Difference between revisions of "African American Freedmen's Bureau Records"

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== '''Definition'''  ==
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{{AfrAm-sidebar}}{{breadcrumb
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| link1=[[United States]]
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| link2=[[African American Genealogy|African American Genealogy]]
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| link3=
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| link4=
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| link5=[[African American Freedmen's Bureau Records|Freedmen's Bureau Records]]
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}}
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<div id="fsButtons"><span class="online_records_button">[[African American Online Genealogy Records]]</span></div>
  
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The Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands (often called the Freedmen’s Bureau) was created at the end of the American Civil War to supervise relief efforts (rations, clothing, and medicine) and the education of newly freed African Americans, and to supervise confiscated Southern properties.  
+
The Bureau's records ([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedmen's_Bureau Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands]), kept from 1865-1872, contain a wide range of data about the African American experience during slavery and freedom. Therefore, they are a valuable source for the black family historian. Refugees include many in the local white population. The Collection is located in the National Archives in Record Group 105, Records of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, 1861-1880. National Archives Catalog [https://catalog.archives.gov/id/434 NAID 434].  
  
−
== '''Value'''  ==
 
  
−
Because the Bureau's records contain a wide range of data about the African American experience during slavery and freedom, they are a valuable source for the black family historian. Among the records are registers that give the names, ages, and former occupations of freedmen and names and residences of former owners. In addition, there are marriage registers that provide the names, addresses, ages, and complexions of husbands and wives and their children. For some states there are census lists, details of labor and apprenticeship agreements, back pay records, complaint registers, personal data about black soldiers (including company and regiment), school records, hospital registers, census records, and records of murders committed against freedmen.  
+
== Introduction ==
 +
The Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands (often called the Freedmen’s Bureau) was created by Congress on [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedmen's_Bureau_bills March 3, 1865] at the end of the American Civil War to aid the newly-freed slaves (freedmen) and refugees. It was created to supervise relief efforts, including education (4,300 schools were established), health care (100 hospitals were established), food and clothing, refugee camps, legalization of marriages, employment, labor contracts, and securing back pay, bounty payments, and pensions for soldiers and sailors. The Bureau also helped reunite families. The Bureau operations were terminated in 1872.  
  
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== '''Jurisdictions''' ==
+
'''For more information see:'''
 +
*[http://www.archives.gov/research/african-americans/freedmens-bureau/ NARA African American Records: Freedmen's Bureau]
 +
*[https://catalog.archives.gov/id/10495783 NARA Freedmen's Bureau Administrative History Note].
 +
*[https://www.archives.gov/research/african-americans/freedmens-bureau/resources.html Links to Freedmen's Bureau Resources]
 +
*[https://www.archives.gov/research/alic/periodicals/nara-citations/refugees-freedmen-bureau.html Citations to Record Group 105, Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands. Archives Library Information Center (ALIC) NARA]
  
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This bureau operated in all the former Confederate states, Maryland, the District of Columbia, West Virginia, Kentucky, Missouri, and Indian Territory (''i.e.'' Oklahoma) and has records from 1861 to the 1870s. The Freedmen’s Bureau created records at headquarters in Washington, DC, or by field agents in the various southern areas.
+
'''United States Congress'''
 +
*[https://catalog.archives.gov/id/10459184 U.S. Senate. Committee on Slavery and Freedmen. 1.13.1864-3.3.1965]
 +
*[https://catalog.archives.gov/id/10456699 U.S. House of Representatives. Select Committee on Reconstruction. 7.31.1867-3.2.1871]
 +
*[https://www.archives.gov/legislative/guide/house/chapter-14-freedmens-affairs.html Guide to House Records - Records of the Judiciary Committee and Related Committees - Committee on Freedmen Affairs]
  
−
There are two sets of records:
+
== Freedmen's Bureau Records ==
 +
''' Record Types '''
  
−
(1) commissioner’s records, and  
+
The Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands (often called the Freedmen’s Bureau) created many different record types necessary to supervise relief efforts including education, health care, food and clothing, refugee camps, legalization of marriages, employment, labor contracts, and securing back pay, bounty payments and pensions. These records include letters and endorsements sent and received, account books, applications for rations, applications for relief, court records, labor contracts, registers of bounty claimants, registers of complaints, registers of contracts, registers of disbursements, registers of freedmen issued rations, registers of patients, reports, rosters of officers and employees, special and general orders and circulars received, special orders and circulars issued, records relating to claims, court trials, property restoration, and homesteads.
  
−
(2) field office records—normally the most useful. However, the commissioner’s records contain lists and reports such as two linear feet of marriage papers. Records from the field offices vary from state to state. Since most freedmen contacted the bureau at the local level, you will find the most genealogical data and clues in field office records
+
*[[Freedmen's Bureau Record Types]]
 +
*[https://www.familysearch.org/library/books/records/item/110406-officers-manual-bureau-of-refugees-freedmen-and-abandoned-lands?offset=1 ''Officer's Manuel. Bureau of Refugees,Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands.'' Washington. 1866. Digital Images]
  
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== '''Arrangement''' ==
+
''' Value of Records '''
  
−
The [http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Library/fhlcatalog/supermainframeset.asp?display=titledetails&titleno=702586&disp=Preliminary+inventory+of+the+records+of+&columns=*,0,0 ''Preliminary Inventory of the Records of the Field Offices of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands: Record Group 105''] by Elaine Everly and Willna Pacheli of the National Archives [FHL book 973 F23ea; fiche 6002638-40] describes the bureau’s records. They are organized alphabetically by state, thereunder by offices, and thereunder by county or town. Part One is about Alabama, Arkansas (including the Oklahoma Indian Territory), the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, and Louisiana. Part Two is about Maryland and Delaware, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, and South Carolina. Part Three is about Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and the Freedmen's branch at of the Adjutant General's Office.
+
Because the Bureau's records 1865-1872 contain a wide range of data about the African American experience during slavery and freedom, they are a valuable source for African American genealogy. '''See [[Freedmen's Bureau Record Types]] for a detailed listing of records created by the Freedmen's Bureau records.''' Some Bureau records include:
 +
*Registers (listing names, ages, former occupations of freedmen, and names and residences of former owners)
 +
*Marriage registers (listing names, addresses, ages, and complexions of husbands, wives, and their children)
 +
*Census lists
 +
*Applications of rations or relief
 +
*Labor and apprenticeship contracts
 +
*Back pay records
 +
*Registers of complaints
 +
*Personal data about black soldiers (including company and regiment)
 +
*School records
 +
*Registers of patients
 +
*Medical records
 +
*Registers of bounty claimants
 +
*Court records
 +
*Claim records
 +
*Records of murders committed against freedmen
 +
*Records relating to property restoration and homesteads
  
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== '''Availability'''  ==
+
Here are some examples of records:
 +
*[http://www.archives.gov/research/african-americans/freedmens-bureau/highlights.html NARA Selected Images of Records]
 +
*[http://mappingthefreedmensbureau.com/sample-documents/ Mapping the Freedmen's Bureau Sample Documents]
  
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Most of the subordinate field office records, with the exception of selected records for New Orleans and Tennessee have '''''not''''' been microfilmed and are only available at the National Archives in Washington, DC. For a list of Freedmen’s Bureau records that '''''are''''' microfilmed see the [http://www.archives.gov/publications/microfilm-catalogs.html#black ''Black Studies: A Select Catalog of National Archives Microfilm Publications''] [FHL book 973 A3bs; fiche 6002413; and on the Internet].
+
''' Challenges in Using the Records '''
  
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The Family History Library has many of the Freedmen’s Bureau microfilmed records. The microfilm numbers for most of these records can be found in the Family History Library Catalog ''Keyword Search'' using the search phrase “Bureau of Refugees”
+
There are some challenges to using these records:
  
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== '''Freedmen's Bureau Online'''  ==
+
*Records limited in scope and time period they cover.
 +
*Not all of the records are indexed. Some record collections can only be searched image by image.
 +
*The record type and quality vary with each state and field office.
 +
*Individuals may have changed their names.
 +
*Not all records survived or are available in searchable formats.
  
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The [http://www.freedmensbureau.com/ ''Freedmen’s Bureau Online''] Internet site includes numerous online database indexes. Select among the variety of databases mostly based on locality or by topic such as marriages, labor contracts, or murders. However, this online site does '''not''' include all the available records from the Freedmen's Bureau.
+
=== Organization ===
 +
The Freedmen’s Bureau created records at the headquarters in Washington, DC, state offices, and field agents. '''Field office records (local) usually contain more genealogical data.'''
  
