African American Resources for District of Columbia

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United States

African American Genealogy

District of Columbia

African American Resources

Introduction

The following resources are useful for researching African Americans in the District of Columbia.

Online Resources

Record Collections

• Discover Freedmen - this site searches all of the Freedmen's Bureau record collections on FamilySearch altogether (and redirects there)
• District of Columbia, Freedmen's Bureau Field Office Records, 1863-1872
• Freedman's Bank Records, 1865-1874
• U.S., Freedmen's Bureau Records of Field Offices, 1863-1878 ($)
• United States, Freedmen's Bureau Marriages, 1861-1872
• U.S., Freedmen’s Bureau Marriage Records, 1846-1867 ($)
• District of Columbia Court and Emancipation Records, 1820-1863 Images only
• Freedmen's Bureau Field Office Records, 1865-1872 Images only
• District of Columbia Births and Christenings, 1830-1955
• District of Columbia Marriages, 1830-1921
• District of Columbia Deaths and Burials, 1840-1964
• District of Columbia Deaths, 1874-1961
• District of Columbia Court and Emancipation Records, 1820-1863 Images only
• Washington, D.C., Slave Emancipation Records, 1851-1863 ($)
• Washington, D.C., Slave Owner Petitions, 1862-1863 ($)
• Washington D.C., Ex-Slave Pension Correspondence and Case Files, 1892-1922 ($)

Digital Archives

• Moorland-Springarn Research Center

History

• DC Emancipation Day - learn more about the history of slavery in the District of Columbia
• Avoice: the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation's Virtual Library Project.
• Sherman's Directory and Ready Reference of the Colored Population in the District of Columbia. Washington: Sherman Directory Company. [1913] 1 v. Micro 54541 L of C

Resources

Biographies

• Caldwell, A.B., editor. History of the American Negro, Washington, D. C. Edition. Volume 6. Atlanta, Georgia: A.B. Caldwell Publishing Co., 1922. Digital version at Internet Archive. Biographies of many prominent black men and women of Washington, D.C.
• Brown, Letitia Woods. Free Negroes in the District of Columbia, 1790-1846. - New York: Oxford University Press, 1972. 226 p. (The Urban Live in America Series) E185.D6 B69

Cemeteries

• Colombian Harmony Cemetery Records, District of Columbia. 1831-1899. By Paul E. Sluby, Sr. for the Harmony Society. Washington, D.C. - [Washington]: Sluby, [197-?] - 357 leaves. F193 S58 FHL Book 975.3/W1 V22s
• The Old Methodist Burying Ground, Georgetown, Washington, D.C.: a section of the Mt. Zion Cemetery as distinguished from the adjacent Female Union Band Society Burying Ground section. By Paul E. Sluby, Sr. -: [S,1.}: Sluby, 1975. - 70 p. FF193 S583 FHL Book 975 Al #7
• Woodlawn Cemetery, Washington, DC : Brief history and inscriptions / compiled by Paul E. Sluby, Sr.; edited by Stanton L. Wormley. - Washington: Columbian Harmony Society, 1984. 70 leaves F193. S585 1984 FHL Book 975.3 V38s

Emancipation Records

• District of Columbia Court and Emancipation Records, 1820-1863 Images only - records include emancipation papers, fugitive slave case papers, petitions, court minutes, and manumission papers
• Washington, D.C., Slave Emancipation Records, 1851-1863 ($)

Newspapers

• The Bee Full-text of this African American D.C. newspaper digitized and hosted online by the Library of Congress. Covers 1882-1884.

Reconstruction Records

Freedman’s Bank

An excellent source is the Freedman’s Savings and Trust Company (visit the African American Freedman's Savings and Trust Company Records page to learn more). This company was created to assist African American soldiers of the Civil War and freed slaves. Freedman’s Savings and Trust Company signature cards or registers from 3 March 1865 to 25 July 1874 may list the name of the depositor, date of entry, age, birthplace, residence, complexion, name of employer or occupation, wife or husband’s name, death information, children’s names, name of father and mother, brothers’ and sisters’ names, remarks, and signature. Early books sometimes contained the name of the former master or mistress and the name of the plantation. Copies of death certificates were sometimes attached to the entries. The collection is organized alphabetically by state, then city where the bank was located, then date the account was established, then account number.

