For anyone interested. Jim Clanin ----- Original Message ----- From: Ken Boonie <kab9@penn.com> To: <PAHUNTIN-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Wednesday, August 18, 1999 8:37 PM Subject: WWI Information available > I got this from another list. It should prove to be very > helpful. > > >Prior to the US's entry into WW1 (approx. 1917-1918) every male between the > >age of 18 and 40 was required to register for the draft. The information > >found on the card was provided by the individual himself. The registration > >cards vary in information depending on the individual draft board. But by > >and large the cards include: The full name of the person (this means first, > >full middle name, any additional middle names and last name); the current > >address of the man; his age; his birthdate (some include his place of > >birth); whether he is a US citizen or a naturalized citizen (some ask if > his > >father was a naturalized citizen and his father's race); his race; his > >occupation; where he is employed (name of employer); address or location of > >employment; name and address of his next of kin; some cards ask if the man > >is married or single and how many people he supports. The card is signed by > >the draftee. On the back of the card his physical description is noted: > >Height is broken down by short, medium, tall although some cards give the > >actual height in feet and inches; Build by slim, medium, stout although > some > >cards list actual weight along with the build; color of eyes and hair; any > >deformities or injuries are listed (such as one arm missing, blind in one > >eye, etc); the name and address of the draft board and the date. > > > >When these original cards were transferred to the East Pointe NARA branch > >the LDS spent about 3 years microfilming these cards. There are hundreds > and > >hundreds of boxes and the LDS opened one box at a time and filmed them - > in > >state order. However, within each state the cards were filed by draft > board, > >not by county or by draftee. This makes the searching of the microfilm > >difficult to say the least. > > > >The good news is that the Friends of the National Archives took each box > >after it was filmed (and checked) and sorted all of these thousands and > >thousands of cards into - state and then COUNTY order and then in > >alphabetical order by surname and put then in new boxes. The Friends > deserve > >all the kudos we can give them for this monstrous task. > > > >So ... rather than spending hours and hours searching the LDS microfilm you > >can order copies of the original cards from NARA. if you know the county > >your ancestor lived in between 1917-1918. > > > >And BTW - Ancestry.com lists WW1 Draft cards in their searchable data > bases, > >however I know for a fact that there are 22 cards for the surname WHITE > >found in McIntosh Co, OK and Ancestry only gave me 4 of them so don't > depend > >on that site. I was told yesterday that some reps from Ancestry had visited > >the archives a couple of weeks ago to talk about filming the cards, took > one > >look at the hundreds and hundreds of boxes and simply left. > > > >For copies: Send a letter requesting copy(s) to: > >NARA > >Southeast Region > >1557 St. Joseph Ave > >East Point, GA 30344 > > > >In your letter be sure to say you want copy(s) of the WWI Draft application > >Cards. Include the name of your ancestor and his race, the state and the > >county. If you want copies of ALL of the cards with a given surname, ask > >them the cost of the copies and send a SASE for them to let you know the > >copying cost. In your letter be sure and say you want a copy of the FRONT > >and BACK of the card. Be sure to send a SASE for the return of you copies. > > > >The cost for the copy is 50 cents - 25 cents for the back and 25 cents for > >the front. If you only want one copy send a buck and say the difference is > >to be given to the Friends of the Archives, because after all they did all > >this wonderful hard work for you <VBG> > > > >If you have any other questions about the cards please write to me and I'll > >try to help. I've been "delving" into these cards for the past few years. > >But PLEASE don't ask me to get the copies for you. It is difficult for me > to > >take the time off from work to visit the archive to do my own research <g>. > > > >And feel free to pass this on to any of the lists you are on. > > > >Linda > >Linda's Home Page: http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~haas/ > > -- > > > Ken Boonie > Coordinator > USGenWeb Project > Huntingdon County PA > http://millennium.fortunecity.com/plumpton/498/ >