Ashtabula County, OHGenWeb
  WWI Draft Registration Index



On 6 April 1917, the United States officially entered World War I; in May the Selective Service Act was passed, establishing the draft. Between that June and Sep 1918, about 24 million men -- both citizens and aliens --- residing in the United States were registered. When complete, this index will contain names and birth dates of more than 14,000 who signed up in Ashtabula County.

The Selective Service System Draft Registration Cards completed for these men, in three separate registrations, offer a potential genealogical treasure trove. Slightly different questions were asked on cards for each of three separate registration dates, so the information provided varies. Generally, all contain a man's full name, date of birth, city and state of birth*, race, citizenship, occupation, a short personal description [height, build, eye and hair color] and signature. *Birth place was not asked at the final registration which, unfortunately, included a quite large percentage --- all males born 1873-1900 who had not previously registered and were not already in the military.

However, you will not find all Ashtabula County men in this age range on the list. Many volunteered before the draft was established or before they turned age 21, thus did not register at all. And only a small percentage of those who registered were actually inducted, although a few not only served, but paid the ultimate price.

Samples of the different registration cards and questions can be seen at the St. Louis County [MO] Library site:

World War I Draft Registration Cards
Microfilm of WWI Draft Registration Cards can be accessed at the National Archives in Washington, D.C., the 13 Regional Archives branches [for states in their regions] or through all LDS Family History Centers. In addition, images for selected states currently are available on the genealogical pay site, Ancestry.com.

For additional information, see the World War I Selective Service System Draft Registration Card page on the National Archives and Records Administration site:


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Created 2000-2005 - Monica Erickson
©2005 by Annette Bame Peebles.

The Ashtabula Co., OHGenWeb is a not-for-profit genealogical/historical research project.
This project makes no claim to the copyrights of individual submitters.  This site may be freely linked to but not duplicated in any fashion without my consent.  The information on these pages is meant for personal genealogical research only and is not intended for commercial use of any type.