Notes about this transcription and how to order a set of photocopies...
last updated 08Feb2007
My AOL e-mail address wasn't working properly for the past three years but is okay as of today and i check the mailboxes on a daily basis so please feel free to ask any questions and your questions, comments and observations are always welcome. If you don't see your ancestor on this list and would like to have a photocopy, or are unsure which county your ancestor registered in, please e-mail me with his date of birth and full name and town(s) he lived in and i'd be happy to search for n/c for a few possibilities... even a James Smith, born 1900, in NYC... : )
shortcuts:
1) use your Ctrl/f keys to search for a surname
2) try looking for part of the name, in case it's misspelled
example: AND will find most spellings of Anderson
3) don't stop at the first find, you may find better matches
notes:
1) over 8830 draft cards, less than 6 men had two cards
2) the cards are NOT in alphabetical order
3) the names appear here in filming sequence of the cards
4) the Spanish two surnames may be written reversely & Hispanic names were misspelled by many
5) many registrants couldn't read or write
6) i may have misread extra fancy or sloppy handwriting or done a typo
7) the symbol _ means nothing at all, it only fills in space
8)You can order a set of four photocopies from me for $4.99 and here is what you will receive:
+ normal 8.5" x 11" as shown in the photograph showing the front and the back of the card
+ zoomed to enlarge the front of the draft card to 8.5" x 11"
+ zoomed to enlarge the back of the draft card to 8.5" x 11"
+ a blank form at 8.5" x 11" clearly showing the details of each question asked... will come in handy since these draft cards were old and tanned from age when photographed, and slightly blurred as it was long before digital photography was widely used.
If you are registered with eBay then click the eBay link below for the item under my eBay Store at a "BuyItNow" price of $4.99 each set and you can then have the comfort of knowing that you have the buyer's protection that eBay offers and you will have feedback to give on and receive on the transaction. Delivery Confirmation on the package is included in the s/h price of $1.86 whether you order additional sets or not the s/h stays the same and you can go through e-Bay, PayPal, or send a payment via snail mail.
All orders are shipped the same day payment is received.
PayPal -- Money Orders -- US Bank, Official Bank, Cashiers and personal check (Please allow 2 weeks to clear)
Please send your payment to:
Dennis V Carter, Genealogist
Rt 2 Box 113-10
Alamo TX 78516-9492
All orders are shipped the same day payment is received.
If you have any questions please feel free to write to me at LivingstonCounty AT aol DOT com
Please note: all e-mail addresses have been distorted to read AT aol DOT com to deter mechanical spiders that read webpages and send SPAM to and from the e-mail addresses... flooding our e-mail boxes... so if you'd like to use any e-mail addresses then change it from AT aol DOT com to @aol.com
Please do NOT send me any attachments as it could contain a virus... attachments will not be opened.
Points to consider:
1) DateOfBirth: Fewer than one in a hundred mistakenly had either 1917 or 1918 as the year of birth so after noting the registrant's age and the date the form was filled out the year of birth was deduced. A few, almost always of foreign birth, did not know their birthday and usually guessed on how old they were so the notation of "About" followed by the assumed year of birth was used and a few knew the month so a couple of underlined spaces were placed in front of the month. A few times you may notice the same birthday is repeated and you may wonder if this is a mistake on my part... it isn't, and has been carefully checked and rechecked each time.
2) Registrant Name On Card: The entire card was filled out by a clerk, with no known exceptions, and the only writing by the registrant was when he signed his name, making it easier to decipher the clerk's handwriting by many samples than by the single signature of the registrant.
3) Signed: The signature of the registrant when it differed from the name the clerk wrote on the top line of the card. A few had handwriting that was so poor that my assumption was that the clerk's spelling of the name was correct. The name "Lawrence" was the most difficult to decipher as many appeared to be "Laurence" due to poor penmanship. A few may have misspelled their name and the clerk's spelling may have been the name the registrant was known by of all official records. Since on each card there are many samples of the clerk's handwriting it is much easier to decipher the handwriting, making it more reliable than the registrant's simple signature. Many registrants had poor handwriting and may have spelled their name incorrectly, the most common error being making the letter "m" with either two or four humps.
4) Signature Area: When the registrant was signing with an "x" the clerk wrote his name in the signature area and when this name differed from the name on the top line of the card it was noted here. Sometimes the clerk placed an x on the signature line to indicate where the registrant was to sign his name.
5) Probably: This is an assumption on my part that most who search wouldn't think to search for "Chas" "Geo" "Jas" "Jos" "Robt" "Thos" "Wm" or many of the other standard abbreviations for common names. It should be remembered that "Robt" may not be just the standard abbreviation for Robert, maybe 99% of the time, but may also have been used for Robart, Roberto, Roberts, Robertson, Robbit, or any proper name that is being used as a given name. "Thos" was used for Thompson, and Thomson, as well as for Thomas. In the case of only initials being used it would be appreciated if anyone who knows the correct name of any of these few registrants would please contact me and their real name could be used and the term "probably" would be placed in front of the name. In some cases it is based upon the nearest relative having a different spelling of the surname, in which case i try to substitute "possibly" in place of "probably."
6) note: out of alphabetical order: There are many names that are not in alphabetical order and when it was noticed it was marked as such... most of them were probably not noticed by me so a Ctrl/f search would be the best way to insure a name is not overlooked.
