World War I Records

Before World War II, what is now known as World War I was referred to by various names, including The Great War, The World War, The Kaiser’s War, The War of the Nations, The War in Europe, or The European War. In the United Kingdom and the United States, it was often called “The war to end all wars.” In France and Belgium, it was sometimes described as La Guerre du Droit (the War for Justice) or La Guerre Pour la Civilisation/de Oorlog tot de Beschaving (the War to Preserve Civilization), particularly on medals and commemorative monuments. In Britain and Canada, official histories of the conflict typically use the term “First World War,” while American accounts usually refer to it as “World War I.”

World War I was a military conflict primarily centered in Europe, beginning in the summer of 1914 and concluding in late 1918. The war involved nearly all of the world’s major powers, divided into two opposing alliances: the Allies (led by the Triple Entente) and the Central Powers. Over 70 million military personnel, including 60 million Europeans, were mobilized in what became one of the largest wars in history. More than 9 million combatants lost their lives, largely due to advancements in firepower outpacing improvements in mobility, making it the second deadliest conflict in history.

The United States formally entered World War I on April 6, 1917, after initially maintaining a position of neutrality while supplying the United Kingdom and other Allied nations. During its involvement, the U.S. mobilized over 4 million military personnel, suffering more than 300,000 casualties, including over 110,000 deaths. The war prompted a significant expansion of the U.S. government to manage the war effort and saw a substantial increase in the size and role of the U.S. military.

1914-1918 (US entered 1917)

Statewide Records for World War I

Cemeteries

World War War I Draft Records

World War I Draft Records

Microfilm Roll Lists

Records of Interest

Records by State

You should check the following sites for County information for Draft Registrations, Databases, Death Indexes, Casualties, Unit Rosters before going to records by State.

Alabama World War 1 Records

Arkansas World War 1 Records

Arizona World War 1 Records

California World War 1 Records

Colorado World War 1 Records

Connecticut World War 1 Records

Delaware World War 1 Records

District of Columbia World War 1 Records

Florida World War 1 Records

Georgia World War 1 Records

Idaho World War 1 Records

Illinois World War 1 Records

Indiana World War 1 Records

Iowa World War 1 Records

Kansas World War 1 Records

Kentucky World War 1 Records

Louisiana World War 1 Records

Maine World War 1 Records

Maryland World War 1 Records

Massachusetts World War 1 Records

Michigan World War 1 Records

Minnesota World War 1 Records

Missouri World War 1 Records

  • Soldiers’ Records: War of 1812 – World War I
    The Missouri State Archives holds nearly 1½ million pages that document the service of Missourians in domestic and foreign wars between 1812 and World War I. These military records primarily consist of individual service cards, but the extensive collection also includes muster rolls, special orders, reports, and more.

Nebraska World War 1 Records

  • WWI Draft Registration Cards
    A database of the WWI Draft Registration Cards: 1917-1918 Nebraska Index has been compiled that allows researchers to locate name references within the Draft Card Records.
  • Soldiers of the Great War
    These transcriptions are the Nebraska pages from a three-volume-set entitled “Soldiers of the Great War: Memorial Edition”
  • University of Nebraska Alumni Dead in WW1
    Photos and legends extracted from The Cornhusker, 1919, Volume 13, University of Nebraska showing those alumni who were killed or died in WW1.

Nevada World War 1 Records

New Jersey World War 1 Records

New Mexico World War 1 Records

New York World War 1 Records

North Carolina World War 1 Records

North Dakota World War 1 Records

Ohio World War 1 Records

  • World War I in Ohio
    The World War I in Ohio Digital Collection includes materials that capture the overarching narrative of WWI, from ordinary stories to extraordinary ones, and from the home front to the battlefront. Diverse in both format and content, the items in this collection represent a variety of Ohio voices from before, during and immediately after the war. Click here to view our terms list, which serves as a quick guide to the battles, military units, state and national organizations, and political leaders represented in the digital collection.
  • The official roster of Ohio soldiers, sailors, and marines in the World War, 1917-1918
    A multi-volume series called Official Roster of Ohio Soldiers, Sailors, and Marines in the World War, 1917-18. Information that may be listed for each individual includes the soldier’s name, age, birthplace, address, branch of service and enlistment date, military rank and discharge status, brief history of military career, and date and cause of death if occurred during enlistment. Much of the information listed for each soldier contains abbreviations. A list of abbreviations used is available at the beginning of each volume.

Oregon World War 1 Records

Pennsylvania World War 1 Records

Rhode Island World War 1 Records

Tennessee World War 1 Records

Texas World War 1 Records

Utah World War 1 Records

Vermont World War 1 Records

Virginia World War 1 Records

Washington World War 1 Records

Wisconsin World War 1 Records

Wyoming World War 1 Records

Military Subscription Databases

Ancestry

  • American Soldier Deaths of World War I
    This database is a record of the American soldiers who lost their lives in World War I. The work is arranged alphabetically by state. For each soldier who fought and died in this Great War his picture, name, rank, and means of death (killed in action, died of disease, died of wounds, died of accident, or wounded in action) is provided. While the pictures under each state are not arranged alphabetically, there is an alphabetical listing following the pictures for each state, arranged first by mean of death, then rank, and finally last name. This listing is the official list of men who lost their lives in World War I compiled from the Official Bulletin provided by the government. In addition to the pictures of all the deceased men of this war, this work also provides a parallel record of war events among the leading countries involved in the war from 1914 to 1918. These countries include the United States, Great Britain, Belgium, France, Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy, Balkans, Turkey, and Russia. This database is a great source of information for both historians of World War I and family historians who are seeking information about their relatives who served and died in this war.
  • Ireland, Casualties of World War I, 1914-1918
    This data collection contains the book, Ireland’s Memorial Records – an 8 volume set compiled by The Committee of the Irish National War Memorial, originally published in 1923. These volumes provide information on over 49,000 Irish men and women who died in the Great War.
  • U.S. Naval Deaths, World War I
    Although the United States Navy did not take part in many World War I battles, thousands of American sailors died fighting for their country during the war. This database collects from disparate sources the death records for over 7200 sailors who died between 1917 and 1919. Each record reveals the sailor’s name, rank, branch of service, death date, and cause of death. Additionally, the sailor’s enlistment address is given along with the nearest living relative. For those seeking ancestors who died in World War I, this can be an extremely illuminating database.
  • U.S. World War I Mothers’ Pilgrimage, 1930
    In the late 1920s the War Department of the United States compiled a list of mothers and widows of deceased soldiers killed in World War I and offered to send them to their loved one’s final resting place in Europe. This database contains the names those women who were entitled to make the pilgrimage, as shown by department records on 15 November 1929. Each record provides the name of widow or mother, city and state of residence, and relationship to the deceased. Additionally, information regarding the decedent’s name, rank, unit, and cemetery is provided. In a few cases the woman’s surname and decedent’s surname can be different, most likely due to an error in spelling in the original document. Providing information regarding nearly 11,000 mothers and widows.
  • World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918
    In 1917 and 1918, approximately 24 million men living in the United States completed a World War I draft registration card. That accounts for approximately 98 percent of men in the U.S. born between 1872 and 1900. The total U.S. population in 1917-1918 was about 100 million individuals, so close to 25 percent of the total population is represented in these records.
  • WWI Civilian Draft Registrations
    Originally posted to Ancestry.com in January of 1998 and taken from the original draft cards, this database provides information on some of the men registered. This update, part of an ongoing project, adds over 300,000 names to the previously posted database and brings the total number of names provided to 1.2 million. It adds information on registrants from Florida, Mississippi, and South Dakota.

Fold 3

  • US, Army WWI Transport Service, Passenger Lists, 1918-1919
    These lists recorded details on all persons arriving at U.S. ports on ATS ships. In addition to troops, passengers could also include nurses and other support personnel, family members, and any other passengers who may have been traveling onboard these ships. In some instances, troops from other countries traveled on U.S. Army ships as well.
  • US, WWI Civilian Draft Registrations, 1917-1918
    This collection is an index of World War I draft registration cards. For each individual, the index includes name, race, birth date and place, and city and state of residence; the original draft registration cards, which are not included in this collection, included additional information about the individual. On Fold3, this index is organized by surname, then given name. Each name is associated with a Memorial Page, which provides the index information for the individual.

Suggested Reading or Watching

The First World War – Complete Series – Although the First World War gets less attention than its successor, it was really the watershed event of the 20th century. This conflict shaped the world that came after to this day.

An American Soldier in World War I – This extraordinary collection of Brownie’s letters reveals the day-to-day life of an American soldier in the European theater. The difficulties of training, transportation to France, dangers of combat, and the ultimate strain on George and Marty’s relationship are all captured in these pages.

Topics:
World War 1,

Collection:
US Military Records. A directory of resources providing online access to military records. Copyright 1999-2020, AccessGenealogy.

2 thoughts on “World War I Records”

  1. Dear Access Genealogy,
    How and where can I find the date(s) of when civilians could enlist for WWI in Paterson, New Jersey? My great grandfather’s last name was Mac Lean. At times, he even spelled his last name as Maclean.

    Reply

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