Veterans' Day: WWI Draft Registration Cards

Veterans' Day is a day to remember, appreciate and thank all the service members and their families who have served our country. The day got its start in November 1919, when - a year after World War I, known as "the Great War", came to an end - President Wilson proclaimed November 11 as Armistice Day. Today was known as Armistice Day for many years as people remembered the horrors and the heroes of the "war to end all wars" ... and then it happened again. We found ourselves in the midst of the Second World War.

In 1954 the wording was officially changed from Armistice Day to Veterans' Day. In addition the wording was changed from honoring those who fought in WWI to "honor American veterans of all wars." Today that has loosened up - though not officially - to honor all those who have served, including those in peace time. Each year the sitting President releases a Presidential Proclamation announcing Veteran's Day as a solemn legal national holiday.

The US ordered a Registration Draft in 1917/1918. Over 24 million men registered at this time. From a genealogical point of view, what a wealth of information! The registration cards include basic info like full name, address, nearest relative and occupation. It also includes date and place of birth; age; race, and country of citizenship; employer; a physical description including hair and eye color, height, and any markings or disabilities. It also included the address of nearest relative, dependent relatives, marital status, father’s birthplace, or previous exemption from service ,,, and a signature.

Above is my great grandfather's WWI Registration Card. The card shows that Martin Joseph Welsh was living at 220 Marshall Street in Phoenixville at the time. Phoenixville is a Borough in Chester County, PA. He lists his age as 32 and his birthdate as 20 December 1885. He is white and born here in the US. He worked at the Phoenix Iron Co. It looks like his occupation is Tableman.

An aside here: a tableman is a laborer at a blooming mill. The tableman is one of three men who supervise the rolling of steel. Three men - the tableman is joined by a roller and an engineer - stand together in an elevated box or workspace. The tableman grasps the levers that operate the roll tables, according to The Steel Workers by John Andrews Fitch.

Back to Martin! Not only does he lists his wife as his nearest relative, he names her! I have seen many registration cards where the men simply referred to their wives as "Mrs. insert last name here". Her address is naturally the same as his. And then ... his signature! Seeing his shaky signature leads me to believe that he himself did not fill out the registration card but was asked the questions and someone else filled it out.

The second side does not look like much at first glance. However this reveals that Martin was tall and had a slender build. He had brown eyes and brown hair. He had no disabilities or markings. His card was filled out in September of 1918.

The Draft Registrations of WWI is only one database that Ancestry.com offers. There are over 1,000 different military related databases included in the Card Catalog.

Coatesville's First Serial Killer

Young Alexander Meyer was a disturbed and angry young man with some major issues. He had failed sixth and seventh grade, and instead of having to repeat eighth grade again, he finally gave up on school. At age 16 he quit Downingtown Junior High. Meyer is not a relative, nor are his victims (that I am aware). I stumbled upon young Alex while reading Tortured Minds: Pennsylvania's Most Bizarre - But Forgotten - Murders by Tammy Mal. On 11 February 1937 Alexander Thweatt Meyer killed young Helen Moyer as she walked home from school in Coatesville along Modena Road. She was not his first. The jury was out only three minutes after hearing Dr. Michael Margolis' testimony on the death of Helen Moyer. The jury determined Meyer had murdered Moyer and should be held for first degree murder. The jury also condemned the parole system which had released Meyer back into the public, after having served just 14 months in Huntingdon Reformatory, for the murder of two other girls - Anna Blasc...

Thaddeus Stevens at the Lancaster Convention Center

Within the Lancaster Convention Center (Lancaster, PA) is a small section dedicated to Thaddeus Stevens and Lydia Hamilton Smith. The section is known as the Stevens & Smith Historic Site. It is scheduled for development this year. At the moment one can only get a glimpse of it through the Convention Center or by peeking in from the outside. Here at Queen and Vine Streets in Lancaster City, Pennsylvania, Thaddeus Stevens had his law office. Stevens was an abolitionist. An abolitionist is a person who favors the abolition of a practice or institution, especially capital punishment or (formerly) slavery. Stevens was born 4 April 1792 to Joshua Stevens and Sarah (Sally) Morrill in Danville Vermont. One of four children, he attended Vermont University from 1810 to 1812 when the War prompted its closure. He then went to Dartmouth, where he graduated in 1814. He then studied law and found himself set up in Gettysburg, PA in 1816. He practiced law there until 1828 when he...

52 Ancestors: Remembering the King

Today is Elvis’ birthday. He would have been 80 today. I was only eight when he died so obviously I am too young to have seen Elvis perform. However, when I hear his music, I go back in time. I am once again that young girl dancing in the living room to Elvis and other greats with my father. Back then girls learned to dance by dancing with their fathers not some video of scantly dressed people doing all sorts of things young ladies should not be doing in public! What is YOUR favorite memory - either of your father or of Elvis? 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks is a weekly genealogical challenge issued by Amy Johnson Crow, of No Story Too Small . Look for my weekly posts each Thursday! © Jeanne Ruczhak-Eckman, 2015

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