District of Columbia, Freedmen's Bureau Field Office Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

United States

What is in the Collection?
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.


 * National Archives Pamphlet M1902
 * National Archives Historical Sketch of the Freedmen's Village
 * Freedmen's Hospital 1870 Census Subdivision East of 1st Street pages 12-18 Patients and Staff

Records with Freedmen and Refugee Names
 * Freedmen's Village: Roll 21, Register of people arriving at Freedmen's Village, Jan 1, 1867-June 27, 1868
 * Washington and Georgetown: Roll 19, Register of freedmen departing Mason's Island, VA, May 18, 1864-Jul 18, 1865
 * Superintendent of Marriages: Roll 12, Register of Marriages,Nov 1866-Jul 1867
 * Washington and Georgetown: Roll 18, Employment registers, Wisewell and East Capital Street Barracks, 1866-1868

Sample Images
For details about the contents of these records, their history, and help using them, see the wiki article: United States Freedmen’s Bureau Records (FamilySearch Historical Records)

Search the Collection
Search by Name by visiting the Collection Page Fill in requested information on the initial search page. This search will return a list of possible matches. Compare the information about those in the list to what you already know about your own 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.

View images in this collection by visiting the Browse Page: 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.

Related Websites

 * Mapping the Freedmen's Bureau
 * NARA Freedmen's Bureau Records: An Overview
 * NARA A Genealogical Finding Aid
 * NARA Select Images from Freedmen's Bureau Records
 * Publications of the Freedmen and Southern Society Project

Related Wiki Articles

 * District of Columbia
 * 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.

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