Dallas Jackson Hughes

Dallas Jackson Hughes was my father's grandfather. Born in 1880 in Henry County, Alabama, Dallas later married Hattie Bruner and had several children - among them, my grandfather Alto Hughes. Below is an image of Dallas' WWI draft registration card from September 1918, almost a year after congress passed the Selective Service Act (Wikipedia). WWI draft registration cards have been very helpful for me personally, because they include such detailed information. Place of birth, next of kin, occupation, citizenship, physical description. According to his card, Dallas was of medium height, medium build, had gray eyes and dark brown hair. This definitely helps me form a mental picture.

Ancestry.com. U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005. Accessed 24 January 2013.

Dallas is at the heart of one of my currently genealogical mysteries - a "brick wall" in research terms. While I have some knowledge of his parents' names from death records, family photos, etc., beyond his parents I am completely stuck. A project for the coming months.

Another curiosity about this draft card. Under "Indian", the box "citizen Indian" is checked. Curious! I have found no information leading me to believe that the Hughes family is of Indian descent. In other sources, Dallas is listed as "white" - and Indian never is specified. I had a suspicion (like most Southerners) that my AncestryDNA test would reveal Native American ethnicity. None whatsoever! Maybe this was just a clerical error?

At any rate, I am so thankful for the digital images of these draft cards. My source database contains quite a few for both sides of my family and my husband's as well...and have proven so helpful.

Cheers!

Comments

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