African American Resources for Mississippi

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Adoption Bible Records Cemeteries Census Church Records Colonial Records Correctional Institutions Court Records Crime & Punishment Directories Emigration & Immigration Genealogies Land & Property Military Records Naturalization & Citizenship Newspapers Obituaries Occupation & Business Records Online Collections Periodicals Probate Records Taxation Vital Records Voter Records

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Mississippi

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Online Resources

1820-1951 Mississippi, U.S., State Archives, Various Records, 1820-1951 at Ancestry index & images ($), includes narratives of formerly enslaved persons.

1861-1872 United States, Freedmen's Bureau Marriages, 1861-1872 at FamilySearch

• 1863-1866 Mississippi, Freedmen's Department (Pre-Bureau Records), 1863-1866 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; images only
• 1865-1872 Mississippi, Freedmen's Bureau Field Office Records, 1865-1872 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; images only

1865-1874 Freedman's Bank Records, 1865-1874

1861-1869 Marriage records of the Office of the Commissioner, Washington headquarters of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, 1861-1869

Access Genealogy: Mississippi African American Genealogy

African American Digital Bookshelf - a growing list of digital books on FamilySearch and other websites

Discover Freedmen - this site searches all of the Freedmen's Bureau record collections on FamilySearch altogether (and redirects there)

MDAH: Freedmen's Bureau Index

Mississippi Department of Archives and History

Mississippi Digital Library

Registers of Marriages of Freedmen

• The Lantern Project (Legal Records Documenting Enslaved Persons) at Mississippi State University Libraries — index & images ($)

University of Southern Mississippi Archives: Digital Archives

Research Strategy

• Anne L. Webster, comp. African Americans : a Mississippi source book.Carrollton, Mississippi : The Pioneer Newspaper, c2001. FS Library 976.2 F27we

History

• A History of the Negroes of Mississippi from 1865 to 1890.
• Records of the Assistant Commissioner for the state of Mississippi, Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, 1863-1869
• BlackPast.org: Mississippi
• Freedom Now: An Archival Project of Tougaloo College and Brown University
• Hawes, Ruth B. "Slavery in Mississippi". The Sewanee Review 21 no. 2 (April 1913): 223-234.
• Sewell, George Alexander. Mississippi Black history makers. Jackson, Mississippi: University Press of Mississippi, 1977.
• Christie, Walter. A race apart: parliament and race separatism, the story. Auckland, New Zealand: Wyvern Press, 1998.

Resources

Biographies

• BlackPast.org: Mississippi

Funeral Homes

• CAAGS Obituary and Funeral Home Collection at California African American Genealogical Society - index & images

Land and Property

Plantation

• Plantations on the Mississippi River : from Natchez to New Orleans, 1858 FS Library Map 976 E7p
• Sankofagen: Mississippi plantations and slave labor sites
• Adams County, Gove Plantation, Account book, 1854

Law and Legislation

• Paul Finkelman, editorial advisor, State slavery statutes : guide to the microfiche collection Frederick, Maryland : University Pub. of America, c1989 FS Library 975 F23s
• State slavery statutes - Mississippi, ca. ca. 1799-1865 (31 fiche) FS Library 6118910

Obituaries

• CAAGS Obituary and Funeral Home Collection at California African American Genealogical Society - index & images

Oral Histories

• Mississippi, ex-slave narratives : NARA, RG 60, 1936-1942
• George P. Rawick, general editor ; Jan Hillegas, Ken Lawrence, editors, The American slave : A composite autobiography. 30 Volumes. Westport, Connecticut : Greenwood Pub. Co., 1971-1977 FS Library 973 F2aa

Military Records

• African American Military History Museum

Newspapers

• Last Seen: Finding Family After Slavery
• 1823-1849 Mississippi, Wilkinson County Newspaper Slave Ads, 1823-1849 at Ancestry - index & images ($)

Probate Records

Garrett-Nelson, LaBrenda. Gleaning Information about Enslaved Ancestors from Probate Files NGS Magazine 48 #2 (April-June 2022): 23 –27. FS Library 973 D25ngs

Reconstruction Records

Freedman’s Bank

An excellent source is the Freedman’s Savings and Trust Company (visit the African American Freedman's Savings and Trust Company Records page to learn more). This company was created to assist African American soldiers of the Civil War and Freedmen. Freedman’s Savings and Trust Company signature cards or registers from 3 March 1865 to 25 July 1874 may list the name of the depositor, date of entry, age, birthplace, residence, complexion, name of employer or occupation, wife or husband’s name, death information, children’s names, name of father and mother, brothers’ and sisters’ names, remarks, and signature. Early books sometimes contained the name of the former slaveholder and the name of the plantation. Copies of death certificates were sometimes attached to the entries. The collection is organized alphabetically by state, then city where the bank was located, then date the account was established, then account number.