Online collections of Freedman's Bank records:

• United States, Freedman's Bank Records, 1865-1874
• U.S., Freedman's Bank Records, 1865-1871 ($)

Freedmen's Bureau

The Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands was created by the US government in 1865 until 1872 to assist former slaves in the southern United States. The Bureau created a wide variety of records extremely valuable to genealogists. Such documents include censuses, marriage records, and medical records. These records often include full names, former masters and plantations, and current residences. For 1865 and 1866, the section on abandoned and confiscated lands includes the names of the owners of the plantations or homes that were abandoned, confiscated, or leased. It gives the county and location, a description of the house, the number of acres owned, and the number of cabins of former slaves. These films do not appear to contain the names of former slaves.

To find Freedmen's Bureau records:

• DiscoverFreedmen - the search on this site will utilize all of the Freedmen's Bureau records on FamilySearch, including:
  • United States, Freedmen's Bureau Claim Records,1865-1872
  • United States, Freedmen's Bureau Hospital and Medical Records, 1865-1872
  • United States, Freedmen's Bureau Labor Contracts, Indenture and Apprenticeship Records, 1865-1872
  • United States, Freedmen's Bureau Marriages, 1861-1872
  • United States, Freedmen's Bureau Ration Records,1865-1872
  • United States, Freedmen's Bureau Records of Persons and Articles Hired, 1865-1872
  • United States, Freedmen's Bureau, Freedmen's Court Records, 1865-1872
  • United States, Freedmen's Bureau, Land and Property Records, 1865-1872
  • United States, Freedmen's Bureau, Records of Freedmen's Complaints, 1865-1872
  • United States, Freedmen's Bureau, Records of the Superintendent of Education and of the Division of Education, 1865-1872
  • District of Columbia, Freedmen's Bureau Field Office Records, 1863-1872

Other FamilySearch collections not included:

• District of Columbia Court and Emancipation Records, 1820-1863 Images only.
• United States Freedmen's Bureau Miscellaneous Records,1865-1872
• United States Freedmen's Bureau, Records of Freedmen, 1865-1872
• United States, Freedmen's Bureau, Records of the Assistant Commissioner, 1865-1872 Images only. These reports primarily contain statistical and historical information.

Slavery Records

• District of Columbia Court and Emancipation Records, 1820-1863 Images only - records include emancipation papers, fugitive slave case papers, petitions, court minutes, and manumission papers
  • Christine's Genealogy Website - an indexed transcription of the "Manumission Papers, 1857-1863" portion of the above collection
• Washington, D.C., Slave Emancipation Records, 1851-1863 ($)
• Washington, D.C., Slave Owner Petitions, 1862-1863 ($)
• Washington D.C., Ex-Slave Pension Correspondence and Case Files, 1892-1922 ($)
• Washington D.C., Habeas Corpus Case Records, 1820-1863 ($)

Vital Records

Birth

• District of Columbia Births and Christenings, 1830-1955 - information usually includes name, gender, birth date and place, race, and parents and their birthplaces

Marriage

The Freedmen's Bureau (1865-1872) was created by the US government to assist former slaves in the southern United States. One of their responsibilities was to record the marriages (past and present) of the former slaves. These records can be found in the collections below and include the lists of marriages that occurred previously, marriage certificates, and marriage licenses. The information contained on the records may include the name of the husband and wife/groom and bride, age, occupation, residence, year or date of marriage, by whom, number of children, and remarks.

• United States, Freedmen's Bureau Marriages, 1861-1872
• U.S., Freedmen’s Bureau Marriage Records, 1846-1867

• District of Columbia Marriages, 1830-1921 Index only - information usually includes the bride and groom's name, age, race, and marital status and the marriage date and place

Death

• District of Columbia Deaths and Burials, 1840-1964 Index only - information usually includes name, death date and place, burial date and place, gender, age, birth date and place, race, marital status, spouse, and parents and their birthplaces
• District of Columbia Deaths, 1874-1961 - information usually includes name, death date and place, gender, age, race, marital status, occupation, birthplace, parents' birthplaces, and cause of death

To access available information, first log into FamilySearch.

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