District of Columbia Court and Emancipation Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

United States District of Columbia

What is in the Collection?
The collection consists of images of National Archives records from three microfilm publications:


 * Records of the Board of Commissioners for the Emancipation of Slaves in the District of Columbia, 1862-1863, M520, 4 rolls in Records of the Accounting Officers of the Department the Treasury, RG 217
 * Records of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia relating to slaves, 1851-1863 M433, 2 rolls
 * United States, Circuit Court (District of Columbia), Habeas Corpus Case Records, 1820-1863, M434, 2 rolls in Records of the District Courts of the United States in RG 21.

The collection covers the years 1820 to 1863.

Collection Contents
The information in the records varies by case. You may find any of the following:


 * Name
 * Age or birth date (these may be approximated)
 * Gender
 * Name of former owner
 * Residence
 * Names of other family members or witnesses
 * Document dates

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


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

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 "National Archives Microfilm Publication" category ⇒Select the "NARA Roll Number and film description" category 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. Save a copy of the image or transcribe the information. These pieces of information may give you new biographical details. Add this new information to your records of each family. You should also look for leads to other records about your ancestors. For example:


 * Use the estimated age to calculate a birth date and locate birth records.
 * Use the residence to find family in census, church, and land records.

Tips to Keep in Mind

 * Remember your ancestor may have changed names.
 * Emancipated individuals may still have family members who are slaves. Be sure to look for other individuals who may be related.
 * Search property records for other family members.
 * 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 previous names, alias names, nicknames and abbreviated 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.
 * If the former slave owner is known search for records of that person.

Related Websites
District of Columbia History and Genealogy

Related Wiki Articles

 * District of Columbia, Freedmen's Bureau Field Office Records (FamilySearch Historical Records)
 * District of Columbia Court Records
 * District of Columbia African Americans
 * District of Columbia

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.

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