5 MU

ST-SEE RECO

RD C

OLLEC

TIO

NS

1. U.S. PASSPORT APPLICATIONS, 1795–1925 By Loretto Dennis Szucs

Did any of your American ancestors travel to a foreign country? If so, they may have applied for a passport from

the United States government. And if they did, you may find some fascinating stories about them in this historical

collection. The first known passport was issued in 1776; passports were issued in more significant numbers

beginning in the late 1840s.

BACKGROUND

Prior to the outbreak of World War I in 1914, passports were not required for U.S. citizens, except for a short time

during the Civil War (1861–62). Laws requiring passports lapsed with the formal termination of World War I but

were reinstated at the onset of World War II.

WHAT’S IN THE RECORDS?

To receive a U.S. passport, a person had to submit

proof of U.S. citizenship, usually in the form of a letter,

affidavits of witnesses, and certificates from clerks or

notaries. Sometimes these additional documents are

included as part of the application, along with a photo

of the applicant.

You’ll find great glimpses of history in this collection.

John Proctor Jr. wrote from his ship in 1801, where

he was stranded in the Mediterranean due to First

Barbary War. In his application, the Boston native

stated that his passport had been taken and he had no

proof of his American citizenship; however, “should

there be any gentleman in London from Boston, they

will undoubtedly know the House of Oliver & Roster,

of which I am a partner.” The personal details together

with an understanding of the times help bring Proctor

to life.

Early applications don’t always include much detail,

but there are exceptions: Louis Durain’s 1866

application lists his birth date and place and the

names and ages of his wife and children.

Jumping forward in time, the 1919 passport

application of Paul Francis Pyburn includes the written

physical description along with a photograph of the

young man who intended to travel to Mexico, where

he worked as a mining engineer. With the Mexican

Revolution winding down, it was particularly

important to carry proof of citizenship. In his file are

several letters offered as proof of his U.S. citizenship,

including a letter from his father attesting to his birth-

place in Brooklyn, New York, in 1894. So be sure to

page forward in these records until you reach the end

of the file.

Search U.S. Passport Applications, 1795-1925

Must-See Record Collections

1

5

225 M

UST-SEE REC

ORD

CO

LLECT

ION

S

235 M

UST-SEE REC

ORD

CO

LLECT

ION

S

24

2. U.S., WORLD WAR I DRAFT REGISTRATION CARDS, 1917–1918By Paul Rawlins

Just because your ancestor didn’t fight in World War I doesn’t mean he doesn’t have a war record. The Selective

Service Act passed in May 1917 gave the federal government authority to raise an army via conscription, which

left us an incredible set of turn-of-the-century records listing millions of our grandfathers and great-grandfathers.

BACKGROUND

In 1917 and 1918, as the United States entered World War I, approximately 24 million men in the U.S. filled out

draft registration cards. This accounted for 98 percent of the country’s men under the age of 46. The U.S. eventu-

ally required all men born between 11 September 1872 and 12 September 1900 to register, including aliens living

in the U.S., though they were not drafted.

WOMEN IN THE DRAFT?

No, but you can find wives and mothers listed as nearest

relative, though you can’t search for their names directly.

WHO’S NOT HERE?

Not everybody who served was drafted, and not

everybody who registered for the draft served. The U.S.

mobilized about 4.3 million service personnel for WWI,

but only about 2.8 million of these were drafted.

If a registrant wasn’t living in his home town, he could

register elsewhere and the card would be sent to

his home draft board. In some rural counties, it may

have been easier to travel to the bordering county to

register and request that the registration be sent on

to the home county. Because some registrations were

never transferred, a registrant’s card may appear in a

neighboring county or state.

Search U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards,

1917-1918

WHAT’S IN THE RECORDS?

There were three different registrations, with

three different forms, and each varies slightly.

They all have details you would expect: name,

age, date (and usually place) of birth, address,

and citizenship status. But you can also find extra

goodies like these:

• Two forms list occupation specifically, and all

three ask for employer’s name and address.

• Two forms provide a name and address for a

nearest living relative.

• Two forms ask about dependents.

All of the forms provide a short physical

description. Before I finally saw a picture of my

maternal great-grandfather, the description from

his WWI draft registration was all I had to go on:

medium height and build with blue eyes and

brown hair.

5 MU

ST-SEE RECO

RD C

OLLEC

TIO

NS

255 M

UST-SEE REC

ORD

CO

LLECT

ION

S

26

3. U.S. SCHOOL YEARBOOKSBy Anne Gillespie Mitchell

Oh, those yearbook photos. Maybe you love every yearbook photo you took, but more than likely there is at least

one out there that makes you wince. If you look at my 1980 college freshman photo, you’ll know why I cringe

every time I think of it. Did you know that Ancestry.com has digitized more than 35,000 yearbooks from the

years 1884–2009? This means we have more than 7 million images where one of your ancestors may be waiting

in a cringe-worthy photo just for you.

SEARCH TIPS

You can do a search for name, but I suggest you first

browse to see what is available for a specific place and

time. On the right of the Yearbooks home page you

will see the browse menu. You can drill down to see

what yearbooks are available:

THREE TIPS FOR BETTER SEARCHING.

Names Your ancestor may have used a nickname

or other moniker while in school that you’re

not familiar with. Try searching by last

name only.

Locations Focus on a state rather than the town: a

big-city school may have actually been

located in a suburb or vice versa.

Browse Found your ancestor? Browse his/her

entire yearbook for uncredited photos.

