New SCPGS Special Publication!

Publication #85   
1862 DRAFT ENROLLMENT LISTS, YORK CO, PA, VOLUME 1:  YORK BOROUGH   

In the summer of 1862, the U.S. War Department ordered a draft to fill the ranks of the Union Army through the mobilization of the states' militias.  Free, white males between the ages of 18 and 45 were subject to this draft.  Enrollment of men in York County liable for conscription occurred during the last week of August 1862.  The resulting enrollment books now reside in the York County Archives.  These records have never been microfilmed or published in any way, and for the first time, a complete transcription with a surname index has been made available by the South Central Pennsylvania Genealogical Society. 

Presented in a table format, all information from the original books appears in this publication, including the name of the man subject to the draft, his age, occupation, ward or street of residence, remarks regarding military service, and remarks about disabilities or reasons for exemption from the draft.  Military service data provided may include date of mustering in, rank, company and regiment of service, name of commanding officer, notes about type of service, and remarks about wounds, discharge or death.  Other remarks may describe physical or mental disabilities, note naturalization status, report dates of birth or questionable ages, note places of residence outside the municipality, or record other curiosities. 

​Few white men escaped notice of the enrolling officials, so these lists serve almost as a census substitute for the period between the 1860 and 1870 U.S. population census schedules.  This first volume covers the five wards of York Borough.  The SCPGS plans to publish seven additional volumes for the remainder of York County.  

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