7) Negro: Two of the three type of cards used had instructions for the registar (the clerk who filled out the form) to cut the lower left hand corner off if the applicant was of African descent... hopefully i noticed all of these cards. Since my highest priority was getting the name and date of birth correctly listed a few may have been overlooked. Although the word "Negro" is not politically correct today it was the common term used at that time and since that word was used on two or the three forms it is used here in place of "Black" and "African."
The background of the draft cards for World War I
from Ancestry.com:
"In 1917 and 1918, approximately 24 million men, (98% of men present in America), born between 1873 and 1900 completed draft registration cards. During these two years, three registration days were held in each district where the registrant completed the registration card. Information found on these cards generally included, among other information, birth date, birth location, father's birthplace, and the address of next of kin. This civilian registration is often confused with induction into the military; however, only a small percentage of these men were actually called up for military service.
It should be noted that aliens were required to register but were not subject to induction into the American military. Persons already in the military did not register. Recent Italian emigrants wrote their last names first, resulting in some cards being filed under first names. Cards of Hispanics may be filed under their mother's maiden name surname if the registrant gave both parents' surnames. Also, men who resided in British territories sometimes listed themselves simply as British citizens without noting their origin in Canada, Australia, Ireland, Jamaica, etc. Illiterate men were unable to spell their names and birth location, so researchers should be quite flexible in searching for the spelling of names of illiterate men."
From St Louis County Library Special Collections:
"There were three different cards used to register men for the draft in World War I. One card had 10 questions on the front, a second had 12 and a third had 20. The following are the questions that were asked on each of these cards. While there were also questions asked on the back of each card, these cards are frequently referred to by how many questions were asked on the front side of the card.
Questions on the World War I Draft Registration Card with "10 Questions"
Name - given name, family name
Age in years [This information is asked but it is not a numbered question]
Home address - #, street or R.F.D. #, city or town, state
Date of birth - month, day, year
Where were you born? city or town, state, nation
I am: (Strike out lines or words not applicable)
Native of the United States
Naturalized Citizen
Alien
Declared Intention
Noncitizen or citizen Indian
If not a citizen, of what nation are you a citizen or subject?
Father's birthplace - city or town, state or province, nation
Name of employer, place of employment - #, street, city or town, state
Name of nearest relative, address of nearest relative - #, street, city or town, state or nation
Race - White, Negro, Indian or ________ (strike out words not applicable)
signature or mark of registrant
[The following is printed across the lower left hand triangular corner or the card:]
If person is of African descent, cut off this corner.
10 Questions - Side 2, Additional Information
(Strike out words not applicable)
tall, medium short
slender, medium, stout
Color of eyes, color of hair
Has person lost foot, arm,leg, hand, eye, or is he palpably physically disqualified (specify)?
Signature of Registrar
Date of registration
Questions on the World War I Draft Registration Card with "12 Questions"
Name in full - given name, family name
Age in years [This information is asked but it is not a numbered question]
Home address - #, street, city, state
Date of birth - month, day, year
Are you (1) a natural-born citizen, (2) a naturalized citizen, (3) an alien, (4) or have you declared your intention (specify which)
Where were you born? town, state, nation
If not a citizen, of what country are you a citizen or subject?
What is your present trade, occupation, or office?
By whom employed? Where employed?
Have you a father, mother, wife, child under 12, or a sister or brother under 12, solely dependent on you for support (specify which)?
Married or single (which)? Race (specify which)?
What military service have you had? Rank - branch - years - nation or state
Do you claim exemption from draft (specify grounds)?
signature or mark of registrant
12 Questions - Side 2, Additional Information
Tall, medium or short (specify which)? Slender, medium or stout (which)?
Color of eyes, color of hair
Has person lost arm, leg, hand, foot, or both eyes, or is he otherwise disabled (specify)?
Signature of Registrar
Precinct, city or county, state
Date of registration
Questions on the World War I Draft Registration Card with "20 Questions"
1. Name - first, middle, last
2. Permanent home address - #, street or R.F.D. #, city or town, county , state
3. Age in years
4. Date of birth - month, day, year
RACE (check the appropriate one)
5. White 6. Negro 7. Oriental INDIAN (check the appropriate one) 8. Citizen 9. Non-citizen
U.S. CITIZEN (check the appropriate one)
10. Native Born
11. Naturalized
12. Citizen by father's Naturalization before registrant's majority
ALIEN (check the appropriate one) 13. Declarant 14. Non-Declarant
15. If not a citizen of the U.S., of what nation are you a citizen or subject?
16. Present occupation
17. Employer's name
18. Place of employment or business - #, Street or R.F.D. #, City or town, county, state
Nearest Relative
19. Name
20. Address - No., Street or R.F.D. No., city or town, county, state
Signature or mark of Registrant
20 Questions - Side 2, Additional Information
Description of Registrant
Height (check one)
Tall
Medium
Short
Build (check one)
Slender
Medium
Stout
Color of eyes
Color of hair
Has person lost arm, leg, hand, eye, or is he obviously physically disqualified?
Signature of Registrar
Date of registration
From Warren Blatt at http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/6721/ww1.htm
"THREE REGISTRATIONS: During World War I there were three registrations: 1 - The first, on June 5, 1917, was for all men between the ages of 21 and 31. 2 - The second, on June 5, 1918, registered those who attained age 21 after June 5, 1917. (A supplemental registration was held on August 24, 1918 for those becoming 21 years old after June 5, 1918. This was included in the second registration.) 3 - The third registration was held on September 12, 1918 for men aged 18 through 45."
