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A tremendous resource has just been released to subscribers at Ancestry.com, and I've been very busy mining the World War I draft registrations records for McNairy County, TN connections. In 1917, every U.S. male (of any race) between the ages of 18 and 45 was required to register under the Selective Service act. These registration cards, filled out in the presence of the registrant and signed by him, carry a variety of genealogical information that I frankly don't imagine I'd find anywhere else. Not all cards are identical-- there seems to be three types, with slightly different questions on each. But for me, the most fascinating are the questions that tell me the registrant's height, build, hair and eye color, and any disability he might have -- a physical description of ancestors and collateral kin that makes them much more alive to me. And the breadth of this picture is enormous. As Ancestry puts it: "In 1917 and 1918, approximately 24 million men living in the United States completed a World War I draft registration card. These registration cards represent approximately 98% of the men under the age of 46. The total U.S. population in 1917-1918 was about 100 million individuals. In other words, close to 25% of the total population is represented in these records."
I have been for months working on a project to track the migration of four white family lines from McNairy County, TN -- the Basingers, the Mortons, the Hairs and the Carothers, plus some intermarried families -- into Indian Territory/Oklahoma and Texas in the late 1880s and early 1890s. I think this will comprise several dozen family units when I'm done with the research: A serious mass translocation, a cultural event. (Thanks here to Dr. George Schweitzer for the training which taught me that the notion of an individual pioneer family harking off West into the wilderness is an American myth. Most of the time, migration was a collaborative effort between a group of intermarried families of no fewer than 40 individuals, and knowing this makes a critical difference in trying to trace/prove movement using just census records, which is often all we have.) I will post the results of my migration project online when I'm done. In the meantime, I wanted to share the extraction I've done over the last week regarding the Carothers (any spelling) who lived in Texas or Oklahoma (as well as McNairy Co.) but whose origins were in McNairy Co. Please note: I have faithfully copied the original spelling on these cards, which is for me settling many disputed variations on name spelling. If a man signs his name with a particular spelling, that's a primary source record and good enough for me. Also, not EVERY scrap of info on these registrations are reproduced below -- go to the original record for that -- but I believe I've included everything of general genealogical use.
If you are an Ancestry subcriber, I encourage you to use this resource to track your own lines -- the results are worth the effort. Enjoy. -- Meg Barnett
World War I Draft Registration Records
For Carothers Whose Origins (Their Birth or That of Their Parents) Were in McNairy Co., TN
Love Co., OK (originally Chickashaw Nation, Indian Territory)
--Joesephus Carothers: Date of birth 8 January 1887; age 30; permanent address Thackerville, OK; b. Adamsville, TN; farmer for self in Thackerville, OK; has wife and 2 children; claiming exemption for dependents; tall, medium build, grey eyes, brown hair, not bald, no disability.
--Lafayette Carothers: Date of birth 2 July 1889; age 17; permanent address Burneyville, OK; b. Adamsville, TN; farming for self in Jimtown, OK; has wife and two children; medium height, stout build, gray eyes, light hair, no disability, not bald.
--Leonard Clark Carothers: Date of birth 11 July 1899; age 19; permanent address Leon, Love Co., OK; farming for R.M. Blue in Leon, Love Co., OK; next of kin is Mattie Blue, Leon, Love Co., OK; tall, slender, grey eyes, red hair, no disability
--Millen F. Carothers: Date of birth 22 February 1882; age 36; permanent address Simon?, Love Co., OK; farmer; next of kin is Iva Carothers, Simon, Love Co., OK; tall, medium build, grey eyes, light brown hair, no disability.
--William W. Carothers: Date of birth 17 sep 1881; age 36; permanent address Marsden, Love Co., OK; farmer in Marsden, Love Co., OK; next of kin Lela in Marsden, Love Co., OK; medium height and build; blue eyes, black hair, no disability.
McNairy Co., TN
--Bascom Lee Carothers 13 Dec 1883 White RFP 4, Adamsville, McNairy, TN age 34; farmer, next of kin Jula Carothers, height tall, build slender, eyes grey, hair light, no disability
--Ernest Carothers 14 Aug 1889 Caucasian Tennessee;United States of America Bethel Springs McNairy, TN age 27, farming for self, has wife and 1 child and two ____, married, asks for exemption on account of family, height medium, build N/A, blue eyes, dark hair, no disability
--Henry Stewart Carothers 4 Sep 1895 Caucasian Tennessee;United States of America Adamsville, McNairy, TN age 21, farmer, no dependents, single, tall, slender, gray eyes, light hair, no disability
--Homer Carothers 23 May 1893 Caucasian Tennessee;United States of America Selmer, McNairy, TN age 24, farming for self, has wife, medium height, slender build, gray eyes, brown hair, no disability
--Hubert Odell Carothers 22 Aug 1887 Caucasian Tennessee;United States of America Selmer, McNairy, TN age 29, farming for self, wife and one brother, tall, slender, gray eyes, light hair, no disability
--James Madison Carothers 30 Mar 1875 White RFD 4, Adamsville, McNairy, TN age 43, farmer, for self, wife Bea? Carothers, tall, slender, gray, light, no disability
--Joe Asa Carothers 21 May 1881 White RFD 4, Adamsville, McNairy, TN age 37, farmer, Minnie Carothers, medium build, slender, gray eyes, dark hair, no disability
--Mc Cucheon Tillman Carothers 12 Oct 1891 Caucasian Tennessee;United States of America Adamsville, McNairy, TN age 25, farmer for self, wife and 1 child, asking exemption for dependents, tall, medium, light blue, light hair, no disability
--Oceola Emmet Carothers 12 Jun 1885 White Rte 4, Adamsville, McNairy, TN age 33, farming for self, Mrs. Lela Carothers, medium height and build, blue eyes, light hair, no disability
--Thomas Franklin Carothers 22 Apr 1894 Caucasian Tennessee;United States of America Adamsville, McNairy, TN age 23, farmer, employed by mother, single, claims exemption due to "arms having been broken & hard of hearing", tall, slender, gray eyes, black hair, no disability
--William Jesse Carothers 27 Mar 1887 Caucasian Tennessee;United States of America Adamsville, McNairy, TN age 30, farming for self, single, tall, medium, gray eyes, dark hair, no disability
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