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=== Content  ===
+
''' Washington Headquarters'''
 +
*[[Freedmen's Bureau, Washington Headquarters, Records of the Commissioner, Inventory]]
 +
''' Commissioner (Oliver O. Howard)'''
 +
*Offices and Divisions'''
 +
*Division of Records (Official acts of the Commissioner)- Assistant Adjutant General 
 +
*Finance Division- Chief Disbursing Officer:Lt. Col. George W. Bulloch;Major J.M. Brown
 +
*Land Division- Assistant Adjutant General William Fowler
 +
*Medical Division- Chief Medical Officer Caleb W. Honer;L.A. Edwards; Robert Reyburn
 +
*Claims Division- Assistant Adjutant General William Fowler; William P. Drew
 +
*Education Division- Rev. J.W. Alvord
 +
*Chief Quartermaster- Capt. Joseph M. Brown;Brevet Brigadier General Henry Whittlesey
 +
 
 +
*''' State and Local '''
 +
*'''Assistant Commissioner'''
 +
*Correspondence
 +
*Issuances
 +
*Reports
 +
*Other Records
 +
 
 +
*'''Superintendent of Education'''
 +
*Correspondence
 +
*Issuances
 +
*Reports
 +
*Other Records
 +
 
 +
*'''Offices of Staff Offices'''
 +
*'''Subordinate (Local) Field Offices'''
 +
 
 +
=== National Archives Preliminary Inventory  ===
 +
 
 +
The {{FHL|702586|title-id|disp=''Preliminary Inventory of the Records of the Field Offices of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands: Record Group 105''}} by Elaine Everly and Willna Pacheli of the National Archives describes the Bureau’s records. The volumes are arranged alphabetically by state. The records of the states are arranged in the following order: "Office of the Assistant Commissioner" then by "Offices of Staff Officers including the "Superintendent of Education" and by "Subordinate Field Offices."
 +
 
 +
*[https://www.familysearch.org/library/books/records/item/294566-preliminary-inventory-of-the-records-of-the-field-offices-of-the-bureau-of-refugees-freedmen-and-abandoned-lands-record-group-105-pt-01?offset=3 Pt 1 Alabama-Louisiana]
 +
*[https://www.familysearch.org/library/books/records/item/321539-preliminary-inventory-of-the-records-of-the-field-offices-of-the-bureau-of-refugees-freedmen-and-abandoned-lands-record-group-105-pt-02?offset=2 Pt 2 Maryland-South Carolina]
 +
*[https://www.familysearch.org/library/books/records/item/263792-preliminary-inventory-of-the-records-of-the-field-offices-of-the-bureau-of-refugees-freedmen-and-abandoned-lands-record-group-105-pt-03?offset=1 Pt 3 Tennessee-Virginia and Freedmen's Branch]
 +
 
 +
'''National  Archives Catalog'''
 +
*[https://catalog.archives.gov/id/434 Records of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen and Abandoned Lands, RG 105 NAID 434]
 +
 
 +
==== Mapping the Freedmen's Bureau ====
 +
 
 +
[http://mappingthefreedmensbureau.com Mapping the Freedman's Bureau] is a website helping researchers place their ancestors in the historical landscape.
 +
 
 +
Mapping includes:
 +
*Where Freedman's Bureau offices were located
 +
*Branch of the Freedman's Saving Bank
 +
*Freedmen's Bureau Hospitals
 +
*Freedmen's Schools
 +
*Contraband Camps
 +
*[http://mappingthefreedmensbureau.com/usct-battle-sites/ Battle sites] where men who were in the US colored Troops fought
 +
 
 +
==== Mapping Occupation ====
 +
*'''[http://mappingoccupation.org/ Force, Freedom, and the Army in Reconstruction - University of Georgia]'''
 +
 
 +
== Indexing and Transcription Projects ==
 +
 
 +
=== Discover Freedmen - FamilySearch ===
 +
 
 +
On [http://www.discoverfreedmen.org/ Discoverfreedmen.org] all of the Freedmen's Bureau collections on FamilySearch can be searched with one click.
 +
*[https://www.archives.gov/about/speeches/2017/freedmens-bureau-celebration NARA Notes for freedmen's Bureau Project Celebration]
 +
 
 +
=== National Museum of African American History & Culture ===
 +
 
 +
*[https://nmaahc.si.edu/explore/initiatives/freedmens-bureau-records Freedmen's Bureau Transcription Project.]
 +
*[https://nmaahc.si.edu/object/sova_nmaahc.fb Freedmen's Bureau Digital Collection]
 +
 
 +
== Accessing the Records ==
 +
 
 +
=== Collections on FamilySearch ===
 +
Most of the Freedmen's Bureau records have been digitized and/or indexed on FamilySearch with the exception of some records from the [https://www.familysearch.org/library/books/records/item/320994-preliminary-inventory-of-the-records-of-the-bureau-of-refugees-freedmen-and-abandoned-lands-washington-headquarters-record-group-105?offset=1 Washington Headquarters.]
 +
<br><br>
 +
'''Index and Image Collections:'''
 +
*'''1865 - 1872''' - {{RecordSearch|2721171|United States Freedmen's Bureau, Records of Freedmen, 1865-1872}}
 +
*'''1865 - 1872''' - {{RecordSearch|2432941|United States, Freedmen's Bureau Claim Records,1865-1872}}
 +
*'''1865 - 1872''' - {{RecordSearch|2475025|United States Freedmen's Bureau Labor Contracts Indenture and Apprenticeship Records 1865-1872}}
 +
*'''1865 - 1872''' - {{RecordSearch|2492627|United States, Freedmen's Bureau, Records of Freedmen's Complaints, 1865-1872}}
 +
*'''1865 - 1872''' - {{RecordSearch|2515865|United States, Freedmen's Bureau, Freedmen's Court Records, 1865-1872}}
 +
*'''1865 - 1872''' - {{RecordSearch|2427894|United States, Freedmen's Bureau, Records of the Superintendent of Education and of the Division of Education, 1865-1872}}
 +
*'''1861 - 1872''' - {{RecordSearch|1414908|United States, Freedmen's Bureau Marriages, 1861-1872}}
 +
*'''1865 - 1872''' - {{RecordSearch|2432992|United States, Freedmen's Bureau Hospital and Medical Records, 1865-1872}} - index and images
 +
*'''1865 - 1872''' - {{RecordSearch|2515868|United States, Freedmen's Bureau Records of Persons and Articles Hired, 1865-1872}}
 +
*'''1865 - 1872''' - {{RecordSearch|2431759|United States, Freedmen's Bureau Ration Records,1865-1872}} index and images
 +
 
 +
 
 +
*'''1863 - 1872''' - {{RecordSearch|2333782|District of Columbia, Freedmen's Bureau Field Office Records, 1863-1872}}
 +
*'''1865 - 1872''' - {{RecordSearch|1596147|Virginia, Freedmen's Bureau Field Office Records, 1865-1872}}
 +
*'''1862 - 1870''' - {{RecordSearch|1803698|North Carolina, Freedmen's Bureau Assistant Commissioner Records, 1862-1870}}
 +
*'''1865 - 1874''' - {{RecordSearch|1417695|United States, Freedman's Bank Records, 1865-1874}}
 +
 
 +
'''Coverage Tables to Indexed Collections:'''
 +
*[https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/Category:NARA_Freedmen%27s_Bureau_Records_-_Coverage_Tables NARA Freedmen's Bureau Records - Coverage Tables]
 +
 
 +
 
 +
'''Image Browse Collections:'''
 +
 
 +
''' Commissioner'''
 +
*'''1865-1872''' - {{RecordSearch|2431126|United States, Freedmen's Bureau, Records of the Commissioner, 1865-1872}}
 +
'''Assistant Commissioner'''
 +
*'''1865-1872''' - {{RecordSearch|2427901|United States, Freedmen's Bureau, Records of the Assistant Commissioner, 1865-1872}}
 +
'''Superintendent of Education and Division of Education'''
 +
*'''1865-1872''' - [https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/2427894? United States, Freedmen's Bureau, Records of the Superintendent of Education and of the Division of Education, 1865-1872]
 +
 
 +
'''Field Offices'''
 +
*'''1865-1872''' - {{RecordSearch|2333770|Alabama, Freedmen's Bureau Field Office Records, 1865-1872}}
 +
*'''1864-1872''' - {{RecordSearch|2328125|Arkansas, Freedmen's Bureau Field Office Records, 1864-1872}}
 +
*'''1865-1872''' - {{RecordSearch|2331267|Georgia, Freedmen's Bureau Field Office Records, 1865-1872}}
 +
*'''1865-1872''' - {{RecordSearch|2333771|Kentucky, Freedmen's Bureau Field Office Records, 1865-1872}}
 +
*'''1865-1872''' - {{RecordSearch|2333781|Louisiana, Freedmen's Bureau Field Office Records, 1865-1872}}   
 +
*'''1865-1872''' - {{RecordSearch|1989156|Maryland and Delaware, Freedmen's Bureau Field Office Records, 1865-1872}}
 +
*'''1863-1866''' - {{RecordSearch|2442776|Mississippi, Freedmen's Department (Pre-Bureau Records}}
 +
*'''1865-1872''' - {{RecordSearch|2333768|Mississippi, Freedmen's Bureau Field Office Records, 1865-1872}}
 +
*'''1865-1872''' - {{RecordSearch|2333775|Missouri, Freedmen's Bureau Field Office Records, 1865-1872}}
 +
*'''1863-1872''' - {{RecordSearch|2143119|North Carolina, Freedmen's Bureau Field Office Records, 1863-1872}}
 +
*'''1865-1872''' - {{RecordSearch|2127881|South Carolina, Freedmen's Bureau Field Office Records, 1865-1872}}
 +
*'''1865-1872''' - {{RecordSearch|2333777|Tennessee, Freedmen's Bureau Field Office Records, 1865-1872}}
 +
*'''1865-1870''' - {{RecordSearch|1989155|Texas, Freedmen's Bureau Field Office Records, 1865-1870}}
 +
'''Freedman's Branch'''
 +
*'''1872-1878''' - {{RecordSearch|2333780|United States, Freedmen's Branch Records, 1872-1878}}
 +
 
 +
'''Collection Inventories to Browse Collections:'''
 +
*[https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/Category:NARA_Freedmen%27s_Bureau_Records_-_Inventories NARA Freedmen's Bureau Records - Inventories]
 +
 
 +
'''Field Office Bureau Personnel Coverage Tables:'''
 +
*[https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/Freedmen%27s_Bureau_Alabama_Field_Office_Personnel_Coverage_Table Alabama]
 +
*[https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/Freedmen%E2%80%99s_Bureau_Arkansas_Field_Office_Personnel_Coverage_Table Arkansas]
 +
*[https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/Freedman%E2%80%99s_Bureau_Florida_Field_Office_Personnel_Coverage_Table Florida]
 +
*[https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/Freedmen%27s_Bureau_Georgia_Field_Office_Personnel_Coverage_Table Georgia]
 +
*[https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/Freedmen%27s_Bureau_Kentucky_Field_Office_Personnel_Coverage_Table Kentucky]
 +
*[https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/Freedmen%27s_Bureau_Louisiana_Field_Office_Personnel_Coverage_Table Louisiana]
 +
*[https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/Freedmen%E2%80%99s_Bureau_Mississippi_Field_Office_Personnel_Coverage_Table Mississippi]
 +
*[https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/Freedmen%27s_Bureau_North_Carolina_Field_Office_Coverage_Table North Carolina]
 +
*[https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/Freedmen%E2%80%99s_Bureau_South_Carolina_Field_Office_Personnel_Coverage_Table South Carolina]
 +
*[https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/Freedmen%E2%80%99s_Bureau_Tennessee_Field_Office_Personnel_Coverage_Table Tennessee]
 +
*[https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/Freedmen%E2%80%99s_Bureau_Texas_Field_Office_Personnel_Coverage_Table Texas]
 +
*[https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/Freedmen%E2%80%99s_Bureau_Virginia_Field_Office_Personnel_Coverage_Table Virginia]
 +
 
