United States, Freedmen’s Bureau, Freedmen’s Court Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

United States



Record Description
This collection consists of an index and images of records relating to Freedmen's court cases including proceedings, registers of cases tried, charges and specifications, papers, fines imposed, and affidavits. 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. The collection covers the years 1865 to 1872.

Record Content
The information in the records varies by record. You may find any of the following:
 * Full name
 * Event date
 * Age (years)
 * Residence
 * Date of death
 * Date of birth
 * Date of marriage
 * Other name
 * Military unit
 * Names of other family members
 * Relationships
 * Race
 * Occupation

How to Use the Record
To begin your search it is helpful to know:


 * Your ancestor’s name.
 * Other identifying information such as residence, birthdate or age, names of other family members and family relationships.

Search the Collection
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 "…" ⇒Select the appropriate "…" ⇒Select the appropriate “…" 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.

Using the Information
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.

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 unties, counties, parishes, etc.).

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 Websites

 * National Archives Resources for Genealogists
 * Publications of the Freedmen and Southern Society Project
 * 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

 * African American Freedmen's Bureau Records
 * Quick Guide to African American Records
 * African American Research
 * Alabama, Freedmen's Bureau Field Office Records (FamilySearch Historical Records)
 * Arkansas, Field Offices Records of the Freedmen's Bureau (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)
 * 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)

Citations for 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: Record citation (or citation for the index entry): Image citation: