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U.S. World War I

https://www.thefhguide.com/project-9-united-statese1.html#c

Class Outline - United States, Goal E2 - BASIC

Speaker Notes: Click the down-arrow next to Slideshow and select Presenter View. Then click the link on the main slide. For each item in quotes below, open the similar link in The Family History Guide. Last updated: 2023-10-09 Home Page

Intro Video:

Watch the entire video (just above “Choices”) and discuss key points as desired.

GOAL E2: World War I Records

Choice C:

“FTM: 6 Records to Trace …”

- Scroll down to Loss of WWI … and summarize the info about the fire and loss of U.S. military records. Explain that the six record types in this article help to overcome that challenge.

- Briefly describe each of the six record types, pausing on the record images. Note that Joe, Norbert, etc. are relatives of the author who are used in the record searches.

“AJC: How to Find …”

- Scroll down to The Misconception … and briefly review the info in the section. Point out the difference between having a draft card and actually serving in the war.

- In Clues for World War I Service briefly review each of the bold topics and how they can provide genealogical clues.

- In Next Steps … mention that there is a State Adjutant General’s office for the home state of your ancestor; this office has detailed records for soldiers.

- In For Those Who Didn’t Come Home mention the databases listed for military deaths in WWI.

“AAC: Researching Your WWI Ancestors” (video series)

- Open the link, and then click the State and Local World War I Genealogical Sources video.

- Pause at 0:17 to review the types of records covered in the video. Mention that some of the state-specific examples have similar records in other states.

- Watch the entire video (about 8 minutes), commenting as desired.

- Click the Official Military Personnel Files video.

- Watch from 0:17 to 1:43, commenting as desired on information contained in the personnel files.

Draft Cards:

“AF: WWI Draft Cards …”

- Scroll down to Date of Birth.

- Briefly discuss the information in each of the bold headings, describing what can be found in WWI draft registration cards.

“FTM: How to Read …”

- Discuss each of the numbered items on the card, using the notes in the article. This highlights the types of information on a draft card and how to find genealogy clues from them. (This will involve scrolling up and down as the notes progress down the page.)

Resources:

“American Battle Monuments Commission”

- Open the link for the site and briefly summarize the opening paragraph, to explain the purpose of the website.

- Briefly review the search fields on the screen.

- Click “World War I” on the right, enter “James Johnson” into the name fields, and click Apply.

- Briefly describe the results on the page. (In this case, six James Johnson are distinguished by their middle initial.)

“Military Indexes”

- Open the link for the site and scroll down a ways into the state links. This site show many resources for WWI research and records.

“Record Search Practice”

- Click the link for the first exercise and briefly review the info. This is an example of an exercise that can be done during or after the class. Then click the Hints link to show help info. Explain that the Answers link has the answers to the items in the problem statem, but don’t open the Answers link.

“QUIKLinks”

- Briefly scan the list of QUIKLinks and demonstrate one of them, to show how easy it is to access a record collection from a QUIKLink.