Browsing can also help when you know the

school name but searches for your

ancestor at that school come up short.

These particular collections are OCR, or Optical

Character Recognition, collections, meaning that they

are not indexed by a person but scanned and indexed

by a computer. And while our process has been

tailored specifically for yearbooks, like any record,

occasionally you may need to try some creative

spellings.

5 MU

ST-SEE RECO

RD C

OLLEC

TIO

NS

27

WHAT YOU MIGHT FIND

This entry for Gilbert M. Gillespie also gives us a nickname, “Gilly,” as well as his favorite saying and ambition.

And because these are often yearbooks that belonged to someone, they might have an inscription. Gilly’s

handwriting appears next to his picture.

Once you find your ancestor, don’t stop with that yearbook picture. Scan the book. You remember all those

goofy pages of people with the corny captions? Your ancestor may be in one. Or you may find an inscription they

wrote. Search U.S. School Yearbooks

Looking a little further into the book provides some insight into Gilly’s relationship with a Mr. Thompson.

We also learn that he was dependable and the advertising editor for the yearbook:

5 MU

ST-SEE RECO

RD C

OLLEC

TIO

NS

28

4. 1890 VETERANS SCHEDULESBy Amy Johnson Crow, CG

Why do I love the 1890 Veterans Schedules database? Because it’s awesome. First, it helps fill in the gap between

the 1880 and the 1900 censuses. What’s more, the schedule packs a ton of information into one record. If you

have a Civil War veteran in your family tree, be sure to look for him (or his widow) in this collection.

BACKGROUND

This special schedule (officially “Special Schedule—Surviving Soldiers, Sailors, and Marines, and Widows, etc.”)

was taken at the same time as the “regular” (population) census. Fortunately for us, most of this schedule

survived the fire at the National Archives that destroyed most of the 1890 population schedules. The Veterans

Schedules still exist for the District of Columbia and states Kentucky (about half of the state) through Wyoming.

The Veterans Schedule was intended to enumerate surviving Union veterans and their widows. However, you will

occasionally find Confederate veterans listed as well. (Let’s hear it for overachieving enumerators!) Even though

those entries were crossed through later, they are usually still legible.

TIPS

If your ancestor lived in a rural area in 1890, consider

browsing by location in addition to searching for him by

name. When you browse by location, scan through the

images to see which regiments the men served in. This

will help you see who his comrades were, giving you

possibilities for future research.

Note the regiment your ancestor served in and use that

information to help identify him in other Civil War

collections.

The 1890 Veterans Schedule is a “must-see” collection

for anyone who has Civil War ancestors.

Search the 1890 Veterans Schedules

WHAT’S IN THE RECORDS?

What you’ll find is the veteran’s name (and the

name of his widow, if applicable), the unit he be-

longed to, rank, date he enlisted, date of discharge,

length of service, post office, and (my two favorite

columns) disabilities and remarks. Here is where

you will find details about wounds, imprisonment,

death, and any other tidbit the enumerator saw fit

to include.

In the example on the following page, we learn that

John Rudolph (line 13) had his horse shot out from

under him and “3 ribs broken.” Charles Elsdorf (line

25) enlisted as Chas. May. Not only that, but he

had deserted from the Confederate Army.

5 MU

ST-SEE RECO

RD C

OLLEC

TIO

NS

295 M

UST-SEE REC

ORD

CO

LLECT

ION

S

210

5. U.S.–CANADIAN BORDER CROSSINGS By Juliana Szucs Smith

Prior to 1895, there were no records of immigrants crossing the border from Canada to the U.S. In 1895, the U.S.

government closed this loophole by requiring Canadian steamships and railroads to complete manifest forms and

only provide transportation to U.S. destinations to immigrants who would have been allowed to enter the country

via other U.S. ports.

WHAT’S IN THE RECORDS?

A variety of forms were used with varying depths of information. Some manifests are rich in detail, while later

manifests, including some created by airlines, will be leaner with many containing only a first initial and surname,

along with the date of arrival and point of embarkation and disembarkation.

The more detailed records are on two pages, so be sure

to page forward to see the second page.

Prior to 1 October 1906, only non-Canadian immigrants

were recorded. Canadian-born immigrants are only

included on records created after that date.

USING THE RECORDS

Even if your family was firmly planted in the United

States by 1895, give these records a shot. They do

include lists of U.S. citizens, many with their state of

residence. For immigrants who came to the U.S., follow

up in Canadian Passenger Lists, 1865-1935, where you

may find a record of their arrival in Canada.

Search the Border Crossings

RELATED COLLECTIONS

Border Crossings: From Canada to U.S., 1895-1956

Border Crossings: From Mexico to U.S., 1895-1964

Canadian Passenger Lists, 1865-1935

RICHER MANIFESTS CAN INCLUDE:

• full name, age (with columns for years and

months), and gender

• marital status

• occupation

• literacy

• nationality and race or people

• last permanent residence (city or town

and country)

• name and complete address of nearest relative

or friend in country whence alien came

• final destination and whether they had a ticket

to their final destination

• by whom the passage was paid

• how much money was in their possession

• whether ever in the U.S. prior to this trip and if

so, where

• whether going to join a relative or friend and if

so, who (including name and complete address)

• causes for deportation (including mental and

physical health conditions)

• physical description

• place of birth (city or town and country)

5 MU

ST-SEE RECO

RD C

OLLEC

TIO

NS

2115 M

UST-SEE REC

ORD

CO

LLECT

ION

S