Lipscomb County
WWI Civilian Draft Registrations
Source: Ancestry.com
Description:
In 1917 and 1918,
approximately 24 million men, (98 percent 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.
Originally posted to Ancestry.com in January of 1998 and taken
from the original draft cards, this database provides information
on some of the men registered. This update, part of an ongoing
project, adds over 300,000 names to the previously posted
database and brings the total number of names provided to 1.2
million. It adds information on registrants from Florida,
Mississippi, and South Dakota.
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.
NOTE: This database, although providing information on over 5% of
all men registered, represents approximately 13% of all counties
nationwide. Researchers will find complete coverage of Alaska,
Delaware, Florida, Idaho, Mississippi, and Nevada and a good
representation from Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado,
Hawaii, Illinois, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland,
Massachusetts, Michigan, Nebraska, New York City, North Dakota,
Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah and Vermont.
Extended Description:
In 1917 and 1918, approximately 24 million men born between 1873
and 1900 completed draft registration cards. Those who are not
familiar with draft procedures often confuse this civilian
registration with induction into the military. In reality, a
minority of those civilian men who registered were ever called up
for military service.
The draft was essential in raising the large numbers of men
needed. Voluntary enlistment had not produced the needed number.
Establishment of a draft was controversial in both the U.S. and
Britain. President Wilson proposed the American draft and
characterized it as necessary to make "shirkers" play
their part in the war. This argument won over key swing votes in
Congress.
Aliens residing in the United States were required to register
for the draft although they were not subject to induction into
the American military. In some frontier locations, such as
Alaska, aliens formed the majority of registrants.
Men already on active duty in the military were excluded from
draft registration. Because some men who completed draft cards
later voluntarily enlisted, it is difficult to determine exactly
how many active duty military men never completed a draft card,
but the number would be between 300,000 and 600,000. Registration
of eligible men has been determined to be close to 100%, which
means that about 98% of adult men under age 46 living in the U.S.
in 1917-18 completed registration cards.
During this 1917-18 period, an especially virulent influenza
pandemic killed mostly young adults. As this influenza situation
affected draft registration, some men under age 21 were dead by
the time it came their turn to register in 1918.
In practice, only three draft lotteries were held. Those
registrants whose numbers were drawn were then subject to
induction unless they could show good cause why they should not
be inducted. The three registration days for these lotteries were
held:
a) June 5, 1917 for persons born 1886-1896. About 10 million men
registered on this date. Those who completed this registration
card listed birth date, birth location and other information.
Because of specific opposition from Congress, 18-20 year olds
were initially exempt.
b) June 5, 1918 for persons born 1896-97. This group of about one
million men who had recently become old enough to be drafted
during the preceding year registered on this date. Those who
completed this registration card listed birth date, birth
location and other information. They also listed their father's
birth location. About half of these men had only vague
information about their father's birth location.
c) September 12, 1918 for persons born 1873-1886 and 1897-1900.
Almost 14 million men registered on this date. Those who
completed this registration card listed birth date, but not birth
location. A detailed listing of the address of next of kin on
this card, however, can provide valuable information, especially
in cases of recent immigrants.
In addition, a tiny number of men who turned 21 in August, 1918,
registered in that month.
A small number of dates on the cards vary from these three
registration dates. These probably represent errors or
registration filings by persons who were prevented from
registering on the designated dates. A few men were allowed to
register early due to hardship situations, including a situation
where they were scheduled to be traveling or out-of-town on
registration day. This was so interpreted in New York, for
example, to allow the wealthy business executive John D.
Rockefeller Jr. to register early because of a business trip.
On the designated registration days, businesses and schools
closed down in most communities. Saloons closed in most states.
Registration started at 7 or 7:30 a.m. and lasted until late at
night. In New York City, boat horns were blown to announce the
start of registration, and in Provo, Utah whistles performed a
similar function. In Vicksburg, MS, church bells and whistles
were used. In Jackson, MS, cannons at the old state capitol
building were to have been fired at the start of registration,
but organizers had difficulty finding gunpowder. Similar
noise-making events occurred across the country.
Family members often came with the registrant to the registration
site.
Patriotic parades were held on the first registration day, as in
Spanish Fork, UT, where registrants were included in the
automobile parade. In Memphis, TN 25,000 marched in a loyalty
parade. General Wood addressed parade participants in Birmingham,
AL. In Hinds Co., MS, a regimental band went from one
registration place to another, playing patriotic music for the
registrants.
On the first registration date, it was intended that the tally of
registrants was to be wired that night to Washington, but most
boards were not able to meet this goal because they were
overwhelmed with the task of processing registrants. Some boards
had to call for additional volunteer staff due to the large
number of registrants. In Salt Lake City, a deputized registrar
made a tour of the hospital on registration day registering men
unable to leave the hospital. These hospitalized men could also
have appointed someone to obtain the registration card prior to
registration day from the city or county clerk.
Volunteer interpreters were recruited and assisted with the
registration of those who did not speak English. New York City
reported a shortage of interpreters, especially of those who
spoke uncommon languages.
In the vast majority of cases, volunteer staff at the local
office filled in the information on the card, and the registrant
then signed his name. Instructions for filling in each question
on the card were posted for all to read at each registration
site, and the local newspapers sometimes printed copies of sample
cards in the days prior to registration. One photo taken in New
York City shows an all-female staff at a long table interviewing
seated registrants. Many of these women were teachers from the
city schools, which had closed for the day.
A few of the microfilmed cards are actually copies of the signed
originals, and the signatures on these copies thus exhibit the
same handwriting as the rest of the card. The microfilmed cards
of the 35 boards in Detroit, MI seem to all be copies which have
been alphabetized into a unified set combining all the Detroit
boards into one file.
If the draft registration district were densely populated, as in
New York City, then only one site was typically available for
registration. More commonly, multiple sites were made available
in each county, often corresponding to voting sites.
Men who registered were given bluish green certificates to prove
they had registered. The certificate was embossed with an eagle
at the top and merely stated who had registered where on what
date. This certificate was signed by a registrar. In Utah, the
Salt Lake Tribune stated that law officers could demand to see
this registration certificate at any time, and a man without a
card was then subject to investigation. Also, passports were not
issued to men in the affected age groups unless they could
produce draft registration certificates. The Vicksburg Evening
Post warned its western Mississippi readers that the federal
government could easily determine who had not registered through
school, insurance and other records, and the impression was also
left that registrants' names would soon be printed in the
newspaper so the public could determine who had not registered.
This paper also reported that such sensational rumors had spread
around on registration day that some black registrants rushed to
their registration site in an out-of-breath state. There is no
available evidence that extraordinary measures were taken to
track down those who failed to register.
Source Information:
Banks, Ray, comp. World War I Civilian Draft Registrations.
[database on-line] Provo, UT: Ancestry.com, 2000.
Database comprises partial index of microfilmed draft
registration cards: United States. Selective Service System.
Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918. National Archives Microfilm
Publications: M1509, Washington, D.C.: National Archives and
Records Administration, 1987-88.
Source Information:
Researchers are encouraged to view the original registration card
to which this index refers, as it has not been possible to
include in the index all the information on the cards, such as
street address of next of kin and detailed infomation about
locations.
These registration cards have been microfilmed by the U.S.
National Archives and Records Administration. A copy of this
microfilm is available through the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints and is housed at the Family History Library in
Salt Lake City, UT and available in branch family history centers
throughout the world. The draft card microfilm reels are listed
in the church's Family History Library Catalog under UNITED
STATES -- MILITARY RECORDS -- WORLD WAR I.
This page was last updated August 29, 2003.