Southern Claims Commission

United States Civil War, 1861-1865
Getting Started
Beginning Civil War Research Research Strategies Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System
General Topics
African Americans Battles Bibliography Christian Commission Cultural Groups Indigenous Peoples Maps and Photographs Manuscript Collections Misc. Records Sanitary Commission State Records Southern Claims Commission Provost Marshals File
Union
Awards Biographies Casualty Records Cemetery Records Census Records Draft Records Navy Pension Records Prisoners of War Service Records Soldiers Homes Unit Histories Societies
Confederate
Amnesty Records Awards Biographies Casualty Records Cemetery Records Census Records Citizens File Navy Pension Records Prisoners of War Service Records Soldiers Homes Unit Histories Societies
Personnel Types
Conf. Regular Troops Union Regular Army Union Volunteers Union Veteran Reserve Corps

United States

U.S. Military

U.S. Civil War

Southern Claims Commission

Southern Claims Commission

Southern Claims Commission records may include information about people of all classes, all races, all political or military backgrounds, and explain their relationships. Additional information about the Commission and the records that were created by it can be found at United States, National Archives, Southern Claims Commission.

Who Qualified and Who Was Mentioned

Union loyalists in the grey states on this map who suffered losses could apply for compensation from the Southern Claims Commission.

Although only a few people per county qualified for a settlement, the application papers of the Southern Claims Commission typically include questions mentioning hundreds of their neighbors. Neighbors of all races and classes were questioned and discussed in these records.

Southerners from the 12 states of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and 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:

1. were loyal to the Union during the Civil War
2. had quartermaster stores or supplies taken by or furnished to the Union Army during the rebellion

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.

Content of the Records

Southern Claims Commission records may include information about people of all classes, all races, all political or military backgrounds, and explain their relationships potentially including:

• personal descriptions and accounts of events during the war
• military records of claimants or their relatives
• letters, diaries, and family Bible records
• wills, property inventories, and probate records

Strategy for Finding Ancestors

The most effective strategy is to search all the Southern Claims Commission records for everyone living in the same southern county 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.

These are the steps to use to find all 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.

Step 1. Determine the southern county where an ancestor lived.

Use family records, census, county histories, or other records to identify the residence of an ancestor during the Civil War from 1861-1865.

Step 2. Printout all the claimants in that county from the "Geographical List of Claimants.

A. Open the St. Louis County Library article Southern Claims Commission records.

B. Scroll down to the links to PDFs for states and counties listed in alphabetical order.

C. Click the link that would include the county where the ancestor lived between 1861-1865.

D. Print the page(s) of the PDF for the county where the ancestor lived.

E. Close the PDF.

Step 3. Copy data for each claimant in the county in Southern Loyalists in the Civil War.

A. Get access to the book Southern Loyalists in the Civil War: The Southern Claims Commission, by Gary B. Mills. Baltimore: Genealogical Publ., 1994, or reprint 2004. FS catalog book 975 M2s. At various libraries (WorldCat).

B. In this book, find and copy all data provided for each claimant in the county.

Step 4. To identify which NARA microfiche to purchase, use an appropriate NARA descriptive pamphlet (DP) and follow instructions at the St. Louis County Library’s Internet site.

Step 5. Order from the National Archives a microfiche copy of the file for each claimant in your ancestor’s county.

Step 6. Search each county claimant’s file for information about your ancestor or his neighbors.

Step 7. Search related Commission journals, agent letters, and miscellaneous letters at the FS Library.

Where to Find the Records

Online

Note, Ancestry Fold 3 are subscription sites. Many can, however, be accessed free in the FamilySearch Library and its branch Centers. See table below

Ancestry

*1871-1880 U.S. Southern Claims Commission Master Index, 1871-1880 at Ancestry - index ($)

Barred and Disallowed Claims:

*1871-1880 U.S. Southern Claims Commission, Disallowed and Barred Claims, 1871-1880 at Ancestry ($)

Approved Claims:

*1871-1880 Virginia, Southern Claims Commission Approved Claims, 1871-1880 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection

*1871-1880 U.S. Southern Claims Commission, Allowed Claims, 1871-1880 at Ancestry ($) - partial collection includes:

*NARA M2062 Southern Claims Commission Approved Claims, 1871-1880: Alabama.

*NARA M1658 Southern Claims Commission Approved Claims: Georgia, 1871-1880.

*NARA M2094 Southern Claims Commission Approved Claims, 1871-1880: Virginia.

*NARA M1762 Southern Claims Commission Approved Claims, 1871-1880: West Virginia.

