Alabama, Freedmen's Bureau Field Office Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

United States Alabama

What is in the Collection?
This collection consists of scanned images of records from National Archives microfilm publication M1900,Records of the Field Offices for the State of Alabama, Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands which is part of Record Group 105 Records of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen and Abandoned Lands. The images are generally arranged in the order the records were microfilmed with the records of the Assistant Commissioner who oversaw Bureau operations in the state and state level staff officers; Commissary of Subsistence, Inspector General and Disbursing Officer, Quartermaster and Disbursing Officer, and Surgeon first then the local field office records are arranged alphabetically by location and by NARA roll number.


 * Home Colonies: Butler County, Demopolis, Garland, Huntsville, Mobile, Montgomery, Selma, and Talladega.
 * Freedmen's Hospitals: Demopolis, Garland, Huntsville, Mobile, Montgomery, Selma and Talladega

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.

Sample Images
Records with Freedmen and Refugee Names:
 * NARA Select Images from Freedmen's Bureau Records
 * Claims: Huntsville, Rolls 18-19; Mobile, Roll 23; Montgomery, Roll 26
 * Complaints: Demopolis, Roll 10; Greenville, Roll 13; Opelika, Roll 28; Selma, Roll 30-31; Tuscaloosa, Roll 34
 * Labor Contracts: Ashland, Roll 9; Cahaba, Roll 9; Montgomery, Roll 25; Tuscumbia, Roll 34;
 * Patient, Prescription, Sick & Wounded Registers: Demopolis, Roll 11; Garland, Roll 11; Huntsville, Roll 20; Mobile, Roll 23: Montgomery, Roll 27; Selma, Roll 31; Talladega, Roll 33; Tuskegee, Roll 34
 * Rations, Selma, Roll 31


 * Commissary of Subsistence: Roll 3, Lists of Heads of Families Who Have Received Relief (Certificates of Applicants) Applications for Relief
 * Quartermaster and Disbursing Officer: Roll 7, Monthly Reports of Person and Articles Hired
 * Cahaba: Roll 9, Contracts, Register of Contracts, and Registers of Transportation and Rations Issued
 * Huntsville: Roll 15, Register of Rations Shipped to Agents and Issued in the Colonies; Fair Copies of Contracts; Rosters of Officers and Employees
 * Huntsville and Athens (Claims Agent): Roll 19, Census of Black Citizens and Register of Bounty Claims Received and Forwarded; Registers of Claims Allowed; Registers of Claims Forwarded; Registers of  Disbursements; Registers of Claimants
 * Livingston: Roll 20, Register of Complaints, Court Records, Lists of Contracts
 * Mobile: Roll 22, Registers of Contracts and Complaints; Transcripts of Mayor’s Dockets
 * Selma: Roll 31, Register of Rations Issued to Freedmen and Destitute Whites; Complaints

What Can this Record Tell Me?
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.

How Do I Search the Collection?
To begin your search it is helpful to know at least some of the following:
 * The name of your ancestor.
 * The approximate age of your ancestor.
 * The residence of your ancestor.
 * The former slave owner.

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.

View images in this collection by visiting the Browse Page then: ⇒Select the appropriate "Freedmen's Bureau Office or Subordinate Field Office Location" ⇒Select the appropriate "NARA Roll Number-Contents"

For tips about searching on-line collections see the on-line article FamilySearch Search Tips and Tricks.

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 Who I was Looking for, What Now?

 * Use the age to calculate a birth date and to find other records such as birth, christening, census, land and death records.
 * Use the information to find additional family members. Witnesses or bondsmen were usually relatives.
 * 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 Who 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. Former slaves may have had used multiple names or changed their names until they decided upon one particular name.
 * 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

Related Websites

 * NARA Select Images from Freedmen's Bureau Records
 * Publications of the Freedmen and Southern Society Project
 * The Freedmen's Bureau Online. Records of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen and Abandoned Lands.
 * Suffolk University, Boston

Related Wiki Articles

 * Alabama
 * African American Freedmen's Bureau Records
 * Quick Guide to African American Records
 * African American Resources for Alabama
 * African American Research
 * Alabama Cohabitation Records

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. Collection Citation: Image Citation:

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