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=== Who Qualified and Who Was Mentioned === | === Who Qualified and Who Was Mentioned === | ||
Although only a few people per county qualified for a settlement, the application papers of the Southern Claims Commission typically include questions mentioning | Although only a few people per county qualified for a settlement, the application papers of the Southern Claims Commission typically include questions mentioning <u>hundreds of their neighbors</u>. Neighbors of all races, and classes were questioned and discussed in these records. | ||
Southerners from 12 states | Southerners from the 12 states of [[Alabama in the Civil War|Alabama]], [[Arkansas in the Civil War|Arkansas]], [[Florida in the Civil War|Florida]], [[Georgia in the Civil War|Georgia]], [[Louisiana|Louisiana]], [[Mississippi in the Civil War|Mississippi]], [[North Carolina in the Civil War|North Carolina]], [[South Carolina in the Civil War|South Carolina]], [[Tennessee in the Civil War|Tennessee]], [[Texas in the Civil War|Texas]], [[Virginia in the Civil War|Virginia]], and [[West Virginia in the Civil War|West Virginia]] qualified to file claims before the Southern Claims Commission (SCC) between 3 March 1871 and 3 March 1873 based on the fact they: | ||
#were loyal to the Union during the Civil War | #were loyal to the Union during the Civil War | ||
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While only losses incurred in the twelve states in rebellion at the beginning of the Civil War qualified many claims were made from other states by individuals that claimed to reside in the qualifying states during the war. As a result, records from a total of 24 states and the District of Columbia appear in the "Barred and Disallowed Case Files of the Southern Claims Commission, 1871-1880" (NARA M1407) records. | While only losses incurred in the twelve states in rebellion at the beginning of the Civil War qualified many claims were made from other states by individuals that claimed to reside in the qualifying states during the war. As a result, records from a total of 24 states and the District of Columbia appear in the "Barred and Disallowed Case Files of the Southern Claims Commission, 1871-1880" (NARA M1407) records. | ||
Southern Loyalists (those who were Union sympathizers) made 22,298 claims for property losses totaling $60,258,150.44. However, only 7,092 claims (32%) were approved for settlements totaling $4,636,920.69. Each claimant sought to prove their loyalty and loss through the testimony of others. The paper trail created by the claimants and the people who came forward to testify, for or against a claimant, provide a wealth of information about individuals living in the South during the Civil War. <ref | Southern Loyalists (those who were Union sympathizers) made 22,298 claims for property losses totaling $60,258,150.44. However, only 7,092 claims (32%) were approved for settlements totaling $4,636,920.69. Each claimant sought to prove their loyalty and loss through the testimony of others. The paper trail created by the claimants and the people who came forward to testify, for or against a claimant, provide a wealth of information about individuals living in the South during the Civil War.<ref>St. Louis County Library website, "[http://www.slcl.org/branches/hq/sc/scc/scc-main.htm Researching Southern Claims Commission Records]" (accessed 1 April 2009)</ref> | ||
=== Content of the Records === | === Content of the Records === | ||
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=== Strategy for Finding Ancestors === | === Strategy for Finding Ancestors === | ||
The most effective strategy is to search | The most effective strategy is to search <u>all</u> the Southern Claims Commission records for <u>everyone living in the same Southern county</u> as an ancestor. Any particular ancestor is unlikely to have actually applied to the Commission (only 0.2 percent of population), but he or she is more likely to have testified (2.3 percent) about an applicant, and an ancestor is even more likely to be discussed (about 10 ? percent) in the hundreds of answers to questions in other people's testimony. This is an advanced, time-consuming strategy with a less than 50 percent chance of locating information about your ancestor. But you will learn about the way of life in the county where your ancestor lived, and much about relationships between his or her neighbors.<ref>St. Louis County Library website, "[http://www.slcl.org/branches/hq/sc/scc/scc-geolist.htm Geographical List of Southern Claims Commission Claimants]" (accessed 1 April 2009). Use this list to find all the applicants in a given county.</ref> | ||
These are the steps to use to find | These are the steps to use to find <u>all</u> of the Southern Claims Commission records in a county. This strategy will involve reading thousands of manuscript pages with no guarantee you will find a particular ancestor mentioned in them. | ||
<div style="width: 95%; float: right"> | <div style="width: 95%; float: right"> | ||
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<references/> | <references/> | ||
*Dick Eastman, "Southern Claims Commission 1871-1880 Online" in Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter at http://blog.eogn.com/eastmans_online_genealogy/2007/03/southern_claims.html (accessed 1 April 2009). Explains SCC records. | *Dick Eastman, "Southern Claims Commission 1871-1880 Online" in Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter at http://blog.eogn.com/eastmans_online_genealogy/2007/03/southern_claims.html (accessed 1 April 2009). Explains SCC records. | ||
{{African American|African American}} {{U.S. Civil War|U.S. Civil War}} | {{African American|African American}} {{U.S. Civil War|U.S. Civil War}} | ||
[[Category:African_Americans|African_Americans]] [[Category:United_States_Civil_War,_1861_to_1865]] | [[Category:African_Americans|African_Americans]] [[Category:United_States_Civil_War,_1861_to_1865]] | ||