Draft Registration Cards and Enlistment Records (Government Records Series, Part 10)

“History doesn’t move you more than when it’s in the iron of your own blood.” – J.R Tomkins

One of the simplest, and most helpful records are draft registration cards. These cards can tell you where your ancestor was living at the time of the draft, who his closest relative was, place of birth, date of birth, and information about their employer. Draft registration cards also give you a description of your ancestor – their height, hair color, eyes color, weight, and any defining features.

While these records are government records, they are well digitized by the National Archives and Records Administration and available on most genealogy websites, such as Ancestry, FamilySearch, and MyHeritage. These records are also available on the website, Fold3, (www.fold3.com ). This website is owned by Ancestry, and is a website dedicated to digitizing and indexing military records. They have draft cards, along with records from the Revolutionary War, Civil War, Spanish-American War, Korean War, both World Wars, and many other records. Also, because Fold3 is owned by Ancestry, you may bundle a Fold3 membership into your Ancestry membership.

Draft Card for Sidney Osborn

I would, however, start with checking out Ancestry or FamilySearch for draft registration cards as these websites are the easiest to use. Underneath the ‘Search’ tab on the Ancestry website, for example you may click on the ‘Card Catalog’, and scroll down to filter results by category, and select ‘Military’. Then you may filter results further by selecting ‘Draft, Enlistment, and Service’. This way you will be able to view all of Ancestry’s draft card collections. Of course, you may also search in the “regular” search bar, but it can be helpful to know exactly which collections that Ancestry has in their possession. After clicking on the collection, you are able to search for your ancestor in that specific collection.

Draft Card for Oliver Van Hook

I have enjoyed finding draft registration cards for some of my ancestors. For example, I found a draft registration card for my great-great grandfather, Sidney Osborn, who was born in 1885. There are no pictures of him, so it was nice to read his description. The card stated that he was of medium height, had blue eyes, and brown hair. Under employment information, he stated that he was a Coal Miner in Kitchen, West Virginia.

I found another draft registration card for Oliver Van Hook, my great-great grandfather on the other side of the family. He was born in 1883 in Lancaster, Garrard County, Kentucky. He was described as being of medium height with grey eyes and light brown hair. Oliver stated that he was self-employed as a Carpenter. Another fun thing about draft cards is being able to see your ancestor’s signature at the bottom of the page. Somehow, it makes the record feel more personal knowing that they signed that piece of paper!

Another great way to learn about your ancestors is through enlistment records! I found a World War II Army enlistment record for my great-grandfather, Ollie Van Hook (son of Oliver Van Hook, mentioned above). The record stated that he enlisted October 14, 1942. Under education it said, ‘4 years of high school’. Underneath ‘Civil Occupation’, the record stated, ‘Semiskilled photographic process occupations’. This surprised me – I had no idea that his occupation included photography! It also said he was 5’7 and 124 pounds.

While you may not unearth ground-breaking information through these records, they do include valuable information, especially about your ancestor’s occupation, physical description, and place of birth. I hope that you include searching for draft cards in your genealogy research!