Document B.47 · draft registration · transcription: verbatim
WWI draft registration card of "C. Mulford Cooper", age 21, of Monticello, N.Y., registered 24 August 1918. Born East Orange, N.J.; his father born Freehold, N.J.
- repository
- U.S. Selective Service System — via Ancestry
- collection
- Local Board for the County of Sullivan, State of N.Y., Monticello, N.Y.
- identifier
- Serial No. 238; Order No. 0-V5-A; registration number blank.
- date
- 1918-08-24
What is transcribed: Both sides of the card.
People named
| As written | Role | Identified as | What this document says |
|---|---|---|---|
| C. Mulford Cooper | subject | Charles Mulford Cooper 1897–1957 | birth: 28 Jul 1897, East Orange, Essex Co., New Jersey residence: 24 Aug 1918, Monticello, Sullivan Co., New York |
| Jennie N. Cooper | mentioned | ||
| P. J. Harms | official |
What this document records
Question 7 is why this card matters
WWI draft cards ask for the FATHER'S BIRTHPLACE — a question no other draft series asks — and this one answers "Freehold, N.J., USA". That is a generation's worth of geography from a form about a 21-year-old. Freehold is where John G Cooper Jr John G. Cooper Jr kept his book store ([B.46]); no descent is asserted here — the card names a town, not a family.
He signs with the middle name
He prints and signs "C. Mulford Cooper", not Charles — the form he used. [B.48], his 1942 card, gives the full CHARLES MULFORD COOPER.
The nearest relative is a woman named in her own right
"Jennie N. Cooper, Monticello, NY" — given name and initial, unusually. The card states no relationship. [B.48], twenty-four years later, names "Mrs. H. H. Cooper" at his address — a woman styled by her husband's initials. If those are the same woman, the pair of cards shows the same person recorded two ways, which is the systematic gap this record type has. Not asserted.
Self employed at twenty one
"Name of present employer: Self", place of employment Monticello, NY. Recorded as written; the card does not say at what.
Transcription and notes
Provenance, why question 7's father's-birthplace field makes the WWI series uniquely
valuable, and the unstated relationship of the nearest relative are in the source: and coverage:
headers and are not repeated here.
Verbatim — full card text
Front side (Left)
Serial No.: 238 Order No.: 0-V5-A Registration No.: [blank]
- Name in full: C. Mulford Cooper — Age in years: 21
- Home address: Monticello, NY
- Date of birth: July 28, 1897
- Where were you born: East Orange, N.J., USA
- I am 1. a native of the United States [checked]
- [If a citizen, of what nation:] [blank — native US]
- Father's birthplace: Freehold, N.J., USA
- Name of present employer: Self [-employed] Place of employment: Monticello, NY
- Name of nearest relative: Jennie N. Cooper Address of nearest relative: Monticello, NY
- Race — White [checked]
I affirm that I have verified above answers and that they are true.
Signature: C. Mulford Cooper
Reverse side (Right) — Registrar's Report
Color of eyes: Blue Color of hair: Brown Has person lost arm, leg, hand, foot, or both eyes, or is he otherwise disabled (specify): No
I certify that my answers are true; that the person registered has read his own answers, that I have witnessed his signature, and that all of his answers of which I have knowledge, are true, except as follows:
Signature of Registrar: P. J. Harms Date of Registration: Aug 24, 1918 [Local Board stamp:] Local Board for the County of Sullivan, State of N.Y., Monticello, N.Y.