One of the best documents for information about your ancestor is an Alien Registration Affidavit. It only was completed by about 500,000 people starting in November 1917. It was to identify German people in the U.S. who were not naturalized and hence may have allegiance to Germany rather than the U.S. It was required of men who were not naturalized. German-born women were required to complete the document starting in April 1918. For men the form was a ”Registration Affidavit of Alien Enemy”, for women, it was a “Registration Affidavit of Alien Female.”
In essence, if you have German ancestors who immigrated in the late 1800s to early 1900s, and were not naturalized by 1917, you might find that they were required to register as enemy aliens. Furthermore, even if your female ancestors were US citizens, if they were married to a non-naturalized German immigrant, they may have also been required to register.
The contents of these documents were amazing in what they included. There were 54 different items and facts that were entered by the person completing the affidavit.
| Full name | Married? | Have you ever been naturalized, partly or wholly in any other country besides the U.S.? |
| How long at the current address | Name of wife, if living | If yes, state when and where, and in which country |
| All other names used | Residence of wife | Have you ever taken an oath of allegiance to any country besides the U.S.? |
| Present address | Names of children, aged 10 to 14 | If yes, state when and where, and in which country |
| State whether the registrant has any male relatives for or against the USA in the present war | Sex | Have you since January 1, 1914, registered for military service with any country other than the U.S.? |
| All other places of residence after 1914 | Year of birth | If so, where and when and which country? |
| City and country of birth | Number of children under 10 | Have you ever been arrested or detained on any charge? |
| Date of birth | If yes, state the location and name of court | If so, where, when, and what charge? |
| Employer’s place, date, occupation, and name of employer | Names and relationships of those who are for or against | Are you on parole? |
| Arrival date in the U.S. | State For or Against for those named | Have you a permit to enter forbidden areas? |
| Name of ship | Were you registered for the selective draft? | If so, what is the number of the permit? |
| Name of Port of entry | State all previous military, naval or other government service | |
| Name at time of arrival | Have you ever applied for naturalization or taken first papers in the U.S.? | |
| Father’s name | If yes, state the location and name of the court | |
| Father’s residence, if living | ||
| Mother’s name | ||
| Mother’s residence, if living |
The signature is required as well as the date and location. Then there are two official signatures.
There is a photo of the person signing the affidavit. Furthermore, there are questions regarding physical characteristics:
- · Age
- · Height
- · Weight
- · Forehead
- · Eyes
- · Nose
- · Distinctive marks
- · Mouth
- · Chin
- · Hair
- · Complexion
- · Face
Not many individuals in the country were required to complete this document, but if your ancestor fits the criteria, make sure you try to find their affidavit. Further info is at the National Archives
Download the Quicksheet PDF
I have put together a Quick Reference Guide that has a list of all the information that is in one of these affidavits. You can obtain the one-page Quicksheet pdf for easy reference by clicking on the Download button:
For all the previously published Quick Reference Guides, click on QuickSheets
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One reply on “Did Your Ancestor Complete an Alien Registration Affidavit?”
ACPL’s Genealogy Center has a free database (an online version of a book): Genealogical Records of German Families of Allen County, Indiana, 1918 which can be searched at https://www.genealogycenter.info/search_germanfamilies.php
(Info courtesty Judy G. Russell’s article The forms of 1918: Hoosier-style https://www.legalgenealogist.com/2015/05/21/the-forms-of-1918-hoosier-style/ )
German people from all over the country can be seen in this database, depending on where the Allen County families had relatives. Unfortunately, the database is not set up to search by the location of the out-of-town relatives.