 +
{| width="100%" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="1" border="1" align="center"
 +
|+ '''Records of Bureau of Refugees, Freedman and Abandoned Lands and Freedman's Saving and Trust Company Available at the Family History Library'''
 +
|-
 +
| '''State'''
 +
| '''Record Type'''
 +
| '''Record Group'''
 +
| '''NARA'''
 +
| '''FamilySearch Catalog'''
 +
'''First Film or Fiche #'''
 +
 
 +
| '''Number of Films''' '''/Fiche'''
 +
| '''Additional Reading'''
 +
| <br>
 +
|-
 +
| '''National'''
 +
| Preliminary Inventory of Records of the Filed Offices Pt. 1 Alabama-Louisiana, Pt. 2 Maryland-South Carolina, and Pt. 3 Tennessee-Virginia
 +
| 105
 +
| -
 +
| {{FHL|702586|item|disp=FHL fiche 6002638}}
 +
| 3 fiche
 +
| - Inventory: [https://www.familysearch.org/library/books/records/item/294566-preliminary-inventory-of-the-records-of-the-field-offices-of-the-bureau-of-refugees-freedmen-and-abandoned-lands-record-group-105-pt-01?offset=1 Pt 1 Alabama-Louisiana][https://www.familysearch.org/library/books/records/?navigation=&perpage=&page=1&sort=_score&search=702586_pt02&fulltext=1&bookmarks=0#title Pt 2 Maryland-South Carolina,Maryland-South Carolina][https://www.familysearch.org/library/books/records/?navigation=&perpage=&page=1&sort=_score&search=+702586_pt03&fulltext=1&bookmarks=0#title Pt 3 Tennessee-Virginia]
 +
| <br>
 +
|-
 +
| <br>
 +
| Select Series of Records issued by the Commissioner, 1865-1872
 +
| 105
 +
| M742
 +
| {{FHL|179302|item|disp=FHL film 491550}}
 +
| 7 rolls
 +
| - Descriptive Pamphlet: [http://www.archives.gov/research/microfilm/m742.pdf M742]
 +
| <br>
 +
|-
 +
| <br>
 +
| Register and Letters Received by the Commissioner, 1865-1872
 +
| 105
 +
| M752
 +
| {{FHL|179389|item|disp=FHL film 908680}}
 +
| 74 rolls
 +
| - Descriptive Pamphlet: [http://www.archives.gov/research/microfilm/m752.pdf M752]
 +
| <br>
 +
|-
 +
| <br>
 +
| Records of Education Division, 1865-1871
 +
| 105
 +
| M803
 +
| {{FHL|479063|item|disp=FHL film 1695186}}
 +
| 35 rolls
 +
| - Descriptive Pamphlet: [http://www.archives.gov/research/microfilm/m803.pdf M803]
 +
| <br>
 +
|-
 +
| <br>
 +
| U.S. Court of Claims Docket Cards for Congressional Case Files, ca. 1884-1943
 +
| 123
 +
| M2007
 +
| unavailable
 +
| 5 rolls
 +
| -
 +
| <br>
 +
|-
 +
| <br>
 +
| Marriage Records of Office of Commissioner, Washington Headquarters, 1861-1869
 +
| 105
 +
| M1875
 +
| {{FHL|1453886|item|disp=FHL film 2425252}}
 +
| 5 rolls
 +
| - Descriptive Pamphlet:[http://www.archives.gov/research/microfilm/m1875.pdf M1875]
 +
| <br>
 +
|-
 +
| <br>
 +
| Register of Signatures of Depositors in the Branches of the Freedman's Saving & Trust Company, 1865-1874
 +
| 101
 +
| M816
 +
| FHL film 928571
 +
| 27 rolls
 +
| -
 +
| <br>
 +
|-
 +
| <br>
 +
| Records of the Commissioner of Claims (Southern Claims Commission) 1871-1880
 +
| 56
 +
| M87
 +
| FHL film 1463975-1463976
 +
| 14 rolls
 +
| -
 +
| <br>
 +
|-
 +
| <br>
 +
| <br>
 +
| <br>
 +
| <br>
 +
| <br>
 +
| <br>
 +
|
 +
| <br>
 +
|-
 +
| '''Alabama'''
 +
| [https://catalog.archives.gov/id/10452470 Records of Assistant Commissioner, 1850-1870]
 +
| 105
 +
| M809
 +
| {{FHL|362692|item|disp=FHL film 1612338}}
 +
| 23 rolls
 +
|
 +
- Descriptive Pamphlet: [http://www.archives.gov/research/microfilm/m809.pdf M809]
 +
 
 +
| <br>
 +
|-
 +
| <br>
 +
|
 +
Records of Superintendent of Education, 1865-1870
 +
 
 +
| 105
 +
| M810
 +
| {{FHL|479257|item|disp=FHL film 1695841}}
 +
| 8 rolls
 +
| - Descriptive Pamphlet: {{FHL|1392268|item|disp=FHL book: 973 J53m no. 810}}
 +
| <br>
 +
|-
 +
| <br>
 +
| Records of Field Office, 1865-1872
 +
| 105
 +
| M1900
 +
| {{FHL|1193947|item|disp=FHL film 2424719}}
 +
| 34 rolls
 +
| - Descriptive Pamphlet: [http://www.archives.gov/research/microfilm/m1900.pdf M1900] 
 +
| <br>
 +
|-
 +
| <br>
 +
| <br>
 +
| <br>
 +
| <br>
 +
| <br>
 +
| <br>
 +
| -
 +
| <br>
 +
|-
 +
| '''Arkansas'''
 +
| [https://catalog.archives.gov/id/10470645 Records of Assistant Commissioner, 1865-1869]
 +
| 105
 +
| M979
 +
| {{FHL|421497|item|disp=FHL film 1498698}}
 +
| 52 rolls
 +
| - Descriptive Pamphlet: [http://www.archives.gov/research/microfilm/m979.pdf M979]
 +
| <br>
 +
|-
 +
| <br>
 +
| Records of Superintendent of Education, 1865-1871
 +
| 105
 +
| M980
 +
| {{FHL|479251|item|disp=FHL film 1695811}}
 +
| 5 rolls
 +
| - Descriptive Pamphlet: [http://www.archives.gov/research/microfilm/m980.pdf M980]
 +
| <br>
 +
|-
 +
| <br>
 +
| Records of Field Office,1865-1872
 +
| 105
 +
| M1901
 +
|
 +
| 23 rolls
 +
| - Descriptive Pamphlet: [http://www.archives.gov/research/microfilm/m1901.pdf M1901] 
 +
| <br>
 +
|-
 +
| <br>
 +
| <br>
 +
| <br>
 +
| <br>
 +
| <br>
 +
| <br>
 +
| -
 +
| <br>
 +
|-
 +
| '''Delaware'''
 +
| Records of Field Office, 1865-1872
 +
| 105
 +
| M1906
 +
| {{FHL|1193866|item|disp=FHL film 2424887}}
 +
| 42 rolls
 +
| - Descriptive Pamphlet: [http://www.archives.gov/research/microfilm/m1906.pdf M1906]
 +
| <br>
 +
|-
 +
| <br>
 +
| <br>
 +
| <br>
 +
| <br>
 +
| <br>
 +
| <br>
 +
| -
 +
| <br>
 +
|-
 +
| '''District of Columbia'''
 +
| [https://catalog.archives.gov/id/10456484  Records of Assistant Commissioner, 1865-1869]
 +
| 105
 +
| M1055
 +
| {{FHL|362659|item|disp=FHL film 1605536}}
 +
| 21 rolls
 +
| - Descriptive Pamphlet: [http://www.archives.gov/research/microfilm/m1055.pdf M1055]
 +
| <br>
 +
|-
 +
| <br>
 +
| Records of Superintendent of Education, 1865-1872
 +
| 105
 +
| M1056
 +
| {{FHL|403504|item|disp=FHL film 1617650}}
 +
| 24 rolls
 +
| - Descriptive Pamphlet:[http://www.archives.gov/research/microfilm/m1056.pdf M1056]
 +
| <br>
 +
|-
 +
| <br>
 +
| Records of Field Office,1863-1872
 +
| 105
 +
| M1902
 +
| {{FHL|1193902|item|disp=FHL film 2424776}}
 +
| 21 rolls
 +
| - Descriptive Pamphlet: [http://www.archives.gov/research/microfilm/m1902.pdf M1902]
 +
| <br>
 +
|-
 +
| <br>
 +
| <br>
 +
| <br>
 +
| <br>
 +
| <br>
 +
| <br>
 +
| -
 +
| <br>
 +
|-
 +
| '''Florida'''
 +
| [https://catalog.archives.gov/id/10457678 Records of Assistant Commissioner, 1865-1872]
 +
| 105
 +
| M1869
 +
| {{FHL|1193928|item|disp=FHL film 2425908}}
 +
| 15 rolls
 +
| - Descriptive Pamphlet: [http://www.archives.gov/research/microfilm/m1869.pdf M1869]
 +
| <br>
 +
|-
 +
| <br>
 +
| <br>
 +
| <br>
 +
| <br>
 +
| <br>
 +
| <br>
 +
| -
 +
| <br>
 +
|-
 +
| '''Georgia'''
 +
| [https://catalog.archives.gov/id/10474454 Records of Assistant Commissioner, 1865-1869]
 +
| 105
 +
| M798
 +
| {{FHL|362862|item|disp=FHL film 1498626}}
 +
| 36 rolls
 +
| - Descriptive Pamphlet: [http://www.archives.gov/research/microfilm/m798.pdf M798]
 +
| <br>
 +
|-
 +
| <br>
 +
| Records of Superintendent of Education, 1865-1870
 +
| 195
 +
| M799
 +
| {{FHL|478997|item|disp=FHL film 1685269}}
 +
| 28 rolls
 +
| - Descriptive Pamphlet:[http://www.archives.gov/research/microfilm/m799.pdf M799]
 +
| <br>
 +
|-
 +
| <br>
 +
| Records of Field Office, 1865-1872
 +
| 105
 +
| M1903
 +
| {{FHL|1204497|item|disp=FHL film 1574209}}
 +
| 90 rolls
 +
| -
 +
| <br>
 +
|-
 +
| <br>
 +
| <br>
 +
| <br>
 +
| <br>
 +
| <br>
 +
| <br>
 +
| -
 +
| <br>
 +
|-
 +
| '''Kentucky'''
 +
| Records of Field Office. 1865-1872
 +
| 105
 +
| M1904
 +
| {{FHL|1193863|item|disp=FHL film 2425923}}
 +
| 133 rolls
 +
| - Descriptive Pamphlet:[http://www.archives.gov/research/microfilm/m1904.pdf M1904]
 +
| <br>
 +
|-
 +
| <br>
 +
| <br>
 +
| <br>
 +
| <br>
 +
| <br>
 +
| <br>
 +
| -
 +
| <br>
 +
|-
 +
| '''Louisiana'''
 +
| Records of Superintendent of Education, 1865-1869
 +
| 105
 +
| M1026
 +
| {{FHL|479426|item|disp=FHL film 1695273}}
 +
| 12 rolls
 +
| - Descriptive Pamphlet: [http://www.archives.gov/research/microfilm/m1026.pdf M1026]
 +
| <br>
 +
|-
 +
| <br>
 +
|
 +
[https://catalog.archives.gov/id/10452304 Records of Assistant Commissioner, 1865-1869]
 +
 
 +
| 105
 +
|
 +
M1027
 +
 
 +
| {{FHL|362873|item|disp=FHL film 1498662}}
 +
| 36 rolls
 +
| - Descriptive Pamphlet: [http://www.archives.gov/research/microfilm/m1027.pdf M1027]
 +
| <br>
 +
|-
 +
| <br>
 +
| Records of Field Office, 1863-1873
 +
| 105
 +
| M1905
 +
| {{FHL|1193864|item|disp=FHL film 2426056}}
 +
| 111 rolls
 +
| - Descriptive Pamphlet: [http://www.archives.gov/research/microfilm/m1905.pdf M1905]
 +
| <br>
 +
|-
 +
| '''New Orleans, Louisiana'''
 +
| Records of Field Office, 1865-1869
 +
| 105
 +
| M1483
 +
| {{FHL|589118|item|disp=FHL film 1604921}}
 +
| 10 rolls
 +
| - Descriptive Pamphlet: [http://www.archives.gov/research/microfilm/m1483.pdf M1483]
 +
| <br>
 +
|-
 +
| <br>
 +
| <br>
 +
| <br>
 +
| <br>
 +
| <br>
 +
| <br>
 +
| -
 +
| <br>
 +
|-
 +
| '''Maryland'''
 +
| Records of Field Office, 1865-1872
 +
| 105
 +
| M1906
 +
| {{FHL|1193866|item|disp=FHL film 2424887}}
 +
| 42 rolls
 +
| - Descriptive Pamphlet: [http://www.archives.gov/research/microfilm/m1906.pdf M1906]
 +
| <br>
 +
|-
 +
| <br>
 +
| <br>
 +
| <br>
 +
| <br>
 +
| <br>
 +
| <br>
 +
| --
 +
| <br>
 +
|-
 +
| '''Mississippi'''
 +
|
 +
[https://catalog.archives.gov/id/10472437 Records of Assistant Commissioner, 1863-1869]
 +
 
 +
| 105
 +
| M826
 +
| {{FHL|250500|item|disp=FHL film 1616440}}
 +
| 50 rolls
 +
| - Descriptive Pamphlet: [http://www.archives.gov/research/microfilm/m826.pdf M826]
 +
| <br>
 +
|-
 +
| <br>
 +
| Records of Field Office, 1865-1872
 +
| 105
 +
| M1907
 +
| {{FHL|1460883|item|disp=FHL film 2428148}}
 +
| 65 rolls
 +
| - Descriptive Pamphlet: [http://www.archives.gov/research/microfilm/m1907.pdf M1907] 
 +
| <br>
 +
|-
 +
| <br>
 +
|
 +
Records of Assistant Commissioner, 1863-1865("Pre Bureau Records")
 +
 
 +
| 105
 +
| M1914
 +
| {{FHL|1193872|item|disp=FHL film 2424701}}
 +
| 5 rolls
 +
| -
 +
| <br>
 +
|-
 +
| <br>
 +
| <br>
 +
| <br>
 +
| <br>
 +
| <br>
 +
| <br>
 +
| -
 +
| <br>
 +
|-
 +
| '''Missouri'''
 +
| Records of Field Office, 1865-1872
 +
| 105
 +
| M1908
 +
| {{FHL|1461239|item|disp=FHL film 2426982}}
 +
| 24 rolls
 +
| - Descriptive Pamphlet: [http://www.archives.gov/research/microfilm/m1908.pdf M1908]
 +
| <br>
 +
|-
 +
| <br>
 +
| <br>
 +
| <br>
 +
| <br>
 +
| <br>
 +
| <br>
 +
| -
 +
| <br>
 +
|-
 +
| '''North Carolina'''
 +
| [https://catalog.archives.gov/id/10452305 Records of Assistant Commissioner, 1862-1879]
 +
| 105
 +
| M843
 +
| {{FHL|362778|item|disp=FHL film 1616841}}
 +
| 38 rolls
 +
| - Descriptive Pamphlet: [http://www.archives.gov/research/microfilm/m843.pdf M843]
 +
| <br>
 +
|-
 +
| <br>
 +
| Records of Superintendent of Education, 1864-1869
 +
| 105
 +
| M844
 +
| {{FHL|479286|item|disp=FHL film 1695567}}
 +
| 16 rolls
 +
| - Descriptive Pamphlet: [http://www.archives.gov/research/microfilm/m844.pdf M844]
 +
| <br>
 +
|-
 +
| <br>
 +
| Records of Field Office, 1865-1872
 +
| 105
 +
| M1909
 +
| {{FHL|1462504|item|disp=FHL film 2427006}}
 +
| 78 rolls
 +
| - Descriptive Pamphlet: [http://www.archives.gov/research/microfilm/m1909.pdf M1909] 
 +
| <br>
 +
|-
 +
| <br>
 +
| <br>
 +
| <br>
 +
| <br>
 +
| <br>
 +
| <br>
 +
| -
 +
| <br>
 +
|-
 +
| '''South Carolina'''
 +
| [https://catalog.archives.gov/id/10471937 Records of Assistant Commissioner, 1865-1870]
 +
| 105
 +
| M869
 +
| {{FHL|588833|item|disp=FHL film 1579188}}
 +
| 44 rolls
 +
|
 +
Martin Abbott, ''The Freedman's Bureau in South Carolina, 1865-72.'' (Chapel Hill: university of North Carolina Press, 1967)
 +
 
 +
- Descriptive Pamphlet:[http://www.archives.gov/research/microfilm/m869.pdf M869]
 +
| <br>
 +
|-
 +
| <br>
 +
| Records of Assistant Commissioner, 1865-1869
 +
| 105
 +
| T999
 +
| {{FHL|362879|item|disp=FHL film 1616490}}
 +
| 34 rolls
 +
| -
 +
| <br>
 +
|-
 +
| <br>
 +
| Records of Field Office, 1865-1872
 +
| 105
 +
| M1910
 +
| {{FHL|1462514|item|disp=FHL 2427084}}
 +
| 106 rolls
 +
| - Descriptive Pamphlet:[http://www.archives.gov/research/microfilm/m1910.pdf M1910] 
 +
| <br>
 +
|-
 +
| <br>
 +
| <br>
 +
| <br>
 +
| <br>
 +
| <br>
 +
| <br>
 +
| -
 +
| <br>
 +
|-
 +
| '''Tennessee'''
 +
| Records of Superintendent of Education, 1865-1870
 +
| 105
 +
| M1000
 +
| {{FHL|479341|item|disp=FHL film 1685219}}
 +
| 9 rolls
 +
| - Descriptive Pamphlet: [http://www.archives.gov/research/microfilm/m1000.pdf M1000]
 +
| <br>
 +
|-
 +
| <br>
 +
| Records of Field Office,1865-1872
 +
| 105
 +
| M1911
 +
| {{FHL|1462517|item|disp=FHL film 2427190}}
 +
| 89 rolls
 +
| - Descriptive Pamphlet:[http://www.archives.gov/research/microfilm/m1911.pdf M1911]
 +
| <br>
 +
|-
 +
| <br>
 +
| Selected Records of Field Office, 1865-1872
 +
| 105
 +
| T142
 +
| {{FHL|362885|item|disp=FHL film 1616879}}
 +
| 73 rolls
 +
| - Descriptive Pamphlet:
 +
| <br>
 +
|-
 +
| <br>
 +
|
 +
Records of Assistant Commissioner, 1865-1869
 +
 
 +
| 105
 +
| M999
 +
| {{FHL|362879|item|disp=FHL film 1616490}}
 +
| 34 rolls
 +
| - Descriptive Pamphlet: [http://www.archives.gov/research/microfilm/m999.pdf M999]
 +
| <br>
 +
|-
 +
| <br>
 +
| <br>
 +
| <br>
 +
| <br>
 +
| <br>
 +
| <br>
 +
| -
 +
| <br>
 +
|-
 +
| '''Texas'''
 +
| [https://catalog.archives.gov/id/10473639  Records of Assistant Commissioner, 1865-1869]
 +
| 105
 +
| M821
 +
| {{FHL|362869|item|disp=FHL film 1503542}}
 +
| 32 rolls
 +
|
 +
Barry A. Crouch, Hidden Sources of Black History: The Texas Freedmen's Bureau Records as a Case Study. ''Southwestern Historical Quarterly'' 83 (1980): 211-26.
 +
 
