@@ Line 3: / Line 3: @@
 === 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 '''hundreds of their neighbors'''. Neighbors of all races, and classes were questioned and discussed in these records.<br>
 Southerners from 12 states ([[West Virginia|West Virginia]], [[Virginia|Virginia]], [[North Carolina|North Carolina]], [[South Carolina|South Carolina]], [[Georgia|Georgia]], [[Florida|Florida]], [[Tennessee|Tennessee]], [[Alabama|Alabama]], [[Mississippi|Mississippi]], [[Louisiana|Louisiana]], [[Arkansas|Arkansas]] and [[Texas|Texas]]) filed 22,298 claims before the Southern Claims Commission (SCC)&nbsp;between 3 March 1871 and 3 March 1873, based on the fact they:
@@ Line 21: / Line 21: @@
 *wills, property inventories, and probate records
-=== Strategy for Finding Ancestors ===
+=== 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, but he or she is more likely to have testified about an applicant, and is even more likely to be discussed 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.
+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.
+=== Steps of Using SCC Records  ===
+These are the steps to use to find ALL the SCC 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 during the Civil War.'''
+'''Step 2. Photocopy ALL the claimants in the county of your ancestor in the''' '''''Geographical List of Claims.'''''
+'''Step 3. Find and copy all the data provided for each of the county’s claimants in Gary B. Mills’ Southern Loyalists in the Civil War (a master index).'''
+'''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 FHL.'''
 === Resources  ===
@@ Line 29: / Line 47: @@
 '''On the Internet'''
 *St. Louis County Library, "[http://www.slcl.org/branches/hq/sc/scc/scc-main.htm Researching Southern Claims Commission Records]" in St. Louis County Library [Internet site] at http://www.slcl.org/branches/hq/sc/scc/scc-main.htm (accessed 1 April 2009). Many of the NARA descriptive publications are actually online at this website including:<br>
 *St. Louis County Library, "[http://www.slcl.org/branches/hq/sc/scc/scc-geolist.htm Geographical List of Southern Claims Commission Claimants]" in St. Louis County Library [Internet site] at http://www.slcl.org/branches/hq/sc/scc/scc-geolist.htm (accessed 1 April 2009). Use this list to find all the applicants in a given county.<br>
 *[http://www.footnote.com/page/71/ Footnote.com], a subscription site also available at some libraries, is beginning to index SCC records.<br>
 *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.<br>
@@ Line 48: / Line 66: @@
 The records have not all been filmed or fiched,&nbsp;note the chart below to learn what is currently available through the National Archives; the Family History Library (FHL) has not accquired them as of April 2009. As noted below search on line sites for additional information.
-{| cellspacing="1" cellpadding="1" width="98%" align="center" border="1"
+{| width="98%" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="1" border="1" align="center"
 |+ '''Southern Claims Commission Records'''
 |-
@@ Line 62: / Line 80: @@
 U.S. Court of Claims 1884-1943
 <br>
 Disallowed Case Files and those barred, U.S. House of Representatives
 <br>
 Summary Reports: A: Consolidated Index of Claims; B: Summary reports of the Commissioners. 1878-1880
 <br>
 U.S. Court of ClaimsDocet Cards for Congressional Case Files, ca. 1884-ca. 1943
 <br>
 Records of the Commissioners of Claims, 1871-1880
 <br>
 <br>
-| align="center" bgcolor="#ffcc99" |
+| bgcolor="#ffcc99" align="center" |
 <br>233
 <br>
 <br>
 <br>
 <br>
 <br>
 <br>
 <br>
 <br>
-<br>
-| align="center" bgcolor="#ffcc99" |
+<br>
-M2007
+| bgcolor="#ffcc99" align="center" |
+M2007
+<br>
 M1407
+<br>
 P2257
+<br>
+<br>
+M2007
+<br>
-M2007
+<br>
 M87
 <br>
 <br>
 | bgcolor="#ffcc99" |
 <br>
+<br>
-Unavailable
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
-Unavailable
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
 Unavailable
+<br>
+Unavailable
+<br>
+Unavailable
-Unavailable
+<br>
+<br>
+Unavailable
+<br>
+<br>
 1463976
 &nbsp;roll 14:
 Consolidated index
+<br>
+1463975
-1463975
 roll 13:
@@ Line 187: / Line 205: @@
 Geographical List of Claims
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
-<br>
 | bgcolor="#ffcc99" |
 rolls
-,829 fiche
+,829 fiche
+<br>
 roll
 <br>
+<br>
 rolls
 <br>
 <br>
 rolls
 <br>
 <br>
 |-
@@ Line 227: / Line 245: @@
 |-
 | '''Arkansas'''
 | <br>
 | align="center" | 217
 | align="center" | M2094
 | <br>
 | Not on film
 |-
 | '''Florida'''
 | <br>
 | align="center" | 217
 | align="center" | M2094
 | <br>
 | Not on film
 |-
@@ Line 248: / Line 266: @@
 |-
 | '''Louisiana'''
 | <br>
 | align="center" | 217
 | align="center" | M2094
 | <br>
 | Not on film
 |-
 | '''Mississippi'''
 | <br>
 | align="center" | 217
 | align="center" | M2094
 | <br>
 | Not on film
 |-
 | '''North Carolina'''
 | <br>
 | align="center" | 217
 | align="center" | M2094
 | <br>
 | Not on film
 |-
 | '''South Carolina'''
 | <br>
 | align="center" | 217
 | align="center" | M2094
 | <br>
 | Not on film
 |-
 | '''Tennessee'''
 | <br>
-| align="center" |
+| align="center" | <br>
-| align="center" |
+| align="center" | <br>
 | <br>
 | <br>
 |-
 | '''Texas'''
 | <br>
 | align="center" | 217
 | align="center" | M2094
 | <br>
 | Not on film
 |-
 | '''Virginia'''
 | Approved Claims 1871-1880<br>
 | align="center" | 217
 | align="center" | M2094
@@ Line 297: / Line 315: @@
 |-
 | '''West Virginia'''
 | Approved Claims 1871-1880<br>
 | align="center" | 217
 | align="center" | M1762
@@ Line 304: / Line 322: @@
 |}
 <br>
 == Online Resources  ==

Southern Claims Commission: Difference between revisions

Southern Claims Commission (view source)

Revision as of 08:46, 2 April 2009