24,000,000 Men Feel a Draft

From the New York Times of Aug. 18, 1942:

1918 RECORDS GOOD AS PROOF OF BIRTH
Census Officials to Provide Basis for Certificates

WASHINGTON, Aug. 17— Americans who have had trouble proving that they were actually born and where and when will have no further trouble if they happen to have been among the 24,000,000 men who signed draft registration cards in 1917 and 1918.

These cards have been transferred from the War Department archives to the Census Bureau, where they will be available as a source of evidence on age and place of birth for individuals who have no birth certificates.

[snip]

Good advice in 1942, and still good advice now. If your male ancestor was living in United States in 1917-18, and was born between 1872 and 1900, there's a good chance he registered for the draft. The World War I Civilian Draft Registrations Database at Ancestry.com so far includes records from Alaska, Delaware, Florida, Idaho, Mississippi, and Nevada, with "good representation" from Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Illinois, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nebraska, New York City, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah and Vermont.