 +
-Descriptive Pamphlet:[http://www.archives.gov/research/microfilm/m821.pdf M821]
 +
 
 +
| <br>
 +
|-
 +
| <br>
 +
| Records Superintendent of Education, 1865-1870
 +
| 105
 +
| M822
 +
| {{FHL|479273|item|disp=FHL film 169516}}
 +
| 18 rolls
 +
| - Descriptive Pamphlet:[http://www.archives.gov/research/microfilm/m822.pdf M822]
 +
| <br>
 +
|-
 +
| <br>
 +
| Records of Field Office, 1865-1872
 +
| 105
 +
| M1912
 +
| {{FHL|1465612|item|disp=FHL film 2427279}}
 +
| 28 rolls
 +
| - Descriptive Pamphlet:[http://www.archives.gov/research/microfilm/m1912.pdf M1912] 
 +
| <br>
 +
|-
 +
| <br>
 +
| <br>
 +
| <br>
 +
| <br>
 +
| <br>
 +
| <br>
 +
| -
 +
| <br>
 +
|-
 +
| '''Virginia'''
 +
| [https://catalog.archives.gov/id/10469399 Records of Assistant Commissioner, 1865-1869]
 +
| 105
 +
| M1048
 +
| {{FHL|588804|item|disp=FHL film 1601562}}
 +
| 67 rolls
 +
| - Descriptive Pamphlet:[http://www.archives.gov/research/microfilm/m1048.pdf M1048]
 +
| <br>
 +
|-
 +
| <br>
 +
| Records of Sup. of Education, 1865-1870
 +
| 105
 +
| M1053
 +
| {{FHL|589352|item|disp=FHL film 1549578}}
 +
| 20 rolls
 +
| - Descriptive Pamphlet: [http://www.archives.gov/research/microfilm/m1053.pdf M1053]
 +
| <br>
 +
|-
 +
| <br>
 +
| Records of Field Office, 1865-1872
 +
| 105
 +
| M1913
 +
| {{FHL|1368338|item|disp=FHL film 2413534}}
 +
| 203 rolls
 +
| - Descriptive Pamphlet [http://www.archives.gov/research/microfilm/m1913.pdf M1913]
 +
| <br>
 +
|}
 +
 
 +
''' Government Reports of Bureau Operations'''
 +
*[https://archive.org/stream/annualreportofas00howa#page/n1/mode/2up Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen and Abandoned Lands. Annual Report of the Assistant Commissioner. For the District of Columbia and West Virginia. For the Year Ending October 22, 1867. (Washington, 1867)]
 +
*[https://archive.org/details/fifthsemiannualr00alvo John Watson Alvord. 1807-1880; United States. Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands Fifth semi-annual report on schools for freedmen: January 1, 1868. Washington: Government Printing Office,1868].
 +
*[https://archive.org/details/ninthsemiannualr00alvo  John Watson Alvord 1807-1880. United States. Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands Ninth semi-annual report on schools for freedmen: January 1, 1870.Washington: Government Printing Office, 1870.] 
 +
*[https://archive.org/stream/lettersfromsouth00alvo#page/n1/mode/2up J. W. Alvord. Letters from the South, Relating to the Condition of Freedmen Addressed to Major General O.O. Howard. Washington, D.C.: Howard University Press, 1870.]
 +
 
 +
=== Freedmen's Bureau Online  ===
 +
 
 +
The [http://www.freedmensbureau.com/ ''Freedmen’s Bureau Online''] website includes numerous online database indexes. Select among the variety of databases mostly based on locality or by topic such as marriages, labor contracts, or murders. However, this online site does '''''not''''' include all the available records from the Freedmen's Bureau.
 +
 
 +
==== Content  ====
  
 
*[http://www.freedmensbureau.com/outrages.htm '''Records Relating to Murders''']  
 
*[http://www.freedmensbureau.com/outrages.htm '''Records Relating to Murders''']  
 
*[http://www.freedmensbureau.com/labor.htm '''Records Relating to Freedmen's Labor''']  
 
*[http://www.freedmensbureau.com/labor.htm '''Records Relating to Freedmen's Labor''']  
 
*Marriage Records: Most of these records are divided up by the state, then by the area, and then by the marriage date, month, or year of marriage. (These records can be found on the homepage under the contents heading at the left of the screen.)  
 
*Marriage Records: Most of these records are divided up by the state, then by the area, and then by the marriage date, month, or year of marriage. (These records can be found on the homepage under the contents heading at the left of the screen.)  
−
*To find state-specific collections, go to the homepage and there is a list of states under the contents heading at the middle left of the screen. (Examples of some of these collections are: Alabama: Petition of Colored Citizens from Mobile, Alabama; Mississippi: Registers of Indentures of Colored Orphans, Aug. 1865 - May 1866; Tennessee: Index to Freedman's&nbsp; Labor Contracts between Tennessee Freedmen and employers in Kentucky.)
+
*To find state-specific collections, go to the homepage and there is a list of states under the contents heading at the middle left of the screen. (Examples of some of these collections are: Alabama: Petition of Colored Citizens from Mobile, Alabama; Mississippi: Registers of Indentures of Colored Orphans, Aug. 1865 - May 1866; Tennessee: Index to Freedman's Labor Contracts between Tennessee Freedmen and employers in Kentucky.)
 +
 
 +
*This site lists many other search sites for African American histories and genealogy websites.
 +
*Their on-line bookstore carries many useful books of interest.
  
−
=== Using this site ===
+
==== Using the site ====
  
 
Type a surname or name or term in question in the search site box. (Examples: Jones, Smith, etc. for surname searches OR land, marriages, etc. for keyword searches)  
 
Type a surname or name or term in question in the search site box. (Examples: Jones, Smith, etc. for surname searches OR land, marriages, etc. for keyword searches)  
Line 45: Line 845:
 
#Click on desired match.
 
#Click on desired match.
  
−
=== Tips ===
+
== Library of Congress ==
 +
*[https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/92514996/ The Freedmen's Bureau]
 +
 
 +
== Resources ==
 +
'''Wiki articles on African American research are found at:'''
 +
*[[African American Genealogy]]
 +
*[[Quick Guide to African American Records]]
 +
*[[Researching African American Genealogy]]
 +
*[[African American Migration]]
 +
*[[African American Slavery and Bondage]]
 +
*[[Southern States Slavery and Bondage Collections]] Family History Library
 +
*[[African Americans in the 1867 Voter Registration Lists (National Institute)]]
 +
 
 +
'''For more information:'''
 +
*[http://www.archives.gov/publications/ref-info-papers/rip108.pdf Washington, Reginald. ''Black Family Research; Records of Post-Civil War Federal Agencies at the National Archives ''Reference Information Paper 108. National Archives and Records Administration Washington, D.C. Revised 2010.]
 +
*Davis, Robert Scott Jr.,''Freedmen's Bureau and Other Reconstruction Sources for Research in African-American Families, 1865-1874.'' ''Journal of the Afro-American Historical And Genealogical Society''y. Volume 9 No. 4.pg 171-176.
 +
*Bentley, George R. ''A History of the Freedmen's Bureau.'' Philadelphia: Octagon Books, 1970.[http://www.worldcat.org/title/history-of-the-freedmens-bureau/oclc/1506875&referer=brief_results WorldCat]
 +
*[https://archive.org/details/freedmensbureau00peirgoog Paul Skeels Pierce. ''The Freedmen's Bureau: A Chapter in the History of Reconstruction.'']
 +
*[https://www.archives.gov/research/alic/periodicals/nara-citations/refugees-freedmen-bureau.html NARA Citations to Record Group 105, Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands]
 +
 
 +
== Civil War Pre-Bureau Operations ==
 +
'''Contraband Camps'''
 +
*[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contraband_(American_Civil_War) Contraband (American Civil War) Wikipedia]
 +
*[https://repository.upenn.edu/hist_digital/1/ Interactive Map of Contraband Camps - University of Pennsylvania]
 +
*[https://www.nps.gov/hdp/exhibits/african/contraband.htm CRGIS Contraband Slave Camp Mapping Project - National Park Service]
 +
*[https://savingplaces.org/stories/the-forgotten-the-contraband-of-america-and-the-road-to-freedom#.XZJCWkZKiUk The Forgotten:The Contraband of America and the Road to Freedom - National Trust for Historic Preservation]
 +
*[https://www.loc.gov/exhibits/odyssey/educate/waud.html Contrabands of War - African American Fugitives to Union Lines - Library of Congress]
 +
*[https://www.americanantiquarian.org/Freedmen/Intros/contrabands.html Slaves Declared Contrabands of War - American Antiquarian Society]
 +
*[https://www.marinersmuseum.org/blogs/civilwar/?p=1184 Contraband of War - The Marines' Museum]
 +
*[http://www.pbs.org/mercy-street/blogs/mercy-street-revealed/is-anybody-looking-runaway-slaves-and-the-refugee-crisis-in-civil-war-america/ Refugee Crisis in Civil War American - PBS] 
 +
*[http://www.civilwarshades.org/building-a-future/contraband-camps/ Contraband Camps - Tennessee]
 +
*[https://northcarolinahistory.org/encyclopedia/contraband-camps/ Contraband Camps - North Carolina History Project]
 +
 
 +
'''Contraband Lists'''
 +
*[[African American Contraband Records]] The lists will be located in the [https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/1845948?collectionNameFilter=true Union Provost Marshall records] published on FamilySearch
 +
 
