CHICAGO WORLD WAR I

DRAFT REGISTRATION

DISTRICTS

 

 

 

In order to use the World War I Draft Registration cards, you must know the address of the person and determine which of the 86 Chicago draft boards he registered in.  Addresses can be obtained using city directories, birth and death certificates of family members, or the census.  The draft board boundaries were created using the Chicago ward and precinct boundaries.   When you decide which ward is correct, you can click on the ward number to see a detailed ward map.

 

To pick the right draft board, you must use the address to get both a North-South coordinate and an East-West coordinate.  2400 W. Chicago Ave, for example, is obviously at 2400 W, and since Chicago Ave. is 800 N, you have both coordinates.   Remember that even numbered addresses in Chicago are on the North or West side of the street, and odd numbered addresses are on the south or east side of the street. 

 

These boundaries were not set in stone.  Your relative may have registered outside his designated area, and Uncle Sam probably didn’t complain.

 

Some wards were not split based on their precinct numbers, but there were still 2-4 draft board numbers in that ward.  Your ancestor may have registered at any of the locations within his ward, so look for the one closest to where he lived.

 

NOTE: Ancestry.com has now indexed the WWI draft cards for Illinois, so search there first.  However, when your immigrant ancestor couldn’t spell his own name, or wrote it wrong, or it was transcribed wrong, you may still need to search for him by location using the methods described here.

 

CHICAGO WARD MAP, graciously provided by “alookatcook.com”

 

WARD

DRAFT

BOARD

ADDRESS

PRECINCTS

1

1

1122 County Bldg., 118 N. Clark St

1-23

2

2348 S. Michigan Ave.

24-44

2

3

3103 S. Indiana Ave.

1-25

4

3333 S. State St.

26-49

5

3900 S. Prairie Ave.

50-74

3

6

430 E. 43rd St.

1-24

7

431 E. 43rd St.

25-49

8

4301 S. Ellis Ave.

50-77

4

9

2901 S. Wallace St.

1-21

10

3205 S. Morgan St.

22-41

5

11

2040 W. 35th St.

1-24

12

2500 W. 38th St.

25-47

6

13

1510 E. Hyde Park Blvd.

1-26,87-8

14

1510 E. Hyde Park Blvd.

27-58

15

5700 S. Cottage Grove Ave.

59-86

7

16

6240 S. Kimbark Ave.

1-31

17

1114 E. 63rd St.

32-66

18

6731 S. Stoney Island Ave.

67-96

8

19

2924 E. 79th St.

1-22,30-4,56

20

Federal Bldg, South Chicago

23-29,35-55

9

21

9500 S. Cottage Grove Ave.

1-19,49-57

22

200 E. 115th St.

20-48

10

23

1545 W. 12th St.

Not bound by precinct

24

1801 S. Racine Ave.

Not bound by precinct

11

25

1808 S. Ashland Ave.

Not bound by precinct

26

2334 S. Oakley Ave.

Not bound by precinct

12

27

3517 W. 26th St.

1-27

28

2759 W. 22nd St.

28-47

13

29

218 S. Western Ave.

1-28

30

3210 W. Arthington St.

29-56

31

3340 W. Colorado Ave.

57-84

14

32

1601 W. Grand Ave.

1-30

33

3233 W. Fulton St.

31-60

15

34

1432 N. Leavitt St.

1-30

35

916 N. Paulina St.

31-60

16

36

1814 N. Hermitage Ave.

Not bound by precinct

37

Blackhawk and Noble St.

Not bound by precinct

17

38

1329 W. Augusta

Not bound by precinct

39

949 W. Grand Ave.

Not bound by precinct

18

40

238 Aberdeen St.

1-31

41

546 S. Wood St.

32-62

19

42

600 S. Blue Island Ave.

Not bound by precinct

43

820 S. Sholto St.

Not bound by precinct

20

44

14th Pl. and Union Ave.

Not bound by precinct

45

2000 S. Canalport Ave.

Not bound by precinct

21

46

Newberry Library, 60 W. Walton

1-34

47

400 E. Chicago Ave.

35-60

22

48

659 W. North Ave.

Not bound by precinct

49

1544 N. Larabee St.

Not bound by precinct

23

50

1730 Tribune Bldg.

1-35

51

Kemper and Larabee St.

36-71

24

52

3035 N. Hoyne Ave.

1-27

53

1200 W. Belden Ave.

28-51

25

54

4078 N. Broadway

1-28

55

4500 N. Clarendon Ave.

28-57,105

56

5900 N. Winthrop Ave.

58-85

57

7075 N. Clark St.

86-104,106-111

26

58

4142 N. Greenview Ave.

1-28,78

59

1757 W. Wilson Ave.

29-57,79-81

60

1950 W. Lawrence Ave.

58-77,82-86

27

61

3606 W. Lawrence Ave.

1-22,99-106

62

3945 N. Springfield Ave.

23-46,95-98

63

Schurz High School, 3601 N. Milwaukee Ave.

47-73,107

64

3350 W. Diversey Ave.

74-94

28

65

Holstein Park, 2200 N. Oakley Ave

1-30

66

2318 N. California Ave.

31-59

29

67

5100 S. Wood St.

1-31

68

6300 S. St. Louis Ave.

32-63

30

69

724 W. 47th St.

1-23

70

4500 S. Princeton Ave.

24-49

31

71

6238 S. Princeton Ave.

1-23

72

5507 S. Halsted St.

24-47

73

1646 W. 63rd St.

48-73

32

74

6321 S. Harvard Ave.

1-27

75

6730 S. Wentworth Ave.

28-57

76

7621 S. Perry Ave.

58-85

77

9700 S. Longwood Dr.

86-113

33

78

2532 N. Milwaukee Ave.

1-27

79

816 N. Laramie Ave.

28-62, 93

80

5610 W. Lake St.

63-92

34

81

1433 S. Ridgeway Ave.

1-25

82

3644 W. Ogden Ave.

26-53

83

2601 S. Ridgeway Ave.

54-77

35

84

Humboldt Pk Refectory, 3000 W. Division St.

1-32

85

4359 W. Washington Blvd.

33-64

86

227 S. Cicero Ave.

65-90