EDWARD WEISS - DRAFT REGISTRATION - JUNE 5, 1917 - RAVENNA, OHIO

DOCUMENT: weiss-edward-draft-registration-1917.jpg

NOTES:

• This is the World War I draft registration for Edward Weiss [the younger half-brother of Julia (Weiss) Schwartz].
• Here's a copy of the (modern) transcription copied from ancestry.ca

  U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918
  
  Name: 	Edward Weiss
  Race: 	Caucasian (White)
  Marital Status: 	Married
  Birth Date: 	23 Oct 1895
  Birth Place: 	New York
  Street address: 	127 1/2 E. Main
  Residence Place: 	Portage, Ohio, USA
  Physical Build: 	Medium
  Height: 	Medium
  Hair Description: 	Not Bald
  Hair Color: 	Black
  Eye Color: 	Brown
  

• Here are my notes about this document:
  • Edward's age is given as 21, and his date of birth as Oct. 23, 1895, which is exactly one year earlier than the birthday given for Edward Weiss in Gladys (Schwartz) Kaminsky's family tree.
  • Since Oct. 23, 1896 (the date in Gladys's family tree) is also the date on Edward's application for admission to the orphanage when he was ten, I'm inclined to trust that date more.
  • To the question "What military service have you had?" Edward answers that he was a U.S. Navy coxswain for four years.
  • I wonder if perhaps he lied about his age when joining the Navy (as was common), to appear to be 17 when he was only 16? This would explain why he gave his date of birth as 1895 rather than 1896 on his World War I and World War II draft registrations, to be consistent with the date he'd given when he enlisted in the Navy.
  • The card shows Edward is currently a shipping clerk for Byers Machine Co. in Ravenna, Ohio (so presumably he had left the Navy by this time).
  • His address is given as 127 1/2 E. Main, Ravenna, Ohio. See this address today in Google Maps.