 +
''' Publications'''
 +
*Louis S. Gerteis. '' From Contraband to Freedmen. Federal Policy toward Southern Blacks, 1861-1865. (1973)
 +
*Henry Lee Swint, ed. ''Dear Ones at Home: Letters from Contraband Camps.'' (Nashville, 1966)
 +
*Amy Murrell Taylor.'' Embattled Freedom. Journeys through the Civil War Slave Refugee Camps.'' Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2018.
 +
*Chandra Manning. ''Troubled Refuge. Struggling for Freedom in the Civil War. ALfred A. Knopf, 2017.
 +
*Patricia Click. ''Time Full of Trial: The Roanoke Island Freemen's Colony, 1862-1867.'' (Chapel Hill, 2001)
 +
 
 +
'''Articles'''
 +
*Chandra Manning.''Working for Citizenship in Civil War Contraband Camps.'' The Journal of the Civil War Era. 4 #2 (June 2014): 172-204.
 +
*Martha A. Bigelow. '' Freedmen of the Mississippi Valley, 1861-1865.'' Civil War History 8 #1 (March 1862): 38-47.
 +
   
 +
 
 +
'''Government Reports'''
 +
*[https://archive.org/details/annualreportofsu00jame Rev Horace James. ''Annual Report of the Superintendent of Negro Affairs in North Carolina. 1864. with an Appendix. Containing the History and Management of the Freedmen in this Department up to June 1st, 1865.'' Boston: W.F. Brown & Co., Printers, 1865.]
 +
*[https://archive.org/details/freedmenoflouisi00unit Thomas W. Conway. The Freedmen of Louisiana. Final Report of the Bureau of Free Labor, Department of the Gulf. Major General E.R.S. Canby, Commanding. Printed at the New Orleans, Times Book and Job Office, 1865.]
 +
*[https://archive.org/stream/freedmenofportro00unit#page/n3/mode/2upEdward L. Pierce. The Freedmen of Port Royal, South Carolina. Official Reports of Edward L. Pierce. New York: Rebellion Record, 1863.]
 +
*[https://archive.org/details/reportgeneralsu00arkagoog John Eaton, United States Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands. Dept. of the Tennessee and State of Arkansas Report of the General Superintendent of Freedmen, Department of the Tennessee and State of ... Memphis, Tenn.: 1865]
 +
*[https://archive.org/details/reportonconditio00yeat James E. Yeatman. ''A Report on the Condition of the Freedmen of the Mississippi, presented to The Western Sanitary Commission, December 17, 1863. Saint Louis, 1864]
 +
*[https://archive.org/details/b639c160-15cc-4c21-961d-26cda524d30b James E. Yeatman.''Suggestions of a Plan of Organization for free Labor, and the Leasing of Plantations along the Mississippi River, ...Saint Louis, 1864]
 +
*[https://archive.org/details/reportonconditio00yeat James E. Yeatman. ''A Report on the Condition of the Freedmen of the Mississippi, presented to The Western Sanitary Commission, December 17, 1863. Saint Louis, 1864]
 +
*[https://archive.org/details/b639c160-15cc-4c21-961d-26cda524d30b James E. Yeatman.''Suggestions of a Plan of Organization for free Labor, and the Leasing of Plantations along the Mississippi River, ...Saint Louis, 1864]
 +
*[https://archive.org/details/refugeesfromslav00howe/page/n5 S.G. Howe. ''The Refugees from Slavery in Canada West. Report of the Freedmen's Inquiry Commission. Boston: Wright & Potter, printers, 1864]
 +
*[https://archive.org/details/grantlincolnfre1609eato/page/n10 John Eaton.''Grant, Lincoln, and the Freedmen.'' New York: Longmans, Green and Co., 1907] Work for the Contrabands and Freedmen of the Mississippi Valley. 
  
−
*This site lists many other search sites for African American histories and genealogy websites.
 
−
*Their on-line bookstore carries many useful books of interest.
 
  
−
== Other Web Sites ==
+
*'''[https://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/366.html Records of Civil War Special Agents of the Treasury Department, 1861-1866. Record Group 366]'''
 +
*[https://catalog.archives.gov/id/10509414 First Special Agency. 9.11.1863-1866. Alabama, Virginia, Mississippi, Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina, Arkansas]
 +
*[https://catalog.archives.gov/id/10509585 Second Special Agency. 9.11.1863-7.29.1864. Virginia, North Carolina]
 +
*[https://catalog.archives.gov/id/12004598 Second Special Agency. Natchez District. 7.30.1864-ca.1866.]
 +
*[https://catalog.archives.gov/id/12004400 Second Special Agency. Helena District. 7.30.1864-1866.]
 +
*[https://catalog.archives.gov/id/10509756 Third Special Agency. 9.11.1863-7.29.1864. North Carolina]
 +
*[https://catalog.archives.gov/id/10474146 Third Special Agency. Office of the Special Agent at Vicksburg, Mississippi. 7.28.1864-1866.]
 +
*[https://catalog.archives.gov/id/10510095 Fourth Special Agency. 7.29.1864-1866. Texas]
 +
*[https://catalog.archives.gov/id/12004134 Fourth Special Agency. Office of the Special Agent for Louisiana, and Texas. ca. 7.28.1865-ca. 10.3.1865]
 +
*[https://catalog.archives.gov/id/10509754 Fifth Special Agency. 9.11.1863-7.29.1864. Alabama, Texas, Mississippi, Florida, Louisiana, Arkansas]
 +
*[https://catalog.archives.gov/id/10509755 Sixth Special Agency. 7.29.1864-1866. North Carolina]
 +
*[https://catalog.archives.gov/id/10509584 Seventh Special Agency. 7.29.1864-ca. 1868. Virginia, North Carolina]
 +
*[https://catalog.archives.gov/id/10481717 Eighth Special Agency. 4.25.1865-1866. Georgia, South Carolina, Savannah, Ga.]
 +
*[https://catalog.archives.gov/id/10460955 Ninth Special Agency. 4.25.1865-1866. Alabama, Florida]
 +
 
 +
*[https://catalog.archives.gov/id/10517585 Office of the Supervising Special Agent at New Orleans, Louisiana. Plantation Bureau. 7.29.1864-ca. 1865]
 +
*[https://catalog.archives.gov/id/10502094 Division of West Mississippi, Department of the Gulf. Northern Division of Louisiana. 2.9.1865-5.17.1865]
 +
 
 +
'''Department of the Treasury. Division of Captured Property, Claims and Lands. Record Group 56 '''
 +
*[[Department of the Treasury. Division of Captured Property, Claims and Lands - National Archives Catalog]]
 +
 
 +
 
 +
''' Freedmen Relief Associations, Selected '''
 +
*'''Freedmen aid societies were civilian benevolent associations that provided support and assistance to the Freedmen's Bureau.'''
 +
*[https://archive.org/stream/americanfreedmen00amer/39999063807273#mode/2up ''The American Freedmen's Aid Commission,'' New York City]
 +
*[https://archive.org/details/reportbycommitte00cont/page/n6 ''Report by the Committee of the Contraband's Relief Commission of Cincinnati, Ohio'']
 +
*[http://www.swarthmore.edu/Library/friends/ead/4024frfr.xml Inventory of the Friends Freedmen's Association Records, 1863-1982. Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College.] 
 +
*[http://www.masshist.org/collection-guides/view/fa0423 New England Freedmen's Aid Society Records, 1862-1878. Guide to the Collection. Massachusetts Historical Society]
 +
*[https://archive.org/details/extractsfromlett00newe/page/n3 ''Extracts from letters of teachers and superintendents of the New-England Educational Commission for Freedmen.'']
 +
*[https://archive.org/stream/ASPC0001939100#mode/2up Pennsylvania Freedmen's Relief Association]
 +
*[https://archive.org/details/reportofpittsbur00pitt/page/n2 ''Report of the Pittsburgh Relief Committee : having in charge the collection and distribution of funds, provisions, and other supplies for the sufferers by yellow fever in the South-Western States, in the summer and fall of 1878.'']
 +
*[https://archive.org/details/firstannualrepor00port/page/n6 ''First Annual Report of the Port Royal Relief Committee...'']
 +
*[http://dlib.nyu.edu/findingaids/html/nyhs/southernfamrelief/ Guide to the Southern Famine Relief Commission Records, 1867-1868. MS 2430. New York Historical Society Museum Library]
 +
*[https://researchworks.oclc.org/archivegrid/collection/data/828629880 Southern Famine Relief Commission records, 1867. ArchiveGrid. New  York Historical Society]
 +
*[https://www.nypl.org/sites/default/files/archivalcollections/pdf/ussc.pdf United States Sanitary Commission Records, 1861-1878. MssCol 3101. New York Public Library.]
 +
*[https://archive.org/details/reportonconditio00yeat ''A report on the condition of the freedmen of the Mississippi:presented to the Western Sanitary Commission, December 17th, 1863.'']
 +
 
 +
== Online Resources ==
 +
*[http://www.discoverfreedmen.org/ Discover Freedmen]
 +
*[https://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=61568 U.S., Freedmen's Bureau Records of Field Offices, 1863-1878] ($)
 +
*[https://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=1231 U.S., Freedmen’s Bureau Marriage Records, 1846-1867] ($)
 +
*[https://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=8755 U.S., Freedman's Bank Records, 1865-1871] ($)
 +
*[https://www.archives.gov/research/african-americans/freedmens-bureau/resources.html NARA Links to Freedmen's Bureau Resources]
 +
 
