Treasure Chest Thursday: Sidney Liebross WWI Draft Registration Card

My mother was always proud of all the redheads in her Liebross family. My grandmother, Tillie, had red hair (auburn, actually) and, according to my mother, some of Tillie's brothers also had either red hair or beards. Unfortunately, without color photos or family recollections, it's not been possible to account for the redheads. Until now.

Of all the Liebross siblings (i.e., the brothers and sisters of my maternal grandmother Tillie Liebross Wilson) Sidney Liebross is the one about whom we know the least. He died young in 1932 and there is no one alive now who recalls him.[1]

Like all his brothers, he was of the age to register for the World War I draft.[2] As far as I know, he did not serve.

 

The items in red will be discussed further, below.

                                    Registration Card                 No. 229

1. Name in full: Sidney Liebross

2. Home address: 171 Melrose St., Brooklyn, New York 

3. Date of birth: Feb. 2, 1890

4. Are you (1) a natural born citizen, (2) a naturalized citizen, (3) an alien, (4) or have you declared you intention (specify which)? Alien

5. Where were you born? Buckawiena, Austria

6. If not a citizen, of what country are you a citizen or subject? Austria

7. What is your present trade, occupation, or office? Salesman

8. By whom employed? Rosengarten Bros.

Where employed? 15 E. 26th St., NY City

9. Have you a father, mother, wife, child under 12, or a sister or brother under 12, solely dependent on you for support (specify which)? none

10. Married or single (which)? Single

Rec (specify which)? Caucasian

11. What military service have you had? None

12. Do you claim exemption from draft (specify ground)? None

I affirm that I have verified above answers and that they are true.  /s/ Sidney Liebross

31-9-68-A                    Registrar's Report

1. Tall, medium, or short (specify which)? Tall

Slender, medium, or stout (which)? Medium

2. Color of eyes? Brown

Color of hair? Red

3. Has person lost arm, leg, hand, foot, eye, or both eyes or is he otherwise disabled (specify)? None

I certify that my answers are true, that the person has read his own answers, that I have witnessed his signature, and that all of his answers of which I have knowledge are true, except as follows ------------

                                                                      /s/Alois Fisher

Precinct: 164

City of County: Kings

State: New York                                       June 5, 1917

The place of birth should be Bukovina, a region of what was then the Austrian Empire, but now in both southwestern Ukraine and Romania. Sidney and his siblings were born in Radautz (now Radauti in Romania).

According to the 1919 Trow's New York Copartnership and  Corporation Directory, Rosengarten Brothers was a store at 15 E. 26th Street that sold "cloaks."[3]     

Sidney is described as "tall." I suppose this was possible, but the Liebrosses are not known for height. Most were fairly short. So, I'm not sure if this was an accurate description.

And last, but not least, red hair.

Notes:

1. Kings County, New York, Certificate of Death no. 16139 (5 August 1932), Sidney Liebross, Municipal Archives, New York, New York.
2. "United States World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1951-26583-12544-52?cc=1968530 : accessed 17 Apr 2014), New York > New York City no 68; A-Q > image 2773 of 3611; citing NARA microfilm publication M1509 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d).  
3. Trow's New York Copartnership and Corporation Directory (New York: R.L. Polk & Co., 1919), page 990; digital image, Google Books (http://books.google.com : accessed 17 April 2014).