Military Monday - Charles Creeden WWI Registration Cards

FamilySearch.org recently added indexed records to their collection of US WWI Draft Registration cards for 1917-1918. As of this latest addition, the index is 96% complete. Since they are still adding records for Ohio, I decided to see if there was anything new for my Creedens.

I had seen my great-grandfather Charles Creeden's registration card before, but I was surprised to see another Charles Creeden from Clinton County, Ohio. My Charles was born in Mercer County, Ohio, but his parents lived in Clinton County before he was born.

Charles A. Creeden WWI Draft Registration Card, Celina, Ohio

My great-grandfather's registration card shown above was dated June 5, 1917 and showed that he was working as a Foreman at the Mersman Brothers Brandts factory. This was a large furniture factory in Celina. Charles was 30 years old and was living on S. Fulton in Celina with his wife Anna and children Robert and Mae.

Charles Creedon WWI Draft Registration Card, Wilmington, Ohio

The second Charles Creedon was 21 years old and gave his address as 226 Walnut in Wilmington, Ohio, although he was working as a machinist at the Continental Motor Company in Detroit, Michigan. He was single when the card was signed on June 2, 1917. I noticed that while the name was indexed under Creeden, it looks like this Charles used the more common spelling of Creedon.

Despite what my Charles' brother Edward stated, I don't believe that my great-grandfather ever served in the military. I found a couple of probable matches for the second Charles in the military records on Ancestry.com. He's listed in the Official Roster of Ohio Soldiers, Sailors, and Marines in the World War, 1917-18 and the Ohio Military Men databases.

Charles Creedon in Ohio Military Men database

To Do:

• Investigate the second Charles and his family in Clinton County to see if there is any connection to my Creedens.
• Search for additional military records for Charles Creedon.