Genealogy pop quiz for male ancestors born in the late 1800s

Class, we have a genealogy pop quiz today with 6 questions to test your knowledge! Take any male ancestor on your family tree, born in the United States the last decades of the 1800s. Question #1) What was his date of birth?

Easy! If it’s your father or another close male relative, you probably know his birthday off the top of your head. Or, you’ve looked it up on his birth or death certificate. Maybe you’ve accessed the Social Security Death Index, which also lists birthdates for many working Americans born during that time.

[Instructor rubs chin] Let’s make the quiz a little harder. Who was his next of kin?

That’s more challenging. Likely it was a spouse, or possibly a parent or child, depending on what period of his life you’re looking into. The answer might require digging up an old deed or will on FamilySearch.

[Cracks knuckles] OK, no more Mr. Nice Guy! Now for some hard questions:

• List a home address between the ages of 20 and 50.
• What was the name of his employer?
• Provide a handwriting sample.
• What was the color of his eyes?

If you’re thinking, “how would I possibly know the color of his eyes,” I’ve got good news for you. World War 1 draft registration cards often include this information, along with the other data listed above, including a signature. World War 2 draft cards have much of this information as well.

There are other data points that can be found on the cards. For World War 1, that included hair color, build, race, citizenship status, and disqualifying physical disabilities.

Some variations of the WW2 card asked about complexion (one of my great-great uncles is listed as “sallow”). But the 1940s cards did include fields for place of birth as well as an optional phone number – useful information to cross-reference against other records, such as telephone and business directories.

Some 24 million men filled out the World War 1 draft cards, if their birthdates were between September 1873 and September 1900. Tens of millions more filled out draft cards in 1942. This included the “Old Man’s Registration,” which covered people between April 27, 1877 and February 16, 1897 (ages 45 to 64).

The best thing of all about draft registration cards? FamilySearch has an extensive free collection that includes an index and image files. Not all cards are indexed (it varies by state and other factors) but I’ve had a lot of luck finding the cards for a half-dozen male ancestors born in the late 1800s. As noted on the EasyGenie blog, researchers often turn to the cards to determine the exact places of birth of immigrant ancestors (see A genealogy research shortcut from Finding Your Roots).

If you want to learn more, use these links to get started:

• United States World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 (Wiki) (Search, registration required)
• United States, World War II Draft Registration Cards (Wiki) (Search, registration required)