California, San Francisco, World War I Enemy Alien Registration Affidavits - FamilySearch Historical Records

United States CaliforniaSan Francisco

Record Description
Subjects of the German Empire age 14 and older " living within the United States were required to register with the Justice Department during World War I. This collection consists of registration affidavits for California and was acquired from the the San Francisco Public Library. This collection is being published as images become available.

Record Content
Information in the Registration Affidavits generally include the following:


 * Full Name of applicant
 * Date Registration was Filed
 * Address when registered
 * Age
 * Physical description
 * Photo
 * Married or not
 * Been in Military
 * Number of Children (If married)
 * Children's Gender
 * Finger prints

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


 * Name
 * Date registration was filed
 * Place of residence when registering

Search the Collection
To search the collection by name: Fill in the requested information 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 compare the information about more than one person to find your ancestor. 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 wiki article FamilySearch Search Tips and Tricks.

Using the Information
When you have located your ancestor’s record, carefully evaluate each piece of information given. Make a photocopy 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 names and relationships as a basis for compiling family groups.
 * Use the name and address or residence to locate the individual on the census.
 * Use the age listed to determine an approximate birth date.

Tips to Keep in Mind

 * You may need to compare the information of more than one family or person to make this determination.
 * These individuals may have later filed to become naturalized citizens.
 * If you are unable to find the ancestors you are looking for, check for variant spellings of the names.

Related Websites

 * NARA Collection Description Arizona
 * NARA Collection Description Kansas
 * NARA Collection Description Kentucky
 * NARA Collection Description North Carolina

Related Wiki Articles

 * California
 * San Francisco County, California

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: