African American Freedmen's Bureau Records

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.

Online Resources

 * Discover Freedmen
 * U.S., Freedmen's Bureau Records of Field Offices, 1863-1878 ($)
 * U.S., Freedmen’s Bureau Marriage Records, 1846-1867 ($)
 * U.S., Freedman's Bank Records, 1865-1871 ($)
 * NARA Links to Freedmen's Bureau Resources


 * Freedmen's Bureau, Washington Headquarters, Records of the Commissioner, Inventory

Introduction
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 aid the newly-freed slaves and other freedmen. 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 was terminated in 1872. For more information see: NARA African American Records: Freedmen's Bureau and NARA Freedmen's Bureau Administrative History Note.

Jurisdictions
This bureau operated in the states of Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia, and Indian Territory (now Oklahoma). The records date from 1861 to the 1870s. 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.

Many of these records are available on FamilySearch in indexes and browsable-only images. Go to the Historical Record Collections to find all of these collections (search for "Freedmen's Bureau").

Mapping the Freedmen's Bureau
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

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 types of 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:
 * NARA Selected Images of Records
 * Mapping the Freedmen's Bureau Sample Documents

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
The by Elaine Everly and Willna Pacheli of the National Archives describes the Bureau’s records. They are organized alphabetically by state, then by offices, and then 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. National Archives Identifier 434

Discover Freedmen
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

 * Freedmen's Bureau Transcription Project.

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 Washington Headquarters. Index and Image Collections:
 * 1865 - 1872 -
 * 1865 - 1872 -
 * 1865 - 1872 -
 * 1865 - 1872 -
 * 1865 - 1872 -
 * 1865 - 1872 -
 * 1861 - 1872 -
 * 1865 - 1872 -
 * 1865 - 1872 -
 * 1865 - 1872 -
 * 1863 - 1872 -
 * 1862 - 1870 -
 * 1865 - 1872 -
 * 1865 - 1874 -

Coverage Tables to Indexed Collections:
 * NARA Freedmen's Bureau Records - Coverage Tables

Image Browse Collections:
 * 1865-1872 -
 * 1864-1872 -
 * 1865-1872 -
 * 1865-1872 -
 * 1865-1872 -
 * 1865-1872 -
 * 1863-1866 -
 * 1865-1872 -
 * 1865-1872 -
 * 1863-1872 -
 * 1865-1872 -
 * 1865-1872 -
 * 1865-1870 -
 * 1865-1872 -
 * 1865-1872 -
 * 1872-1878 -

Collection Inventories to Browse Collections:
 * NARA Freedmen's Bureau Records - Inventories

Field Office Bureau Personnel Coverage Tables:
 * Alabama
 * Arkansas
 * Florida
 * Georgia
 * Kentucky
 * Louisiana
 * Mississippi
 * North Carolina
 * South Carolina
 * Tennessee
 * Texas
 * Virginia

Freedmen's Bureau Online
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

 * 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
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.

Resources
Wiki articles describing online collections are found at:
 * United States Freedmen’s Bureau Letters (FamilySearch Historical Records)
 * United States Freedmen’s Bureau Marriages (FamilySearch Historical Records)
 * United States Freedman's Bank Registers 1865-1874 (FamilySearch Historical Records)
 * Southern States Slavery and Bondage Collections

For more information:
 * 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 Societyy. Volume 9 No. 4.pg 171-176.
 * Bentley, George R. A History of the Freedmen's Bureau. Philadelphia: Octagon Books, 1970.WorldCat
 * Paul Skeels Pierce. The Freedmen's Bureau: A Chapter in the History of Reconstruction.
 * NARA Citations to Record Group 105, Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands

Government Reports of Bureau Operations
 * 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.
 * 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)
 * 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.
 * 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.
 * 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.
 * 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.
 * 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
 * L. Pierce. The Freedmen of Port Royal, South Carolina. Official Reports of Edward L. Pierce. New York: Rebellion Record, 1863.

Records of Civil War Special Agents of the Treasury Department, 1861-1866 Record Group 366
 * Record Group Description