Pat,

Thank you so much for that very useful information. Having all of that employment information must be extremely valuable.

Emilie, et al...

The RRB came into existence in 1934. The National Archives actually has a lot of their early records and may be an easier way to obtain some of that information than the RRB. From my experience, Federal government agencies will not consider FOIA requests via phone, and given that proof of death would be required for this type of request, I imagine that a letter is the only way to go...

http://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/184.html

But just in case, their number is Chicago is:

Telephone: (312) 751-7139

http://www.rrb.gov/

Emilie,

Included in the photo copy package that I received from the RRB was a copy
of a form titled "Employee's Statement of Compensated Service Rendered
Prior to Jan 1, 1937, to Employers Under The Railroad Retirement Act of
1937, it stated "Under the RR Act of 1937 service prior to Jan 1, 1937, can
be credited toward an annuity only for individuals who on August 29, 1935,
were in the active compensated service of or in an employment relation to an
employer under that Act. Only such individuals should fill out this form."
My father-in-law completed this form, with time worked for Southern Pacific
Co. from Oct 1929 and indicated that he was still employed as of the date he
completed this form on May 1939.
His earnings from Oct 1929 - Dec. 1936 were verified by the RRB and listed
by month on the "Record of Employee's Prior Service," form.

He had also completed a form for time worked for "The Atchison Topeka &
Santa Fe RY Co. (Coast Lines), supplying dates of 1922 - 1925, this
employment was also verified and the compensation amounts for the years
1922 - 1925 were included.
Under "additional information," supplied by the RRB it stated that " pay
rolls for period Jan. 1918 to Dec 1920 incl., account payrolls not
available. Denver, Colorado is a part of the Pueblo-Denver Joint Lines, and
track laborers at Denver are carried on pay rolls on file with the Colorado
and Southern Ry. Co. at Denver from Jan. 1901 to date. They also indicated
they were unable to verify months of Sept, 1923, February, March and July to
December 1925, incl. "

Service verified from original payrolls on file for Colorado and Southern
Railway Co. covering the dates of 1913 - 1920 reflected 9 months worked in
1913, nothing in 1914 and 2 months in 1915, under additional comments.....
"unable to verify service from 1919 to 1920 as Joint Line Payrolls
subsequent to Dec. 1918 are not in our possession, signed by the General
Auditor.

On my father-in-law's "Application for Employee Annuity Under the RR Act,"
he listed his employment with employers outside the railroad industry, and
indicated that he expected to receive Social Security benefits.

Below is an excerpt from my correspondance with the Office of Public Affairs
for the RRB dated May 31, 1996, when I tried to obtain information on my
mother-in-law's father's rail service records. I was unable to obtain info
because I didn't have his social security number, nor his complete date of
birth and death...As pointed out in the RRB letter, " in dealing with
surnames such as Perez, and/or cases where even this minimal information is
unavailable, it is not possible to determine whether we have any records of
a person without knowing his social security number. " "The RRB, like the
Social Security Administration, was not established until the mid-1930s, and
it began maintaining its own records of all covered rail service in 1937.
The Board's service records are limited to individuals who worked in the
rail industry after 1936."

I had no knowledge at the time, nor did my husband, of the actual dates that
his father was employed by the rail service, we did know that he qualified
and received benefits under the RRB Act.

I never spoke to anyone on the phone. I only wrote letters, and received
timely replies.. please remember that all this took place in July 1995, and
receiving the file photo copies in Aug 1995... But in May 1996 I was unable
to obtain info for another ancestor.

My father-in-law was born in 1894 and died in 1970.

I personally feel that the information obtained from these records was well
worth all that I needed to do in order to obtain them... I would suggest
that you contact the RRB, with the info that you do have... and let them
tell you if they have or do not have records for your father. Requirements
and fees in place now, may have not been during my time of contact with
them.

Have you checked out the Colorado census records for the 1920s and 1930s,
occupation and industry questions/answers on these census may help to
establish your dad's occupation at the time.

I hope that I have answered your questions, if not, please let me know...
the bottom line to this rather lengthy e-mail by me, rest on what my
father-in-law did in supplying the necessary information at the time, that
resulted years later in adding to his legacy to his family.

Good Luck...
Pat Silva Corbera

----- Original Message -----
From: "Emilie Garcia"
To:
Sent: Friday, March 16, 2007 1:28 AM
Subject: Re: [Nuestros Ranchos] Railroad Retirement Board

> Pat,
>
> Do you know if they have any info prior to 1937? My father settled down
> in Colorado to raise sugar beets, etc. by that year when he married my
> mother. I was born in 1939. He must have worked on the railroad in the
> 1920s and early 1930s. ( He was born in 1903, and came to Colorado when he
> was 10 years old). I wonder if the RRB existed then or did it come into
> existence around 1936 when Social Security did. I have no idea when he
> worked for the railroad. Were you able to give them the dates that your
> father-in-law worked, and was it after 1937? I guess there is no
> telephone number I can call?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Emilie
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: papagaia2
> To: general@nuestrosranchos.org
> Sent: Thursday, March 15, 2007 10:32 PM
> Subject: Re: [Nuestros Ranchos] Railroad Retirement Board
>
>
> Emilie, Arturo and All,
>
> In July 1995 I contacted the RRB explaining that I was involved in a
> genealogical project and requested all vital records that they had on
> file
> covering my father-in-law's rail service employement. After providing
> his
> Social Security Number, and a copy of his death certificate, I was
> notified
> that as soon as their record search was completed I would be notified .
> By
> the end of Aug 1995 I received notification that records had been
> located,
> and that photocopies were enclosed.
>
> Enclosed were various forms relating to occupation and compensation, as
> well as the application for annuity under the RRB Act that had been
> prepared by my father-in-law. This application provided vital
> genealogical
> information as to his date of birth; place of birth; parent names; his
> spouse's maiden name; spouse's date of birth and the date of their
> marriage.
>
> .
> Pat Silva Corbea
>
> This is the address I used...
>
> United States of America
> Railroad Retirment Board
> 844 N. Rush St.
> Chicago IL 60611-2002
> Attn: Office of Public Affairs