Fold3

*Southern Claims Commission (Fold3) ($) - partial collection includes:

Barred and Disallowed Claims:

*NARA M1407 Barred and Disallowed Case Files of the Southern Claims Commission, 1871-1880.

Approved Claims:

*NARA M2062 Southern Claims Commission Approved Claims, 1871-1880: Alabama.

*NARA M1658 Southern Claims Commission Approved Claims: Georgia, 1871-1880.

*NARA M2094 Southern Claims Commission Approved Claims, 1871-1880: Virginia.

*NARA M1762 Southern Claims Commission Approved Claims, 1871-1880: West Virginia.

The approved claims records for the other eight states have never been microfilmed. Fold3 is in the process of digitizing these records directly from the original documents and placing them online. Fold3 is placing the records from the remaining eight states together in one collection named "Southern Claims Commission Approved Claims, 1871-1880". Check to see a list of [1] states currently available.

FamilySearch - Historical Record Collections

*1871-1880 Alabama, Southern Claims Commission Approved Claims, 1871-1880 at FamilySearch - How to Use the Collection

*1871-1880 Virginia, Southern Claims Commission Approved Claims, 1871-1880 at FamilySearch - How to Use the Collection

National Archives Selected Collections

• Southern Claims Commission. 3.10.1871-3.10.1880 - Organization Autority Record
• Settled Case Files for Claims Approved by the Southern Claims Commission, 1871- 1880. NAID 566157
• Alphabetical Geographical Lists of Claims, 1871-1873. NAID 6256575
• Register of Claim Cases Heard by the Commissioners, 1871-1880. NAID 6256588
• Name Indexes to the Registers of Claim Cases, 1871-1873. NAID 6256845
• Register of Claims, 6.6.1871-6.17.1871. NAID 12008935
• Register of Claims, 1871-1873. NAID 5634636
• Name Index to the Register of Claim Cases, 1871-1873. NAID 5634639
• Disallowed Claims, 1871-1880. NAID 562207
• Barred Claims, 1871-1880. NAID 562208. NAID 562208

FamilySearch Library

The records have not all been filmed or fiched, See the chart below to learn what is currently available through the National Archives and the FamilySearch Library (FS Library). As noted below search on line sites for additional information.

State	Record	Record Group	NARA #	FHL First Film	Number of Films
National	U.S. Court of Claims 1884-1943
National	Disallowed Case Files and those barred, U.S. House of Representatives	123	M1407	unavailable	4.829 fiche
National	A: Consolidated Index of Claims; B: Summary reports of the Commission. 1878-1880		P2257	unavailable	1 roll
National	U.S. Court of Claims, Docket Cards for Congressional Case Files, ca. 1884-1943	123	M2007	unavailable	5 rolls
National	Records of the Commissioners of Claims, 1871-1880	56	M87	1463976 roll 14: Consolidated index 1463975 roll 13: Geographical List of Claims	14 rolls
Alabama	Approved Claims, 1871-1880	217	M2062	DGS 100370319	36 rolls
Arkansas		217			Not on film
Florida		217			Not on film
Georgia	Approved Claims 1871-1880	217	M1658	unavailable	761 fiche
Louisiana		217			Not on film
Mississippi		217			Not on film
North Carolina		217			Not on film
South Carolina		217			Not on film
Tennessee	Online Claimant Index
Texas		217			Not on film
Virginia	Approved Claims 1871-1880; Southern Claims Comission Approved Claims, 1871–1880: Virginia	217	M2094	DGS 101044951	45 rolls
West Virginia	Approved Claims 1871-1880	217	M1762	DGS 100277559	3 rolls

Related Books

• Southern Loyalists in the Civil War: The Southern Claims Commission, by Gary B. Mills. Baltimore: Genealogical Publ., 1994. FS catalog book 975 M2s.; At various libraries (WorldCat. A composite directory of case file in alphabetical order by name of claimant; also provides county name, office number, report number, and status of claim.
• Civil War Claims in the South: An Index of Civil War Damage Claims Filed Before the Southern Claims Commission, 1871-1880, by Gary B. Mills. Laguna Hills, Calif.: Aegean Park Press, 1980.FS catalog book 975 H22m; At Various libraries (WorldCat,) Index in alphabetical order by state, then by name of claimant.
• United States, House of Representatives, Commissioners of Claims, Records of the Commissioners of Claims (Southern Claims Commission) 1871-1880, Washington, D.C.: National Archives, 1945 FS Library film 1463963-76
• Barred and Disallowed Case Files of the Southern Claims Commission, 1871-1880, United States, National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, D.C.: NARA, 1987. FS catalog book 973 J53m no. 1407

Websites

• St. Louis County Library Southern Claims Commission records. Many of the NARA descriptive publications are actually online at this website including: