy of Social Security Card Application when SSN is not known

Carolyn's Questions:

My grandfather, who emigrated from Ireland in 1900 disappeared from the family, but undoubtedly remained living in Bronx, NY. So far, I’ve been unable to locate his death record in NYC and family history indicates he is probably buried on Hart’s Island (Potter’s Field). I always thought he probably did not have a social security account and I’m pretty sure he was never naturalized, but recently discovered (draft registration record in 1942 at age 60) he was employed in 1942 in NYC and guess he DID have to be enrolled. Can you suggest how I can find those records? I know the SSDI only goes back to the 1960’s.

Olive Tree Answer: Hi Carolyn, you say you are "pretty sure" your grandfather didn't naturalize. Since you know he was alive in 1942, you should be able to find him on census records for 1930, 1920, and 1910 (after you say he disappeared from the family) The 1900, 1910 ,1920 and 1930 census identify citizenship status, with notations showing the individual was an Alien, or had started the Naturalization process or had his final papers.

I use Ancestry.com for Census Records but
Footnote.com has Naturalization Records from NARA

To find your grandfather's Social Security details, you may want to request a copy of his Original Application for Social Security Card (Form SS-5). There is a fee and when the SSN is not known, the fee is slightly more ($29.00 at the present time). There is an online form at Guide to FOIA Requests

Looking for missing uncle in Oklahoma

Jerry asked:

For the past 44 years I've tried in vain to locate information on my uncle, Frank FOREMAN, born 26 Feb 1901 Panama City, LeFlore Co, Oklahoma. The only time I find him is in the 1910 federal census living with his family in Stigler City, Haskell Co, Oklahoma.

By 1920, he's apparently out on his own since he isn't living with the family in Stigler City. By 1930 his father (my grandfather), Jay Wm. Forman and his brother, Hayden Forman (my father) left Oklahoma (Dust Bowl Refugees) and moved to San Francisco, CA.

I contacted the Merchant Marines but they were unable to help without more data input. I contacted the F.O.I.A. at U.S. Dept of Justice and discovered Frank Foreman had applied for a Social Security Number as an employee with the Pennsylvania Railroad (#722-16-0348) on Oct 27, 1942. His social security card was issued Aug 11, 1943. At the time he was residing at 5965 Superior Ave, Chicago, IL (today the street is W. Superior Ave 60644-1047). Apparently, no rail service or earnings were ever credited to this account and yet his application shows he worked as a laborer until March 17, 1947.

Olive Tree Answer: Hi Jerry, You've certainly done a lot of research on Frank! Have you checked the Cook County, Illinois Death Index, 1908-1988? How about the Social Security Death Index? City Directories? These are all found on
Ancestry.com. Rootsweb also has an interactive search of the SSDI

I did find Frank in the 1930 census so you can add this to your family tree notes. He and his wife L. Rose are found in Pomona, Los Angeles, California. Frank is 30, L. Rose is 27. Both Frank's parents were born in Oklahoma, machinist in garage, and he married at age 21. Perhaps you can flesh out Frank by finding his marriage to L. Rose and looking at witnesses and his residence at that time.