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The
following is reprinted from Raymond H.
Banks’ seven-volume set, Births,
1873-1900; Part of an Ongoing
Compilation of Male Birth Information
as Found in the Civilian Draft
Registration Cards from World War I,
which is available only at the Family
History Library in Salt Lake City,
Utah. Special Collections would like
to thank Mr. Banks for allowing the
reprint of his introductory material on
this website.
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Birth
Information
Birth dates are generally quite
accurate, based on test samples --
except for those of illiterate men.
Selection for military service was based
on an assigned registration number --
not age -- so it is unclear what
motivation may have existed in most
cases for misrepresenting the birth
year. The eventual method of selection
for induction may not have been widely
understood at the time of the first
registration. Presumably, most date
errors were honest errors by the
registrants or by staff. A very small
number of very young men added several
years to their age, but a motivation for
misrepresentation would be unexpected
during the 1917 registration when these
men could have voluntarily enlisted
prior to registration day. During 1918
all entrants to the military were by
draft because voluntary enlistment had
been abolished. One source of error in
New York City was the fact that a few
men had previously misrepresented their
ages at the Ellis Island emigration
center or in civil service job
applications. A reporter noted that such
men were seeking advice among friends on
what age to give, and the consensus advice was that it would be safe to
provide correct birth information during
their draft registration. In Utah in
June, 1917, the state health department
reported being overwhelmed by requests
from men asking for accurate birth
information.
Spelling
Problems
Misspellings of names and locations
listed on cards are common. This problem
occurs especially in the spellings of
out-of-state locations. Information
given by illiterate registrants -- who
signed with a mark -- is especially
error-prone. Illiterate persons at that
time were likely to have difficulty
providing a correct birth date, and they
obviously could not help with the
spelling of locations.
If
the signature surrounding the
"X" mark matches the
handwriting on the card, this is good
evidence that the staff member (a)
completed the card contents, and then
(b) signed in the signature space on
behalf of the registrant. Researchers
should note that the "X" mark
seen on some cards sometimes was just a
mark made by staff to show registrants
where to sign. In this latter situation,
the signature style will typically
differ in style from the name written at
the top of the card. In rare instances,
a third person signed the illiterate
person's name, and -- in yet another
rare situation -- a relative or friend
signed the man's name or their own name.
Sometimes, staff failed to place an
"X" at the bottom of the card
of an illiterate man, but the matching
handwriting on both the card and in the
signature space should make this
obvious.
In
a few cases, semi-literate men
misspelled their own names. For example,
"Jhon" instead of John and
"Chrales" instead of Charles,
likely represent spelling errors. In
most cases, however, the spellings shown
in signatures are more correct than
those in the text section. Those few men
who signed only initials in the
signature space have created
interpretation problems because the full
given names in the text above may be
incorrectly spelled. Researchers should
consult the microfilmed cards in order
to more fully evaluate the information.
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