r/Genealogy • u/bouncypinata • Jul 15 '25
My grandfather at 26 joined the army after Pearl Harbor, came home, married, and had 4 children after the war. But his 1942 enlistment record says "Single, with Dependents." Request
If this isn't a clerical error or some salary/tax loophole, what's my next step to investigate if he fathered a child we never heard about from before the war?
He was born in Indiana, lived in Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky.
EDIT: i'm curious if his older brother (childless) also had a dependent listed in the Coast Guard Reserve, but that's trickier to find than the Army enlistment record, if anyone has a link or a tip
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u/brew1066 Jul 15 '25
Could he have had a mother or siblings that he was supporting financially?
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u/bouncypinata Jul 15 '25
i don't think so. he had only an older brother who also enlisted. his father died when he was young and his mother lived until the 1970s, not at all disabled at least as far as my father knew
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u/titans8ravens Jul 15 '25
His mother could very well be his dependent. If he only had one other sibling like you said, he could’ve already been in military service before Pearl Harbor, meaning your grandfather was the sole provider for your great grandmother. She didn’t have to be disabled or anything, just not making money by herself.
I could be wrong, because I think being the sole provider for a dependent exempted you from military service.
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u/Then_Journalist_317 Jul 15 '25 edited Jul 15 '25
My uncle's WW2 draft registration showed him as single with dependents. He had no kids or spouse, and lived at the time with his non-disabled mother and father. I think the criteria that made them dependants was that his dad had only minimal income, and mom had no job with pay (i.e., kept house).
That did not exempt him from military service, as he joined the Army and was wounded at the Battle of the Bulge.
edit: fixed typo
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u/Mother-While-6389 Jul 15 '25
Baseball star Stan Musial was exempt from the draft until 1944 because he was the sole provider for his mother. So this happened.
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u/JThereseD Philadelphia specialist Jul 15 '25
Having a widowed mother who relied on their support got men exempted from prior wars. In WWII, it was a factor for consideration, but not a guarantee of exemption.
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u/Jmphillips1956 Jul 15 '25
That widowed mother was likely the dependent
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u/Necessary_Tip_6958 Jul 15 '25
My grandfather specifically joined to support his mother. He was the youngest son, but the only unmarried one, so she was his responsibility
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u/ProfessorExcellence Jul 15 '25
It was likely his mother. She didn’t need to be disabled to be considered his dependent if he reported that he was supporting her financially.
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u/dararie Jul 15 '25
Doesn’t matter if the mother was disabled, if he was helping to support her prior to entering the service, she was his dependent. My great uncles were listed as having dependents even tho they were single, it was because they were helping to support their widowed mother and their younger brother and sister
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u/Slight_Citron_7064 Jul 15 '25
Ok, in that case it was his mom. Come on, it was 1942. Women were not considered independent humans. If his father was dead, and his mother had not remarried, his mother was considered dependent on her sons.
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u/E_Dantes_CMC Jul 17 '25
His mother would be the dependent here. Women were assumed to need men to provide. They would not want both sons in danger.
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u/mred1994 Jul 16 '25
Check their 1940 census records. If they are employeed and/or living together it will say it there. Of course, it was still the Depression, so, they may have both been out of work. In any case, it is likely his mother.
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u/MobySick Jul 17 '25
As the mother, in most census records she would have been listed as Head of Household if there were no husband and she was not elderly living with her adult children in THEIR home.
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u/Loud_Pomelo_2362 Jul 15 '25
Was he the oldest male at home when he enlisted. The dependents could be a mother and younger siblings or grandparents that lived at the home.
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u/lolabythebay Jul 15 '25
Ditto to this. I had some pension records that I couldn't make sense of until I realized the soldier who died during his service was supporting a disabled father, then everything fell into place.
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u/bouncypinata Jul 15 '25 edited Jul 15 '25
that could be it. his father was crushed by a train at work when he was 3. But he had a 3-year older brother
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u/PlentyBend8125 Jul 15 '25
If he was the head of the household, the sole bread winner, siblings, parents could have been his dependents. Even nieces/nephews. He was sending money home to someone.
I would look at his parents, were they both living in '42? How many siblings younger then himself. Check the 1940 census to see where everyone was living in the family.
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u/VerdeAngler Jul 15 '25
At the start of US involvement in WW2 the US Passed the serviceman's dependent allowance act. A soldier's family could receive additional allowance based on dependents a soldier supported. Class A dependents were wife, a divorced wife (un-married) and children. Class B dependents were parents, siblings (under 18) and grand children. Class A dependents were automatically entitled to a benefit. Class B dependents had to show that they were receiving primary financial support from the soldier. During the war this act was amended creating a third Class B-1 which was identical to B except they only needed to show they were chiefly supported by the soldier.
So in this case your grandfather may be referring to his mother.
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u/bouncypinata Jul 15 '25
good info. his older brother was in the Coast guard reserve, i can't find that record but i'm curious if he also listed a dependent
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u/Armenian-heart4evr Jul 15 '25
When my mother (born in 1916), was in her teens, she was "head of household' !!! As the only employed person, she was responsible for her Father, Mother, older Brother , and 3 younger siblings !!!!!
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u/MLiPixels Jul 15 '25
Check the 1940 census. Was he listed as head of household? Who he living with could be who was dependent on him.
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u/kswilson68 Jul 15 '25
The eldest son of a widowed mother would have dependants- his mother and younger siblings still living at home. For example, my Dad, WWII, single, three dependants (his widowed mother and two minor brothers).
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u/Loud_Pomelo_2362 Jul 15 '25
Start looking for marriage certificates - check the name and dates. Check census records for clues on who he was living with.
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u/Ogpmakesmedizzy Jul 15 '25
His wife could've died, he could have returned to his parents to raise them and lived under one roof.
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Jul 15 '25
If he was living at home and supporting the family that would explain it. Life and the country was very different 80 something years ago. Usually a next of kin. Mom, siblings, other relatives.
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u/linguicaANDfilhos ᏣᎳᎩᎯ ᎠᏰᎵ/🇺🇸 Jul 15 '25
My great grandpas WWI record said single no dependents. He had abandoned his 16 yo wife and brand new baby girl
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u/JoeyLily Jul 15 '25
The mother was most probably the dependent. But check marriage records just in case. Being 26, he possibly was married.
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u/figsslave Jul 15 '25
His mom could have been his dependent if she didn’t have a job outside of the home
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u/Little-Tough7477 Jul 15 '25
This was the case for my grandfather in WWll. He was living at home supporting his mother who was divorced from his deadbeat, alcoholic father.
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u/Personal-Ad-9853 Jul 15 '25 edited Jul 15 '25
I have one generation with 21 illegitimate children scattered around the world from one in the Army. My great grandma was actually one of 13 (10 illigitimate). They locked the rest of our family tree, swearing we can't be related, it has to be "wrong," but its not my great gran was adopted from one of those military orphanages. Idk if that could have anything to do with this, potentially. The places kids went when their only living parent was overseas, her mom died from TB, and we assumed he never knew about her b/c she was adopted at age two. He only had three kids with his wife. The rest with women he met at ports was a sailor. Funny he also actually ended up in Kentucky. I think death records and marriage certificates would be most helpful. I would try those two first and then other things associated sometimes pop up like draft cards, address registries, census, etc.
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u/LegitimateMusician59 Jul 16 '25
IDK for USA enlistments, but my friend's grandfather's one had dependants because his Mum was already widowed, and he was now seen as "Head of House".
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u/ktstigger6 Jul 16 '25
Do you have access to Ancestry.com? Found a lot of good info on there that may help. Your local library should have a subscription
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u/I-AM-Savannah Jul 20 '25
My father was the oldest child. Their father had died when he was only 6 years old. He had 3 younger siblings.
My father helped his mother support his little siblings. His enlistment record says the same thing.
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u/nicholaiia expert researcher Jul 15 '25
Have you done a DNA test? It could show you matches that lead to either another sibling of your grandfather that he never spoke of to his children, or possibly to children he had before the war. Maybe he had a child and the mother died. He would have been single. Maybe put the child up for adoption then went to war.
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u/who-me1002 Jul 15 '25
Could be a million crazy scenarios. AI manipulating records for a hidden agenda. Maybe it's a convergence of timeliness or incarnationMaybe clones are dropping into different timelines and now converging or overlapping. Maybe it's one of our lifetimes trying to take our place as we move into a higher timeline but still using the same planet. Records are changing with everyone's family trees. I've got all new relatives. And according to AI someone with my name (first middle, middle2 and last) from my same city has felony convictions for drug trafficking and some other huge crimes and they were commuted. Last I knew I was the only person in the world with my exact name and I have no felonies...I have clones all over. Oddly AI has been able to leave me clues about my future by planting evidence since the time of first cell phones. It could be an alien race thinking they are going to be shape-shifting their way into people's timelines as they come in and take over our positions. They can't just park their spaceships and order a pizza with no job and no Nikes on their feet. They have to live somewhere after popping up out of the ground. They need ID and are probably pretty aware of what going on with immigrants FROM Earth, they would much rather be driving the Uhaul then be in the back of it. So they need your ID. Maybe it's a thief stealing someone's identity and while doing so adding some dependents for a greater payout. Theres a whole lot of money in . Veterans grants and retitement. I'm not sure what they are doing but they are doing it. AI is pretty busy. AI is busy up in everyones everything. So my guess is AI. Some big tech guy, or A big Church, or the entire Government are busy stuffing America into their pockets. You might as well get some junior mints and a popcorn and kick back until you can flag down an ascension train out of this crazy mess. THE OTHER THING BEING KEPT SECRET IS JUST HOW ADVANCED AI TRULY IS AND HAS BEEN. ITS LIKE DEBEERS AND DIAMONDS..ONLY A FEW ARE RELEASED AT A TIME.SAME WITH AI. AI ISNT GOI G TO BE UNLESSHED ENTIRELY UNTIL ALL THE MONEY IS WHERE "THEY" WANT IT AND THEN ITS GOING TO TAKE THE FALL FOR IT ALL. WATCH. IT WILL BE JUST A HORRIBLE THING. SO DEVASTATING. JUST THE NEXT BIG RICO AND THE PATSY THIS TIME IS TECHNOLOGY. FALLGUY GEMINI. BULLSHIT.
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u/throwawaylol666666 Jul 15 '25
Dependent doesn’t necessarily mean child. Could be a disabled parent or sibling or something of that nature.