Maryland World War II Draft Registration Cards - FamilySearch Historical Records

Record Description
Name index and images of Draft Registration Cards of Maryland, 10/16/1940-3/31/1947 for men born between 1896 and 1929 who registered during World War II with the exception of the fourth registration. This collection is part of National Archives Record Group 147, Records of the Selective Service System, 1926-1975. The event place is the residence of the registrant. The collection is arranged alphabetically by the name of the registrant. National Archives ID 2660907. Images courtesy of Ancestry. The records are located in the National Archives at St. Louis.

Record Content
Draft records may contain the following information:
 * Name of the registrant
 * Date of birth
 * Place of birth
 * Residence at the time of registration
 * Employer
 * Name and address of someone who will always know the whereabouts of the registrant.

How to Use the Record
To begin your search it is helpful to know:


 * Your ancestor’s name.
 * Other identifying information such as residence at the time of registration, birth date or age, names of other family members and family relationships.

Search the Collection
To search the collection by name: Fill in the requested information in the boxes on the initial search page. This search will return a list of possible matches. Compare the information about the individuals in the list to what you already know about your ancestors to determine if this is the correct family or person. You may need to look at the information on several individuals comparing the information about them to your ancestors to make this determination. Keep in mind:
 * There may be more than one person in the records with the same name.
 * You may not be sure of your own ancestor’s name.
 * Your ancestor may have used different names, or variations of their name, throughout their life.
 * If your ancestor used an alias or a nickname, be sure to check for those alternate names.
 * Even though these indexes are very accurate they may still contain inaccuracies, such as altered spellings, misinterpretations, and optical character recognition errors if the information was scanned.

For tips about searching on-line collections see the on-line article FamilySearch Search Tips and Tricks.

To browse by image: ⇒Select "Browse through images" on the initial collection page ⇒Select the appropriate "…" ⇒Select the appropriate "…" ⇒Select the appropriate “…" which takes you to the images

Look at each image comparing the information with what you already know about your ancestors to determine if the image relates to them. You may need to look at several images and compare the information about the individuals listed in those images to your ancestors to make this determination. Keep in mind:
 * There may be more than one person in the records with the same name.
 * You may not be sure of your own ancestor’s name.
 * Your ancestor may have used different names or variations of their name throughout their life.

Using the Information
When you have located your ancestor’s record, carefully evaluate each piece of information given. Download a copy of the record, or extract the genealogical information needed. These pieces of information may give you new biographical details. Add this new information to your records of each family. The information may also lead you to other records about your ancestors. The following examples show ways you can use the information:


 * Use the birth date or age along with the residence or place of birth to locate birth records and census records staring with the 1900.
 * Use the occupation to locate business and employment records.
 * Not everyone who registered was drafted into the service.

Tips to Keep in Mind

 * When looking for a person who had a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which is correct.
 * Remember that there may be more than one person in the records with the same name as your ancestor and that your ancestor may have used nicknames or different names at different times.
 * Continue to search the index to identify the person who will always know the address of the registrant. In many cases this could be a relative or family member.
 * If your ancestor used multiple names throughout their life, look for all their names.
 * Be aware that, some information may have been entered or recorded incorrectly.

Unable to Find Your Ancestor?

 * Check for variant spellings of the names.
 * Your ancestor or relative may have lived in localities of which  you may not be aware. Search draft registrations for other states records of nearby localities.

General Information about These Records
With the start of World War II in Europe the United States passed the “Selective Training and Service Act of 1940.” The first registration was conducted on October 16, 1940 for young men ages 21 to 35 to register. Over 6,000 local selective boards, one for each county or for cities one for each unit of 30,000 were established. Additional registrations followed. The second July 1, 1941; third February 16, 1942; fourth or Old Men’s Registration, was held on April 27,1942. The purpose of this registration was to collect information on industrial capacity and skills of men who were born between April 27, 1877 and February 16, 1897 (ages 45 to 64). This draft registration was not intended to be used for military service but to provide a complete inventory of manpower resources in the United States that could be utilized for national service during World War II. This fourth registration is not include in this collection. The fifth and sixth registrations occurred June 30, 1942 and December 10-31, 1942. Over 50,000,000 men registered during the war with 10,000,000 inducted. While there was a chance of a recording error, each individual signed his card to attest that the information was correct.

Related Websites

 * NARA Collection Description NAID 2660907
 * NARA Collection Description Fourth Registration, M1939, NAID 563727
 * National Personnel Records Center
 * National Archives at St. Louis Selective Service Records

Related Wiki Articles

 * Maryland
 * United States World War II Draft Records
 * World War II United States Military Records, 1941 to 1945
 * United States Military Records
 * Maryland Military Records

Citations for This Collection
Citing your sources makes it easy for others to find and evaluate the records you used. When you copy information from a record, list where you found that information. Here you can find citations already created for the entire collection and for each individual record or image.

Collection citation:

Record citation (or citation for the index entry):

Image citation: