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

What is in This Collection?
This collection contains a digital browse. Clicking on the "Browse through images" link on the collection page will take you to a list of digital film numbers. The list does not contain any description of the content of the film. To see a description of the content see California, San Francisco, Registration Affidavits of Enemy Alien, 1918 in the FamilySearch Catalog.

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.

Related Reading
 * Julie Miller. "Enemy Alien Registration during World War I." NGS Magazine 44 (April-June 2018): 21-28. FHL 973 D25ngs
 * Mary J. Manning. " Being German, Being American." Prologue (Summer 2014): 15-22.

What Can These Records Tell Me?
The following information may be found in these records:


 * 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

Sample Images
Information in the Registration Affidavits generally include the following:

How Do I Search This Collection?
Before searching this collection, it is helpful to know:
 * The name of your ancestor
 * The date and place registration was filed
 * The name of a spouse

How Do I Analyze the Results?
Compare each result from your search with what you know to determine if there is a match. This may require viewing multiple records or images. This may require viewing multiple records or images. Keep track of your research in a research log.

What Do I Do Next?
Indexes and transcriptions may not include all the data found in the original records. Look at the actual image of the record, if you can, to verify the information and to find additional information.

I Found the Person I Was Looking For, What Now?

 * Use the age or estimated birth date to find vital records such as birth, baptism, marriage, and death
 * Use the information found in the record to find land, probate and immigration records
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I Can’t Find the Person I’m Looking For, What Now?

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 * Try different spellings of your ancestor’s name
 * Remember that sometimes individuals went by nicknames or alternated between using first and middle names

Record Finder
Consult the California Research Tips and Strategies and its Record Finder to search other records

Related Collections of Alien Registrations - National Archives

 * Alien Correspondence. War Department. Office of the Provost Marshal General. NAID 1157783
 * Lists of Alien Suspects Investigated,1917-1918. Department of the Navy. Third Naval District. Ship Inspection Investigation Bureau. NAID 5635505
 * Record of Aliens and Reporters,1918-1920. Office of Alien Property Custodian. Bureau of Investigation. NAID 7384967
 * Records of Interned Aliens, 1917-1918. Office of Alien Property. Bureau of Investigation. NAID 7381637


 * Alien Registration Affidavits, 2.6.1918-6.28.1918. US District Court, Phoenix Division, District of Arizona. NAID 294758
 * Enemy Alien Registration Affidavits, 1917-1921. RG 118, Dept. of Justice. Office of the US Marshal, District of Kansas. NAID 286181
 * Alien Application Permits. Dept. of Justice. Office of the U.S. Marshall for the District of Kansas. NAID 5917758
 * Alien Enemy Registrations, 1917-1920. U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky. Franfort Term. NAID 5752917
 * Lists and Forms Relating to Alien Registration, 1918. US District Court, Shreveport Division, Western District of Louisiana. NAID 4706580
 * Reports on Aliens,1917-1919. Department of Justice. Office of the U.S. Attorney for the Judicial District of Minnesota. NAID 5821666
 * Reports of Special Agents, 1917-1918. Department of Justice. Office of the US Attorney for the Judicial District of Minnesota. NAID 5923162
 * Correspondence Relating to Enemy Alien and Espionage Act Violations. Department of Justice. Office of the U.S. Attorney for the Judicial District of Nebraska. NAID 5917191
 * Alien Registration Affidavits, 1918, US District Court, Eastern District of North Carolina. Raleigh Term. NAID 5889371
 * Case Files on Detained Enemy Aliens, 1917-1919, Western (Cincinnati) Division, of the Southern District of Ohio. NAID 17408476
 * Aliens' Applications for Permission to Depart from the United States, 1918-1919. Dept. of Labor. Bureau of Immigration, District 4 (Philadelphia). NAID 567234


 * Records of American Citizens Living Abroad, 1918-1921. Office of Alien Property. Bureau of Investigation. NAID 7384971

Citing This Collection
Citations help you keep track of places you have searched and sources you have found. Identifying your sources helps others find the records you used.


 * Collection Citation:"California, San Francisco, World War I Enemy Alien Registration Affidavits, 1918." Database with images. FamilySearch. http://FamilySearch.org : 14 June 2016. Citing County Clerk. San Francisco Public Library, History and Archives.

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