United States, Freedmen's Bureau Records of Persons and Articles Hired - FamilySearch Historical Records: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 09:32, 24 February 2016

	This article describes a collection of historical records scheduled to become available at FamilySearch.org.
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Record Description[edit | edit source]

This collection consists of index and images of monthly reports of articles and persons hired by the Bureau's field office for the years 1865 to 1872. The principal name in the index is either of the person employed or the person who owned the article. 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.

You will be able to browse through images in this collection when it is published.

Record Content[edit | edit source]

United States, Freedmen's Bureau Records of Persons and Articles Hired Examples
Bill of Lading
Employment Record (sample 1)
Employment Record (sample 2)
Labor Contract (page 1)
Labor Contract (page 2)
Labor Contract (page 3)
Labor Contract (page 4)
Record of Leins on Crops
Register of Sick and Wounded

The information found in the records varies by document and locality. You may find any of the following:

Full name
Residence
Document dates
Age
Occupation
Names of family members
Relationships

How to Use the Record[edit | edit source]

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.

Search the Collection[edit | edit source]

To search the collection by name:
Fill in your ancestor’s name in 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.

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 appropriate "…"
⇒Select the appropriate "…"
⇒Select the appropriate “…" 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.

With either search 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.

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

Using the Information[edit | edit source]

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 property location to find family in census, church, and land records.

Tips to Keep in Mind[edit | edit source]

When looking for a person who had a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which is correct.
Continue to search the index and records to identify children, siblings, parents, and other relatives who may have served in the same unit or a nearby unit.
Be aware that, as with any index, transcription errors may occur.

Unable to Find Your Ancestor?[edit | edit source]

Look for variant spellings of the names. You should also look for alias names, nicknames and abbreviated names.
Search the records of nearby localities (or military unties, counties, parishes, etc.).
Try alternative search methods such as only filling in the surname search box (or the given name search box) on the landing page leaving the other box empty and then click on search. This should return a list of everyone with that particular name. You can then browse the list for individuals that may be your ancestor.

Additional Information About These Records[edit | edit source]

The Freedmen’s Bureau records are a major source of genealogical information about post-Civil War African Americans. They are also a good source to quickly identify a family group and residence. Use the place of residence, age, and other information for each person to search for the individuals in census records and other types of records.

The Freedmen’s Bank Records are the most commonly known records created by the Freedmen’s Bureau and have also been described separately.

The original records are preserved at the National Archives in College Park, Maryland. Copies of the original records are available at the National Archives Building in Washington D.C. and the regional archives located in Alaska, California, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, Missouri, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas and Washington State. The records were microfilmed in 2001 the microfilms are available at the Family History Library.

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 Savings 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.

Related Websites[edit | edit source]

National Archives Resources for Genealogists
Publications of the Freedmen and Southern Society Project
The Freedmen's Bureau Online. Records of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen and Abandoned Lands.
Publications of the Freedmen and Southern Society Project
Suffolk University

How You Can Contribute[edit | edit source]

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Citations for This Collection[edit | edit source]

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:

Collection Citation:
The citation for this collection can be found on the Collection Details Page in the section Cite This Collection.

Record citation (or citation for the index entry):

The citation for a record will be available with each record once the collection is published.

Image citation:
This template has been deprecated and is no longer used.

The image citation will be available once the collection is published.