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RECORD GROUP 956.000 - U.S. SELECTIVE SERVICE SYSTEM (WORLD WAR I)

The Selective Service System was authorized in 1917 to register and induct men into the military services. Management was turned over to local draft boards with each composed of an area of 30,000 inhabitants. Boards were appointed by the President who followed recommendations of state governors. District boards issued occupational exemptions and heard appeals. The Provost Marshal General's Office oversaw the program at the state level. Registration ended after the Armistice in 1919. At that point the system's records were transferred to the Adjutant General's Office where they remained until 1939 when they were moved to the National Archives (National Archives and Records Service, Guide to the National Archives of the United States, [Washington, D.C., 1974], 265). The original records described in this record group are housed at the National Archives in Washington, D.C.

956.001

WORLD WAR ONE DRAFT REGISTRATION CARDS. 1917-1919. 322 microfilm rolls. No index.

A total of 1,559,586 Illinois men from the ages of 18 through 45 registered with the Selective Service System in the course of World War One. Entries are arranged by county, then by draft board jurisdictional area, and thereunder alphabetically by registrants' surnames. Entries variously include registrant's name, address, date and place of birth, age, race, citizenship status, occupation, name and address of employer, name and relationship of dependent relative, marital status, claim of draft exemption, name and address of nearest relative, and record of prior service. Also included are reports on physical condition which show height, build, eye and hair colors, baldness, and the nature of any physical disabilities. There is no indication that the registrant did or did not enter military service.

These records are available at the Illinois State Archives, Office of the Secretary of State.
 
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