Race: White, not yet a citizen (White)

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Arvid Renström was born on June 22, 1897 in Kristdala, Kalmar län, Sweden. In 1942 he was a fireman living in Brooklyn, New York. Earlier he had been a seaman sailing between Sweden and North American ports.

On Nov. 12, 1942 Arvid enlisted in the US army. He enlisted as a private, and on the line for race someone defined him as “White, not yet a citizen (White)”.

He was 5′ 8″, and 157 pounds.

Arvid became a US citizen a year later, on Nov. 18, 1943. At that point he was living at 566 Baltic St. in Brooklyn.

Arvid must have moved back to Sweden sometime during the 1960s, because according to the US Social Security Death Index Arvid died in Europe in August of 1970. He was not living in Sweden in 1960.

The fact that the word ‘white’ appears twice on the line for race in his enlistment record is, for lack of a better word, interesting.

Arvid was my 5th cousin twice removed.

From the South Australian Police Gazette

Posted on by LottaK Leave a comment

Published on June 16, 1886: Charles August Carlson, age 39, height about 5ft. 6 in., fair complexion, a Swede, for, on the 10th instant, at Adelaide, deserting his wife.

In other words, this man, of Swedish origin, deserted his wife on June 10, 1886, in Adelaide, South Australia.

The man could possibly be my 2nd cousin 3 times removed Carl August Carlsson, born on Aug. 13, 1849 on the island of Öland. He was a seaman, and from the mid 1870s onwards his whereabouts are unknown.

(Technically this story is outside the scope of the blog, but Carl August from Öland is missing and I think we should worry. And, for all we know he might have ended up an immigrant to the US. Several of his relatives were seamen too and several of them drowned in faraway places. I hope Carl August didn’t drown, and I hope he didn’t desert his wife.)