WHAT WAS REID DOSS’ REAL NAME AND WHEN WAS HE REALLY BORN?: THE MYSTERY OF REID DOSS

 

Although Reid has passed away, his birthday is coming up.

Curtis remembers his Dad telling him that his name was originally Elster Reid Doss, but when he went into the Army, he changed it to Reid E. Doss so people wouldn’t make fun of him. Also, his wife and children always celebrated his birthday on August 25th.

So, I was surprised when Maye Doss gave me some old papers that included Reid’s birth certificate. I saw that it said he was born on August 26th and called him Reid E. Doss. I asked her why they always said his birthday was the 25th. She laughed and said, “I guess we just liked that day better!”

Also, Reid was counted in the federal census at age 6 and age 16. Both times, he was called Reid E. Doss. However, when he registered for the draft in 1942, he signed his name as Reid Elster Doss AND he said his birthday was the 25th. Could the person who filed the birth certificate have been confused about what day it was? It happens to all of us.

 Here are a few documents for him:

Reid's Birth Certificate


Draft card, from Ancestry.com, "U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men 1940-1947"
(front only, back has date 6-30-42)

Closeup of 1930 census showing Reid E. Doss in Chandler Township, Grady County, Oklahoma





Reid, probably a couple of years after the draft card



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