United States, Freedmen's Bureau Labor Contracts, Indenture and Apprenticeship Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

Record Description
This collection will include records from 1865-1872.

Index and images of employment-related records including labor contracts, indentures and apprenticeship records from the field office records of Alabama, Arkansas, District of Columbia, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia. This collection is from multiple NARA microfilm publications. 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.

Record Content
Freedmen's Bureau Labor Contracts, Indenture and Apprenticeship Records may contain the following information:


 * Given and Surname
 * Age and/or Birth Date
 * Death Date
 * Residence
 * Spouse Name and Birth
 * Race or Color
 * Occupation
 * Marriage Date
 * Military Unit

How to Use the Record
When searching: As you are searching, it is helpful to know such information as your ancestor's given name and surname, some identifying information such as residence, age, estimated event year, and family relationships.

Search the Collection
To search by index: Fill in the requested information in the initial search page. This search will return a list of possible matches. Compare the information about the ancestors in the list to what you already know about your ancestors to determine if this is the correct family or person. You may need to compare the information about more than one person to find your ancestor.

Search the collection by 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.

Using the Information

 * Use the estimated age to calculate a birth date.
 * Use the soldier's age and location of the military unit to find his family in census, church, and land records.
 * Use the death date to obtain a copy of the original death certificate from the county.
 * Use the spouse and residence information to find a marriage license.
 * Use residence information to locate census records which may list more family members in the same household.

Tips to Keep in Mind

 * 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.
 * Titles may be clues to property ownership, occupations, rank, or status within the community.
 * Continue to search the index and records to identify children, siblings, parents, and other relatives who may have served in the same unit or a nearby unit.
 * Be aware that, as with any index, transcription errors may occur.

Unable to Find Your Ancestor?

 * Check for variant spellings of the names.
 * Look for an index. There are often indexes at the beginning of each volume. In addition local genealogical and historical societies often have indexes to local records.
 * Search the records of nearby localities (or military units, counties, parishes, etc.).

General Information about These Records

 * Physical description or format of the original material
 * History of the record
 * Why the record was created
 * Reliability of the information in the record
 * Percentage of the population covered in the record
 * Preservation quality of the record

Related Websites

 * Freedmen’s Bureau Online
 * National Archives

Related Wiki Articles

 * African American Freedmen's Bureau Records

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:

Record Citation (or citation for the index entry):

Image Citation: