With 4.7 million Americans serving in the military and many others in supportive roles, there is a great chance that most Americans, with family history spanning to that time in the United States, has an ancestor who was somehow involved. Many of you answered the survey question indicating that you had a World War I ancestor while other readers have yet to discover an ancestor involved in World War I. This 4-part series could help you find possible ancestors of the time. Let me suggest two ways to discover if you do have a grandfather or great-grandfather or great grandmother or auxiliary relative involved in The Great War.
1. Check the 1930 United States census. A question in that census asked if anyone in the household was “a veteran of the US military or naval forces mobilized for any war or expedition." The war or expedition was also specified. The 1930 census can be accessed for free through a cooperative between FamilySearch and Ancestry HERE.
2. Another way to identify ancestors involved in The Great War is to simply look at dates. The first and second drafts called males born between 1886 and 1897, and those drafts occurred in June 1917. The draft of September 1918 spread to a much greater age range.
After your initial fact finding is finished, you may want to try searching in some of the resources I will share beginning next week.
1. Check the 1930 United States census. A question in that census asked if anyone in the household was “a veteran of the US military or naval forces mobilized for any war or expedition." The war or expedition was also specified. The 1930 census can be accessed for free through a cooperative between FamilySearch and Ancestry HERE.
2. Another way to identify ancestors involved in The Great War is to simply look at dates. The first and second drafts called males born between 1886 and 1897, and those drafts occurred in June 1917. The draft of September 1918 spread to a much greater age range.
After your initial fact finding is finished, you may want to try searching in some of the resources I will share beginning next week.
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