Alabama, Southern Claims Commission Approved Claims - FamilySearch Historical Records

What is in This Collection?
The United States Congress established the Southern Claims Commission, on March 3, 1871. The purpose of the Commission was to review and make recommendations to the House of Representatives regarding claims from Southerners who were loyal to the Union, and who had involuntarily “furnished stores and supplies for the use of the U.S. Army” during the Civil War. Later the law was extended to resources taken by the U.S. Navy. Claims were processed through May of 1880. Only about one third of submitted claims were approved.

The images in this collection show the claims approved by the Southern Claims commission for Alabama. The collection is NARA publication M2062 Southern Claims Commission Approved Claims,1871-1880: Alabama and is from RG 217, Records of the Accounting Officers of the Department of the Treasury. It contains 828 approved applications arranged by county and then alphabetical by name.

You will be able to browse through images in this collection when it is published.

What Can These Records Tell Me?
Information may differ between cases and may include any of the following:

How Do I Search the Collection?
Before searching this collection, it is helpful to know:
 * The name of your ancestor
 * The approximate age and residence

View the Images
View images in this collection by visiting the :
 * 1) Select the County
 * 2) Select the Approved claims name to view the images.

Compare the information on the image to what you already know about your ancestor to determine if it is the correct family or person. You may need to compare several images before you find your ancestor.

What Do I Do Next?
Whenever possible, view the original records to verify the information and to find additional information that might not be reported. These pieces of information can lead you to additional records and family members.

I Found the Person I Was Looking For, What Now?

 * Use the information to find other records such as birth, christening, census, land and death records.
 * Use the occupations listed to find other types of records, such as employment or military records.
 * Use the information to find additional family members.
 * Repeat this process with additional family members found, to find more generations of the family.
 * Church Records often were kept years before government records were required and are a good source for finding ancestors before 1900.

I Can’t Find the Person I’m Looking For, What Now?

 * Try viewing the original record to see if there were errors in the transcription of the name, age, residence, etc. Remember that there may be more than one person in the records with the same name.
 * Collect entries for every person who has the same surname. This list can help you identify possible relations that can be verified by records.
 * If you cannot locate your ancestor in the locality in which you believe they lived, then try searching records of a nearby locality in an area search.
 * Standard spelling of names typically did not exist during the periods our ancestors lived in. Try variations of your ancestor’s name while searching the index or browsing through images.
 * Remember that sometimes individuals went by nicknames or alternated between using first and middle names. Try searching for these names as well.
 * Search the indexes and records of Alabama, United States Genealogy.
 * Search in the Alabama Archives and Libraries.

Citing This Collection
Citations help you keep track of places you have searched and sources you have found. Identifying your sources helps others find the records you used.


 * Collection Citation: