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== 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]]. | 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 == | |||
[[Image:Southern Claim Commission States Map.jpg|thumb|right|380px|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 <u>hundreds of their neighbors</u>. Neighbors of all races and classes were questioned and discussed in these records. | [[Image:Southern Claim Commission States Map.jpg|thumb|right|380px|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 <u>hundreds of their neighbors</u>. Neighbors of all races and classes were questioned and discussed in these records. | ||
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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, "[https://www.slcl.org/research-learn/genealogy/american-civil-war/southern-claims-commission-records Southern Claims Commission Records]" (accessed 3 April 2024)</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, "[https://www.slcl.org/research-learn/genealogy/american-civil-war/southern-claims-commission-records Southern Claims Commission Records]" (accessed 3 April 2024)</ref> | ||
== 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: | 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: | ||
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*wills, property inventories, and probate records | *wills, property inventories, and probate records | ||
== Strategy for Finding Ancestors == | |||
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, [https://www.slcl.org/research-learn/genealogy/american-civil-war/southern-claims-commission-records Geographical List of Southern Claims Commission Claimants], (accessed 3 April 2024). Use this list to find all the applicants in a given county.</ref> | 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, [https://www.slcl.org/research-learn/genealogy/american-civil-war/southern-claims-commission-records Geographical List of Southern Claims Commission Claimants], (accessed 3 April 2024). Use this list to find all the applicants in a given county.</ref> | ||
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