April 6, 1917 marks the centennial of the U.S. entering World War I. In this month’s edition of Found in the Archives, the Fairfax Circuit Court Historic Records Center looks at military service register “chits” which were recently discovered in papers left by a previous Circuit Court Clerk named F. W. Richardson.  F.W. also served as clerk for the Local Board of Fairfax County for the Selective Service System Draft, which explains why the chits appear in his papers. On these chits, the men were identified solely by their serial numbers. However, in conjunction with the Local Board record book, Muster Roll in the War with Germany ledger, and other records, these chits reveal personal information about the young men from Fairfax County who were selected to register in America’s first draft. These simple slips of paper tell us who was exempted from serving in the U.S. Army, and who, ultimately, went to war.

http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/courts/circuit/pdf/fita/fita-april-2017.pdf

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