 +
== References ==
 +
*[https://www.archives.gov/files/publications/ref-info-papers/rip108.pdf ''Black Family Research Records of Post -Civil War Federal Agencies at the National Archives'' Reference Information Paper No. 108]
 +
*Rebecca K. Sharp, [http://archives.gov/publications/prologue/2007/summer/pre-bureau.html "Their... Bedding is wet Their floors are damp" "Pre-Bureau Records and Civil War African American Genealogy] " article, ''Prologue Magazine'' Summer 2007, Vol. 39, No. 2.
 +
*[https://www.archives.gov/research/alic/periodicals/nara-citations/refugees-freedmen-bureau.html Citations to Record Group 105, Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands. National Archives. Archives Library Information Center. (ALIC)]
 +
*Elaine C. Everly, [http://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/1997/summer/freedmens-bureau-records.html Freedmen’s Bureau Records: An Overview],” article, National Archives, ''Prologue Magazine'' Summer 1997, Vol. 29, No., 2.<br>
 +
*Elaine C. Everly, [http://archives.gov/publications/prologue/1973/fall/freedmens-marriage-registers.html "Marriage Registers of Freedmen] " article, National Archives, ''Prologue Magazine''' Fall 1973, Vol. 5, No. 3.
 +
*Reginald Washington, "[http://archives.gov/publications/prologue/2005/spring/freedman-marriage-recs.html Sealing the Sacred Bonds of Holy Matrimony Freedmen's Bureau Marriage Records]," article ''Prologue Magazine'' Spring 2005, Vol. 37, No. 1.
 +
*Robert Scott Davis, Jr. ''Freedmen's Bureau and Other Reconstruction Sources.'' The Journal of the Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society. 9 #4 (Winter, 1988):171-176. FHL 973 D25j v.8-9
 +
*Joseph P. Reidy, [http://archives.gov/publications/prologue/1997/summer/slave-emancipation.html "Slave Emancipation Through the Prism of Archives Records]" article, ''Prologue Magazine'' Summer 1997, Vol. 29, No. 2.
 +
*Michael F. Knight ,[http://archives.gov/publications/prologue/2001/fall/rost-home-colony.html "The Rost Home Colony,St. Charles Louisiana] " article, ''Prologue Magazine '' Fall, 2001, Vol. 33, No. 3.
 +
* Noralee Frankel. [https://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/1997/summer/slave-women.html From Slave Women to Free Women: The National Archives and Black Women's History in the Civil War Era], " article "Prologue Magazine" Summer 1997, VOl. 29, No. 2.
 +
*Sharon Batiste Gillins. ''A Window into the Lives of Black & White Ancestors:Freedmen's Bureau Field Office Records. NGS Magazine 39 (January-March 2013): 34-38.
 +
*[https://archive.org/details/propertycivilwar00randrich/page/n5 James Garfield Randall. ''The Confiscation of Property During the Civil War.'' Dissertation. Indianapolis: Mutual Printing and Lithographing Co., 1913.]
 +
*Robert Scott Davis, Jr. ''Freedmen's Bureau and Other Reconstruction Sources for Research in African - American Families, 1865-1874.'' Journal of the Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society 9, No. 4 (Winter, 1988): 171-176. FHL 973 D25j
  
−
*[http://www.archives.gov/publications/ref-info-papers/108/index.html#intro ''National Archives Black Family Research''] description of Freedmen’s Bureau records.
+
{{African American|African American}}
−
*''[http://www.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=1105 Freedmen's Bureau Records of Field Offices 1865-1872]'' index and images at Ancestry.com. This database contains about 102,010 personal names from field office records for Washington, D.C., Florida, Georgia, New Orleans, and North Carolina. Information available in the database includes: name, record type, year, and field office location. Family History Centers and the Family History Library have '''''limited''''' access to this index. There is a subscription fee for home use.
 
−
*Elaine C. Everly, “[http://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/1997/summer/freedmens-bureau-records.html Freedmen’s Bureau Records: An Overview],” article, National Archives, ''Prologue Magazine'' Summer 1997, Vol. 29, No., 2.<br>
 
  
−
[[Category:African_Americans]]
+
[[Category:African_American_Records]]

Latest revision as of 12:50, 17 April 2020

African American Genealogy Wiki Topics
African American Image 5.jpg
Beginning Research
Original Records
Compiled Sources
Background Information
Finding Aids

The Bureau's records (Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands), kept from 1865-1872, contain a wide range of data about the African American experience during slavery and freedom. Therefore, they are a valuable source for the black family historian. Refugees include many in the local white population. The Collection is located in the National Archives in Record Group 105, Records of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, 1861-1880. National Archives Catalog NAID 434.


Introduction[edit | edit source]

The Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands (often called the Freedmen’s Bureau) was created by Congress on March 3, 1865 at the end of the American Civil War to aid the newly-freed slaves (freedmen) and refugees. It was created to supervise relief efforts, including education (4,300 schools were established), health care (100 hospitals were established), food and clothing, refugee camps, legalization of marriages, employment, labor contracts, and securing back pay, bounty payments, and pensions for soldiers and sailors. The Bureau also helped reunite families. The Bureau operations were terminated in 1872.

For more information see:

United States Congress

Freedmen's Bureau Records[edit | edit source]

Record Types

The Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands (often called the Freedmen’s Bureau) created many different record types necessary to supervise relief efforts including education, health care, food and clothing, refugee camps, legalization of marriages, employment, labor contracts, and securing back pay, bounty payments and pensions. These records include letters and endorsements sent and received, account books, applications for rations, applications for relief, court records, labor contracts, registers of bounty claimants, registers of complaints, registers of contracts, registers of disbursements, registers of freedmen issued rations, registers of patients, reports, rosters of officers and employees, special and general orders and circulars received, special orders and circulars issued, records relating to claims, court trials, property restoration, and homesteads.

Value of Records

Because the Bureau's records 1865-1872 contain a wide range of data about the African American experience during slavery and freedom, they are a valuable source for African American genealogy. See Freedmen's Bureau Record Types for a detailed listing of records created by the Freedmen's Bureau records. Some Bureau records include:

  • Registers (listing names, ages, former occupations of freedmen, and names and residences of former owners)
  • Marriage registers (listing names, addresses, ages, and complexions of husbands, wives, and their children)
  • Census lists
  • Applications of rations or relief
  • Labor and apprenticeship contracts
  • Back pay records
  • Registers of complaints
  • Personal data about black soldiers (including company and regiment)
  • School records
  • Registers of patients
  • Medical records
  • Registers of bounty claimants
  • Court records
  • Claim records
  • Records of murders committed against freedmen
  • Records relating to property restoration and homesteads

Here are some examples of records:

Challenges in Using the Records

There are some challenges to using these records:

  • Records limited in scope and time period they cover.
  • Not all of the records are indexed. Some record collections can only be searched image by image.
  • The record type and quality vary with each state and field office.
  • Individuals may have changed their names.
  • Not all records survived or are available in searchable formats.

Organization[edit | edit source]

The Freedmen’s Bureau created records at the headquarters in Washington, DC, state offices, and field agents. Field office records (local) usually contain more genealogical data.

Washington Headquarters

Commissioner (Oliver O. Howard)

  • Offices and Divisions
  • Division of Records (Official acts of the Commissioner)- Assistant Adjutant General
  • Finance Division- Chief Disbursing Officer:Lt. Col. George W. Bulloch;Major J.M. Brown
  • Land Division- Assistant Adjutant General William Fowler
  • Medical Division- Chief Medical Officer Caleb W. Honer;L.A. Edwards; Robert Reyburn
  • Claims Division- Assistant Adjutant General William Fowler; William P. Drew
  • Education Division- Rev. J.W. Alvord
  • Chief Quartermaster- Capt. Joseph M. Brown;Brevet Brigadier General Henry Whittlesey
  • State and Local
  • Assistant Commissioner
  • Correspondence
  • Issuances
  • Reports
  • Other Records
  • Superintendent of Education
  • Correspondence
  • Issuances
  • Reports
  • Other Records
  • Offices of Staff Offices
  • Subordinate (Local) Field Offices

National Archives Preliminary Inventory[edit | edit source]

The Preliminary Inventory of the Records of the Field Offices of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands: Record Group 105 by Elaine Everly and Willna Pacheli of the National Archives describes the Bureau’s records. The volumes are arranged alphabetically by state. The records of the states are arranged in the following order: "Office of the Assistant Commissioner" then by "Offices of Staff Officers including the "Superintendent of Education" and by "Subordinate Field Offices."

National Archives Catalog

Mapping the Freedmen's Bureau[edit | edit source]

Mapping the Freedman's Bureau is a website helping researchers place their ancestors in the historical landscape.

Mapping includes:

  • Where Freedman's Bureau offices were located
  • Branch of the Freedman's Saving Bank
  • Freedmen's Bureau Hospitals
  • Freedmen's Schools
  • Contraband Camps
  • Battle sites where men who were in the US colored Troops fought

Mapping Occupation[edit | edit source]

Indexing and Transcription Projects[edit | edit source]

Discover Freedmen - FamilySearch[edit | edit source]

On Discoverfreedmen.org all of the Freedmen's Bureau collections on FamilySearch can be searched with one click.

National Museum of African American History & Culture[edit | edit source]

Accessing the Records[edit | edit source]

Collections on FamilySearch[edit | edit source]

Most of the Freedmen's Bureau records have been digitized and/or indexed on FamilySearch with the exception of some records from the Washington Headquarters.

