Grandfather Pyle ~ Military Monday

Charles McAlpin Pyle

My grandfather, Charles McAlpin Pyle was born in Morristown, New Jersey, on September 6, 1893. I have not yet obtained his birth certificate, but this information appears on his World War I and World War II draft registration cards.

I found all sorts of interesting information about Grandfather Pyle on his draft registration cards, both of which I found at ancestry.com.

1917 World War I Draft Registration for Charles McAlpin Pyle

In the June 1917 WWI draft registration card to the right, Charles McAlpin Pyle is 23 years old, living and working in Titusville, Pennsylvania. He indicated that he was born on Sept 6th 1893, in Morristown, N.J.  His employer is Cyclops Steel Co., in Titusville, Pa. (A quick check at Google Maps tells me that Titusville is about 335 miles west of Morristown. I don't know why he is living and working in Titusville.) Question 9 asks if he has anyone solely dependent on him for support, to which he answers "None." Under his marital status (Single) and race (Caucasian), he indicates that he has been a private in the Calvary for 3 years in New York. One thing I love about these draft registration cards is that the physical description is provided: he is tall, with medium build, hazel eyes and brown hair.

1942 World War II Draft Registration for Charles McAlpin Pyle

There is also a WWII draft registration card for him from 1942. This one reproduced much better than the WWI card. He is now 48 years old and living in Ellicott City, Maryland. Unfortunately from a genealogist's perspective, his wife is listed as Mrs. Charles McA. Pyle, but I believe this is his third wife, Lucy Buford Triplett (1902-1970).

It appears that he was not employed at this time.

The physical description is a little different here; he is 5'10", 174 lbs, with blue eyes, brown hair, and sallow complexion.

Military Monday is a daily blogging prompt from GeneaBloggers, the genealogy community’s resource for blogging. It is used by many genealogy bloggers to help them tell stories of their ancestors.