DRAFT REGISTRATIONS OF WORLD WAR I

First registration: June 5, 1917. Men whose ages were between 21 and 31, that is, those who were born between the dates of June 6, 1886 and June 5, 1896 inclusive, were required to register. In Portage County, 2664 men registered; nationally the total was about 10,265,000. Note that this registration date was two months after the U. S. declared war on Germany on April 6, 1917.

Second registration: June 5, 1918. Men who had reached their 21st birthday since the first registration; that is, those born between June 6, 1896 and June 5, 1897 inclusive. This produced 263 new registrants from Portage county.

Second registration (supplemental): August 24, 1918. All men who had reached their 21st birthday since June 5, 1918; that is, those born between June 6, 1897 and August 24, 1897 inclusive. This registration was considered to be an extension of the second registration on June 5. In Portage County, 58 men registered at this time.

Third registration: September 12, 1918. All men between the ages of 18 and 44 inclusive who had not already registered (or were already serving in the military). This included all men born between the dates of September 13, 1873 and September 12, 1900 inclusive. A total of 3416 Portage County men signed up at this time, but only a small portion of this list was published. The war ended shortly after.

Three different cards were used to register men for the draft in World War I, one with 10 questions on the front, a second with 12, and a third with 20. (There were also questions on the back of each card, but the cards are frequently referred to by the number of questions on the front.) These cards are held today by the National Archives and Records Administration, and are available on microfilm.

Questions on the front of the 10-question card:

  1. Name and age in years
  2. Home address
  3. Date of birth
  4. Where were you born? City or town, state, nation
  5. I am: (strike out lines or words not applicable)
    Native of the United States
    Naturalized citizen
    Alien
    Declared intention
    Noncitizen or citizen Indian
  6. If not a citizen, of what nation are you a citizen or subject?
  7. Father's birthplace - city or town, state or province, nation
  8. Name of employer, place of employment - number, street, city or town, state
  9. Name and address of nearest relative - number, street, city or town, state
  10. Race - White, Negro, Indian or _____ (strike out words not applicable)

Questions on the front of the 12-question card:

  1. Name in full, age in years
  2. Home address - number, street, city, state
  3. Date of birth - month, day, year
  4. Are you (1) a natural-born citizen, (2) a naturalized citizen, (3) an alien, (4) or have you declared your intention (specify which)
  5. Where were you born? town, state, nation
  6. If not a citizen, of what country are you a citizen or subject?
  7. What is your present trade, occupation, or office?
  8. By whom employed? Where employed?
  9. Have you a father, mother, wife, child under 12, or a sister or brother under 12, solely dependent on you for support (specify which)?
  10. Married or single (which)? Race (specify which)?
  11. What military service have you had? Rank, branch, years, nation or state
  12. Do you claim exemption from draft (specify grounds)?

Questions on the front of the 20-question card:

  1. Name - first, middle, last
  2. Permanent home address - number, street or RFD number, city or town, county, state
  3. Age in years
  4. Date of birth - month, day, year

    5. RACE: (check the appropriate one)
  5. White
  6. Negro
  7. Oriental

    8. INDIAN: (check the appropriate one)
  8. Citizen
  9. Non-citizen

    10. U. S. CITIZEN (check the appropriate one)
  10. Native born
  11. Naturalized
  12. Citizen by father's naturalization before registrant's majority

    13. ALIEN (check the appropriate one)
  13. Declarant
  14. Non-declarant
  15. If not a citizen of the US, of what nation are you a citizen or subject?
  16. Present occupation
  17. Employer's name
  18. Place of employment or business - number, street or RFD number, city or town, county, state

    19. Nearest Relative
  19. Name
  20. Address - number, street or RFD number, city or town, county, state

The questions on the backs of all of the cards related to general physical description (tall, medium, short; color of eyes; color of hair) and any physical disqualifications.

Both the 10-question card and the 12-question card instructed the registrar to cut off the lower left-hand corner of the card if the person was of African descent.

Registration for the draft does not, of course, imply that the individual actually served in the military. Every male in the specified age group was required to register, excepting only those who were already in the armed forces. Exemptions from service could be requested and were sometimes granted, but registration was required in any case.

A Sample Listing

NameAddressRegistration Date
Alban, Robert Bruce835 Church StreetSeptember 12, 1918

The name is from Line 1 of the registration card; the address is from Line 2. A cross (†) following the name indicates that the individual is known to have died in the war. (See listing of war fatalities below.)

All street addresses are in Stevens Point unless indicated otherwise. Note that these do not correspond to present-day addresses. Researchers wishing to locate residences in the city should be aware that the names of several streets have been changed; some street name conversions are listed below. Furthermore, all house numbers in Stevens Point were changed to a new system in August, 1965. This work was done by the Jaycees, who published the City of Stevens Point Re-Numbering Directory as of August 1965 showing both the old and new numbers, a copy of which is included here.

From the date of registration, the age range of the registrant can be inferred. For example, the above listing shows that the registrant was born between September 13, 1873 and September 12, 1900 inclusive, since that was the age range covered by the September 12, 1918 registration.

Some streets that have been renamed or vacated

What was . . .Became . . .
Brown StreetCollege Avenue, west of University
Cedar Street(vacated)
Cemetery StreetKoch Street
Center AvenueEast Avenue
Center AvenueWyatt Avenue
Central AvenueWest Clark Street
Crooked WayEllis Street between Clark Street and Strongs Avenue
Fay StreetEllis Street east of Reserve Street
Forest Avenue(vacated)
Fremont AvenueFremont Street
George StreetRogers Street
Hemlock StreetTamarack Street
Jordan RoadStanley Street
Kingston StreetLincoln Avenue between Reserve and Fremont Streets
Mill StreetArlington Place
Normal AvenueCollege Avenue, east of University
North AvenueBukolt Avenue
Pearl Avenue(vacated)
River StreetWest Cornell Avenue; another River Street was flooded when the dam was raised
Sanatorium AvenueCoon Avenue
Sawdust StreetCrosby Avenue
Seth StreetWhiting Avenue
Smith PlacePulaski Place
St. Louis AvenueWest River Drive, south of Hwy 10
Superior AvenueWest River Drive, north of Hwy 10
Wisconsin AvenueWelsby Avenue

Portage County World War I Fatalities as of May 8, 1919

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