Hi, Just FYI, I received this from another list. Hope it is helpful to my Ragan Cousins. ---- you wrote: > --------- Forwarded message ---------- > From: [email protected] > To: [email protected] > Date: Thu, 19 Aug 1999 09:45:33 EDT > Subject: [DENTON-L] Fw: WWI Draft Cards > Message-ID: <[email protected]> > > Forwarded From Another List: > > M. Dean Hunt > Louisville, KY > > Good Morning everyone: I played hooky from work yesterday and spent the > day at the NARA Branch in Atlanta and it jogged my memory to pass on > some information to everyone. > > 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 > deserveall 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. > > > > > > ==== ROBERTS Mailing List ==== > Mailing List Archives may be found at: > http://newsearches.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/listsearch.pl > (Enter "roberts" as the list you want to search - without quotes). > > ============================== > Search more than 274 MILLION NAMES and find your ancestors at Ancestry.com! > Get started today at http://www.ancestry.com/rootswebtext.asp > - ----------------------------------------------------------- Get free personalized email at http://www.switchboardmail.com