One thing I have noticed about the Social Security Death Index...The people who got themselves into the Social Security system in the early days sometimes made themselves a year or two older. Presumably so that they could start collecting benefits sooner.  You will see the same month and day as a draft registration, but if not matching, they would be a year or two older.  Also, there is something strange about World War I draft registrations. In a large number of cases, the registration card makes the person one year younger than all other documents.  I am not sure what the goal of that was. It did not seem to be related to whether the person was old enough to serve. It almost seemed like the draft board itself was behind it.  I see this more in non-Jewish areas (perhaps because so many Jews in New York City that had to fill out that card didn't actually know when they were born anyway.)
--
Peter Cohen
California