1942 WWII Draft Cards Destroyed

Where have I been that I am just learning "the original draft registration cards for the following states were destroyed." The cards were not first microfilmed. Oh, this makes me sad. A wealth of information is lost for those researching family from these states:

          Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee

Ancestry has updated one of its World War II databases for U.S. male citizens who registered. At the link below non-subscribers can see limited data on family who were born between April 28, 1877 and February 16, 1897--men who were between 45 and 64 years old, and not already in service. Need a lookup?  Send me your guy's legal name, and I'll copy it for you.

          The Old Man's Draft: http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=1002

WHY I ADORE DRAFT CARDS: There have been many many times that I've not known where a relative was born or what his complete birth date was. Some family who appeared tall to me when I was five are instead listed as short in draft cards. Men whose black and white photographs taken when they were seniors were described as having red hair when drafted. Or having a ruddy complexion. Something I would not have known otherwise! Outside of a written narrative or medical records, military documents may provide the only proof of a someone's physical characteristics. 

While some short-sighted administrator in Georgia may have destroyed its 1942 collection, I found this link to many Georgia draft cards scanned by FamilySearch from the National Archives in St. Louis:

         https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1880573?collectionNameFilter=false

And there are two other databases for 1942 World War II draft cards at FamilySearch.org. Both are online and FREE to search. One is indexed and the other is not yet indexed by volunteers. Did you know that index is one of my favorite words? See the scanned docs here:

https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1861144?collectionNameFilter=false

 and 

 https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1339071?collectionNameFilter=false


Draft Cards - Wiser Brothers


Four of Six Brothers:  Amie, Elton, their nephew Melvin (Odus' son), Jess and Odus in Sand Springs, Oklahoma. And yes, Jess appears to have walked off the set of the TV drama Madmen. The year? Unknown. But I'm guessing it is between 1926-1932, because Melvin was born in 1905. Please comment below if you know.

My paternal Grandfather served in France and Germany during World War I with his older brother Urban. His four remaining brothers were not called up. But all had registered with local draft boards. Three types of draft cards were used then with American citizens. Each had varying questions. Some answers to those questions help descendants fill in the gaps of their family history: birth place, height, weight, eye/hair color, workplace, and a signature. I love seeing signatures from people long gone!

SEE SIX WISER BROTHERS' DRAFT CARDS:  remember to click on the image to make it larger. CLICK AGAIN to return to this page

Odus Udel Weiser (27 Dec 1878 to 12 Dec 1942)


Jess Elmer Wiser (24 Oct 1884 to 16 Dec 1946)


Rufus Ira Weiser (7 Jan 1887 to 8 July 1956)

Emeal Lemuel "Amie" Wiser (23 Nov 1888 to 24 April 1968)

Urban Sylvester Weiser (19 July 1893 to 1 Oct 1966)

and Elton Sylvenus Wiser (13 May 1896 to 24 Nov 1976)


OLD MAN'S DRAFT OF 1942:  I found five of six brothers' draft cards for World War II. Men of a certain age were required to report to the Board. And historians are glad they did, as it provides further data about our families. But first, this paragraph from familysearch.org's WIKI page explains it better:

Fourth Registration (Old Man's Draft)
Included men with a date of birth from April 28, 1877 to February 16, 1897.
On April 27, 1942, the Selective Service conducted the fourth of six draft registrations. The "World War II Selective Service Draft Cards: Fourth Registration, 1942" is often referred to as the “Old Man’s Registration” or the “Old Man’s Draft".

This registration was different from the others conducted by the government.  It's sole purpose was to gather information regarding manpower resources in the United States.  The registration included men born between 27 April 1877 and 16 February 1890 - ages 45 to 64 - and listed their industrial capacity and skills that could be used for military support during World War II.


Odus Weiser's 1942 Draft Card: (two pages)


Jess Wiser's Two Pages:


Rufus Wiser's Two Pages:


Emeal "Amie" Wiser's Two Pages:


Elton Wiser's Two Pages:


Lastly, I've death certificates for four of the six Wiser brothers. Both Texas and Missouri are terrific in sharing vital records. I've grouped them all together here. Heart disease seems to run in the Wiser family, take heed!



-- My source for all these cards is Ancestry.com.