Arkansas, Freedmen's Bureau Field Office Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

United States

What is in the Collection?
The Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands (often called the Freedmen’s Bureau) was created in 1865 at the end of the American Civil War 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. This collection corresponds with NARA microfilm publication M1901, Records of the Field Offices for the State of Arkansas, Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, 1865-1872.


 * National Archives Pamphlet M1901

* Records with Freedmen and Refugee Names:
 * Arkansas, Chief Disbursing Officer and Claims Agent: Roll 6, Registers of Claimants 3 vols.
 * Arkadelphia, Clark County: Roll 6, Registers of Complaints, Labor Contracts and Marriages
 * Augusta, Woodruff County: Roll 6, Registers of Labor Contracts, Legal Papers
 * Batesville, Independence County: Roll 6, Monthly Reports of Persons and Articles Hired, Court Writs, Summons, and Other Legal Papers Contracts
 * Camden, Ouchita County: Roll 7, Register of Labor Contracts, Register of School Children and Register of Attendance of School Children, Affidavits and Depositions,Register of Complaints
 * Lewisburg, Conway County: Roll 7, Labor Contracts, Amnesty Oaths and Marriage Certificates, Affidavits and Petitions
 * Devall’s Bluff, Prairie County: Roll 8 Reports of Persons and Articles Hired
 * Fort Smith, Sebastian County: Roll 8, Register of Labor Contracts, Register of Application for Restoration of Property, Register of Marriages, and Register of Persons Drawing Rations
 * Fort Smith, Sebastian County: Roll 9 Registers of Refugees Issued Rations, Register of Rebel Property in Counties Subject to Confiscation
 * Hamburg, Ashley County: Roll 10, Registers of Complaints and Contracts
 * Helena, Phillips County: Roll 11, Register of Claimants
 * Jacksonport, Upper White River District: Roll 11, Register of Contracts
 * Jacksonport, Jackson County: Roll 12, Affidavits and Court Papers, Register of Contracts and Register of Marriages, Register of Complaints
 * Lake Village and Luna Landing, Chicot County: Roll 12, Register of Contracts and Register of Major Landholders
 * Lewisville, Lafayette County: Roll 14, Register of Complaints
 * Little Rock, Pulaski County: Roll 14, Registers of Complaints and Marriages, Register of  Freedmen Employed on Plantations
 * Little Rock, Pulaski County: Roll 15, Employment Registers 3 volumes
 * Madison, St. Francis County: Roll 16, Registers of Complaints and Contracts, Court Papers
 * Magnolia: Roll 16, Affidavits of Freedmen
 * Monticello: Roll 17, Register of Contracts for Bradley County, Court Papers and Reports
 * Napoleon, Desha County: Roll 17, register of Complaints
 * Osceola, Mississippi County: Roll 18, Registers of Claims, Marriages, Contracts and Indentures, Register of Complaints
 * Ozark: Roll 18, Register of Destitute Citizens of Franklin and Johnson Counties Issued Rations
 * Paraclifta, Sevier County: Roll 18, Orders Sent to Local Citizens, Register of Marriages and Copies of Indentures, Register of Complaints, Register of Employers and Employers
 * Pine Bluff, Roll 19, Reports of Persons and Articles Hired
 * Pine Bluff, Jefferson County, Roll 21, Register & Certificates of Marriage, Register of Abandoned Property, Record of Account Book of Mrs. Bayner’s Plantation
 * Princeton, Dallas County: Roll 22, Contracts and Monthly Statements of Property
 * South Bend: Roll 22, Orders Issued to Local Citizens, Proceedings of Cases
 * Washington, Hemstead County: Roll 23, Registers of Contracts, and Complaints, Marriage  Certificates

Sample Images
To see a coverage map of FamilySearch's holdings of Arkansas marriages, click here.

The records usually include:


 * Name of the freedman
 * Name of the freedman’s former owner
 * Date of the record
 * Birthplace
 * Residence
 * Age
 * Bride
 * Groom
 * Marriage date
 * Marriage place

General Information About Freedmen's Bureau Records
The Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands was established in the War Department in March of 1865. It was commonly called the Freedman’s Bureau and was responsible for the management and supervision of matters relating to refuges, freedmen, and abandoned lands. The Bureau assisted disenfranchised Americans, primarily African Americans, with temporal, legal and financial matters, with the intent of helping people to become self-sufficient. Matters handled included the distributing of food and clothing; operating temporary medical facilities; acquiring back pay, bounty payments, and pensions; facilitating the creation of schools, including the founding of Howard University; reuniting family members; handling marriages; and providing banking services. Banking services were provided by the establishment of the Freedman’s Saving and Trust Company, or Freedman’s Bank.

The Bureau functioned as an agency of the War Department from approximately June 1865 until December 1868. In 1872, the functions of the Bureau were transferred to the Freedmen’s Branch of the Adjutant General’s Office.

The Bureau assisted over one million African Americans, including many of the nearly four million emancipated slaves, which was over 25% of the population of former slaves in America.

The records identify those who sought help from the Bureau at the end of the Civil War. Most supplicants were freed slaves, some of which were military veterans. In addition, a few veterans who were not African Americans also sought help from the Bureau. Freedmen’s Bureau records are usually reliable, because the records were supplied through first-person correspondence or the recording of a marriage.

How Do I Search the Collection?
The Freedmen’s Bureau records are a major source of genealogical information about post Civil War African Americans. To begin your search it is helpful to know:


 * The name of you ancestor
 * Identifying information such as age, residence or former owner

Search the Collection
To browse by image: To search this collection you will need to follow this series of links: ⇒Select the "Browse" link in the initial search page ⇒Select the "Freedmen's Bureau Office or Subordinate Field Office Location" category ⇒Select the "NARA Roll Number-Contents" category which takes you to the images

Look at each image comparing the information with what you already know about your ancestors to determine if the image relates to them. You may need to look at several images and compare the information about the individuals listed in those images to your ancestors to make this determination. Keep in mind:


 * There may be more than one person in the records with the same name.
 * You may not be sure of your own ancestor’s name.
 * Your ancestor may have used different names or variations of their name throughout their life.

What Do I Do Next?
When you have located your ancestor’s record, carefully evaluate each piece of information given. Save a copy of the image or transcribe the information. These pieces of information may give you new biographical details such as a title, an occupation, or land ownership. Add this new information to your records of each family. You should also look for leads to other records about your ancestors. For example use the place of residence, age, and other information for each person to search for the individuals in census records and other types of records.

Tips to Keep in Mind

 * The records are a good source to quickly identify a family group and residence.
 * Former slaves may have had used multiple names or changed their names until they decided upon one particular name. Search all possible names along with variations or spellings of their known names.
 * If you cannot find your ancestor search the indexes and records of neighboring localities.

Related Websites

 * Mapping the Freedmen's Bureau
 * NARA Freedmen's Bureau Records: An Overview
 * NARA A Genealogical Finding Aid
 * NARA Select Images from Freedmen's Bureau Records
 * Publications of the Freedmen and Southern Society Project
 * Arkansas History Commission Leek Plantation Freedmen's Bureau Ledger MS.000233

Related Wiki Articles

 * Arkansas
 * United States Freedmen’s Bureau Letters (FamilySearch Historical Records)
 * African American Freedmen’s Bureau Records
 * Quick Guide to African American Records
 * African American Research

Citing this Collection
Citing your sources makes it easy for others to find and evaluate the records you used. When you copy information from a record, list where you found that information. Here you can find citations already created for the entire collection and for each individual record or image.

Collection Citation:

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