Social Security Application News

According to a blog post by genealogist Megan Smolenyak, there is a new restriction to parent name information on Social Security Applications.  Previously, a genealogy researcher could order the application of anyone listed in the Social Security Death Index and receive a copy of the complete application for $27-29.  Parents’ names are listed on the applications, and that piece of information is why most researchers obtain them.  Under new policies, parents’ names will be blacked out on request copies unless the deceased applicant would have been at least 100 years old, or if the researcher includes proof that the applicant’s parents are deceased upon requesting a copy of the application.

The Social Security Death Index is available in Ancestry Library Edition and HeritageQuest Online, subscription databases available for use in-library at all B&ECPL locations. HeritageQuest Online is also available from home with a valid B&ECPL card.

To see a blank Social Security Application form, click here.

Rip Van Winkle Collection

 

Title Page

Since the short story “Rip Van Winkle” was first published by Washington Irving in his collection The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent., 1819, numerous adaptations have appeared.  Among the first American authors to achieve international acclaim, Irving would argue for stronger copyright laws as his early works were often pirated for European consumption. 

Fine Bindings

The late author and librarian, Edward F. Ellis, would leave several book collections to the BECPL in his will, products of over forty years of book collecting. Perhaps the most unique collection of items are the books and other materials inspired by “Rip Van Winkle.”  Included among the many editions are fine bindings, such as the Roycroft printing of 1905, as well as editions by important illustrators such as N. C. Wyeth, Arthur Rackham and Barry Moser. 

Classics Illustrated

Prints and figurines are also part of the collection, including a 1954 Royal Doulton mug.

Rip Van Winkle Figurines