North Carolina, First Draft Registration Cards, 1940-1945 FamilySearch Historical Records

United States North Carolina

What is in the Collection?
The collection consists of an index to the fourth registration draft cards for North Carolina for the years 1940 to 1945. The index is courtesy of Ancestry.com.

Collection Content
After the United States entered World War II, a new Selective Service Act required that all men between the ages of 18 and 64 register for the draft. The fourth draft registration covered males ages 45 to 64. The local draft board of the Selective Service System conducted the registration. The original registration cards were later sent to the regional branch of the National Archives responsible for receiving records from that state. Draft registration cards exist for 40 states and for Puerto Rico. For New York, cards exist only for the boroughs of New York City.

What Can this Collection Tell Me?
The index includes:


 * Serial number
 * Name
 * Residence
 * Birth date
 * Birthplace (town or city, county, state or country)
 * Age
 * Mailing address

How Do I Search the Collection?
To begin your search it is helpful to know:


 * The name of your ancestor.
 * The birth date of your ancestor.
 * The birth place of your ancestor
 * The residence of your ancestor
 * The names of other family members and their relationships

Search by Name by visiting the Collection Page: 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 on-line video at FamilySearch Search Tips.

What Do I Do Next?
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. Use the information listed to locate your ancestor's draft card. For details about draft cards see the wiki article United States, World War II Draft Registration Cards (FamilySearch Historical Records).

I Found Who I was Looking for, What Now?

 * Use the information found about your ancestor to search for the family in the census records
 * Use the information found about your ancestor to search for additional military records
 * Use the information found about your ancestor to search for additional records in the county our state where they lived
 * Be aware that, as with any index, transcription errors may occur. If you are unable to find your ancestor, check for variant spellings of the names. You could also search the draft records of nearby localities and states.

I Can't Find Who I'm Looking for, What Now?

 * Look for variant spellings of the names. You should also look for nicknames and abbreviated names.
 * Look for another index. Local genealogical and historical societies often have indexes to local records.
 * Search the indexes and records of nearby counties.
 * Try alternative search methods such as only filling in the surname search box (or the given name search box) on the landing page leaving the other box empty and then click on search. This should return a list of everyone with that particular name. You could then browse the list for individuals that may be your ancestor.

Citing 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: