Mississippi, Freedmen's Department, Pre-Bureau Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

United States

What is in the Collection?
The collection consists of images of records from the Freedmen's Department in Mississippi for the years 1863 to 1865. These documents pre-date the creation of the Freedmen's Bureau, but were assumed by the Bureau after its creation in 1865. The records are part of RG 105, Records of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, 1865-1872 and is NARA microfilm publication M1914.


 * National Archives Pamphlet M1914

Records with Freedmen and Refugee Names
 * General Superintendent of Freedmen, Rolls 2-4, Records on Renting and Leasing of Abandoned Property
 * General Superintendent of Freedmen, Roll 4, Register of Contracts, Registers of Rations Issued to Freedmen and Planters, Lists of Pupils in Schools at Vicksburg, Register of Freedmen, Register of Rations Issued
 * Medical Director and Inspector of freedmen, Roll 5, Register of Patients, Register of Requisitions for Medicines and Supplies

Collection Contents
The information varies between records. You may find any of the following:


 * Name(s) of the primary individual(s)
 * Name of the freedman’s former owner
 * Names of family members
 * Residence
 * Age
 * Date of the record
 * Birth, marriage or death dates and places
 * Marriage date and place

How Do I Search the Collection?
To begin your search it is helpful to know:


 * The name of your ancestor
 * Identifying information such as name of spouse, age birthplace or residence

To browse by image: To search the collection you will need to follow this series of links: ⇒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.

What Do I Do Next?
When you have located your ancestor’s record, carefully evaluate each piece of information given. Download a copy of the record, or extract the genealogical information needed. These pieces of information may give you new biographical details. Add this new information to your records of each family. The information may also lead you to other records about your ancestors. The following examples show ways you can use the information:


 * Use the estimated age to calculate a birth date.
 * Use the names, ages, and residence to search the census records after 1965, land records and church records

Tips to Keep in Mind

 * Continue to search the records to identify children, siblings, parents, and other relatives.
 * When looking for a person who had a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which is correct.
 * You may need to compare the information of more than one family or person to make this determination.
 * Be aware that your ancestor may have used more than one name during their lifetime.
 * When looking for a person who had a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which is correct.
 * Remember that there may be more than one person in the records with the same name as your ancestor and that your ancestor may have used nicknames or different names at different times.

I Can't Find Who I'm Looking For, Now What?

 * Look for variant spellings of the names. You should also look for nicknames and abbreviated names.
 * Search the indexes and records of nearby localities.

Additional Information About These Records
The Freedmen’s Bureau records are a major source of genealogical information about post Civil War African Americans. They are also a good source to quickly identify a family group and residence. 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.

The Freedmen’s Bank Records are the most commonly known records created by the Freedmen’s Bureau and have also been described separately.

The original records are preserved at the National Archives in College Park, Maryland. Copies of the original records are available at the National Archives Building in Washington D.C. and the regional archives located in Alaska, California, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, Missouri, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas and Washington State. The records were microfilmed in 2001 the microfilms are available at the Family History Library.

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.

Related FamilySearch Historical Records Collection Articles

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 * District of Columbia, Freedmen's Bureau Records (FamilySearch Historical Records)
 * Georgia, Freedmen's Bureau Field Office Records (FamilySearch Historical Records)
 * Kentucky, Freedmen's Bureau Records (FamilySearch Historical Records)
 * Louisiana, Freedmen's Bureau Records (FamilySearch Historical Records)
 * Mississippi, Freedmen's Bureau Field Office Records (FamilySearch Historical Records)
 * Missouri, Freedmen's Bureau Records (FamilySearch Historical Records)
 * North Carolina, Freedmen Bureau Field Office Records (FamilySearch Historical Records)
 * South Carolina, Freedmen Bureau Field Office Records (FamilySearch Historical Records)
 * Tennessee, Freedmen's Bureau Records (FamilySearch Historical Records)
 * Texas, Freedmen's Bureau Field Office Records (FamilySearch Historical Records)
 * Virginia, Freedmen's Bureau Records (FamilySearch Historical Records)
 * United States, Freedmen's Bureau, Records of the Assistant Commissioner (FamilySearch Historical Records)
 * United States, Freedmen's Bureau, Records of the Commissioner (FamilySearch Historical Records)
 * United States, Records of the Superintendent of Education and of the Division of Education (FamilySearch Historical Records)

Related Websites

 * Mapping the Freedmen's Bureau
 * NARA Freedmen's Bureau Records An Overview
 * NARA Pre-Bureau Records and the Civil War African American Genealogy
 * NARA A Genealogical Finding Aid
 * NARA Select Images from Freedmen's Bureau Records
 * NARA Reference Report Mississippi Pre-Bureau Records
 * The Freedmen's Bureau Online. Records of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen and Abandoned Lands.
 * Publications of the Freedmen and Southern Society Project
 * Suffolk University

Related Wiki Articles

 * Mississippi Genealogy
 * 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: {{Collection citation | text= "Mississippi, Freedmen's Department (Pre-Bureau Records), 1863-1865." Images. FamilySearch. http://FamilySearch.org : accessed 2016. Citing NARA microfilm publication M1914. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2004.}

Image Citation: