My great grandfather was Howard Reed. There is conflicting evidence in records, some records say he was born in Nebraska, while others say Oklahoma. Nebraska reported that no record was found when I requested a birth certificate. He was born in 1905, before either state kept birth records.
His death certificate has a Social Security Number. I have requested a copy of his SS-5, his application for a Social Security Number, to determine his birth location. I have not yet received any thing from SSA.
Some records say he was born in Oklahoma. I requested a birth certificate, including possibly a delayed birth certificate. This week I got a letter from Oklahoma, and they found no record.
Now, he was definitely born, as he married and had several children, and lived his life. But, there may not be a record of his birth. There is no record in Nebraska or in Oklahoma. That doesn’t mean he wasn’t born, just that there may be no written record of his birth.
Next step is to wait for the SSA to respond, they should report his date and location of birth. I can follow up once I receive that document.