Index and Image Collections:


Coverage Tables to Indexed Collections:


Image Browse Collections:

Commissioner

Assistant Commissioner

Superintendent of Education and Division of Education

Field Offices

Freedman's Branch

Collection Inventories to Browse Collections:

Field Office Bureau Personnel Coverage Tables:

Records of Bureau of Refugees, Freedman and Abandoned Lands and Freedman's Saving and Trust Company Available at the Family History Library
State Record Type Record Group NARA FamilySearch Catalog

First Film or Fiche #

Number of Films /Fiche Additional Reading
National Preliminary Inventory of Records of the Filed Offices Pt. 1 Alabama-Louisiana, Pt. 2 Maryland-South Carolina, and Pt. 3 Tennessee-Virginia 105 - FHL fiche 6002638 3 fiche - Inventory: Pt 1 Alabama-LouisianaPt 2 Maryland-South Carolina,Maryland-South CarolinaPt 3 Tennessee-Virginia

Select Series of Records issued by the Commissioner, 1865-1872 105 M742 FHL film 491550 7 rolls - Descriptive Pamphlet: M742

Register and Letters Received by the Commissioner, 1865-1872 105 M752 FHL film 908680 74 rolls - Descriptive Pamphlet: M752

Records of Education Division, 1865-1871 105 M803 FHL film 1695186 35 rolls - Descriptive Pamphlet: M803

U.S. Court of Claims Docket Cards for Congressional Case Files, ca. 1884-1943 123 M2007 unavailable 5 rolls -

Marriage Records of Office of Commissioner, Washington Headquarters, 1861-1869 105 M1875 FHL film 2425252 5 rolls - Descriptive Pamphlet:M1875

Register of Signatures of Depositors in the Branches of the Freedman's Saving & Trust Company, 1865-1874 101 M816 FHL film 928571 27 rolls -

Records of the Commissioner of Claims (Southern Claims Commission) 1871-1880 56 M87 FHL film 1463975-1463976 14 rolls -







Alabama Records of Assistant Commissioner, 1850-1870 105 M809 FHL film 1612338 23 rolls

- Descriptive Pamphlet: M809



Records of Superintendent of Education, 1865-1870

105 M810 FHL film 1695841 8 rolls - Descriptive Pamphlet: FHL book: 973 J53m no. 810

Records of Field Office, 1865-1872 105 M1900 FHL film 2424719 34 rolls - Descriptive Pamphlet: M1900






-
Arkansas Records of Assistant Commissioner, 1865-1869 105 M979 FHL film 1498698 52 rolls - Descriptive Pamphlet: M979

Records of Superintendent of Education, 1865-1871 105 M980 FHL film 1695811 5 rolls - Descriptive Pamphlet: M980

Records of Field Office,1865-1872 105 M1901 23 rolls - Descriptive Pamphlet: M1901






-
Delaware Records of Field Office, 1865-1872 105 M1906 FHL film 2424887 42 rolls - Descriptive Pamphlet: M1906






-
District of Columbia Records of Assistant Commissioner, 1865-1869 105 M1055 FHL film 1605536 21 rolls - Descriptive Pamphlet: M1055

Records of Superintendent of Education, 1865-1872 105 M1056 FHL film 1617650 24 rolls - Descriptive Pamphlet:M1056

Records of Field Office,1863-1872 105 M1902 FHL film 2424776 21 rolls - Descriptive Pamphlet: M1902






-
Florida Records of Assistant Commissioner, 1865-1872 105 M1869 FHL film 2425908 15 rolls - Descriptive Pamphlet: M1869






-
Georgia Records of Assistant Commissioner, 1865-1869 105 M798 FHL film 1498626 36 rolls - Descriptive Pamphlet: M798

Records of Superintendent of Education, 1865-1870 195 M799 FHL film 1685269 28 rolls - Descriptive Pamphlet:M799

Records of Field Office, 1865-1872 105 M1903 FHL film 1574209 90 rolls -






-
Kentucky Records of Field Office. 1865-1872 105 M1904 FHL film 2425923 133 rolls - Descriptive Pamphlet:M1904






-
Louisiana Records of Superintendent of Education, 1865-1869 105 M1026 FHL film 1695273 12 rolls - Descriptive Pamphlet: M1026

Records of Assistant Commissioner, 1865-1869

105

M1027

FHL film 1498662 36 rolls - Descriptive Pamphlet: M1027

Records of Field Office, 1863-1873 105 M1905 FHL film 2426056 111 rolls - Descriptive Pamphlet: M1905
New Orleans, Louisiana Records of Field Office, 1865-1869 105 M1483 FHL film 1604921 10 rolls - Descriptive Pamphlet: M1483






-
Maryland Records of Field Office, 1865-1872 105 M1906 FHL film 2424887 42 rolls - Descriptive Pamphlet: M1906






--
Mississippi

Records of Assistant Commissioner, 1863-1869

105 M826 FHL film 1616440 50 rolls - Descriptive Pamphlet: M826

Records of Field Office, 1865-1872 105 M1907 FHL film 2428148 65 rolls - Descriptive Pamphlet: M1907

Records of Assistant Commissioner, 1863-1865("Pre Bureau Records")

105 M1914 FHL film 2424701 5 rolls -






-
Missouri Records of Field Office, 1865-1872 105 M1908 FHL film 2426982 24 rolls - Descriptive Pamphlet: M1908






-
North Carolina Records of Assistant Commissioner, 1862-1879 105 M843 FHL film 1616841 38 rolls - Descriptive Pamphlet: M843

Records of Superintendent of Education, 1864-1869 105 M844 FHL film 1695567 16 rolls - Descriptive Pamphlet: M844

Records of Field Office, 1865-1872 105 M1909 FHL film 2427006 78 rolls - Descriptive Pamphlet: M1909






-
South Carolina Records of Assistant Commissioner, 1865-1870 105 M869 FHL film 1579188 44 rolls

Martin Abbott, The Freedman's Bureau in South Carolina, 1865-72. (Chapel Hill: university of North Carolina Press, 1967)

- Descriptive Pamphlet:M869



Records of Assistant Commissioner, 1865-1869 105 T999 FHL film 1616490 34 rolls -

Records of Field Office, 1865-1872 105 M1910 FHL 2427084 106 rolls - Descriptive Pamphlet:M1910






-
Tennessee Records of Superintendent of Education, 1865-1870 105 M1000 FHL film 1685219 9 rolls - Descriptive Pamphlet: M1000

Records of Field Office,1865-1872 105 M1911 FHL film 2427190 89 rolls - Descriptive Pamphlet:M1911

Selected Records of Field Office, 1865-1872 105 T142 FHL film 1616879 73 rolls - Descriptive Pamphlet:

Records of Assistant Commissioner, 1865-1869

105 M999 FHL film 1616490 34 rolls - Descriptive Pamphlet: M999






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Texas Records of Assistant Commissioner, 1865-1869 105 M821 FHL film 1503542 32 rolls

Barry A. Crouch, Hidden Sources of Black History: The Texas Freedmen's Bureau Records as a Case Study. Southwestern Historical Quarterly 83 (1980): 211-26.

-Descriptive Pamphlet:M821



Records Superintendent of Education, 1865-1870 105 M822 FHL film 169516 18 rolls - Descriptive Pamphlet:M822

Records of Field Office, 1865-1872 105 M1912 FHL film 2427279 28 rolls - Descriptive Pamphlet:M1912






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Virginia Records of Assistant Commissioner, 1865-1869 105 M1048 FHL film 1601562 67 rolls - Descriptive Pamphlet:M1048

Records of Sup. of Education, 1865-1870 105 M1053 FHL film 1549578 20 rolls - Descriptive Pamphlet: M1053

Records of Field Office, 1865-1872 105 M1913 FHL film 2413534 203 rolls - Descriptive Pamphlet M1913

Government Reports of Bureau Operations

Freedmen's Bureau Online[edit | edit source]

The Freedmen’s Bureau Online website includes numerous online database indexes. Select among the variety of databases mostly based on locality or by topic such as marriages, labor contracts, or murders. However, this online site does not include all the available records from the Freedmen's Bureau.

Content[edit | edit source]

  • Records Relating to Murders
  • Records Relating to Freedmen's Labor
  • Marriage Records: Most of these records are divided up by the state, then by the area, and then by the marriage date, month, or year of marriage. (These records can be found on the homepage under the contents heading at the left of the screen.)
  • To find state-specific collections, go to the homepage and there is a list of states under the contents heading at the middle left of the screen. (Examples of some of these collections are: Alabama: Petition of Colored Citizens from Mobile, Alabama; Mississippi: Registers of Indentures of Colored Orphans, Aug. 1865 - May 1866; Tennessee: Index to Freedman's Labor Contracts between Tennessee Freedmen and employers in Kentucky.)
  • This site lists many other search sites for African American histories and genealogy websites.
  • Their on-line bookstore carries many useful books of interest.

Using the site[edit | edit source]

Type a surname or name or term in question in the search site box. (Examples: Jones, Smith, etc. for surname searches OR land, marriages, etc. for keyword searches)

  1. Documents which seem a “best” match appears.
  2. Click on desired match.

Library of Congress[edit | edit source]

Resources[edit | edit source]

Wiki articles on African American research are found at:

For more information:

Civil War Pre-Bureau Operations[edit | edit source]

Contraband Camps

Contraband Lists

Publications

  • Louis S. Gerteis. From Contraband to Freedmen. Federal Policy toward Southern Blacks, 1861-1865. (1973)
  • Henry Lee Swint, ed. Dear Ones at Home: Letters from Contraband Camps. (Nashville, 1966)
  • Amy Murrell Taylor. Embattled Freedom. Journeys through the Civil War Slave Refugee Camps. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2018.
  • Chandra Manning. Troubled Refuge. Struggling for Freedom in the Civil War. ALfred A. Knopf, 2017.
  • Patricia Click. Time Full of Trial: The Roanoke Island Freemen's Colony, 1862-1867. (Chapel Hill, 2001)

Articles

  • Chandra Manning.Working for Citizenship in Civil War Contraband Camps. The Journal of the Civil War Era. 4 #2 (June 2014): 172-204.
  • Martha A. Bigelow. Freedmen of the Mississippi Valley, 1861-1865. Civil War History 8 #1 (March 1862): 38-47.


Government Reports


Department of the Treasury. Division of Captured Property, Claims and Lands. Record Group 56


Freedmen Relief Associations, Selected

Online Resources[edit | edit source]

References[edit | edit source]

v • d • e
Links to African American Genealogy-related articles
Topics
Repositories
Allen County Public Library · Family History Library · Library of Congress · National Archives I · National Archives Regional Branches · National Underground Railroad Freedom Center · Birmingham Civil Rights Institute · Black Archives of Mid-America · Duke Univeristy Rubenstein Library · Family History Centers · Godfrey Memorial Library · Kalamazoo College Black History Mobile Museum · New England Historic Genealogical Society · Newberry Library · John D. Rockefeller Jr. Library at Colonial Williamsburg · Schomburg Center For Research In Black Culture · Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum · University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Libraries · University of Pennsylvania African Studies Center · University of Pittsburgh Hillman Library
States

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