Fellow researchers, I just discovered today a free offer, good until Nov. 25, on ancestry.com -- World War I draft registration records. (I can't afford a subscription to this service.) I originally thought they were service records, which already are available through the Missouri secretary of state's office. However, these are actually the records compiled when men 45 and under reported to REGISTER for the draft. While they did not have to list parents, they in many cases were asked to list next of kin. The records vary by time and jurisdiction. But here's a sample of how they have helped me: -- Middle names. (My grandfather's uncle, Robert Lee McConnell, now has is listed in my computer by his real name, Robert Leroy McConnell. John P. Edwards, who married Eva McConnell, is now John Pinkney Edwards. Byron W. Edwards is now Byron William Edwards. William L. or Lindsey McConnell is now William Lenza McConnell.) --Place and date of birth. (Christian Co. in many places has been replaced by Nixa, Battlefield and Brookline. In a few cases, I now have a city, not just the state listed in a census. I no longer have to rely on the month and year on the 1900 census for the closest possible dates for these men.) -- Place of residence during WWI. -- Physical deformities. -- Actual number of children at the time of registration, which helps with the deaths of infants and when they occurred.) -- Color of eyes. A remarkable majority of the McConnells in Nixa had grey or blue eyes. Few had brown. What a strange genetic twist. -- Color of hair. -- Height -- tall, medium or short. Sorry, they're not as good as the post-Civil War militia records here. -- Weight -- heavy, medium or slender. -- Next of kin, which appears in some records but not all forms. -- SIGNATURES. Registrants had to attest to the information. In many cases, I had no way to get a signature on these folks. A few -- a very few -- still could not write and signed with their marks. Some of these men had outstanding handwriting. Just follow the directions below. Happy hunting, Randy McConnell > Ancestry has completed indexing and digitizing > nearly 24 million World > War One Draft Registration Cards (1917-1918). To > celebrate they are > offering free access to this database with > registration (your name and > email address) from November 12-25, 2005. To take > advantage of this > offer you must go to the web page below and click on > the WWI Draft Cards > link near the top... > > Online World War One Indexes & Records > http://www.militaryindexes.com/worldwarone/