Online collections of Freedman's Bank records:

• United States, Freedman's Bank Records, 1865-1874
• U.S., Freedman's Bank Records, 1865-1871 ($)

Freedmen's Bureau

The Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands was created by the US government in 1865 until 1872 to assist formerly enslaved persons in the southern United States. The Bureau created a wide variety of records extremely valuable to genealogists. Such documents include censuses, marriage records, and medical records. These records often include full names, former slaveholders and plantations, and current residences. For 1865 and 1866, the section on abandoned and confiscated lands includes the names of the owners of the plantations or homes that were abandoned, confiscated, or leased. It gives the county and location, a description of the house, the number of acres owned, and the number of cabins of enslaved persons. These films do not appear to contain the names of the enslaved.

To find Freedmen's Bureau records:

• DiscoverFreedmen - the search on this site will utilize all of the Freedmen's Bureau records on FamilySearch, including:
  • 1865-1872 United States, Freedmen's Bureau Claim Records,1865-1872 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
  • 1865-1872 United States, Freedmen's Bureau Hospital and Medical Records, 1865-1872 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
  • 1865-1872 United States, Freedmen's Bureau Labor Contracts, Indenture and Apprenticeship Records, 1865-1872 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
  • 1861-1872 United States, Freedmen's Bureau Marriages, 1861-1872 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
  • 1865-1872 United States, Freedmen's Bureau Ration Records,1865-1872 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
  • 1865-1872 United States, Freedmen's Bureau Records of Persons and Articles Hired, 1865-1872 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
  • 1865-1872 United States, Freedmen's Bureau, Freedmen's Court Records, 1865-1872 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
  • 1865-1872 United States, Freedmen's Bureau, Land and Property Records, 1865-1872 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
  • 1865-1872 United States, Freedmen's Bureau, Records of Freedmen's Complaints, 1865-1872 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
  • 1865-1972 United States, Freedmen's Bureau, Records of the Superintendent of Education and of the Division of Education, 1865-1872 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection

Other FamilySearch collections not included:

• 1863-1866 Mississippi, Freedmen's Department (Pre-Bureau Records), 1863-1866 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection;
• 1865-1872 Mississippi, Freedmen's Bureau Field Office Records, 1865-1872 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection;
• 1865-1872 United States Freedmen's Bureau Miscellaneous Records,1865-1872 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
• 1865-1872 United States Freedmen's Bureau, Records of Freedmen, 1865-1872 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
• 1865-1872 United States, Freedmen's Bureau, Records of the Assistant Commissioner, 1865-1872 Images only. These reports primarily contain statistical and historical information.
• More collections are available in the FamilySearch Catalog. Search for "FREEDMEN - MISSISSIPPI" in the Subjects search bar to find.

Visit the African American Freedmen's Bureau Records page to learn more about utilizing these records.

Slavery Records

• Mississippi, Wilkinson County Newspaper Slave Ads, 1823-1849

Vital Records

Marriage

• Registers of Marriages of Freedmen
• Marriage records of the Office of the Commissioner, Washington headquarters of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, 1861-1869
  

The Freedmen's Bureau (1865-1872) was created by the US government to assist formerly enslaved persons in the southern United States. One of their responsibilities was to record the marriages (past and present) of the formerly enslaved couples. These records can be found in the collections below and include the lists of marriages that occurred previously, marriage certificates, and marriage licenses. The information contained on the records may include the name of the husband and wife/groom and bride, age, occupation, residence, year or date of marriage, by whom, number of children, and remarks.

• United States, Freedmen's Bureau Marriages, 1861-1872
• U.S., Freedmen’s Bureau Marriage Records, 1846-1867

Archives and Libraries

Mississippi Civil Rights Museum
222 North St Suite 2205
Jackson, MS 39201
Phone: 601-576-6800

African American Military History Museum
305 E. 6th Street
Hattiesburg, Mississippi
Phone: 601-450-1942