Your PA ancestor in 1926

Reader,

In 1926, the country turned a hundred and fifty, and Philadelphia threw another World’s Fair — the Sesquicentennial International Exposition in South Philadelphia. You’ve probably never heard of it, and there’s a reason. It rained on 107 of the 184 days it was open, drew about 6.4 million of the 10 million visitors planners expected, and lost more than twenty million dollars. An honest civic flop.

But here’s the thing: the fair flopped, and your ancestor’s records from 1926 are excellent. This is the decade where twentieth-century recordkeeping takes over.

The 1920 and 1930 censuses bracket the year and capture immigration and naturalization status. But the record I want you to find this week is one most people skip:

The WWI draft registration card. Between 1917 and 1918, the government required men across a wide age range to register — which means nearly every adult man alive in Pennsylvania in 1926 filled one out a few years earlier. The card records his full name, home address, exact date and place of birth, occupation and employer, and nearest relative. For a man in his thirties or forties in 1926, that single card is often the best snapshot of him you’ll ever find.

Add the SS-5 Social Security application (which names both parents, including a mother’s maiden name) and post-1906 passenger lists for immigrant ancestors, and 1926 becomes one of the most documented years in your tree.

Full method on the blog:

Where Was Your Pennsylvania Ancestor in 1926?

Let’s discover your Pennsylvania ancestors.

—Denyse

P.S. Once you’ve pulled the draft card, the census line, and the city-directory address, you have the makings of your grandfather’s story — not just his dates. Turning records into a story your family will actually read is what we do over at Chronicle Makers.