District of Columbia, Freedmen's Bureau Field Office Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

Record Description
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.


 * For a list of Freedmen's Bureau personnel see the appendix in the descriptive pamphlet.

Record History, Content and Use
For details about the contents of these records, their history, and help using them, see the wiki article: United States Freedmen’s Bureau Records (FamilySearch Historical Records)

Search the Collection
To search the collection by image ⇒Select "Browse through images" on the initial collection page ⇒Select the appropriate "Freedmen's Bureau Office or Subordinate Field Office Location" ⇒Select the appropriate "NARA Roll Number-Contents" 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.

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

Related Wiki Articles

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

Citations for This Collection
When you copy information from a record, you should list where you found the information; that is, cite your sources. This will help people find the record again and evaluate the reliability of the source. It is also good to keep track of records where you did not find information, including the names of the people you looked for in the records. Citations are available for the collection as a whole and each record or image individually.

Collection Citation:

Image Citation